by Anton Strout
“Why didn’t she call any of us?” Marshall asked.
“Perhaps she was unable to do so,” I said.
“That means someone up there is denying Alexandra her rights,” Caleb said.
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“I’ve been arrested enough times to know what rights she should have,” he said. “She’s either not being allowed her call or she’s not being processed through the system like a regular person would be.”
“Then we’d better hurry up and find her,” Marshall said.
“Agreed,” I said, and reached over my head. Spreading my clawed hands, I pressed them against the stone at the top of the tunnel. There was much resistance, but as I forced more strength into it, bits of it crumbled down onto me, revealing layers of smooth gray beneath them.
Marshall coughed as dust formed all around us. Aurora and Caleb covered their mouths and noses as they waited it out.
When the dust finally settled, Caleb looked up into the hole. “Concrete,” he said.
Aurora stepped over and tapped at it with the bladed tip of her pole arm. “This is going to take me a while to chip through,” she said.
I shook my head and eased her away before holding up my claws. “It will not be a problem,” I said.
I slammed my claws into the concrete, tearing away chunks of it.
“Easy,” Caleb called out, looking over his map. “We need to break through, but we’re not looking to cause a scene. If my sources and map are right, I think I’ve got an unused part of the station, but we still want to go in as quietly as we can. Got it?”
“Understood,” I said. Finesse was not always the way of the grotesque, but for the sake of my friends I slowed my pace and worked with caution. After several minutes I had dug my way through the outer layer until I hit another, this one seeming less substantial.
Caleb came back over when he heard the change in the sound of my digging. “That’s going to be subfloor and probably tile on top of that,” he said.
I looked down at him. “Any suggestions on how I should handle it?”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “Not a one,” he said. “You’re going to have to break through and that’s probably going to make some noise. I say just go for it and let’s get up in there.”
“Grab and go,” Marshall said. “Subtlety be damned.”
The subfloor was just beyond my natural reach, but having cleared a large enough space in the concrete for me to pass through—wings closed—I leapt up while locking my arms above my head like a medieval battering ram. The floor above groaned from the first impact, but did not give. I landed with a splash in the tunnel, squatted as low as I could, and forced all my power into my next leap. Arms still locked in place, they tore through the floor above, and to my surprise so did my whole body.
I perhaps did not know my own strength, suddenly finding myself in the dark of a room up above. As quick as I was through the opening, I spread my wings to slow myself before I crashed through the floor above that. The cacophony of metal chairs and tables knocking over all around me filled my ears, but I managed to still land myself without a sound next to the hole.
“Everything okay up there?” Aurora called out from below.
“I believe so,” I said, staying still in the darkness for a moment, listening.
“Great,” she said, passing her pole arm up through the hole to me while keeping hold of one end of it. “Hold that right there.”
She turned, grabbed Marshall, and lifted him up to the pole. When his hands wrapped around it, I pulled him up into the room where his feet scrambled to one side of the hole before he was willing to let go.
I lowered the pole back through the hole where Aurora was reaching for Caleb, who brushed her hand away.
“I’ve got this myself,” he said and jumped up, catching the pole. I pulled him up the same as I had Marshall, then did the same for Aurora until the four of us were securely in the room.
“Where are we?” Marshall whispered.
“It looks like my contacts didn’t screw me over,” Caleb said. “It’s a storage room in a disused section of the precinct. If they’re keeping Alexandra off the books, this was my best guess as to where they’d keep her.”
“Let’s hope you’re right,” Aurora said, going to the one door. She cracked it open, the dull light of the corridor coming into the room. Her head disappeared as she looked out of it for a second. “Come on.”
Marshall and Caleb followed after her and I went last, having to constrict my body as best I could to maneuver through the doorway. Once in the hall, I moved after the line of humans as they headed past several dark, empty cells, searching each of them with their tiny handheld sources of light.
At the farthest down the hall, Aurora stopped, her light shining to the back of the cell. I walked up behind the group of them to find Alexandra lying with her back to us on a metal slab that hung off the wall. The rise and fall of her shoulders was slow and steady.
“She is asleep,” I said.
“How the hell can she sleep at a time like this?” Marshall asked.
“Let’s find out,” Aurora said. She grabbed her pole arm near the bladed tip and slid the shaft of it between the bars. It took the full extension of her arm and pressing herself up against the bars to reach Alexandra with it, but she managed to nudge her friend right between the shoulders.
Alexandra shrugged it away, and gave a slow rollover. Shock ran through me when I saw her face and arms. They were covered in bandages.
Alexandra laid her hand on the end of the pole arm and lowered it to the floor, her eyes fluttering open. She followed the length of the shaft until she saw Aurora and the rest of us standing there.
“Hey, guys,” she said with words that were heavy with sleep. “Nice of you to make it.” Her eyes went from her friends to mine. She sat up. “You’re here, too? How’d you get a visitor’s pass?”
“None of us exactly came in through the front door,” Caleb said. “Which explains why we all smell a bit like sewage.” He pointed to the bandages all over her body. “You’re pretty cut up there. You okay?”
Alexandra gave a slow, sleepy nod. “You should see the other guy,” she said. “Oh, wait, you can’t. His shiny marble head got blown off by a paranormal romance reader.”
Caleb nodded back. “I’m going to pretend that makes some kind of sense,” he said and turned to me, slapping his hand on my shoulder. “If you would do your Man of Steel bit on these bars here, we can get the hell out of here.”
“Of course,” I said.
Aurora pulled her pole arm back out of the cell as Marshall and Caleb stepped away from the area. When Aurora was done, she, too, moved and I came forward, wrapping my hands around the bars of the cell.
“Wait,” Alexandra said, standing up.
“As you wish,” I said, and dropped my hands from the bars.
“At the risk of sounding rude,” Caleb started, “what the hell, Lexi? Time is of the essence here.”
“I was half-awake when you asked how I could be sleeping at a time like this,” she said, coming over to the bars, sliding her arms through them, and resting them along one of the horizontal crossbars. “After yesterday’s fiasco, I think my body and brain just needed a break so it all shut down once the cops brought me in.”
“They caught up with you?” Aurora asked.
“Actually, I caught up with them first,” she said.
“Excuse me,” I said, “but when I drew those grotesques away, it was so you and your friends would have time to escape.”
“Well, not all the creatures went after you,” Alexandra said. “One ended up staying behind and it attacked the detectives. Those grotesques were there for us . . . for me. I just couldn’t let anyone die at their hands.”
I managed a smile. “Of course,” I said. “I did not
think to count on your nobility.”
Caleb stepped forward. “Yeah, yeah, look, nobility is great and all, but we really need to get going, Lex. Our arrival made a little noise and we’re not going to be alone for long.”
“We don’t need to hurry,” Alexandra said as calm as could be.
“We don’t?” Aurora asked.
Alexandra shook her head. “The detectives brought me in,” she said, “but no one’s formally charged me with anything.”
“That’s great,” Caleb said. “You’re not on record. We can get away clean on this.”
Alexandra shook her head. “I’m not running on this one,” she said.
Caleb grabbed her hands, shaking her. “Why the hell not?”
“These detectives . . .” she started, then took a moment as she struggled to find the words. “They didn’t book me when they brought me in. Why? They just want answers, the same as us. They’ve been a bit pissed off in the way they’re going about it, but after having slept it off for a day here, I get it now. It’s all clear. There’s an increasing number of grotesques coming onto all our radars, and the intentions of a wider and wider variety of them are not fully known. I’m sick of running when what we really need is more people on our side.”
Aurora handed her pole arm to me. “Let me see if I can find them, then,” she said, and headed up the corridor.
Caleb opened his mouth to speak, but words eluded him.
“You wish to protest, Caleb?” I asked.
He pressed his open hand to his chest. “I just don’t want to get shot,” he said.
“That is a compelling point,” Marshall added.
“I need answers,” Alexandra said. “Like how that one grotesque—the one that didn’t follow Stanis—knew about me.”
“Plenty of grotesques know about you,” Marshall offered.
“Ones that I capture and bring to Stanis, yes,” she said. “But this one was different. He knew I was a Spellmason, what my power could do. He implied he was part of a larger group, one that’s organizing itself under the guidance of some master who taught them something about me.”
“How would your name be getting around?” I asked. “I do not believe the grotesques of Sanctuary would share such knowledge of you with outsiders.”
A long silence followed, broken only when Marshall let out a long sigh.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “I can’t stand it. I have a pretty good idea how your name’s been getting around.”
Alexandra looked at Marshall, but he would not meet her eyes.
“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” she said.
“Marshall Blackmoore,” I said, grabbing the sides of his face and making him look at Alexandra. “Tell her of what you speak.”
“There’s been a lot of talk out there in the magical community,” he said.
Caleb crossed his arms. “Oh, has there, now? Do tell!”
“The Orders from all five boroughs are planning a meet,” he said. “They’re freaked-out about how much living stone is in the city now. They want to hold a Convocation.”
Alexandra waved me closer and I dragged Marshall over to her cell.
“What the hell are the Orders? What’s a Convocation?”
“Each borough is divided up into witching orders,” Caleb said. “There’s a warden that watches over the covens in each area, and a head witch who runs the Convocation.” He turned to Marshall. “But how would you know that?”
Marshall looked as if he might be sick at any moment. “I’m a bit more involved with them than any of you know,” he said.
“How?” I asked.
“Blame Caleb,” Marshall said, pointing to him and starting to babble. “He’s the one who got me started down this path. I wouldn’t even have started with alchemy if he hadn’t got me into it. The surprising thing, though? I’m good at it.”
“You’re okay at it,” Caleb corrected.
“Fine,” Marshall said. “I’m okay at it . . . but, not to sound too egomaniacal, on top of that knowledge, I am clever. So I started experimenting. Your hoods, for example. Normal material treated with a mixture of potions. Hell, my Dungeon Master’s guide gave me plenty of ideas to try out, and a few of the people Caleb had introduced me to were curious as well. There’s a market for this kind of stuff. The other night when you came in like a drowned rat? Those weren’t gamers at Roll for Initiative. Those were witches and wizards coming to check out my latest wares. There’s far more money in arcana than gaming, I’m sad to report.”
“Marshall!” Alexandra said.
“Hey, I’m the alpha geek. I know better than anybody that with great power comes great responsibility. I’m being careful. I don’t sell to just anybody who comes in wearing a pointy hat with moons and stars on it.”
“Never mind that,” Caleb shouted. “What about the damage you’re doing to my profit margin?”
Marshall and Alexandra joined in and the group was shouting at one another to the point where I could not follow any line of their arguments. I released my grip on Marshall and let him go completely as he verbally defended himself. Only when Aurora returned with the two humans from the other night did I speak again.
“Enough!” I said, and turned to face the newcomers. The hallway fell silent except for the footsteps of their approach. Aurora’s hands were on the back of her head, the two other humans walking with their firearms drawn. I looked down at Marshall with a growl. “What have you told them about Alexandra?”
“Nothing,” he said, full of nerves with his hands held up. “I swear! The community is abuzz with talk, but I would never compromise any of you by talking to them about what we do. I’ve kept my ear open for anything that sounded threatening.”
“Is this any way to start a reunion?” Alexandra asked from the cell, as the two new humans joined us. “The tall one is Detective Maron. The other is Detective Rowland. And as you can see they love guns.”
When the detectives turned to Alexandra, they noticed me for the first time and both of their firearms swung over to me.
I stepped toward them, my gaze unwavering as I did so. “I think we have learned how ineffective such measures can be,” I said. “But if you insist on pointing your weapons, I do prefer them aimed at me rather than threatening my friends with them.”
Unsure of what to do, the two detectives slowly lowered their weapons.
“What is this?” Detective Rowland asked with wary eyes darting among us. “A prison break?”
“Depends,” Caleb said, pointing at Alexandra. “Is she actually under arrest?”
“She’s locked up,” the woman said. “What do you think?”
“That isn’t an answer,” he said. “Is she or is she not under arrest?”
Rowland went silent, refusing to answer.
“Technically?” Detective Maron said. “No.”
“So technically,” I said, catching on, “we are not breaking out a prisoner.”
Maron nodded, unable to take his eyes off of me. “We could book you for trespassing,” he said, holstering his firearm, “but honestly, I don’t know where we’d hold you.”
Detective Rowland pushed her way past everyone to the front of the cell, her firearm raised once again. She tapped it against the bars of the cell and looked back at her partner. “You’re not just going to let her walk, are you?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I didn’t imagine such a crowd being around when it came time to make that decision.”
“Then let me make the decision for you,” Alexandra said.
I watched as Alexandra bowed her head and concentrated her power into the concrete of the floor where the bars of the cage met it. The area crumbled and twisted and slid away in all directions from the base of the bars.
“Alexandra, please,” I said. “Refrain from manipulating the building any fu
rther. We are well underground and I have already done some damage to this building’s foundation.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, stepping closer to the bars. “I’m not looking to collapse the place. I just want to show our new friends what they’re dealing with.”
I reached for the now-loose bars and pulled them apart with ease.
Alexandra stepped out of the cage to join the rest of us. “I could have left anytime I wanted to, Detectives,” she said.
“So why didn’t you?” Detective Rowland asked.
“After a good night’s rest, I’m feeling . . . refreshingly cooperative today. This outpouring of rescuers tonight reminded me of something I’ve forgotten these past few months—I don’t have to bear this burden all alone. You two chasing us down isn’t just another problem for me to deal with. It’s an opportunity.”
“It is?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Alexandra said. “For you.”
“You want to explain that, Miss Belarus?” the man asked.
“Look,” Alexandra said, reaching for Aurora’s pole arm. Her friend handed it to her, and Alexandra broke it down into its three component sections, then handed it back to her blue-haired friend. “Your people and my people could have a go at each other right now, but can we agree that’s not going to turn out good for either side?”
“I don’t know,” Detective Rowland said. “We’ve got a pretty good legal team here. Not as good, I’m sure, as the Belarus family real estate lawyers, probably.”
“You’ve been doing your homework, Detectives,” Alexandra said. “But let’s try to keep my family out of this, shall we? I’m talking about here and now. You start shooting, Rory here probably would have started swinging her bladed stick thing around—which is a thing of beauty to see, mind you. Caleb and Marshall no doubt have some alchemical tricks up their sleeves. And Stanis . . . ?”
All of the humans looked to me and I made sure I stood stone still, giving the grimmest gaze I could muster to the two detectives.
“Well,” Alexandra continued. “There’s no telling what chaos he’d bring into the fray.”