Huntress Initiate

by Jamie Davis

  She drew a deep breath. This was either going to disable the lock permanently or cause it to trap her on this side.

  Committing to her decision, Quinn flicked her wrist, cutting through the two wires with ease. The door clicked and popped open about a quarter inch.

  She smiled. With everything stacked against her, it felt good to have even something this small go her way.

  Quinn entered the darkened room on the far side and checked her phone.

  Two and a half bars.

  She nodded. It was enough.

  Time to reach out to Clark.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Outside in the darkened car, Clark’s phone buzzed on the dash. It startled him since he was studying the wall across the road, along with the company buildings beyond.

  Picking up the phone, he glanced at it. The incoming call came from the forwarded number he’d given Quinn. He tapped Talk.

  “Hello, this is Clark.”

  “Clark, it’s Quinn. Thank God! I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get an answer at this hour.”

  “Quinn, where are you?”

  “I’m somewhere in the basement of the main building. Listen, I don’t have much time.”

  “No, you don’t. You need to get out of there now. The longer you stay in there, the more likely it is you’re going to get caught.”

  “I can’t. Not yet. I found something down here. There’s a whole system of tunnels below the basement level. They have some sort of ceremonial chamber, and I watched one of them transfer a demon or something into one of the other candidates, taking over his body.

  Miranda leaned closer to the phone. “This is Miranda. Tell me exactly what they did as closely as you can.”

  “They had a red gemstone of some sort that glowed and pulsed during the spell. They called it the Ruby Heart. The leader, CEO Myles Hickman, used it while the others chanted in a group around Fergus. He called it a transference spell. When it was finished, they stopped chanting and the guy on the table sat up, suddenly awakened. He mostly looked normal, but his eyes were completely black. It was like they’d been replaced by black marbles or something.”

  Miranda nodded. “That gem is very powerful, Quinn. You have to stay away from it. It’s a direct connection to the netherworld, and can overcome even the strongest protection spells if it’s fully charged.”

  There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before Quinn continued, “Um, so when they tried to use it on Taylor, I did something. I…”

  When the phone went silent for a few seconds, Clark asked, “Quinn, what did you do? Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. I used the power in my amulet to sort of block it, so they drained all its power without making the spell work again.”

  Clark scowled. “Hold on a second, Quinn. I’ll be right back.”

  He tapped the mute button and looked at Miranda. “Is that even possible? I’ve never heard of a hunter using their protection magic that way.”

  Miranda shrugged. “Maybe. At the very least, she thinks that’s what she did. Unmute the connection so I can ask her something.

  Clark tapped the button to turn the mic back on and nodded at Miranda.

  She leaned closer to the phone and asked, “What do you mean, you did something to it?”

  The phone was silent for a few seconds again before Quinn replied, “I honestly don’t know what I did specifically. I just remembered Clark saying something about me having inborn abilities that might be awakened by the activation of the amulet’s protective power. They were starting to use that gem on Taylor, and I had to try to do something. I tried to refocus the protection the amulet gave me so it extended out and protected her, too.”

  Miranda’s eyebrows shot up. “That should not have even been possible. Tell me exactly what you did. Don’t leave anything out.”

  “What are you thinking she did?” Clark asked.

  “I’m not sure. Let her answer.”

  There was another pause. “I-I don’t know. I didn’t know it wasn’t possible. I pressed down on my amulet while I tried as hard as I could to make it work. It hurt bad. The amulet got so cold, I think it left a mark in my chest. I had to keep trying, no matter what. Then it started working. As I watched, the light in the gemstone dimmed until it stopped altogether and Myles had to cease his spell.”

  Clark turned from Miranda to the phone. “Myles cast the spell? You’re sure?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Because I’ve been trying to figure out who he was ever since I discovered you at VirSync. I did a background check on him, and he doesn’t exist before about three years ago. I suspected he was hiding his real identity, and now I’m sure of it.”

  Miranda nodded. “That makes sense. The strongest of our adversaries disguise themselves in a variety of ways. They also move around a lot to protect themselves. Even with the hunters mostly gone, they’ve kept the practice going. They’ve always tried to conceal their true power from the world around them. If this Myles Hickman led the casting of the transference spell, he’s likely one of their hidden leaders.”

  Clark pondered the implications. If what Miranda said was true, Quinn was in even more danger. Even Clark was not prepared to fight with someone with that kind of power.

  He picked up the phone off the dash and held it closer. “Look, Quinn, you need to get out of there. This changes everything. It was dangerous enough before. Now it’s way beyond that. You can’t rescue your friend, and we can’t risk losing you. You have to get out.”

  “I can’t leave her down here, Clark. I told you before; I owe her my life. She’s unconscious from some sort of spell, and I can’t wake her. She has all these runes and symbols drawn all over her.”

  “You’re going to have to leave her, Quinn. You’ll have a hard enough time getting out by yourself at this point without having to carry her out unconscious.”

  “I was hoping maybe you could find a way to get in here and help me or tell me how to wake her up. I can give you directions to exactly where we are.”

  “I’m not sure I can get past the security at the gate or over the wall into the facility,” Clark said. “Even if I do, there’s no guarantee I won’t trip the alarm is doing it.”

  “I might be able to do something about both the magical wards and the mundane security measures like cameras,” Miranda said. “While we’ve been sitting here, I worked out a spell I can use that should, in theory, bypass the alarm system, electrical or magical. I’ll have to come with you, though.”

  “I can’t have that,” Clark exclaimed. “I’m supposed to be protecting you.”

  Miranda shook her head. “Right now, we need Quinn. She’s important, maybe more important than either of us realizes. I think you know that, too. You heard her describe what she did down there to disrupt the spell. Have you ever known any other hunter with that ability?”

  Quinn interrupted, “Please, Clark! I need you to help me get Taylor out of here. I can protect her for now, but I can’t move her alone.”

  Clarke tried to hide the sigh as he realized Miranda was right about the girl’s surprising abilities. “All right, Quinn,” Clark said. “We’ll try. We’re not far away, so we’ll reach out again once we’re safely inside the perimeter and past the outer security wards.”

  “Good,” Quinn said. “While I’m waiting for you, I’m going to try to steal that gem they used for the transference spell.”

  Clark and Miranda met each other’s eyes, alarm crossing their faces. Clark raised the phone until it was inches from his mouth. “Do. Not. Do. That! Do you hear me, Quinn? That gem is a powerful netherworld artifact. Handling it without knowing how to use it properly or protect yourself could do things to you.”

  “What kind of things? It didn’t seem to hurt Myles. Besides, if I take it, they won’t be able to use it to hurt anyone else.”

  Clark started to say something, but Quinn kept talking, cutting him off.

  “You guys get in here so you can help me get Ta
ylor out. I’m going to swipe the gem. Just get into the central building and come down to the basement level in the wing to the right of the main entrance. There’s a long hallway. Follow the blue line to the end and take the stairs down. Wait for me at the bottom. I’ll be close by.”

  Clark grumbled, “Quinn, under no circumstances are you to—” He stopped talking and stared at the now-blank phone screen. “She cut me off and hung up. That little…”

  Miranda grimaced and said. “She has no idea what that gem could do to her. Based on what she’s already done, it’s clear she has hidden depths of power we’re unaware of. If that gem’s what I think it is, it could be sort of self-aware. It would sense her presence when she touches it. It could recognize her as the one who damped its power.”

  Clark nodded. He tapped the phone and tried to call her back. The call went right to voicemail. “Dammit. She’s either ignoring me, or she’s moved somewhere she can’t get my signal.”

  “We need to get in there now more than ever.” Miranda pointed to the wall. “I think I can neutralize the surveillance systems in a small area and kind of freeze the image for a time, as well as create a small break in the magical wards. At this time of night, they shouldn’t notice anything strange on the video monitors if they happen to be looking when I do it. Do you think you can get over that wall and help me follow you?”

  Clark nodded. This whole thing was getting out of hand. If they survived, he was going to have a long talk with Quinn about following instructions. In his day, no hunter would disobey a direct order from a superior. He was determined to teach her the right way to do things as he trained her.

  Clark slid his phone into the inner pocket of his black overcoat and popped open his door to get out. Miranda hopped out of the passenger side, slinging the strap of her huge purse over her shoulders so it hung across her chest. She nodded, and the two of them crossed the parking lot until they reached the road across from the tall stone wall that protected this part of the VirSync grounds.

  Clark pointed to a section that was located as far as possible from nearby lights. “We should try to cross there. Less chance we’ll be spotted.”

  Miranda nodded. “Follow me. I’ll dampen the cameras and wards. I don’t sense anything terribly complex in that area.”

  Clark followed her as she started across the street, angling toward the section of the wall he’d indicated.

  As they approached it, Miranda raised her arms over her head, stretching them out as far as they would go. She paused in the middle of the road as she muttered something under her breath over and over.

  Clark stood behind her, waiting for her spell to take effect. He kept checking the road to make sure there were no headlights coming from either direction.

  After about thirty seconds of chanting, she lowered her arms. “It’s done. We should be clear almost all the way to the main building. I can check again when we get closer.”

  Clark nodded and took the lead as they walked up to the base of the wall. He looked up. It was about eight feet to the upper edge.

  Clark crouched, then jumped, reaching with both hands for the upper edge. He dug his fingers in, gripping the stone as he pulled himself to the top of the wall.

  Swinging a leg over, Clark straddled the wall, then reached down for Miranda’s outstretched hand.

  She clasped his wrist, and he grabbed hers in turn. Holding tight, he pulled her upward until she could reach the top of the wall with her free hand.

  As soon as she scrambled to the top of the wall, Clark turned so he could lower her to the other side. Once she was safely on the ground, he jumped down to land beside her.

  They crouched by the wall, staring across the broad swath of close-cut grass toward the corporate buildings about a hundred yards away.

  “She said she was in the basement of that one, right?” Miranda pointed to the largest of the four buildings.

  Clark nodded. “First, we need to get inside that building without getting detected, then we have to find the stairwell down. Can you handle the security systems like you did the wall?”

  “I think I should save my energy for later, just in case. I know you can mask yourself as a hunter. I can use an easier spell to hide myself that’ll take a lot less energy than trying to blanket the whole building’s security network.”

  Clark nodded again and they started moving across the grass. About halfway to the main building, Clark activated his ability to draw the shadows around himself. As the familiar haze formed at the edge of his vision, he started walking again.

  He looked to his left and right as he moved, searching for Miranda. When he didn’t see her, he turned to search behind him.

  “I’m right here next to you.”

  Clark barely resisted the urge to jump and stared at the empty space beside him. He could make out the faint outline of a person if he concentrated.

  “Good, I just wanted to make sure you were there. Can you see me?”

  “Yes, of course. Yours is based on hiding you from those who don’t know you’re there.”

  Clark shrugged and pointed to the main entrance. “Let’s try to get in that way. There are enough shadows around with the nighttime lighting scheme inside the building, so we should be able to get pretty close.”

  He started off, assuming Miranda was with him, stopping when he reached a line of shrubbery next to the sidewalk outside the main entrance.

  Clark peered over the bushes and through the glass that covered the front of the building. A single guard sat at a tall information counter about twenty feet inside the entrance.

  The uniformed security guy faced the door, but was currently looking down at his lap. He was either dozing or watching something on his phone.

  The counter was about chest high, and he sat in a tall chair behind it. It was likely there was a row of monitors behind the counter as well, but they should be mostly protected from casual observation.

  The main problem facing them at this point was the bright lighting around the entry doors. It was unlikely the guard would fail to notice the door opening without anyone operating it.

  That would cause Clark’s personal cloaking to fail rather quickly since the guard would no doubt concentrate his attention on what was making the door move.

  He turned to where he could sense Miranda crouching next to him. “I’m not sure we can get all the way to the guard without him seeing us, even with my cloaking and your spell.”

  Miranda said, “Let me try something.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Watch.”

  Miranda began muttering something as she cast her spell. When he focused on her, her arms seemed to be moving rhythmically. She stopped speaking, and Clark turned to check on the guard.

  A few seconds later, the guard stood and rushed from the room toward one of the side halls.

  “What did you do? “

  “I suggested to his mind that he’d eaten some bad food. It’s a simple nausea spell. I came up with it a long time ago to play pranks on my sisters. It’s useful here, though, don’t you think?”

  Clark chuckled. “I’m glad you’re on my side. Remind me not to piss you off.”

  He heard a soprano giggle nearby as he made one last check for more guards before dashing for the front doors.

  Miranda beat him there. The door opened just ahead of his reaching hand and he ran through, turned to the right, and headed for the shadows by a concrete pillar.

  He stopped as Miranda asked from behind him, “Which way?”

  “It should be to the right of the main entrance if what Quinn said was correct. We have to be careful, though. There are probably still others here since she said the transference ceremony just took place.”

  The two of them hurried past the empty security desk, bearing to the right until they found the double doors leading to the hall Quinn had described.

  The long corridor had lines painted on the floor in red, blue, and green. Every third panel in the overhead l
ights was lit, which kept Clark’s masking ability working to its fullest.

  He and Miranda started moving down the hallway, following the lines. He stayed pressed against the righthand wall keeping his wrap of shadows around himself. He should be nearly invisible if someone came into the hallway ahead of them.

  The green line turned left first, disappearing through doors labeled Chemical Receiving.

  The red line turned off next, heading through doors to the right. Since that was the correct side of the building for finding Quinn, he tried the doors.

  They were locked.

  Miranda said, “She said to follow the blue line, remember? Come on, this way.”

  Clark started to follow her just as he heard voices coming from behind the locked doors. “People are coming. Let’s get to that stairwell.”

  Clark started down the hallway, following the blue line as he moved away from the doors. There were several doors at the end of the hall, but he couldn’t make out what they were or where they led. He assumed one led to a stairwell, as Quinn had told them.

  Behind him, the red doors opened, and about a dozen men and women exited and turned toward the main lobby.

  He froze and hugged the wall, hoping his masking ability held up in the shadows halfway between the overhead lights.

  The group continued toward the entrance without looking back. None noticed Clark or Miranda.

  He waited until the last of them went through the doors to the lobby before he checked around to find Miranda.

  The sound of her voice much farther down the hall surprised him.

  “There’s a gym down here, and a stairwell door, too.”

  Clark jogged that way but froze in place as more voices echoed from the stairwell. They were laughing loudly.

  Clark looked around and then pointed at the other door, the one to the gym. “Quick, in here.”

  Clark pushed the door open and saw a faint blur as Miranda moved past him. He darted in just as another group came through the stairwell door.

  Inside the gym, Clark spotted a small storage closet and checked the doorknob.