by Lee Roland
Lillian removed her jacket and tossed it aside. “Get that coat off,” she whispered to me. “You need quick access to your weapons. You think your enemy is going to give you time to kill him?”
I stripped the jacket off, stuffed the extra ammo in my pockets, and we made our way to the door. I nodded silently.
“You have the strangest friends.” Her voice was soft and low. “In fifty years of fighting Drows . . .”
“I can’t think of them as Drows, Lillian. Aiakós, yes. He’s a Drow.”
Lillian nodded. It made me wonder if she had actually seen him. She and Eunice had obviously been exploring if they had found Kenny.
There were steps leading up to what I hoped was our destination. I found a switch on the wall at the top of the stairs and turned the light off behind us. No one challenged us as we went into an empty storeroom. From there, we were able to peek out a door to the main warehouse floor.
“Shit,” I whispered.
Lillian, who stood at my elbow, pinched my arm for speaking at all. Even a whisper at the right moment could announce our presence. The pinch hurt and reminded me that though she had ceded leadership of the mission to me, I was still a novice.
The warehouse was a hollow open room, about seventy feet square, with good lighting. Overhead lights were bright enough to show Michael standing in a large cage made of steel bars. Most of the rest of the warehouse was empty. I knew Michael’s strength, and the bars looked like they couldn’t hold him—then I noticed the wires running across them to an electrical panel. Michael stood perfectly still. He must’ve believed he couldn’t break through it, at least not without serious injury. He appeared unhurt, but fury emanated from every inch of his taut body.
Two armed guards stood inside the front door, the only reasonable escape route. One of those guards was Clark. The bandage stood stark white across his face where my knife had marked him.
The distance across the room was too far for stealth. While I was deciding how to proceed, the guards perked up and stared at the front of the building.
Étienne entered. Dismay welled up inside of me at proof of this betrayal. With all his secrets, I knew we’d been heading toward this moment, or one like it. I had wanted to believe that we wouldn’t find him here. I had genuinely liked the man.
Oonagh followed Étienne into the room.
Chapter 36
Étienne dismissed the front door guards. Clark looked like he would argue for a second, but then he went on.
Oonagh approached Michael’s cage. She didn’t seem to be bothering with the illusion of health right then. It probably sucked up a lot of her energy. She wore dark slacks and a fleece jacket she drew around her as if she were cold in spite of the warm summer evening. Her gait was steady enough, though.
Étienne’s handsome face was pinched in a frown, and he stared around as if he expected an attack. At that moment, if I’d had reinforcements, a couple of Drows and Eunice, I’d have given it to him. Such an action would be very satisfying but completely stupid.
Michael kept a straight face as Oonagh came closer to him. When he spoke, his voice carried a tone of gentle censure. “Oonagh, I had thought better of you. I thought you brave and—”
“Brave? Because I was dying? I prefer to live.” Oonagh held out a hand, but it shook. She quickly clenched a fist and pulled it back. “After tonight, I’ll be healthy again. I’ll be immortal. Then we’ll bargain, you and I.”
Michael moved closer to the bars. “Why? You have nothing I want, Oonagh.”
“Don’t be too sure about that.” She reached into her jacket and drew out something small. I couldn’t see at this distance, but it had to be the Portal. “This will give me everything.”
I bit my lip. Everything? That covered a lot of territory, and since her incompetent experiments brought the Drows here, she really was stretching it. Her illness seemed to be precluding much in the way of logical thought, a definite advantage for me. I shuddered to think of what we didn’t know about the Portal. Even Abigail was uncertain of its exact powers.
Oonagh continued her speech. “I can give you riches, Michael. Fabulous wealth. Surely there is something you desire.” She smiled and pleaded with him as she held the Portal out. When she spoke again, it was as if she were not speaking to him, but to herself. “It came from another world. The witches thought they could keep it from me.” She giggled like a little girl. She caressed the stone and held it to her cheek. “Oh, I’ll slaughter them; destroy them all.”
Destroy who? The witches? Would she, in her madness, try to take on the Earth Mother herself?
Michael held out a hand. “I don’t know what that is, Oonagh, but I know enough to say it’s dangerous.” I heard the surge of charismatic power in his voice from where I hid with Lillian, the voice that so charmed patrons of the Archangel and the Den. Even now, I was in awe of Michael. “We can talk this out, Oonagh. You don’t have to take chances. I know a witch who can heal—”
“I am a witch!” Oonagh spit the words out. “Do not speak to me of witches and their damned Earth Mother. They abandoned me long ago. They let me hold this magnificent talisman and then thought to snatch it away.” She clutched the Portal to her chest and stuffed it back into her clothing.
Magic suddenly rose and filled the room. Not earth magic, but the other strange power to which she clung. Earth magic always felt clean to me, like chimes in a slight breeze. This felt like a deep drumming, like a creeping migraine where the slightest touch sent agony shooting to the brain like lightning, cracking and burning.
Lillian gasped. The effects of the alien magic gave me the shakes and vibrated through my skull. It didn’t incapacitate me. It was different from earth magic, but it obviously affected her. It might kill her without any protection.
I forced the Morié into Lillian’s hands, then removed the Solaire from my neck and dropped it over her head and around hers. They were designed to protect against earth magic; would the blade and amulet protect against the Portal? I soon received my answer as Lillian immediately breathed easier. The Portal’s magic affected me but I could still function. I glanced back into the big room.
Michael was on his knees, arms wrapped around his head. Étienne rolled on the floor.
Oonagh giggled again. Like a cancer, the madness of the Portal was consuming her as it had Kenny.
It made my choice easier. The Portal could not be given to the Sisters, who would, as instructed, give it to the witches. Eventually, this would happen again. Worse, it could end up in Aiakós’s hands and unleash hell—literally. He could hide from the Earth Mother and wreak havoc upon the Barrows or maybe even the world. The only alternative was to take a chance on Kyros. What price would I pay for that, though? Go to prison? Face a Triad of Sisters hell-bent on killing me? Maybe. The deed still had to be done, and I wasn’t completely sure I could pull it off. Odds were good I’d get killed trying.
“Now, that’s what I like,” Oonagh crowed. “Men on their knees. Oh, I have plans for both of you. Get up, Étienne. We need to prepare.” She marched out of the room—or tried to march. Halfway to the door, she wobbled and had to slow her pace.
Étienne rose slowly, like an old man with arthritis. He fought to stand. As he did, he stared in my direction for a brief second. Did he know I was there? He left, and the warehouse was silent except for the distant hum of the generators.
“Let’s go,” I said as the door closed behind them. “No telling when the guards will be back.” I briefly wondered if we should barricade the door, but that would take too much time. Michael turned at the sound of my voice as I rushed toward the cage. “Madeline! Don’t touch anything!” A note of panic rose in his voice. “It’s all wired. You need a special key to the panel to deactivate it.”
“Can I short it out without frying you?”
“Don’t worry about me. Get to Aiakós and tell him what’s happening. He is probably the only one with the strength to stop her. Whatever she’s planning to do.”
He nodded.
I started toward the side of the room, my eyes turned up to follow the wires. I’d gone ten feet when someone laughed. I whirled.
Clark, that rapist of children, had silently returned. He was pointing a pistol straight at me. “Oh, I have been waiting for this.”
He wore the bandage over his missing eye, and the diagonal cut across his face was still raw and crisscrossed with stitches, like someone had sewn it up with shoelaces. His single eye was a narrow slit, filled with rage.
Lillian eased closer to him, to a good knife-throwing distance.
I laughed at him. I needed to get his attention, keep him talking. “Clark. You still hanging around? I thought they would’ve gotten rid of your useless ass.”
Clark grunted. He glanced at Lillian. “You get your hands up, too. I knew something was up right now. Étienne said to leave this building unguarded. He ain’t that stupid.”
“Clark!” We both whirled toward the voice. It was Étienne. He strode across the room. When had he come back? Where was Oonagh?
Time slowed to a crawl.
Clark glanced at Étienne, then back at me. My gun was still in the holster. In spite of the fact that he held a gun of his own, his single eye hampered him. He had to turn his head back and forth to see both of us since we were so far apart. He turned the gun to me.
“Pay attention to me, Clark.” Étienne snapped the words.
Clark ignored him. He pulled the trigger. The sharp bark of gunfire echoed in the almost empty steel building.
Lillian threw her body in front of me. The impact of the bullet drove her back and into me, knocking me to the floor. She gave a sharp cry and collapsed on top of me.
Another shot, this time from Étienne.
Clark danced and turned at the impact of the bullet in his back. Body armor. Étienne’s next bullet hit him in his ravaged face. He crumpled and fell, gun clattering on the concrete as his dead fingers released it.
Lillian was still on me so I gathered her up and cradled her in my arms. Blood covered the front of her body. So warm, it spread like a fever, covering my hands and soaking through my clothes. She wasn’t dead, but she couldn’t live and I knew it.
“No. Lillian . . . don’t . . . ,” I sobbed. Guilt and shame poured through me, along with the knowledge that someone I loved would die in my place.
“Madeline.” Blood ran from Lillian’s mouth as she called my name.
Étienne knelt beside us.
Lillian’s eyes fluttered open. “Love you.”
She relaxed as her last breath escaped.
“Lillian. No!” A scream of loss and agony formed in me. A silent scream that I did not have a strong enough voice to release. Its power racked my body in great shudders. All that remained was the memory of her—and her love. These were her final gifts to me. Like precious gems, I would carry them always. I would also carry the burden of guilt, the knowledge of the sacrifice she had made for me. Guilt and knowledge were stones that would weigh on my soul forever.
Étienne had left me and was at the door shouting at someone to get ready. The guards had probably heard the shots and he wasn’t letting them in. Oonagh must have gone. She would not be ordered back so easily.
“Listen to me.” Étienne returned. He caught my jaw in his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t get back in time. I knew you’d come. I saw Clark go in, but I was with her and I couldn’t rush it.” He released me. “You don’t have time to mourn, Madeline. I will be in the Zombie at midnight with sixty armed men. Men I trained. There will be four armored cars. We will be escorting her. You can’t stop it. I want you to leave. Leave the Barrows. If you try to fight her, she’ll destroy you.”
I released Lillian carefully. I stuttered and tried twice to speak. “No. Not without Michael. Lillian died helping me get to him.”
Étienne shook his head. He grabbed my arms and dragged me to my feet. “If I let him go, will you leave the Barrows?”
“No.” The word came out in a shout. I shoved him away. He didn’t try to hold me. “I’ll fight. You should want me to fight. Étienne, that stone she’s using is called the Portal. It has power, power that’s driven her mad. You saw that. It opens doors between worlds. The Mother knows what else it will do. If Oonagh can’t control it, it could destroy this world. She brought the Drows here by using it, by playing with it.” I held out my hands. “Why are you helping her?” My last words came out like a scream.
Etienne lowered his head. “I don’t have time to tell you everything. Just know that she owns me. I was very sick once. I wanted to live and I made a devil’s bargain with her. She healed me. I didn’t know the cost. Just know that I’m paying now.”
I didn’t know if I believed him, but the look in his eyes, the hurt in his voice, felt genuine. It didn’t change the fact that we were enemies, though.
He shook his head. I could see desperation on his face. “I’ll release Michael. You go with him to Aiakós and prepare to fight. But I won’t give you my men to kill. I trained them. I’ll fight with them.” He relaxed and his face softened. His fingers brushed my scar. “Ten minutes after I leave, the electricity will go off in here. I’m taking all the guard with me. The cage isn’t locked.” He nodded at Michael. “I’m not stupid enough to let him out while I’m still in the room.”
“Aiakós thinks you trained these men for him. Not to fight against him.” I had little sympathy for Aiakós, but the idea of that kind of betrayal offended me.
“Madeline, Aiakós is no better than Oonagh. He’ll destroy worlds to get anything he wants.” He glanced at Michael. “Wouldn’t he, Michael?”
“Yes,” Michael said. His voice carried no inflection at all.
Étienne slid his arms around me and held me tight. “Remember, I’m going to fight for her. I am your enemy.” He kissed me hard on the mouth. He released me, then smiled. “Maybe in another life. You and me.” He turned and headed for the front door.
“Étienne?”
He turned back to me.
“Is there anything I can do to help you?”
His expression was stark and cold. “Kill the witch, Madeline, and I’ll be free.”
Chapter 37
I gently laid Lillian on the floor and went to Michael. His face was a mask of deliberate calm. Only the tightness around his mouth betrayed his fury. I wondered if this was the first time in his adult life someone had dared to restrain him. “Don’t get too close.” He held up a hand to warn me.
“Is there another way to shut the electricity off?”
“Another panel in the back of the room. Wait. Don’t try that until the ten minutes is up. He may be telling the truth this time.” He drew a deep breath. “Madeline, I . . . your friend . . . I am so sorry.”
A few tears leaked from my eyes. I fought the pain, but it kept nagging me to give in and scream my sorrow to the world. “She wouldn’t let me come alone.”
Warriors, assassins, magnificent bitches. Sisters of Justice. May the Earth Mother save you if they hate you. Or if they love you. They can break you. Body and heart.
Michael stirred as if he could make time pass faster. “I knew Oonagh was dangerous. But I didn’t think she had the power to control Étienne, his men . . .” His voice softened. “I didn’t pay enough attention. You paid a great price for my ignorance. And, yes, my arrogance.”
“I hate that she has Étienne.”
“He means it when he says he’ll fight you.”
“I know. But if he doesn’t get in my way I’ll kill the witch for him. I’ll kill her for Lillian, for my mother and my father.” I stared into his eyes as I stood across from him, just out of reach.
I lifted my hands. Lillian’s blood had dried to bro
wn stains. Now we would see what Michael’s pronouncements of love for me were worth. This was the moment when trust became absolute.
“Michael, please don’t tell Aiakós about the stone Oonagh has. I have to get it away from her. I have to get it out of the Barrows. Oonagh might tear worlds apart out of madness; Aiakós would intentionally tear worlds apart without conscience. I think you know that. Will you trust me?” I held out my hands to plead with him.
“You didn’t trust me enough to tell me about it.” His voice was rough and filled with accusation.
I heard coldness there that broke my heart. “No. I barely knew you and when we . . . accepted each other, we didn’t talk about such things.”
Michael didn’t speak again. He simply stood. The electricity went off and the building darkened, leaving only low emergency lights. It was enough to see.
“Don’t touch it yet,” I said. “I’ll find something to test the—”
Michael thrust the cage door open and stepped out. I should’ve known he wouldn’t be good with directions. “Where are we? I was unconscious when they brought me here.”
“In the Barrows, where Étienne trains his men. About a mile and a half from the Armory. We need to go there first.” I went to Lillian, but he beat me. He scooped her body up and held her close.