by Krista Walsh
Vera chuckled, her rich voice filling the air. “You’ve thought this all through, haven’t you. Have you figured out where we’re going to find him?”
“He’s a guard, right? That probably means he goes to the bar along with the others. If he wasn’t there earlier, it likely means he’s on a different shift.”
Daphne groaned. “That’s taking a leap. We don’t have a lot of time for this.”
“Okay, we give it an hour, then we come up with something better.”
“Isn’t that him?” Vera asked, pointing to a man walking down the street with three others. They passed under the glow of one of the rare working streetlights, and Daphne mentally compared the face to the one Percy had brought up on his laptop. Definitely a match.
“Lady Luck has always been a friend of mine,” Emmett murmured. He pulled a flask out of his pocket, took a swig, and splashed some on his shirt. The reek of cheap vodka filled the air.
“Where in the seven hells did you get vodka?” Daphne asked, crossing her arms. They definitely didn’t keep any in the house — vodka was a product of the darkest magic, she was sure of it.
Emmett smiled at her and gave no answer except to step forward. Daphne grabbed his arm.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
He stretched his hand out toward the passing men. “What we came here to do.”
“Without a plan? You’re just going to go up and steal his pass in front of all those people?”
Emmett slid himself out of her grip and gave her a wink. “Enjoy the show.”
He barreled out from the shadows, and Daphne and Vera rushed to duck behind one of the hedges.
Staggering and bellowing a popular punk song, Emmett charged straight toward the guards.
“Guys! Guys, guys,” he called. “Wait up.”
The men barely glanced at him, determined to focus on their path without being interrupted by some blathering idiot.
“Joe! It’s been so long, man. How’s it going?” Emmett reached the men and slung his arm around Finch’s shoulders. The guard tried to pull away, but Emmett was already moving, straightening his collar and tugging on his sleeve. “You look so tired, I barely recognized you. You’re working too hard. You heading to the bar? I was just there, but I wouldn’t mind going in again and catching up, just like old times.”
The slur in his words made it almost impossible to understand him, but Daphne noted with relief that there was no suspicion on any of the guards’ faces. The pounding of her heart grew worse the longer he stayed out there. She grabbed Vera’s hand as one of the other men grabbed Emmett by the collar and tugged him back.
“Get out of here, kid. You’re drunk and you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“What?” Emmett demanded, shrugging himself free. “That’s Joe. This is my friend, Joe. We go way back.”
“Never met you before in my life,” said Finch. “Get out of here and sleep it off. Take a shower.”
The man who had grabbed him shoved him away. Emmett stumbled backward and landed on his tailbone on the road.
“Come on, Joe. Don’t be like that. Let’s just have a drink.”
They didn’t look at him again, picking up their pace and disappearing into the shadows.
Daphne waited for Emmett to get up and hurry over to them, but he took his time getting to his feet, falling over a few more times and rising up to full height as though he were balancing on a beam. Although his audience was gone, he picked up his song again and belted it out with his surprisingly on-key baritone, then shuffled his way down the road.
Daphne exchanged a glance with Vera. That had felt like an eternity, but it still seemed as though it had been too quick. She hadn’t seen him make a move for the pass. Had they missed their chance? After that display, she didn’t think he would get another one.
When it became obvious Emmett wasn’t coming back to them, she and Vera headed after him.
“He’s good,” Vera said.
“Is he? To me it just looked like he was making a scene.”
Vera smiled but said nothing else, obviously content to return to her silent ways, the ones that drove Daphne crazy.
They caught up to Emmett down the road, well away from the bar.
He was leaning against one of the burned-out streetlights, completely sober and grinning at them with the same satisfaction Allegra had shown earlier.
Daphne opened her mouth to rail at him for taking so many risks, but he pulled a lanyard out of his pocket and dangled the security pass in front of them.
“And you were worried,” he said.
Daphne’s mouth fell open. “How — but, when? I didn’t even see you.” She grabbed the pass and tilted it toward the light behind her.
It seemed strange that the prison should use such a seemingly mundane and simple security measure to contain their most precious inmates. Now that she had it in her hands, she wondered if it would really be as easy as swiping the pass in front of a security panel and opening the door. There had to be more to it than that.
Unless the rest of the security measures are strong enough that the passes are just for show. Something to keep the nosy parkers out.
The thought did not make her feel any better.
“If I gave away all my secrets, anyone could do it,” Emmett said. “That took, what? A little over half an hour? I think we can go back to Zach without hanging our heads in shame.”
Daphne looked at her watch. Emmett wasn’t far off, but even with how quickly they’d gotten what they needed, that still only left them six and a half hours to get into the prison, grab Molly, find Vera’s book, destroy Percy’s software, and put an end to Mayes and his demon army.
Desperation nearly overwhelmed her. It seemed impossible.
But there was nothing for it now but to keep moving and get as much done as they could. Even if they only had time to save Molly, it would be worth it. Right?
Her stomach twisted into knots, and her magic surged under her skin, threatening to rise to the surface. She pressed it down, focusing on the fact that Emmett had accomplished his task. He would be satisfied now that he’d helped and would hopefully agree to stay out of harm’s way until the end.
Or maybe we should take him with us, she thought. He really did seem to have Lady Luck in his back pocket.
***
They got back to the house around midnight. The wind had picked up, and there was the scent of a storm in the air. A chill ran down Daphne’s back at the omen, but she chose to ignore it, reminding herself that it didn’t matter. Nothing would prevent Zach from going after Molly, and nothing would stop Daphne from going with him.
Then she stepped into the living room and saw that the three women of the Collegiate were standing along the wall across from the door. Vera tensed beside her.
“They found us again,” Gabe said dryly, directing his comment to Vera.
She crossed her arms and glared at them, though she said nothing. Daphne wondered why it was that the semi-goddess, as she called herself, didn’t even try to defend her position, but she figured she had her reasons. For Daphne’s part, nothing would satisfy her more than to wipe the condescending hauteur off their faces.
“Coming to check up on us?” she asked.
“Your time is getting short,” Chiron said. “We came to see if you’d changed your minds. There’s no point in us delaying our plan if you’ve second-guessed yours.”
“We haven’t,” Emmett said, narrowing his eyes at them. “We’ve been working.”
“If you’re allowing your human companions to do most of the work, I can see that you’re going to get far,” Fendal said to Vera, her words oozing sarcasm.
Daphne wondered if she was trying to goad her, but it didn’t work. Vera remained stone-faced.
“As it happens,” Daphne said, “we now have enough information to get inside, thank you very much.”
“You found a pass?” Gabe asked, his eyebrows rising from behind his sunglasses.<
br />
Daphne eyed the women against the wall, wishing they would leave so she could discuss Emmett’s success with the others. She didn’t trust the Collegiate not to use the information to screw them over somehow.
Zach followed her gaze and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. “You might as well tell us.”
Vera cast a scathing glance at the women. “Loath as I am to include them in any of this, Zach is right.”
Daphne grimaced. Having the Collegiate here was like being in the presence of someone else’s parents who disapproved of your friendship with their children. It wasn’t helping that Fendal’s lips were curled in the barest of smirks. But she trusted Zach and Vera, which meant she’d tolerate the Collegiate.
“Emmett managed to get what we needed from Finch. Once we get through the tunnel, we should be clear to get in.”
“You all plan to go in the same way?” Nadeen asked. Of the three, she was the least offensive. Her expression reflected open interest, and though her eyes gleamed with the depths of eternity, she didn’t seem to believe that put her above them.
“I can’t rift anywhere near those doors,” Gabe said. “Our options are limited.”
“And what if the demons are forewarned? What if they’re waiting for you inside the prison, and you don’t have a chance to fight your way out?” Chiron asked.
“They’d be facing the five of us,” Zach said. “I wouldn’t want to guess their chances.”
“Would you say the same if Lozak were among them?”
Everyone went silent as the room grew heavy with the thought. Daphne had to give the woman credit for the point — whoever had the bad luck to run into that guy on their tour would have their work cut out for them. If he was one among dozens greeting them at the tunnel, they would be wiped out without fuss.
“So what do you suggest?” she asked. “That half of us go underneath, while the other half swim?”
“If you don’t trust our assessment, look to your scout.”
Daphne turned around in time to see Matthew float through the wall. He acknowledged her with a nod as he circled around her and Vera and stopped beside Allegra. The succubus was staring at him with such relief and depth of feeling that Daphne regretted prodding her about their relationship earlier. Obviously whatever had happened between those two had changed Allegra’s views about the world, and that wasn’t the sort of thing you gabbed about to an almost-stranger when you were about to seduce information out of a man.
Gabe stepped over to Vera’s side and slipped his arm around her waist, as though watching Allegra with Matthew was as difficult for him as it was for Daphne. Her heart ached at the thought of Hunter at home, still upset with her, and she pushed him out of her mind.
“While you were out, Matthew took another tour of the prison,” Gabe explained.
Allegra hmphed and crossed her arms, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze. “Against what would have been my advice, of course. But I suppose now that you’ve returned safely, any fears of mine have been proved unfounded.”
“I was careful,” Matthew said, brushing his fingers over hers. Daphne watched as Allegra relaxed under his gentle tone and raised her chin to look at him. “There are half a dozen guards patrolling the front doors. I couldn’t see where the tunnel comes up, but there seemed to be another half a dozen guards near the back end of the prison on the first sub-basement. No matter how you get in, you’re going to have a welcome party.”
Zach growled and hunched his shoulders, an angry lion ready to hunt. Daphne didn’t envy anyone he crossed on his way inside.
“Fine,” he said. “We’ll split up and go in waves. One group can try to lure the guards away, leaving the others some room to get through unseen. Or does anyone else have any better ideas?”
He directed the question to everyone, but his gaze landed on Nadeen, the woman who’d drawn attention to the obstacle in the first place. Daphne didn’t blame him. She, too, was curious about what they might suggest
Fendal crossed her arms, the black cloth of her robes fluttering as it fell into place. “As a matter of fact, we’ve discussed the matter and would like to offer our aid. While we’re eager to put an end to this, the entire Collegiate is in consensus that we should do what we can to reclaim the Book of Universes. And save the girl if we’re able. It is true that the Collegiate was formed to gather and protect all knowledge of the otherworld and to do our part to maintain peace. This means we are forced to stay focused on the greater good. But it does not mean we are heartless.”
To Daphne’s amazement, the corner of her mouth quirked upward.
“While we understand that sacrifices are a necessary element of peace, we don’t wish to become so detached from the world that we make those sacrifices lightly, or without an effort to keep our losses to a minimum. We have watched Miss Harris through the same mirrors in which we’ve watched the rest of you, and we know what she offers to the otherworld. If you manage to save her, she could prove to be a powerful mediator between our world and the mundane. It would be to our detriment to lose her.”
Zach’s shoulders had appeared to loosen as she spoke, but they tightened again at the suggestion that these women were only interested in saving Molly if they could use her.
Still, he had to see it was worth the risk if it meant she didn’t die alone in the dark.
“What are you proposing?” Daphne asked. So far, she’d seen nothing these women were capable of doing except standing around giving orders and looking old and intimidating.
“You know of the ferry that carries the guards?”
Vera nodded. “We ruled that out. Even if we managed to overthrow the helmsman and anyone looking to use it, any guards at the gate would see us coming a mile away.”
“Not with our aid. We can provide a shield for those who wish to go over the water. It will prevent you from being seen by anyone on the boat until you get inside. Once there, I suspect our power won’t do much to help you, and you’ll be on your own.”
Daphne waited for Vera to voice her opinion, but it was Zach who made the decision. “We accept your help.”
“So now that we can actually split up and divide their forces, how do we decide who’s going by what route?” Gabe asked.
Zach shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll go by the front door. They probably suspect I’m coming for them, so it won’t be a surprise for me to show up. I have no trouble being the battering ram. Once news spreads that I’m there, more demons will come my way. I’ll handle them while the rest of you come through the tunnel entrance.”
“What about Molly?” Vera asked.
Zach’s eyes narrowed. “The original plan was that Gabe would rift her back here. Since that’s no longer an option, it might be safer to leave her be until we’ve cleared the place out.”
“I’ll go with you,” Daphne said. “I’m less excited to step into the brunt of the fire, but if you’re drawing it, someone needs to have your back. At the very least, I want to make sure it’s Zachariel who walks out of there and not whoever your daemelus brain summons up.”
She’d seen him almost lose himself to his power before. Having been through that experience herself, she hoped she might be able to stand as the voice of reason and keep him in his right mind. Even if the idea of entering the prison head-on was enough to make her want to curl up over a toilet and empty her stomach of all the food she hadn’t eaten in the last seven hours.
“Gabe and I can go through the tunnel,” Vera said. “We’ll clear it out and make sure it’s open for us to escape once we’re done. Once we’re in, Percy can direct us to you, and we can surprise them from behind. After the first horde is cleared, we can revert to our original plan.”
Allegra stepped forward, her shoulders drawn back and her chin raised. “I wish to help as well.”
Gabe nodded. “Of course. Someone needs to stay here, to make sure no one comes after Percy and Emmett. While we’re inside, all of our communications will be routed through them, so we can�
�t afford to lose contact.”
“You can also watch Molly,” Zach said. “As soon as I grab her, I’ll bring her out to you through the tunnel, but if Mayes and Lozak are still alive, I need to go back to make sure that changes. Someone will need to make sure she’s safe.”
Allegra’s eyes flashed gold. “I am offering to put my life on the line to aid your cause, and you are asking me to act as babysitter?”
Daphne gave her a grin. “You can’t win, can you?”
Allegra sniffed and tossed her hair. “I dislike it, but very well. I suppose that works in everyone’s favor.”
“Excellent,” Fendal said, interrupting any further discussion. “That’s settled then. Are you all ready?”
“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Gabe said.
“Then I suggest we move quickly.”
As Gabe turned to Percy to share some last-minute instructions, Daphne tried to play out how the next few hours would go. As soon as they were on their way, she would call her mother and Gram. It wouldn’t be to say goodbye, of course. Just to make sure they had the circle in place by the time they breached the prison. If things started going south and the demons fled, they would need all the defenses they could muster to keep them contained.
She exhaled slowly, wishing the air in here were less moldy. Her stomach tensed again, and she summoned a touch of magic from her core so it stretched through her limbs, lending her strength. She was not defenseless, and she wouldn’t be alone. She could do this.
Emmett slid his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. She returned the gesture. So many words floated through her mind that she wished she could say to him — that she was glad she’d found him, that he’d added so much to their family, that she needed him to stay strong and look after her mother and grandmother if anything happened to her — but to say them aloud would feel like it was asking for something to happen, so she stayed quiet.