Capture (The Machinists Book 4)

by Craig Andrews

  “I remember,” Allyn said.

  “You refer to the arch mage and members of the Forum by their title, and their title only. No first names. No Family names. Titles.”

  “I know.”

  “And you do not speak out of turn.”

  “Jaxon, we’ve been over all of this. I will be respectful and adhere to your traditions.”

  “Good,” Jaxon said. “Because you represent the McCollum Family and me.”

  “I understand. I won’t embarrass you.”

  “I know, Allyn.” Jaxon took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

  Jaxon strode forward then stopped under the arch that led into the grand entrance, clearly visible to the members of the Forum. Allyn remained at his shoulder, surveying the space before him. A long rug ran from the arch into the center of the foyer, and sitting in a perfect circle around it in elegant, high-backed chairs, were the members of the Forum.

  There were over one hundred Families in the Order, most of them operating out of Europe and North America, but fewer than half had a representative in attendance. Liam had erected cameras throughout the space to broadcast the assembly to the rest. Following Allyn’s remarks, the Forum would enter a deliberation phase, looping in the remaining members via videoconference.

  Like Jaxon, the members of the Forum were dressed in formal magi attire and wore sharp expressions befitting of their rigid clothing. There was no chatter, whispering, or small talk—an odd detail, considering the men and women of the Forum hadn’t seen each other in months. There was only formality and tradition as they watched Jaxon and Allyn waiting in the archway.

  “Arch Mage Westarra,” Jaxon began, saluting the arch mage in the magi fashion, “members of the Forum.” He nodded to the left side of the room, then the right. “Jaxon Green, acting Grand Mage of the McCollum Family, and Allyn McCollum of the McCollum Family ask your leave to enter the Forum.”

  “Granted,” Arch Mage Westarra said. He sat on a small dais at the head of the circle, his back to the front entrance.

  Jaxon nodded his respect and strode into the foyer. Allyn followed a step behind, giving Jaxon the reverence his station deserved. The members of the Forum remained seated, trailing the two new participants with their gazes. Allyn and Jaxon came to a stop at the end of the rug, their chins up, backs straight.

  “What brings Jaxon and Allyn of the McCollum Family before the Forum this day?” Arch Mage Westarra asked stiffly.

  “Your Grace, Allyn of McCollum has been tasked with evaluating the Forum’s strategy in the Order’s war with the Knights of Rakkar. He is here to share his conclusions.”

  “Very well,” Westarra said. “You may be seated.”

  Jaxon saluted again and stepped from the rug to take his seat in the circle to the right of Allyn. He remained in Allyn’s periphery, his short, controlled movements masking the nervousness Allyn knew he felt. The same nervousness pulsed through his own veins, causing his hands to tremble and his legs to feel weak.

  “Allyn of McCollum,” Arch Mage Westarra said once Jaxon had taken his seat. “Are you ready to share your conclusions?”

  “I am, Your Grace.”

  “Then you may begin.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace.” Allyn relaxed, allowing his body to fall into the same calm demeanor he’d used while at trial. “Arch Mage Westarra, members of the Forum, after careful evaluation of the Order’s current strategy against the Knights of Rakkar, it is my conclusion that the magi Order is leveraging a strategy that will lead to its demise.”

  Half of the number shifted uncomfortably in their seats, the creaks of leather and strained chair legs echoing against the vaulted ceiling of the foyer.

  “It is also my conclusion,” Allyn continued, “that this should not surprise any member of this body. As you may well know, the Order successfully repelled a recent attack against the Friedl Family, but did so at great cost. Nineteen members of our Order perished in what was the bloodiest battle to date, and five more are thought to have been taken prisoner by the Knights. Still, it would have been worse had the Blackburn forces not arrived as quickly as they had. Arch Mage Westarra, members of the Forum, the war with the Knights of Rakkar is changing, and our strategy must change with it.”

  Allyn paused, waiting for the Forum’s reaction. It came from the man seated next to Jaxon. Thick of build with dark skin and closely cropped hair, the man had a stern expression much like the one Jaxon had worn too much of late. Allyn blinked, his eyes going from the man to Jaxon, then back to the man. Their resemblance was unmistakable. As was the way Jaxon sat next to him—cautious, almost as if he were intimidated—leaning slightly away.

  Wesley Green flew halfway across the world to take part in these proceedings. No wonder Jaxon is on edge.

  Grand Mage Green stood and waited for the arch mage’s permission to speak. After a nod from Arch Mage Westarra, he began. “The Forum thanks you for your work, Allyn of McCollum, but I question your competence on this subject. Can you tell this body what authority you have to speak on?”

  Allyn acknowledged the question with a nod. He and Jaxon had expected the question, and the answer rolled smoothly off his tongue. “It’s a fair question, Grand Mage. Prior to my time with the McCollum Family, I had no formal training in the art of war. I haven’t served my country in the military, nor have I worked in a dangerous field where leadership was required. I am, most certainly, by all respects, unqualified to speak on such topics.”

  Grand Mage Green smirked triumphantly. Little more than the tiniest rise in his lips, the expression might have gone unnoticed if Allyn hadn’t seen Jaxon replicate the same expression a thousand times.

  “However,” he said before Grand Mage Green could feel too victorious, “my time with the McCollum Family has afforded me experience I was otherwise lacking. Jaxon Green, a highly respected member of this body and Grand Mage of the McCollum Family, has trained me in the art. I have since eliminated the McCollum Family’s greatest threat—a dissenter by the name of Lukas McCollum, whom this body was aware of—then led the Family safely through an FBI manhunt. While still preserving the magi secret, I led the elimination of the last vestiges of Lukas’s movement and secured our Family refuge with the Hyland Family—the very Family of Lukas’s greatest ally.

  “But more than anything, Grand Mage,” Allyn continued, “I have seen the enemy up close. I have looked Knight Commander Sedric Lang in the eye, spoken with him, fought him, and won. I know how he thinks, what he believes, and what he’ll do to achieve victory. With all due respect, Grand Mage, no one within this body is more qualified to speak on the Knights of Rakkar than me.”

  The smirk vanished from the man’s face. He remained standing, however, and by Forum standards, still had the right to speak—and he didn’t seem ready to give up. “Well said, Allyn of McCollum. I apologize if I was unclear, but no one in this body is questioning your knowledge of the enemy. I merely inquire on your authority to speak on strategy.”

  “One doesn’t have to be an expert in strategy to see when the current one isn’t working, Grand Mage.” Allyn broke eye contact with Jaxon’s father, turning to the rest of the body. “Arch Mage Westarra, members of the Forum, we are fighting a war of attrition. I have seen the enemy. I have seen their resources. And I assure you, that is not a war we can win.”

  “Please tell us what you would have us do.” Wesley Green sat, relenting his right to ask a follow-up question.

  “I would have us fight back, Grand Mage. I would have us attack and take this war to the Knights’ doorstep instead of waiting for the next attack. I would have us use the magi strength to our advantage. And more than anything, I would have us use the resources already at our disposal.”

  “You speak of the logbook,” Arch Mage Westarra said.

  “I do, Your Grace.” Allyn surveyed the members
of the Forum, taking note of their expressions. Most remained unreadable, but some leaned forward in their seats, engaged and nodding slightly. A smaller number were obviously skeptical, drawing their lips into a line and watching him with narrow, distrustful eyes. Surprisingly, Wesley Green seemed to be watching his fellow Forum members with a hopeful expression.

  “After our battle with the Knights in Zurich,” Allyn continued, “we recovered the Knight Commander’s logbook, which outlined supply depots, bases of operation, and more.”

  “All of which were empty when we first investigated,” Arch Mage Westarra said.

  “True, Your Grace,” Allyn said. “It was clear the Knights suspected we had recovered the book and had taken necessary precautions. But it’s not what we found that I speak of. It’s what we didn’t find.”

  “Explain.”

  “The logbook is an electronic tablet, Your Grace. With Liam of McCollum’s unique abilities, we were able to uncover deleted items.”

  “You’re saying you found more?”

  “Much more, Your Grace. Much more.” More creaks filled the room as magi shifted in their seats, and for the first time since the assembly had begun, Allyn felt a growing sense of confidence. “And with the permission of the Forum, we can question the prisoners you have locked away to corroborate anything we find.”

  An inaudible stir swept through the Forum. Allyn had them. He could see it in the way those he’d already won over struggled to hide their smiles. In the way those who had been on the fence sat back in their chairs, fingers to lips in contemplative thought. He moved in for the kill.

  “My sister, Kendyl of McCollum, is an empath. With her abilities, we can extract every kernel of information out of the prisoners and verify what they say is true. As I said before, it is my preference that this body use the resources already at hand.”

  Allyn waited triumphantly for the arch mage to speak. Before he could, a frail-looking grand mage who was easily one of the oldest in the room slowly rose to his feet, using a cane and the arm of his chair for support. With thin white hair, a wispy white beard, and a weathered, sun-beaten face, he looked comically similar to a wizard in an old Disney movie.

  “Grand Mage Ricci,” Arch Mage Westarra said, granting the wizened grand mage permission to speak.

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” Grand Mage Ricci said in a surprisingly strong, heavily accented voice. “You make a compelling argument, Allyn of McCollum. But you fail to recognize the true threat. The Knights of Rakkar are the enemy of the day, but the true enemy, the one that this body has fought for ages, is the enemy of exposure. We must keep the secret. Your plan would have us operating in the open, taking the fight to the streets. You risk showing the world who we are, and I cannot support that.”

  The excitement that had been building through the room fizzled, and Allyn looked around helplessly, wondering if someone would speak in his defense. No one did.

  “Please help me make sure I understand you correctly, Grand Mage,” Allyn said slowly. “Are you suggesting we risk certain death because of the possibility of exposure?” It was an old attorney technique—repeat the question back to the witness to gain a couple more moments of thought. It also sometimes extracted other bits of information that could be used to divert the conversation in a new direction.

  “No.” Grand Mage Ricci shook his head, his beard swaying back and forth. “Your ideas have merit, Allyn of McCollum. They’re rash and dangerous, but I do not think you’ll get too much resistance from this body in suggesting an alternative strategy. Where you will find debate is finding consensus on what that strategy needs to be.”

  Grand Mage Ricci returned to his seat, only for another to rise. The man stood tall and proud, pulling his dark hair out of his eyes.

  “Grand Mage Guerrero,” Arch Mage Westarra said.

  “Thank you, Arch Mage,” Grand Mage Guerrero said. “I too echo Grand Mage Ricci’s concerns. But where he fears exposure, I fear escalation.”

  “The war is already escalating, Grand Mage,” Allyn said defensively.

  “Yes, it is,” Grand Mage Guerrero said. “And your plan would have us escalate it more quickly. I propose an alternative. When we first fought these Knights, we slowed the war. Let the fires burn themselves out. Why not do the same today?”

  “You’re suggesting we hide,” Allyn said.

  “I propose an idea that has already worked against the same enemy.”

  “But it hasn’t, Grand Mage,” Allyn said. “If it had worked, we wouldn’t be fighting them now. We need to end the war, not delay it. We can’t let future magi risk their lives for something we have the power to handle now. And what of the captured magi? Are you suggesting we leave them in the hands of the enemy?”

  “You speak of magi loss,” Grand Mage Guerrero said. “Isn’t the best way to prevent loss to avoid battle in the first place?”

  “With all due respect, Grand Mage, the enemy already has their teeth in us, and they’ve tasted our blood. They know we’re weak, and they know where to find us. Just because we roll onto our backs and expose our bellies does not mean the Knights will grant us mercy.”

  “I’m not proposing we surrender.”

  “Then what are you proposing, Grand Mage?”

  “That we hide.”

  “I already told you,” Allyn said. “They know where to find us. They know where we live.”

  “Houses can’t move. But people can.”

  “You’d have us abandon our homes?” Allyn asked, incredulous. “That’s the magi wealth. The magi history. Losing that…”

  “Material possessions.” Grand Mage Guerrero waved a dismissive hand. “We are the magi history, and besides, Ukiah preserves more of our past than any private collection.”

  Allyn shook his head, resisting an urge to pinch his forehead. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The magi were showing a complete and utter lack of will to fight. Worse, the assembly was quickly spiraling out of his control, and he had no idea how to get it back on track. Already, three more grand mages were standing, waiting for their opportunity to speak.

  Arch Mage Westarra stood, and the attention of the room shifted immediately. Order was about to be restored. “Thank you for your words, Allyn of McCollum. You have given this Forum much to think about. Do you have anything else to add?”

  “I do, Your Grace.”

  “Then please continue so we may deliberate.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” Allyn said. “And thank you, Grand Mages, for the opportunity to speak before you. A difficult choice has been laid before you, and it’s not without great risk. But I have seen this enemy. I have looked them in the eye and seen what they’re capable of. I have bled in the defense of this Order while fighting that enemy. And I implore you to listen to what I have to say.

  “If we stay the course, if we fight the same fight, pivot to a safer strategy, or repeat the mistakes we made in the past, we will fail. This, I can guarantee you. And it won’t happen fast. It will be a prolonged, tortuous affair, full of death and pain and terrible sorrow. But you have the means to prevent that. You have the power to stop it. Use the logbook. Use the prisoners. Use my sister and the other magi and machinists to rescue our people and ensure the safety of your Families and the future of our Order.”

  Allyn stood straight and proud, surveying the room. Only silence and expressionless faces greeted him. The time for questions was over. The Forum had once again returned to a state of modest decorum.

  “Thank you, Allyn of McCollum.” Arch Mage Westarra stood, marking the end of the proceeding. “The Forum will now enter deliberation. You will be notified of our decision. You may go.”

  “Thank you, Arch Mage.” Allyn nodded then turned and left. He exited the room, leaving the Forum behind, terrified that what he had said wouldn’t be enough.
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br />   Chapter 8

  Allyn woke to a knock at his door. It was a tentative sound, as if the person behind it hadn’t wanted to wake the others in the residential hall, and exhausted, Allyn wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t just dreamt it. He remained in bed, eyes cast questioningly at the door, trying to blink away the morning fog as he wrestled with the idea of climbing out of his warm bed to investigate.

  His floor-to-ceiling curtains were drawn, casting the room into darkness, but through a tiny sliver, he could see that the sky outside was beginning to purple with the first vestiges of dawn. The knock came again, a tiny bit louder than before.

  Not my imagination then, Allyn thought, throwing his down comforter aside and rolling out of bed. He pulled on a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants that had been thrown over a nearby chair and made for the door. His first thought was that the Forum had completed its deliberation, but he quickly cast the thought aside. It had been barely twelve hours since Allyn had addressed the magi’s governing body, and even if they had come to a decision, he doubted they would want to reassemble so early in the morning.

  Pulling open the door, Allyn found that the person behind his early morning wake-up call was Jaxon. The larger man stood in the hall, looking anxious, as if he were arguing with himself whether to stay or go.

  “Did I wake you?” Jaxon asked, taking note of Allyn’s appearance.

  “Yeah,” Allyn said. “It’s fine, though. What’s up? Is the Forum ready?”

  “No,” Jaxon said. “Not yet. Do you… do you have a minute?”

  Something in Jaxon’s tone immediately put Allyn on edge. Whatever Jaxon had to say, it was important enough to wake Allyn at an hour usually reserved for young lawyers.

  “Of course,” Allyn said. “Come in.” He stepped aside, allowing the other man to enter, then closed the door behind them. Jaxon made for the pair of armchairs in front of the window and took a seat. Allyn snagged the same shirt he’d worn the night before, pulled it on, and sat in the chair opposite Jaxon. “What time is it, anyway?”