by Ella Summers
“And these two girls?” I pulled out a picture of Gin and Tessa and showed it to him. “What about them?”
His eyes widened. “They’re special.”
But he didn’t mean ‘special’ in the same way Tessa and Gin were special to me.
“How are they special?” I asked him.
“Hardwicke asked for them especially.”
“Why?”
“For their magic.”
Magic? Aside from being a little faster and stronger than regular humans, Tessa and Gin had never shown any signs of magic. I looked at Calli for answers.
“Is he telling the truth?” she asked quietly.
“Yes.”
Calli drew her gun and shot the mercenary right between the eyes. He dropped to the ground, dead. I blinked in shock.
There was a dark look on Calli’s face, but before I could ask her what the hell was going on, blinding headlights rolled over us and a truck roared into the valley. It came to a stop right in front of us. I squinted, holding up my hand to see past the blinding glare. The truck was marked with the Legion’s emblem.
The doors swung open, and Jace Fireswift stepped out. Tall and muscular, agile and fast, he was dressed in the uniform of a soldier in the Legion of Angels. Jace was my friend. He was also my biggest competition.
Jace stopped in front of me. “What are you doing here, Leda?”
“I’m on vacation.”
His eyes scanned the bodies strewn across the ground, his brows lifting. “Vacation,” he repeated drily.
“That’s right.”
His gaze flickered briefly to the dead man at my feet. What the hell had Calli been thinking?
“The others are still alive,” I said quickly.
Jace sighed. “Here I am, finally the one on the important, world-changing mission, and I find you are at the center of it all. Again.”
I glanced at the metallic pin with the emblem of a hand on his chest. It was the symbol of a captain in the Legion of Angels, a soldier of the sixth level. It meant he’d mastered the power of telekinesis, the ability that had completely stumped me.
Jace waved at his soldiers. They jumped out of the massive truck and began loading sleeping mercenaries into it.
“You’re stealing my mercenaries,” I complained.
“They’re connected to my investigation.”
“Which is?”
He looked at my family like they were as crazy as I was to be all the way out here. Then he began moving pointedly away from them. I walked beside him.
“We’re tracking a Legion deserter and his team of mercenaries,” he said in a low voice.
“I saw him.”
“Of course you did. You’re always at the center of everything.”
“Believe me, Jace, I wish it weren’t so. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. I can’t even go on vacation without everything blowing up in my face.”
He looked utterly unconvinced. I could tell from the wistful look on his face that he wished the trouble would find him, so he could sort it out and be a hero.
“What happened to the deserter?” he asked me.
“He and his band got away, except one.”
“Let me guess. The one with the bullet in his brain.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Damn it, Leda. He might have known something. Something that would help me capture the deserter.”
“I questioned him,” I said.
“And?”
“I didn’t get far.”
Jace’s soldiers had already loaded up the mercenaries. They were starting up the truck again.
“Where are you taking them?” I asked Jace.
“To the Legion Interrogators in Chicago.”
“I’m coming along too,” I insisted. “My mission is linked to yours. Somehow.”
“Your mission?” He frowned. “I thought you were on vacation.”
“I tried to go on vacation, but then mercenaries attacked my town, kidnapped people off the streets, and now here we are.”
Jace looked at me for a moment, then said, “Very well. You might know something useful. Prepare your report.”
I didn’t tease him about how he was ordering me around, though I was tempted. Sure, he outranked me—right now—but that had never stopped me from teasing him before. After all, he was my friend. Ultimately, it was our friendship that compelled me to keep my mouth shut. I didn’t want to make him look weak in front of his soldiers.
“You think you could give us a lift to Chicago?” I asked him.
His gaze fell over the remains of our truck. “You broke another one,” he said, checking the disbelief in his voice.
“No, the deserter did that to cover his retreat. He didn’t want anyone following him.”
Jace shook his head. “Honestly, Leda, I don’t know how you do it. I don’t think there’s been any soldier in the entire history of the Legion of Angels who’s managed to destroy so much Legion property.”
His soldiers weren’t looking, so I figured it was safe to give his shoulder a friendly pat. “Don’t worry, Fireswift. If you try really hard, you might just someday steal that honor from me.”
Then I turned and walked to the truck, leaving him baffled.
9
The Deserter
The Doorway to Dusk was halfway between two Frontier towns, Purgatory and Infernal. The towns had such cheerful names out here. Calli, Bella, and I rode in Jace’s truck all the way to Infernal—together with Jace’s team, the captured mercenaries, and the rescued kidnap victims. The truck hadn’t been designed to hold that many people, and Jace’s soldiers didn’t look pleased about all the elbows poking into their sides. I tried to cheer them up by singing a road song, but somehow that didn’t help at all. Some people just wanted to be grumpy.
We weren’t even attacked by monsters during the drive. They came close a few times, but all it took was a warning shot from the massive cannon on the top of the truck to convince the beasts that we weren’t an easy meal.
At Infernal, we caught the train to Chicago. My family came along. They weren’t allowed in the Legion cars. I was burning to ask Calli why she’d shot the fire elemental I’d been questioning, but I hadn’t had the chance. During the drive, there had been Legion soldiers all around us, and now she and Bella were in a different part of the train, surrounded by civilians. This was something I had to do when we were alone.
I stepped inside the train car where Jace’s men were guarding the prisoners. The soldiers watched me in stony silence as I passed through their car to the one behind it. There I found Jace alone, writing some reports.
I approached cautiously. I would have to be careful about what I said and how much I gave away. Jace was my friend, but he was also my superior now and very ambitious. I didn’t completely trust him—and I definitely didn’t trust his father.
Jace looked up. “Leda.”
“You sure have a dour group of soldiers.”
“Not everyone is as exciting as you are.”
I wasn’t sure whether he meant that as a compliment or a rebuke. From the look on his face, he wasn’t so sure himself.
“What do you know about the kidnappings?” I asked him.
“What do you know?”
Nice trick. He wanted me to give up what I knew first. But two could play at that game.
“In other words, you know nothing,” I said.
Jace stiffened. “You have to know that the details of my mission are classified.”
“And you have to know that I could just ask Nero what you’re up to.” Nero had the highest clearance in the Legion outside of Nyx.
Annoyance flashed in Jace’s eyes. I had him.
“There’s no need to bother General Windstriker,” Jace told me. “The deserter is named Balin Davenport, a former major in the Legion of Angels. He is trading in people, young ladies mostly. He sells them to vampires as slaves.”
“Why young people?”
“People between the ag
es of seventeen and twenty are the most susceptible to being changed over into vampires, both physically and psychologically.”
In other words, they were easily brainwashed. Children would be the easiest to brainwash, except children under sixteen didn’t turn easily. Their bodies could not generally absorb vampiric magic.
“So the vampires aren’t looking for dinner,” I said. “They’re looking for new recruits into their ranks.”
“It would seem so.”
“What do you know about Balin Davenport?” I asked him.
“Davenport was one of the first traitors the Legion of Angels had. He was a contemporary of my grandfather. Then one day he just disappeared without a trace. The Legion thought he was dead. It wasn’t until they encountered his mercenary band years later that they realized he’d deserted. He’s been running mercenary operations ever since.”
“He’s evaded capture for centuries?”
“Yes.”
Jace didn’t sound happy about it. Davenport was a black mark on the Legion name. He was out there, causing trouble, flaunting his disobedience of the gods’ laws. He was a real hit to the Legion’s pride. That was why Colonel Fireswift had sent his son to hunt him down. If Jace failed, everyone would blame his inexperience. If he succeeded, it would pave the way for him to become an angel. It was precisely the sort of plan Colonel Fireswift would come up with.
“Davenport isn’t working alone,” I said.
“No, he’s working with a slave trader.”
“Arius Hardwicke.”
Jace’s eyes narrowed. “You know a lot.”
“I talked to one of Davenport’s men. He told me.”
“He told you all of this?”
“Of course. I’m a likable kind of gal.” I smiled.
“Then how did the man you were questioning end up with a bullet in his head?”
My smile faded. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
I really needed to speak to Calli. What had gotten into her? I knew she’d killed people before, back in her days working for the League, but I’d never seen her shoot an unarmed man in the head.
Jace gave me a hard look. “What else did the mercenary tell you?”
“That they brought some of their kidnap victims to Hardwicke’s base at Crow’s Crown. We need to go there,” I told him.
“We?”
“Yes, we. As we agreed.”
“I never agreed to let you in on this mission. I said I would listen to your report. And give you a lift to Chicago because you managed to blow up your ride. Again.”
I gave my hand a dismissive wave. “Technically, it was a rogue soldier who blew it up.
“If it hadn’t been a rogue soldier, it would have been monsters or mercenaries or vampires.”
“It’s not my fault everyone’s always trying to kill me,” I said solemnly.
The corner of Jace’s mouth twitched. “And just whose fault is it then?”
I didn’t answer that.
“Tell me everything you know, and I promise I’ll keep you up to date on the mission,” he said.
“Not good enough. I’m coming with you. I’m going to see those kidnapped teenagers returned to their homes.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Now that’s just the excuse of a quitter,” I told him. “Anything is possible if you just keep at it.”
“Leda, you don’t under—”
“Why don’t you want me on this mission?” I demanded.
Was he so afraid that I’d try to steal his thunder? I didn’t care about any of that. I just wanted to rescue my sisters and the other teenagers. He could have all the credit if he wanted.
“I don’t want you on this mission because it’s too personal for you,” he said.
“What?”
“I spoke to the victims we rescued. One of them told me your little sisters were among the people still missing.”
I planted my hands on my hips. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“Your priorities are wrong. Our goal is the capture of Balin Davenport. We have to stop him now. He isn’t just a threat to the gods’ order; he is a threat to our very way of life.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. People were missing—young, scared, innocent people—and Jace was only concerned about bagging a deserter. He sounded just like his father.
“No, your priorities are wrong,” I told him. “You should worry less about protecting the Legion’s reputation and more about protecting the people of this Earth.”
“This is about both. Before Davenport got involved, Hardwicke’s hired guns weren’t nearly as successful at kidnapping teenagers along the Frontier. Capturing the deserter means dealing the whole operation a mighty blow.”
“I don’t want to deal the operation a mighty blow. I want to blow it to smithereens. We’re talking about human slavery here, Jace. That’s not just against the gods’ laws; it’s wrong. On every level.”
“And we’ll take care of it,” he said calmly. “First, we go after Davenport. Then we’ll deal with Hardwicke. You need to have a little patience.”
“Patience is for when you accidentally burn all your hair off and you have to wait for it to grow back. It’s not for times like these,” I shot back. “Davenport and Hardwicke are part of the same problem, and they’re hiding in the same place. We go in together. You go after Davenport and his mercenaries, I go for Hardwicke and free his prisoners. Everyone gets what they want.”
“The Legion of Angels isn’t a store where you get to pick out the mission you want, Leda,” he said gently. “But I’ll see what I can do about putting you on the mission.”
“That’s all I ask.”
“We’ll have to talk to my father,” he warned me.
“Whatever it takes.”
Jace’s father Colonel Fireswift was an angel, and pretty much my least favorite person on Earth. I wasn’t looking forward to that meeting. Encounters with that angel never ended well. He’d done a lot of abhorrent things, including putting up soldiers for promotion that he knew full well would not survive the ceremony. That was his way of weeding out the weak in the Legion of Angels.
But if talking to Colonel Fireswift was my ticket to saving my sisters, then I’d do it a thousand times over. Sure, I could have gone off on my own, but if I really wanted to rescue all the kidnapped teenagers from a slave lord’s fortress, I needed the Legion’s resources.
10
Promenade of the Gods
When the train pulled into Chicago, Calli and Bella hurried off to buy supplies in the city. They’d certainly need them if we were going to get Tessa and Gin back. This thing was big. Really big. It didn’t feel as simple as some rogue vampires trying to grow their armies. The fire elemental I’d interrogated had mentioned my sisters’ magic, how they’d been set apart because of it. There was something there. Calli had been tight-lipped so far, but sooner or later I was going to figure out what she was hiding.
Jace’s team drove ahead with their mercenary prisoners, but he chose to walk to the Legion office. And I joined him. I’d been sitting still for too long.
“Why didn’t you go with them?” I asked Jace.
“I like to walk the Promenade of the Gods when I come here,” he told me. “It’s a reminder of the gods’ generosity, of their gifts of magic to us. And it’s a reminder of their power. It’s humbling to feel so small in front of the gods and their temples.”
“Perhaps your father should visit this place to humble himself.”
“He does.” Jace’s eyes twinkled. “But it doesn’t help.”
Chuckling, we entered the Promenade, a lakeshore path that led past seven sparkling skyscrapers, each one a monument to one of the ruling gods.
The first was the Temple of Valora, the Queen Goddess. Diffused light reflected off the stone walls. As the clouds rolled past, revealing the sun, the building seemed to change color completely, adjusting to the new light and weather conditions. The build
ing was very regal, an example of tasteful opulence at its best.
The second temple we passed along the Promenade had been constructed in honor of Ronan, Lord of the Legion of Angels, God of War, God of Earth’s Army. Between its high towers, thick castle walls, and retractable drawbridge, it looked like a military fortress. The building had a life to it, a vibrance. That life buzzed against my skin, a constant hum.
“Parts of the castle can be rearranged for different purposes,” Jace explained, looking up at the skyscraper temple. “But Lord Ronan tends to prefer the battle-ready look.”
The third temple was that of Faris, the God of Heaven’s Army. Beautiful, bright, and white, it looked like a little slice of heaven on Earth. In the gardens that surrounded the outer walls of quite possibly the most upscale high-rise apartment building on the planet, diamonds dripped from gold trees like icicles, jingling like silver sleigh bells.
Next came the Temple of Meda, Goddess of Technology. The skyscraper was a single gigantic clock tower, accented with exposed gold and bronze gears that made delightful clinks as they moved. Mechanical sculptures of all kinds, including a set of moving metal statues in a fountain, decorated the front lawn.
The fifth temple belonged to Meda’s sister Maya, the Goddess of Healing. Big red climbing roses grew up the sparkling walls. The skyscraper look like a fairy castle in a romantic fairytale forest.
The Temple of Zarion, God of Faith and Lord of the Pilgrims, was the sixth one along the Promenade. Tall, dark, and dramatic, it looked like a gothic monastery. Hymns poured out of the open windows, the beautiful, eerie voices raised in song.
Finally, we came to the Temple of Aleris, God of Nature. His skyscraper was a building of opposing elements and reminded me a lot of Storm Castle and the Elemental Plains it sat upon, where all the elements were represented. Fire lanterns lined the path to the enormous front double doors. Koi fish swam peacefully through gentle streams with wooden bridge arches. Wind chimes sang silver songs, and pinwheels hung from the trees. These weren’t simple children’s pinwheels, however; they were elaborate magical constructions, woven by a master elemental. And magic light glistened over it all, soft and sparkling. Every blade of grass, every leaf, every petal was perfect. Nothing was wilted or yellowed or broken. Everything existed in perfect harmony.