by T. G. Ayer
I blinked, then looked over at Aisha. And Barry chuckled. “Yes, the djinn are demonborn but their blood is...shall we say their blood is unique. And even were it not so unique, the demonic nature of my blood would shatter the bond of the blood sacrifice with the Sharaita.”
I made a face. “Doesn’t sound very healthy.”
“It’s not. The Sharaita was created with the sacrifice of the lives of a handful of powerful demons. Hence the incompatibility when it’s used by a demon. And sadly, my contribution must remain on this side of the Mithrasian Veil. At least until your team gets through and destroys the ward. I shall check the state of the magic and follow as soon as I see the ward has fallen.”
“No. It’d probably be over by then. They have a rebel army doing their rebel thing on the other side of the Veil. From what I’ve been told, they are ready to move as soon as we arrive. Chances are, when the Veil falls, the fun will already be over.”
The pale-skinned demon shrugged a shoulder. “That may be, but I shall follow either way. There are a few people I’d like to meet with, to see if my help is needed as the realm recovers.”
I swallowed hard. What bond did this demon overlord have with the djinn that he’d go to such lengths to help them? Though curious, I refrained from asking further questions as the shop bell tinkled almost angrily and I knew the team briefing was moments away.
I wasn’t expecting the announcement to go well.
At all.
Chapter 18
Aisha and Barry had left to do their final preparations while I’d updated Natasha, Nerina, and Cassie on the situation. Now, I stood in front of the gathered group having just given them a brief rundown of what the rebel soldier had told me, of course leaving out any pertinent details.
“So when do we leave?” asked Lily, her eyes shining with excitement.
“As much as I would love to say now...” I replied, shaking my head slowly. “We’ve come to understand that our position has changed in terms of the number of people we’d need on the mission.”
Steph’s eyes flashed at my words, but I didn’t want to bring her anger to the attention of the team. She’d share her discontent with a few more people as well, so she shouldn’t feel so bad about it.
“So who have you decided to take with you?” asked Steph coldly.
I bit down a sigh of weariness. “Natasha isn’t coming. Neither is Barry, Nerina, or Cassie.” Steph’s eyes widened a little and she shared an inscrutable look with Lily. I continued, “Our final team will be Logan, Kai, Drake, Darcy, and myself. And Aisha of course.”
The three younger team members stared from Kai’s face to mine and then back again, clearly unhappy, but unsure what to do after hearing who else we’d dropped from the team. Misery did appreciate company, I guess.
We spent a few more moments discussing our plans, doling out tasks to them to look after until, and after we left, considering they’d be left behind to look after any fallout should we not return—for whatever reason.
When they left—taking their hangdog expressions with them—Logan, Kai, and I sat at the kitchen table staring at a bottle of brandy.
Logan’s eyes narrowed. “I see you also ensured that the queen left as well?”
I gave a smile. “They’re well aware that this is going to complicate the situation but the rebels want to ensure that the queen is left out of any altercations or fighting. No harm is to come to the queen...at all costs.”
Kai nodded. “That makes sense. And it’s probably a good sign that this particular rebel group wants to reinstate the queen as opposed to ousting her in favor of new leadership.” She glanced over at Logan and appeared to share a meaningful look.
I placed the folder Fathima had given me on the table beside the brandy. “This is all the information she’s given us, and I had a quick look through. It’s pretty detailed and it looks like the rebel group knows what they’re doing.”
“I’m assuming they had help from Saleem?” Logan asked.
I nodded, “Yes she did confirm that she’s been in touch with him, so at least that’s a little bit of a relief. I spoke to the queen this morning and she explained that the stone beneath the castle has a dampening effect which was why I wasn’t able to follow his life-thread.”
Logan nodded and began to scan the paperwork within the file, skimming the rest of the information. While he worked, I allowed myself to enter the ether in order to check if the rebels had left me any further details.
Which they had: details of Sentinels meetup point, for one.
In addition, I left a message for Fathima, giving her the new reduced number of people within our team.
I was not looking forward to having that conversation with the director. Something told me that he wasn’t going to be very happy with such short notice.
“Do you want me to deal with the director?” Logan offered, looking up from the notes.
As tempted as I was to accept his offer, I shook my head. “No. I need to know what his reaction is. Not that I don’t trust you, but I just have a sense about him that I want to be sure.”
Logan smiled and gave me a reassuring nod. “Of course, I understand. I just want to make sure that the director doesn’t think you can be pushed around. I’ve dealt with him on a number of occasions and I know full well that he can be a complete asshole.”
I studied the faces of my two friends, then reached for the brandy and poured some into my glass. I lifted it into the air. They both followed my actions and raised their own glasses.
“Here’s to saving the prince and all the people,” said Kai with a grin.
“Here’s to hoping after all is said and done the queen won’t kill us,” I added.
Although my toast was followed by rousing laughter, I suspected the pair of them were guilty of sharing that same hope too.
Chapter 19
I was not looking forward to the meeting with Director Gilfillan but I figured I’d better get it over and done with as soon as possible. As expected, Gilfillan requested the meeting be held at Sentinel’s HQ, in boardroom 5C—the man hadn’t even asked where I’d like to meet, merely spouted off the room number and told me to be there at twenty-two-hundred hours.
I didn’t have any misconceptions about my lack of experience in terms of mission-prep but I damn well had my own rep that the director was well aware of, especially since I’d done a couple jobs for him in the past year or two. Why he still continued to treat me like I was a green agent, I just couldn’t understand.
But I didn’t have the time to ponder his patronizing nature. Neither did I have the inclination to waste my gray cells on him. But, unfortunately, I had to get this meeting concluded as soon as possible.
So, instead of telling him where he could shove his attitude, I calmly requested an alternate meeting place. I decided that I would prefer a more neutral ground. I had two choices for locations: either the Elite HQ—which I was sure Horner wouldn’t have a problem with—or O’Hagan’s Pub.
In the end, I chose the pub, and I was pretty sure that the director was not impressed with my choice. Still, he did agree to meet me there without questioning my request.
Thirty minutes later, I was seated in one of the darker more private booths at the back of the pub, watching the door. Gilfillan arrived on time and strolled toward me, his expression clear that he thought I was about to waste his time.
Wasn’t he in for a surprise?
“Agent Morgan,” he said as he sank into the seat opposite me. He shifted on his bench, his gaze drawing across the floor toward the bar counter, revealing his discomfort in this rather more earthy environment than his polished mahogany boardroom tables and imported Italian calf-leather chairs. The man was arrogant and strange but I didn’t have time to try my hand at figuring him out.
“Director, thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I must apologize for the sudden notice but it couldn’t be helped. We’ve just received word from the team in Mithras who are arranging our safe entrance
to the city. Their operatives will be ready for our arrival first thing tomorrow morning. My squad is prepping as we speak and we plan to depart at sunrise, so I’m hoping that your people are good to go?”
Gilfillan’s eyes widened, though he hid the reaction fast. Still, not quickly enough for me to miss it. He gave a slow nod, perhaps to make me believe he was doing a quick inventory to assess his team’s readiness to depart.
“I believe we are prepared. Of course, prepared as best as we are able. Considering we have the assistance of the Mithras teams, I do feel a little more comfortable as I’m assuming they will be our eyes on the ground.”
I nodded slowly, pondering my instinct to let him know about the missing maps.
Then he said, “I have to admit I’m not entirely comfortable handing over the reins to a group of people I know nothing about.”
I shrugged. “These are the people of Mithras, Director. Surely they don’t require our vetting before they run an op to save their prince?”
I knew how that sounded, and for a moment I had to consider the situation myself. The control of this entire op had shifted from Logan’s and my hands, off to the rebel army in Mithras.
I shifted forward, ribs hitting the edge of the table. “I understand your concern, but these people are loyal to Aisha and to Saleem. They are the ex-military of Mithras. And by ex I mean thrown out of their positions by an alien force intent on taking control of their realm. I guess if they want to be the ones to call the shots I’m happy with that. As long as, in the end, Saleem’s family and his people are safe.
“Also, I thought you may like to know that the reason you found it difficult to find maps or city details of any of the Mithrasian cities is because Omega and Division 7 ensured they were wiped from your records.”
“And you know this how?”
“Saleem sent us a message,” I replied, reluctant to clue him in on what had actually happened. “He confirmed Omega’s double agents had ensured those files were removed. Maybe that’s something you can investigate on your end?”
Gilfillan swallowed, his expression somewhat shell-shocked. Which only served to confirm that the man didn’t have a clue that Sentinel’s files had been wiped. Either that, or he was shocked that I’d found out the truth. Either way, I didn’t care. Gilfillan and Sentinel were the last things I gave a crap about.
For now, I just had to make sure that the Sentinel contingent stayed out of our way. I slid a piece of paper across the table toward the director and he lifted his chin to read the note with the details I’d found in a message Fathima had dropped an hour ago.
“That’s the location in Mithras where the army representative will meet you. They’ve assured us that they will supply us with weapons and armor should the need arise.”
“Can I ask exactly what our purpose will be in this mission?” he said, one eyebrow curved, dark eyes flashing.
“I have no idea. I’m in the same boat as you are. But does it really matter? We’re there to assist in any way they require. Oh, and also, we’ve been requested to maintain the utmost secrecy and only pass on information that’s vital. We need to close the loop as much as possible, especially since we know Omega and Co. already have the advantage of time and knowledge. And perhaps, this will be a way for you to root out the double agents in your organization? Maybe you could drop a few red herrings along the way?”
Gilfillan’s nostrils flared, his skin darkening a few tones. But, though my words had succeeded in pissing him off, he appeared to consider them more seriously than I’d expected him to. He settled against the backrest and scowled. “I do believe you have the right idea, Agent Morgan.”
Well I’ll be damned.
I merely nodded in faux sobriety as the director tapped the surface of the table. “To be brutally honest, I didn’t trust you or any of your agents. Still, it does appear that this is a good opportunity to pin the tail on the mole. I trust you are covering bases amongst your own team?” he asked, an eyebrow rising again.
“Way ahead of you. We’ve closed the loop entirely on details. Only I know the full details, while Logan and Kai know only a little more. The rest of the team have all received slightly different information so if any of my guys are batting for the other side, we’ll easily be able to ID them.”
Gilfillan nodded slowly, his expression confirming that he hadn’t believed I’d run my own team through the test. Maybe that would earn me some respect in his esteem.
But I decided I still didn’t care.
Chapter 20
When Horner messaged me, I was a little taken aback when he requested to meet us someplace other than the Elite HQ, asking if my place would be okay. He had instructed me to gather the team and I’d duly sent out the messages to the remaining members who responded that they’d be over soon.
The fact that Horner wanted this to be done in private was interesting. Were his actions sanctioned by the Supreme High Council at all?
Maybe you’re just being paranoid and all he was doing was taking extra precautions for security purposes.
The team arrived, the absence of Barry and Cassie was all too glaring. I’d felt bad but both the ShapeChanger and Nerina had assured me that they understood, and with Nerina concerned that the use of the Sharaita may affect her priestess position, I’d felt much better. She’d insisted she be present at the consecration though, and I’d agreed, aware having her watching could only be of benefit to us in case something went wrong.
Goddess forbid.
The team waited nearly twenty minutes before Horner arrived close to midnight, carrying a small wooden box which looked ready to fall apart. With its rounded wooden legs and intricate carvings, the chest was something straight out of ancient history. Even the wood had faded to a dull brown as time had peeled away any gloss or color.
He strolled into my living room and sat the box down in the middle of the coffee table. Then, without a word, he headed across the hall and into the kitchen. Seconds later, he returned with a bowl and a knife, the sight of which got my stomach churning.
Horner walked around the low table, spine curved, holding a deathly sharp carving knife and carrying the marble bowl which would soon contain the blood of each and every person in the room.
I didn’t like it, but if the Sharaita was the only safe way to cross through to Mithras, we had little choice. Especially now that I knew how important it was that I be there when the rebels extracted Saleem.
He studied the faces around him, probably seeing the skepticism and concern the same as I was. Aisha’s silence was glaring, which managed to only put me more on edge.
Then my boss smiled a little too cheerfully for my liking, and said, “As you should know by now, this is not a normal portal key.”
“Then what is it exactly?” asked Drake, a hitch in his voice. Logan had predicted Drake would refuse to stay behind and he’d been right.
“It’s from ancient times, to my knowledge the Sharaita was one of the first keys capable of transitioning a larger group through the Veil at the same time. Still, even back then the use of this artifact was considered dangerous and only to be used as a last resort.”
I wanted to roll my eyes at that because it seemed that all of a sudden, every option we had available to us was considered dangerous and only to be used as a last resort.
Precious magic could explode and kill us all.
And now so could this ancient key to the Veil.
But we needed both.
And even though I didn’t like the idea of not having a choice, I forced myself to take a deep breath. Horner was standing across the coffee table from me, waiting, as though he expected to hear a chorus of objections.
Now he smiled and waved the wicked blade around in a circle. “I’m sure you all know the routine, as the process to initiate the key is similar to that of the portal keys coding ceremony performed by the DeathTalkers.” He took a moment to look over at Nerina who was watching the process with her arms folded over her chest. To h
er, he said, “My Lady, would you like to preside over the ceremony. I believe I could do with your experience.”
My eyes were not the only ones widening when he addressed her as ‘My Lady,’ but nobody questioned it. Did her new title have something to do with the fact that she’d been AWOL so long. I’d happily bet all the money in my bank that Nerina was going to get grilled to within an inch of her life immediately after the key was coded.
Without a word, every member of my team moved toward Nerina who now held the knife, her expression sober. Horner then directed each of the team to move toward the DeathTalker one at a time.
Horner’s gaze drifted around the room, resting upon the faces of the team individually. “For the ceremony, the blood sacrifice must arise from the lifeline, the heart power,” he said. Reaching for my hand, which I allowed him to take without resistance, Horner pointed at the middle of my palm. “This is where the most powerful energy in our blood rises. A willing blood sacrifice sourced from this particular point on the body will enhance the power of the key.”
I couldn’t fault his logic, and it seemed that neither could anyone else on the team. In silence, they followed his instructions and allowed Nerina to bleed them one at a time.
Soon, the white marble bowl was over half full with our blood, the ruby liquid intermingling so seamlessly that one would never guess at the number of different supernatural species blended within.
Chapter 21
At dawn the next morning, the team gathered in my living room again, ready to leave. Tension simmered in the air around us; Kai and Logan looked determined, Lily and Baz looked defiant—though they knew they had little chance if they thought they could demand to accompany us.
Darcy and Kai shared a glance with me, both tense but confident, both whose bearings revealed this kind of pre-mission buzz was old hat.
An even half dozen with Aisha, Logan, and Drake—I wasn’t certain if that was a good thing.