Literally.
Still, it meant we had more of a fighting chance than I’d originally thought. And it wasn’t that far to Los Alamos. An hour and a half, maybe two, depending on the road conditions. Luckily, it hadn’t snowed for quite a while now, so the highways should be clear enough. And once we were there….
After Jace and I had loaded our stuff into the big quad-cab truck we were using as the lead vehicle, we went to address the troops.
“There used to be a checkpoint on 502, at the bottom of the hill below Los Alamos,” I said, facing the assembled djinn and humans who made up the strike team. We had gathered in the restaurant, since it had the most available space. Even Zahrias’ borrowed conference room would have been strained to the gills to hold that many people. “But since we took one of their devices, that means their protected area is smaller, so they would have had to fall back a good deal. Jasreel and I went over the maps, and our best guess is that the first place they can set up an effective barrier is a little farther in, on Trinity Road. But….”
“But we’ve been analyzing maps of the area, and we’ve found that there’s a better way, one we feel will probably not be as well-guarded,” Jace went on. “This is Highway 4, which winds to the south of the labs. In fact, there is a road that cuts off from the highway, one that actually goes straight to the lab facility. We may encounter some resistance there, but probably less than we would on a frontal approach.”
Well, that was more or less wishful thinking on both my and Jace’s parts, since I hadn’t even known about Highway 4 — aka Jemez Mountain Road — the entire time I was living in Los Alamos. I’d never heard of anyone getting guard duty out there, but that didn’t mean much. The town still kept many of its secrets, chief among them being where exactly Miles Odekirk had his main research lab. I’d spoken to him once in a conference room somewhere on the laboratory campus, and broken Jace out from where he was being held in yet another building, but I’d gotten the impression that the scientist did his main work elsewhere.
Which meant we’d have to do some scouting once we were on the property, and all that scouting would have to be done by the humans in the party, since by that point we’d be in the protected area, and our djinn wouldn’t be of much use. Jace had already told me he was coming along, and I didn’t bother to protest. He was the most functional of all of them, and he had at least been at the labs. The rest of the djinn would stay with the vehicles, just beyond the perimeter of the Los Alamos safe zone. That is, except for Dani. He, too, insisted on coming along, since Evony was his responsibility. It appeared the djinn took those sorts of things seriously — well, at least the honorable djinn. I doubted whether this Khalim, the elemental who appeared to be the leader of the rogue djinn, would be too concerned about honoring an oath.
“Let them resist,” said Evony. Her hand rested on the pistol she now wore in a holster on her hip. “I wouldn’t mind a little payback.”
A murmur of assent rose from the crowd, and at once Jace lifted his hand.
“This is not about vengeance,” he said. “Yes, this Miles Odekirk and the man he works for, Richard Margolis, are responsible for taking one of our own from us. But our true reason for going is to make sure we have the one person in our possession who can alter this device he created, make it so we can live safely here without being robbed of our powers. Understood?”
He looked so stern as he said this that a little thrill went through me. Maybe it was simply that his profile was to me, and so I could admire the fine lines of his strong nose and chin, the way his raven-dark hair flowed back from his brow. But I wasn’t sure. This was a side of him he rarely revealed; most of the time, he was gentle, calm. The Jace I watched now — Jasreel — he seemed like someone who would put you through a wall without batting an eye.
The message appeared to get through; there was some murmuring, but most of the djinn and their Chosen nodded. After all, it was in their best interests to make sure this all went as smoothly as possible. Otherwise, they’d be doomed to a half-life of hiding here in Taos, suffering as more and more of their strength was taken from them with every passing day.
Even Evony didn’t offer any protest, and actually nodded slightly, although I noticed she didn’t move her hand, which still rested on the holster at her hip. This was an angle I hadn’t even thought of until now — unlike the rest of us, she didn’t have any real vested interest in making sure we got Miles Odekirk safely back to Taos. Her djinn lover was gone, and maybe she didn’t care one way or another whether the rest of the djinn suffered the effects of the scientist’s device or not.
Well, I couldn’t think of any graceful way to make her stay behind. Not this late in the game. Dani had already promised Jace and me that he would keep an eye on her. I’d have to hope that “eye” included making sure she didn’t cause any sabotage of her own.
Now, though, the sun was almost below the horizon. In less than an hour, we’d be setting out with only some Triple-A maps we’d scrounged from the concierge desk to guide us. No more days of having satellite-guided navigation direct you from Point A to Point B. We’d have to do this on our own.
And it would be dark…very dark. Right then I questioned the wisdom of doing this at night. True, the darkness would prevent the Los Alamos people from seeing us coming, but driving in the dark seemed to be giving the rogue djinn an open invitation to pick us off at their leisure.
I almost began to say something, but then I looked out at the forty people gathered there in the dining room. Human and djinn, with every hair color ranging from jet black to palest blonde, all beautiful in their own way. All tense, yet determined. They were ready to go now. And delaying another night would only weaken our djinn that much more.
Three of the trucks, including the one I would be driving, had those million-candlepower off-road lights mounted on their roofs. Those would do a lot to dispel the darkness. We’d have to turn them off once we crossed from Highway 4 onto Pajarito Road, but in the meantime, they’d be our beacons, our shield against the night.
I looked over at Jace, and he nodded.
“All right,” I said. “Let’s saddle up and do this thing.”
Chapter Six
It still wasn’t full dark when we got on the road. The faintest muddy-orange glow lingered on the western horizon, and only the brightest stars had begun to come out. That made me feel a little better, although once we crossed the invisible line that marked the edge of the safe zone and I saw Jace sit up straighter in his seat and let out a harsh breath, I couldn’t help shivering a little. Not for his pain; he’d told me it hurt to move through the field, but that only lasted a second, and once he was on the other side of it, he’d be able to bounce back quickly enough. No, my shiver came from the realization that out here, beyond the field, there was nothing to protect us…except each other.
We twisted and turned down Highway 68, taking it easy on the curves, where black ice from the past few days’ snow melt might still be lurking. I forced myself to concentrate on the road, on the reflective paint guiding us along the dark highway. If I did that, then I couldn’t look up every few seconds, expecting the clear skies to start roiling and hundreds of djinn to rain havoc on us.
Although I’d thought I’d kept myself steady enough, I felt Jace’s hand on my knee, then heard his voice in my head.
How are you?
Okay. Scared. Why haven’t they attacked us?
A pause. Then he replied, We may seem all-seeing and all-knowing to you, but in truth, we are not. They may be occupied elsewhere. Or perhaps they’re merely waiting for us to reach the flatlands.
Well, that was reassuring. I pulled in a breath. Here’s hoping it’s bingo night in djinn-land, then.
He chuckled. Yes, I will hope for that, too.
In the back seat, our passengers, a djinn named Azael and his Chosen, a guy around my age, Travis Padilla, were silent. Maybe they were having the same sort of mental convo that Jace and I had just shared. Or maybe they w
ere just remaining wary and on guard, Travis with his hands wrapped around the rifle he’d been given when we passed out the weapons. At least he looked as if he knew how to handle it, unlike a few of the Chosen on our team. With any luck, they’d never have to use the guns we’d assigned them.
We came out of the mountain pass that led up to Taos and down into Española. One good thing about the djinn-caused apocalypse and its accompanying population drop; at least we didn’t have to stop and wait at every signal as we went through the town. No, we cruised along at a steady forty-five miles an hour, slowing occasionally to avoid vehicles abandoned in the middle of the road. Overall, though, the streets were fairly clear here, and I guessed that was probably the work of the Los Alamos survivors. Española was much closer than either Santa Fe or Taos, and so they must have begun their vehicle-collecting project here once they’d gone through what was available in Los Alamos itself.
Again I tensed. After all, Jace had just mentioned the possibility that the djinn might have been waiting to attack until we got out here. Nothing stopped us, though, and I glanced over at him.
What do you think?
I don’t know. His mental voice had been sounding stronger and stronger the farther we got away from Taos, and I could see that he sat up very straight in his seat, his gaze fixed on the road ahead of us. Although he’d never explicitly come out and said it, I’d always gotten the impression that djinn could see better in the dark than us mere mortals. That is, if they were going to attack, this would be the perfect opportunity. Perhaps they really have been distracted elsewhere.
I wondered what kind of distraction was required to keep them from pouncing on a group of unprotected humans. Then again, we weren’t entirely unprotected. We did have our djinn with us, and now that their powers were no longer being hampered by Odekirk’s device, twenty of them did make a fairly formidable force. But it seemed as if it would take more than that to keep the rogue elementals away.
Something I’d wondered about previously resurfaced in my mind. Jace, is there any sort of government among the djinn? I mean, if the ones who attacked Aidan’s hunting party are breaking the agreement, is there anyone who can hold them accountable?
Not a government as you know it, precisely, he replied. We have our elders, and there are loose clan affiliations — Zahrias and I are cousins, for example, but —
Wait, I broke in. You’re cousins?
Yes, he said, that inner voice tinged with amusement. That is how we are not precisely what you would call friends, but do know each other very well. This surprises you?
Um…just a little.
I suppose I can see that. Anyway, some clans are allied with others, while others stand alone, if it suits them. Getting the djinn to agree about the Chosen took a large span of of time, since it required a good deal of individual coaxing. We generally don’t like to be told what to do. It’s not in our nature. We do have our elders, who pass judgment here or there as necessary. But they generally only step in as a very last resort. If you were imagining some sort of president or parliament or other governing body coming in to make the rogue djinn behave themselves, I’m afraid you’re probably out of luck.
The turn-off for Highway 30, the one that would take us toward Los Alamos, was coming up then, so I waited until we were safely on it before replying, How do you get anything done?
I might have asked the same of you, considering how well your own Congress was doing right before the Heat struck.
Touché, I said.
A quiet chuckle. It can be difficult. You mortals had a saying, I believe… “like herding cats.” The situation with the djinn is not dissimilar. So the problem now is not that there aren’t many djinn who would be angry if they knew what this one faction is up to. It’s getting them to do anything about it, once they do know. He hesitated, then added, And I fear that most of them will not care overmuch about the deaths of a few more mortals. It’s more important — in the minds of my people — that those deaths have resulted from a group of fellow djinn ignoring a solemn treaty that was made and universally agreed upon. They are now oath-breakers, and that, Jessica, is a very important matter.
I was silent for a moment, digesting what he’d just said. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t upset me that the djinn cared more about some agreement being broken than all the death and destruction that resulted from it. But I’d have to put that aside for now. If we got our hands on Miles Odekirk…if he could modify that damned device of his so it still functioned as a shield against the rogue djinn while keeping everyone within its little bubble safe…then maybe we’d have the opportunity to reach out to the djinn who were keeping the pact and have them rein in their treacherous fellows.
Once again, a lot of “if”s. But it would give us some hope. And some was definitely better than none. I hope you’re right, I told Jace, and he seemed to understand that I wanted to let the matter go for the time being.
We jogged briefly onto Highway 502 so we could pick up the connector that led to Highway 4 and our secret back way into Los Alamos. Even though I knew we wouldn’t be on 502 long, I could still feel myself tense. What if Margolis still had some sort of outpost here, despite the danger?
But the road was completely deserted, dark and still under the stars, which by now had fully appeared. A glow off to the east told me the moon, just a few days away from being full, had begun to rise. In a way that was good, since it would provide some helpful illumination. Too much, though, and our risk of detection went way up.
Around here the snow appeared to have mostly melted, just as it had up in Taos. The current warm snap wouldn’t last forever, though; it was just the beginning of February, which meant plenty of snow chances still lay ahead of us. I’d be happy if the status quo would hang on just long enough for us to complete this mission and get safely back home. Then it could storm all it wanted.
We passed the turn-off for Jemez Road and kept going. That route would have taken us directly into the heart of Los Alamos, which was the last thing I wanted. No, we had to take the soft-underbelly approach. But as the sign for Jemez flashed briefly in my peripheral vision and then receded into the darkness, I couldn’t help wondering about Julia Innes and Dan Lowery. Had Margolis believed their story, or were they now currently occupying the cells that had once held Jace and Evony and me?
I prayed that wasn’t the case. This wasn’t a rescue mission, but something with a very different purpose. Once we had Miles Odekirk in our custody, maybe then I could ask him about Julia and Dan. In the meantime, I had to push them out of my mind, focus on the dark road in front of me and the man who was the cause of all this trouble.
Well, that wasn’t precisely true, or fair. I’d be the first to admit that Dr. Odekirk had caused a lot of misery, but on the other hand, the people in Los Alamos would probably be dead if it weren’t for him, not to mention my fellow Chosen in Taos. It just would have been nice if he could have devised a way to protect human survivors without causing so much pain to the djinn into the bargain.
Pajarito Road came up more quickly than I’d expected, and I had to make a hard right turn to avoid passing it by completely. From the back seat, I heard a few muttered curses, but neither Travis nor Azael made any more protest than that. I also heard some squealing rubber behind us as the other vehicles in the caravan made the same hard right turn, and winced. At least I wouldn’t have anyone calling up on a walkie-talkie to bitch me out. We’d gone back and forth on the whole walkie-talkie thing, but had eventually decided against it. Too much risk of Margolis and his people sharing the same band and possibly overhearing us, since no one in Taos knew much more about walkie-talkies than how to turn them on.
And then I hit the brakes, because the road was funneling us straight toward a row of guard shacks just like the ones that straddled the front entrance to the Los Alamos labs. The Triple-A maps we’d studied hadn’t shown the shacks, naturally. Once again, rubber shrieked behind me, and I even felt a slight shudder go through the t
ruck as the SUV behind us, the one carrying Dani and Evony, kissed our rear bumper.
“Jesus H. Christ!” Travis swore from the back seat.
I ignored him. My heart was going a mile a minute, but as I squinted into the moonlight, I realized all those guard shacks were unoccupied. Of course they would be. We still had to be several miles away from the main part of town, which meant the shacks were well out of the safe zone, the area protected by Miles Odekirk’s little boxes.
“Sorry,” I said. “False alarm.”
There were a couple of grumbles from the back seat, but since none of them were addressed to me directly, I decided to ignore them.
Anyway, I realized there was plenty of room to bypass the shacks on the left side, so that’s what I did, driving slowly at first, then picking up speed once we were past them and back out on the main road.
Jace sent me a sideways look.
“Hey, when you come in from the front, the guard shacks there are occupied,” I said, adding, since he still didn’t look completely convinced, “With people with guns.”
“Ah.” Then, “I fear that when I was brought to the labs, they placed a bag over my head, so I was in no position to see anything.”
I’d forgotten about that…or at least had pushed it to the back of my mind so I wouldn’t have to think about it. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. It wasn’t your fault.”
Since I didn’t know how to respond to his comment, I drove on in grim silence. The landscape to either side of us was covered in scrub juniper, with patches of unmelted snow gleaming here and there in the moonlight. It wasn’t very different from much of the terrain you might drive through in northern New Mexico, but what surprised me was how many smaller roads broke off from Pajarito, and how many times I saw small groupings of buildings tucked away from the main road. This all had to be part of the lab complex. I’d had no idea it was anywhere close to this big, and, realizing that, my heart sank a little. Even the part of the campus I’d been to had seemed huge, and now, with all this additional territory it apparently covered, how in the world were we ever supposed to find Miles Odekirk?
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