Capture (The Machinists Book 4)

by Craig Andrews

  “I don’t know… early.” Jaxon sat forward in his seat with his elbows resting on his knees, rubbing the palms of his hands together. “You remember last night when you asked if I was all right? If you should be worried?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Well, I’m… I’m not. I’ve been given some bad news. My father…” Jaxon shook his head as if he didn’t believe what he was about to say. “He’s… sick.”

  “Sick?”

  “Cancer,” Jaxon said awkwardly. “It’s terminal.”

  “Oh, Jaxon, I’m—”

  Jaxon held up a hand, stopping him from saying anything more. “Please don’t,” he said sharply. “Please don’t apologize to me.”

  “I’m not,” Allyn said slowly. “I just… I know what it’s like, that’s all. I lost my mother to cancer.”

  Jaxon looked away, his eyes finding the small crack in the curtains. A mountain fog had fallen over the manor grounds, giving the world outside an eerie quality.

  “I appreciate your sympathy,” Jaxon said. “But this is a personal matter, and I need to keep it that way.”

  “Of course,” Allyn said. “If you don’t want me to mention it, I won’t. Just know that if there’s anything you need…”

  Jaxon nodded, his eyes returning to Allyn’s. “The thing is, it does affect you. My time as Grand Mage of the McCollum Family has come to an end. I’m to return with my father and begin preparing for my succession.”

  A shiver ran down Allyn’s spine, and the room suddenly grew very cold. The timing couldn’t have been any worse. The McCollum Family was finally returning to a position of strength, of respect, and more importantly, they were finally healing from the internal wounds caused by Lukas’s splinter. With most of their Family half a world away, what kind of instability would Jaxon’s departure cause at home?

  Visions of another splinter wracked Allyn’s brain. He couldn’t let that happen. Wouldn’t let that happen. Though, if he were truly being honest with himself, he had no idea how to stop it.

  Allyn wasn’t sure how long he’d been deep in thought, but the moment had drawn on long enough to grow uncomfortable. Jaxon clearly wanted him to say something, but for one of the first times in Allyn’s life, he was at a loss for words.

  “This isn’t the first time my father has summoned me home,” Jaxon said, breaking the silence. “Just after we arrived at your family’s cabin, my father requested that I return. I refused him then, but I realize now that’s when he found out. He wasn’t ordering me to return home out of spite—or at least, not only out of spite. He knew then that he was fighting a battle he couldn’t win.”

  “There’s no way you could have known.”

  “I’m not sure it would have changed anything, anyway. But I didn’t tell you then, either, and for that, I’m sorry as well.”

  “The Family was on the verge of splintering,” Allyn said. “We had other things to worry about. I would have made the same decision.”

  “I just want you to know this isn’t something I do lightly.”

  “I know that, Jaxon,” Allyn said. “Who else knows?”

  “Only Leira.”

  “Then I won’t say anything.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “You need to tell the Family, though,” Allyn said. “They need to hear it from you before word spreads.”

  “I know.” Jaxon sighed. “It’s unfortunate we’re split as we are.”

  “What will you tell them? Who will you endorse as the new grand mage? It might lessen the blow if the Family’s future wasn’t so unclear.”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Jaxon said. “There are two paths I see the Family taking. You aren’t aware of this yet, but I’ve spoken with Parke Hyland about merging our two Families. They’re disgraced by the Hyland name and looking for a fresh start. And the truth of it is, neither of our Families are strong enough to thrive on their own. So my first thought is the McCollum Family unites behind Parke, naming him grand mage of the newly formed Family.”

  “Do you think they’ll do that, though?” Allyn asked. “Follow someone who isn’t their own?”

  Jaxon cocked an eyebrow. “They followed me.”

  “True, but you’d been with the Family for years, and Graeme trusted you. So they trusted you too. This is someone completely foreign to them, and someone from a Family that killed many of their own. I can’t imagine them uniting behind him.”

  “I don’t disagree,” Jaxon said. “The McCollum Family was one of the first North American Families, and before the splinter, it was one of the most respected. They’re too proud. No, they’d never go for it. Which is why they’ll confirm someone internally.”

  “You still think that will be Liam?”

  “I think he’s readier now than he’s ever been,” Jaxon said. “He’s one of the faces of the machinists, and he’s the only magi in the entire Order who has both sets of abilities. What he lacks in age, he makes up for with pedigree and gifts.”

  Allyn tapped a finger to his lips, contemplating the idea. Liam would be half the age of the Order’s next youngest grand mage, and Allyn had serious doubts the Family would fall behind him. Jaxon had always been more optimistic, often mentioning precedents set by other Families with young grand mages, but what he’d failed to mention was that only one of those young magi leaders had lived within the last thousand years, and none of them had been younger than seventeen.

  Still, Liam did have distinct advantages. Were they enough to make the Family’s most cynical members forget the awkward, hermit-like teenager he’d been only a year before? It was tough to say.

  “What about Leira?” Allyn asked. “She’s a well-respected member of the Family. Older too.”

  “Leira’s never shown any interest in leading the Family,” Jaxon said. “Fighting for it, yes. Advising, sure. But not leading it. Anyway, we’re not making a decision now, and you have work to do. I only wanted to apologize. Thank you for your support and everything else you’ve done. It’s been a pleasure serving with you, Allyn McCollum.” He held out his hand.

  Allyn nodded and took Jaxon’s forearm in his, shaking it in the magi fashion. “Good luck, Jaxon.”

  “Thank you.”

  Jaxon stood, readjusted his compression armor, nodded a final time, and strode toward the door. Allyn followed and closed the door behind him. He still didn’t know how much longer Jaxon would lead the Family, but one thought crept into the back of his consciousness.

  The McCollum Family, as old and prestigious as it had once been, was light on allies. But between Jaxon’s time as grand mage and his relationship with Leira, Allyn wondered if Jaxon’s new ascension was the beginning of what might become one of the strongest alliances in the Order. And if so, with the McCollum and Green Families working together, there might be no limit to what they could accomplish.

  In the darkness of war and the uncertainty of their future, the thought was nearly enough to give him a flicker of hope.

  The Forum summoned Allyn back nearly two hours later. An Elemental Guardsman had found him eating breakfast and ushered him into the private study that Arch Mage Westarra had commandeered. As before, the Forum sat in a tight circle with the arch mage the focal point. Within the tighter confines of the room, the tension was palpable.

  Standing in the middle of the assembly on an ornate rug, Allyn saluted the arch mage and fell into parade rest, legs shoulder length apart, hands clasped behind his back.

  “Allyn of McCollum,” Arch Mage Westarra began, “a day’s past, this Forum heard your plea that in the wake of escalating tensions and new information, we revisit our existing strategy in fighting our war with the Knights of Rakkar. You are here today because we have come to a judgment.”

  Allyn watched the arch mage intently, waiting
for the blow of failure to land. He hadn’t felt terribly confident after leaving the proceedings the day before, and his feeling of disappointment had only grown deeper since.

  “It is this body’s verdict, a decision made for and on behalf of the entire magi Order, that we agree with your conclusions.”

  “What?” The word was out of Allyn’s mouth before he knew it. He stood there stupidly, gawking at the arch mage and members of the Forum. He couldn’t help it—he smiled and found Jaxon sitting beside his father. Seeing both men expressionless, he quickly looked away, his smile faltering. Embarrassed, he returned his attention to the arch mage.

  “I said this body agrees with you, Allyn of McCollum,” Westarra said. “However…” The words echoed off the coffered ceiling, plunging directly into Allyn’s ego. “However, the body disagrees with your proposed alternative strategy. This war is but a single battle amid a much larger war that this body has been fighting for centuries, and winning this battle may cause us to lose that bigger war. This body cannot risk that. We must keep the secret.”

  “We must keep the secret,” the members of the Forum repeated in a single, unified voice.

  “Therefore,” Westarra continued, “in an effort to remain flexible and agile in this time of war, it’s this body’s decision to elect a War Council to oversee the Order’s war efforts. Comprised of five members in all, the War Council will have unilateral control over the Order’s strategy, preparedness, and battle execution. And until such war is ended or shifts landscapes, the council will operate out of this centralized location occupied by the Klausner Manor. This decree has been voted upon and ratified by this body, and the order will subsist until such a vote deems it is no longer necessary and disbands the council. Before we adjourn, does any among this body have questions about this pronouncement?”

  “I do, Your Grace,” Allyn said.

  Arch Mage Westarra smiled knowingly and nodded his permission for Allyn to continue.

  “Who is to be on this War Council, Your Grace?”

  “A valid question,” Westarra said. “I myself will sit on the council. As will Wesley Green, Grand Mage of the Green Family. Due to recent ailments, he will be aided by his son, Jaxon Green. Alivar Guerrero, Grand Mage of the Guerrero Family, and Harold Klausner, Grand Mage of the Klausner Family, will also join us. And, since this was your petition and because this Forum agreed with your initial assessment, you, Allyn of McCollum, Advocate of the Machinists, will also belong to the council.”

  Advocate. Allyn wondered if it was an official title, and if so, what benefits it might grant. He didn’t have long to think on it, though. The arch mage was expecting an answer.

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” Allyn said with a bow. “It would be an honor to serve on your council.”

  He surveyed the room, his eyes finding the other members of the Forum who would be joining him on the War Council, and something in their expressions told him that, while he had just won a battle with the Forum, a new battle was already on the horizon.

  Arch Mage Westarra inclined his head, acknowledging Allyn’s acceptance, then announced the end of the Forum session and asked his newly formed War Council to remain.

  “Let me tell you how this is going to go,” he said as soon as the rest of the Forum was gone, his tone devoid of all formality. It seemed when the Forum wasn’t in active session, its members didn’t hold quite so closely to decorum. “This is a council, meaning just like with your positions on the Forum, all decisions will be made by a vote. Those deemed by me, the chair of this council, to be less critical in nature will pass by a simple majority. However, those deemed critical—something like rolling out a specific battle strategy or battle plan—will require a super consensus and can pass with no fewer than four votes. Any questions?”

  “Just one, Your Grace,” Grand Mage Guerrero said, looking directly at Jaxon. “How many votes will the Green Family have on this council?”

  “One,” Arch Mage Westarra said. “As I said before, Jaxon is here due to his father’s health concerns, and he will only be granted a vote if Wesley becomes too ill and is unable to perform his duties.”

  “But what about influence, Your Grace?” Grand Mage Guerrero pressed, clearly not ready to give up the fight. “Are we to expect that Jaxon won’t have influence over his father?”

  “He’ll have no more influence over Wesley’s vote than those in your private council will have over yours.”

  “Surely you’re not suggesting that what is discussed in these proceedings is to be common Order knowledge.”

  “Absolutely not,” Westarra said. “But don’t take me for a fool, Alivar. I’m well aware that Forum proceedings have always been discussed with your own advisors well beyond the walls of the Forum. The only benefit Jaxon of McCollum will have is firsthand knowledge of the proceedings, instead of being forced to make decisions based on relayed information.”

  “Will other council members be allowed to have advisors in attendance?” Guerrero asked.

  “No.”

  Guerrero stammered, obviously searching for the correct response.

  “Are you dying, Alivar?” Westarra asked.

  Guerrero blinked, clearly put off balance. “No, Your Grace.”

  “But you understand Wesley is.”

  Guerrero shot an uneasy look in Grand Mage Green’s direction. “I am aware of his health concerns, Your Grace.”

  “Good,” Westarra said. “Then you’ll understand that Jaxon’s presence in these proceedings isn’t a sign of preferential treatment—it’s about necessity.”

  Guerrero opened his mouth to respond, but Westarra stood, cutting him off.

  “Your objections are noted, but this matter is closed. If you wish to speak with me about it further, I will grant you your request, but this is a war council, and we have other business to attend to.”

  Guerrero bowed, relinquishing his argument.

  “Now,” Westarra said, “we have told the Forum our current strategy is failing, and it’s up to us to replace it with something that gives us the best chance of success while mitigating risk of exposure.” He turned to Allyn. “I tasked you with coming up with a number of different proposals, and I understand you’ve had time to outline a couple of options?”

  “I have, Your Grace.”

  Arch Mage Westarra held his hands before him, gesturing for Allyn to continue. “Then please…”

  “Can I grab something first?” Allyn asked. “It’ll only take a moment.”

  “Of course.”

  “Thank you.” Allyn rushed out of the room.

  By the time he returned, the group sat haphazardly around the room, all vaguely facing the arch mage’s direction. They watched Allyn curiously as he wheeled in a mobile whiteboard that had a map of central Europe taped on it. On the map were a series of small color-coded circles.

  “Just let me know when you’re ready for me to begin, Your Grace,” Allyn said.

  “Please,” Arch Mage Westarra said, giving him the floor.

  Allyn inclined his head to the arch mage and turned so that he was including the others in his presentation. “As Arch Mage Westarra said, he tasked Jaxon and me with putting together a few options. Our idea isn’t drastically different from the strategy already in place, and I think that will make the transition from the old to the new easier. It’ll also simplify the transition from it to whatever we come up with next, so think of this as the first step in a larger strategy that we still need to solidify, okay?”

  He was met with a series of small nods of understanding and a noncommittal expression from the magi leader.

  “To understand how our strategy needs to shift,” Allyn continued unflinchingly, “we first need to understand the enemy’s current one. Up until this point, we’ve thought their attacks were random, but upon closer inspectio
n, there is a geographical trend. The red dots on this map are the Families that have been hit. As you can see, they’re split across multiple countries and follow a semi-circular pattern, meaning the Knights are likely operating from a base somewhere centrally located in this area here.”

  “Are you suggesting you know where the Knights are operating from?” Arch Mage Westarra asked, his voice excited.

  “No, Your Grace,” Allyn said. “At least, not yet. Liam is working on that now, re-analyzing the data from the logbook. We’re hoping he can find something we might have missed before this trend appeared. For now, I want you to focus on the blue and green dots on the map. The blue represents Families that haven’t been attacked. And the green represents other Families who haven’t been attacked, either, but also fit certain criteria.”

  “What kind of criteria?” Arch Mage Westarra asked.

  “Size of the Family, proximity to populated areas, and—”

  “Why would the Knights care about proximity to populated areas?” Grand Mage Guerrero asked. “They don’t value secrecy the same way we do.”

  “I’m not convinced that’s entirely the case, Grand Mage Guerrero,” Allyn said. “They view this war as a holy war, that they’re doing God’s work, and I’m not sure they want to expose the demons to the world—after all, this entire war began because they felt we violated the Accords by stepping out of the shadows.

  “On a more practical level, where there are people, there are police. By attacking the most secluded Families, they don’t have to worry about an armed police force intervening. But we think there’s another data point that’s even more important than proximity to cities. Look at the red dots and tell me what else you see.”

  Westarra rose and stepped closer to the whiteboard. He looked at it for several moments, his eyes darting from dot to dot as he attempted to see the pattern Allyn had referred to.