Knights Magica: An Urban Fantasy (Rosie O'Grady's Paranormal Bar and Grill Book 5)

by BR Kingsolver

  “You say that as though it’s unusual.” I found myself smiling. “I guess for other people it does sound weird, but that’s been my life since I was eighteen years old. Older people dream up crazy things for me to do, then send me off to figure out how to do them. I’m conditioned to it. It’s a lot easier than objecting or asking the wrong questions, and it avoids the beatings.”

  Her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed.

  I leaned forward. “Just between you and me, the reason I don’t say anything about all their plans is that I expect most, if not all of them, will fall apart once I hit the ground. They’ll drop me into a situation that will be completely different than anything they expect, and I’ll have to figure it all out on the fly.”

  Michaela stared at me, her mouth hanging open.

  “Hell,” I said, “the Illuminati did that to me all the time. I learned to just shut up and listen. Usually there are bits and pieces I can use, and the background I’m picking up will be useful. Since I have to coordinate with other people, I don’t want to do anything that might get them killed. Michaela, I think it helps if you’re absolutely terrified and aware of the fact that you don’t understand anything that is going on around you. It keeps you from getting complacent. I’ve always been able to figure it out before someone kills me.”

  “That is either the smartest thing or the dumbest thing I think I’ve ever heard anyone say.”

  “Maybe, but it’s kept me alive so far.”

  She burst out laughing. “Everyone thinks you’re Supergirl.”

  “And I think I’m the luckiest dumbshit to ever walk the earth. Everyone perceives the world differently.” I shrugged. “The thing is, I can mix drinks, kill people, and manage to land on my feet. I have to pay the rent, and those are the only things I’m any good at.”

  “That’s a really cynical and rather sad way to look at things.”

  “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”

  Chapter 15

  We flew to Dublin and were taken by car to a house in the country where Roisin met us and gave us our weapons. Then Josh, Ian, and I were given Knights’ uniforms. Karl Langermann and Oriel donned Universal Church priestly garments, and we drove to Belfast in our new Knightmobile—a large black SUV.

  Once there, we used our new fake credentials to take a ferry to Liverpool. Trevor had inserted false records and orders into the Knights’ computer systems creating our identities. Langermann, Ian, and I had cut our hair, and the men had all shaved their beards, conforming to the Knights’ regulation grooming. Karl looked younger and more distinguished. I had never had my hair so short and couldn’t get used to the woman looking at me out of the mirror.

  Our trip across the sea started out okay, but then clouds built up, and the wind and waves soon followed. Oriel and I stood out on the deck watching the gulls hunt for fish until even they decided to head for cover. The rain started just as we went inside.

  “Lovely weather,” I said as we joined the rest of our party.

  “Yes, I’ve always loved the calm, sunny days of the British Isles,” Langermann said as raindrops the size of quarters hit the windows like bullets. “Got my first taste of the Atlantic on a troop ship in 1918. Best place to be was on deck, because below decks was full of seasick soldiers.”

  To say I was relieved when we pulled into Liverpool would be an understatement. We left the boat and followed the directions we’d been given. Ian drove, and I was glad to let him. Driving on the wrong side of the road always made me nervous.

  The Knights hadn’t received any warmer welcome in England than they had in Westport, as attested by the angry scowls I saw on many of the pedestrians’ faces as we drove past. And when we reached the cathedral, we found a virtual fortress, with a half-finished wall being constructed around the entire property. Knights patrolled the areas where the wall was yet to be finished, and Knights in guard towers watched from the finished parts.

  “Only about five percent of the country is Universalist,” Ian said as we pulled up to a gate and Knights came forward to meet us. “Their push for power didn’t go over too well here.”

  “Papers?” a Knight said when Ian rolled down his window. Ian handed him all of our credentials as well as the orders that we had to report to the Liverpool garrison. I tried to look nonchalant, but it was the first big test of our identities.

  The Knight took everything to a guardhouse and disappeared inside. It took about fifteen minutes, but he came out and handed all the papers back to Ian.

  “Take a right,” the Knight said, “and then the first left. You can park in the underground lot, and put this placard on the dash.”

  We followed directions and drove under the cathedral. Ian wandered around a bit until he found an empty space close to an exit stairway. Grabbing my duffle bag, I followed the others up the stairs. In keeping with our supposed mission of being guards for the priests, Josh led the way up, then Karl and Oriel, while Ian and I brought up the rear.

  What followed was another three hours of bureaucratic security checks, but eventually, we were shown to our quarters. Of course, for our purposes, our new bosses’ arrangements were inconvenient. Karl and Oriel were given rooms in a section with other priests. Ian and Josh were put in a barracks with other male Knights, and I was sent to a building on the other side of the compound where female Knights were housed. The worst part was that I had a roommate, a witch probably fifty years older than I was. She didn’t look very happy about me, either.

  But at least we were inside, our credentials had been accepted, and the first part of our plan had gone off without a hitch. The Illuminati taught me paranoia, so things going too smoothly had me worried.

  Sergeant Sabrina Mason, my new roomie, took me to dinner in a large dining hall. The food was plain but good. Then she took me to prayers in the main church building. I was surprised at how many people were there, Knights and clergy, but also civilians. Before I left Westport, Sam had given me basic lessons on Universalist theology and practices so I didn’t do anything to give myself away.

  After the service, we went back to our room, and Sabrina made it clear that it was time for bed. At nine o’clock. For a bartender used to going to bed at three in the morning, it seemed a little early, and I had trouble falling asleep. So, it came as a bit of a surprise when she rousted me at four o’clock to go pray again. Then we went to breakfast at six. The coffee was lousy but strong, and thankfully, there was a lot of it. I escaped after that and went looking for my team.

  I had to ask directions three times—the last time at the barracks where Josh and Ian were quartered—before finding them standing outside a door of one of the outbuildings. At which point Ian gave me a rather loud lecture on punctuality. It was just like old times training with the Hunters.

  “Thought you’d gotten lost,” he said in a quieter voice after publicly putting me in my place. Our forged identities had Ian as a chevalier while Josh and I were sergeants. Karl was a chaplain, and Oriel was identified as a priest, but not a member of the Knights. Most human mages and witches wouldn’t be able to identify him as a magic user.

  “Not lost exactly, but no one told me where the rest of you were being housed. I’m way the hell over on the other side of the compound, with the rest of the women. It really isn’t clear whether they are protecting us from all you rough, uncivilized men, or protecting you from us.”

  Josh chuckled. “Your reputation precedes you.”

  I winked at him. “So, what’s going on? Where are the reverences we’re supposed to be protecting?”

  Ian motioned with his head toward the door. “Inside, doing whatever. Supposedly, to get a briefing and clear their orders to report at Sarum, but this is the second place they’ve been sent. Chaplain Conway said it looks like we may be here longer than we expected.” Karl Conway was Karl Langermann’s new identity. All of us had kept our real first names, which Ian and I had encouraged. I was Erin O’Grady.

  We waited around for another hour for Karl and Oriel
to come out. They didn’t look happy.

  “We’re stuck here for another week,” Karl said as we walked across the compound. “Nothing major, just logistics. Trevor did his job, but the bureaucracy on this end didn’t follow through. Transfers for the people we’re replacing at Sarum were never processed, so they have to take care of them and get them out of the way so we have a place to sleep.”

  I stared at him. “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.”

  “They’re that tight for space?”

  He shrugged. “Six months ago, the Knights officially had thirty-three thousand members worldwide. As of last week, the estimated head count was ninety-two thousand. And that’s in spite of the resistance killing almost ten thousand of them. Growing pains are a bitch, and their support systems are overloaded.”

  “And how many of those ten thousand were experienced people in leadership positions?” Ian asked with a smirk. “Not to mention how many of that original thirty-three thousand are tied up with processing and training all their new recruits. I’m feeling more optimistic all the time.”

  I nodded. “I overheard that most of their contingent here in Liverpool is actually living in tents at a big training camp outside the city.”

  “Yeah,” Karl said. “And since we’re going to be here for a while, it was suggested that you three might volunteer to supplement the patrols. It seems some churlish locals have been taking potshots at the troops, and the garrison here could use a few more warm bodies.”

  Ian swore.

  “You mean we have to paint targets on our backs so people we actually agree with can shoot at us?” Josh asked.

  I rolled my eyes. “This from a guy who goes out hunting rogue vampires for sport. Just shield and don’t shoot back.”

  “You haven’t heard the best part,” Oriel said. “They’re short on experienced officers and non-commissioned officers, so Josh and Ian are going to be put in charge of the sorties they’re assigned to.”

  That wasn’t good, but, “What about me?”

  “You can’t shield, remember?”

  My cover identity was as a witch, not a mage. The idea was to downplay my profile and make me easier to overlook.

  “So, what am I doing?”

  “Protecting us priestly types while the big bad mages are gone.”

  “When they won’t let me into your quarters because I’m a woman? My head hurts.” A sign next to the door where Karl and Oriel were quartered said, “No Women Allowed.”

  Karl shook his head. “You only have to protect us when we leave the compound. Their security is so good here that we have nothing to fear.”

  I choked back laughter.

  “But,” Karl said, “we need to get word to the other people involved in this venture that we’ve been delayed. If we just disappear in here, they may decide we’ve been made and go to a backup plan.”

  “There are Fae inside here, right?” I asked. “Can’t we just contact one of them to relay the message for us?”

  “I’m pretty sure there are Fae here working for both sides,” Oriel responded.

  I took a deep breath. “Which means at least one of us has to go out.”

  The extent of the Knights’ weakness became evident when Ian and Josh got their assignments. Ian was given command of a convoy hauling food and other supplies from the main railway station in Liverpool to the training camp near the town of Knowsley, northeast of the city. Josh was assigned to security at a Universalist hospital near the cathedral.

  And I went to prayers three times a day with Sergeant Sabrina Mason, who made it plain that she considered my yawning during one of the services a lack of piety.

  The second day of our enforced stay in Liverpool, I noticed her following me after she supposedly left for her assigned duties after breakfast. She broke off shortly before noon and went to a small, newly built structure near the gate where we originally entered the compound. The sign on the building said, “Security.”

  She stayed inside for about an hour, then left and wandered around the compound for a couple of hours. Sometimes she met and talked to a person—always one person alone, away from anyone else—and sometimes she simply hid and watched people. Just to see what she would do, I walked by one of her hiding places and soon after spotted her tailing me.

  At the end of the work day, she again reported to the security building for about forty-five minutes.

  That evening I accompanied Karl and Oriel to prayers and told them what I had seen. It was agreed that Oriel would follow Sergeant Mason the following day.

  In the morning, when Sabrina and I emerged from the dining hall after breakfast, Karl intercepted me.

  “I need to go out into the city,” he said. “Come.”

  “I guess I’ll see you later,” I told Sabrina and followed Karl as he headed toward the main parking lot.

  “Oriel?” I asked as we walked.

  “Invisible.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “The beach. I just want to get out of here for a while, and it seemed to be a good excuse to get you away from your roommate. Besides, if you’re being tailed inside, we need to determine if anyone follows us when we leave.”

  So, we went to the beach. I shed my Knight’s jacket as soon as we got in the car, hoping to be less noticeable.

  “I should have brought a swimming suit.”

  Karl laughed. “You’d freeze your tush. The water temperatures here range from cold to frigid. You’ll have to settle for a long walk on the beach.”

  “How romantic.”

  He winked at me.

  It was pretty but windy, and not warm. Of course, I hadn’t felt warm since I landed in Westport the previous autumn, and the trip to Ireland and England wasn’t intended to be a tropical vacation. We walked and ate fish and chips at a little café near the beach, then drove back to the cathedral in late afternoon. A car—not one of the black SUVs—followed us the entire time.

  Oriel was waiting for us when we got back.

  “Your buddy is a snoop,” he said. “I don’t know if she has a real job, but what she actually does is wander around the compound all day and spy on people, then runs back to a Knight in that security office named Josef Gottfried. She tells him all the gossip she’s picked up all day, including things she simply suspects, and he writes it all down.”

  He laughed. “They’re a couple of unattractive prudes filled with repressed sexual tension, and most of what they track has nothing to do with security. But if I wanted to blackmail people, I’d start with that book of his.”

  “Did they say anything about us?” Karl asked.

  “Only about Erin. Mason is sure there’s something suspicious about her. But I’m not sure if it’s anything we need to worry about. From what I could tell, any woman that’s young and pretty is an agent of the devil.”

  “Pretty much the impression she’s given me,” I said. “I think she’s waiting for me to strip in the dining hall or set up a brothel in our quarters.”

  “But the exercise wasn’t a complete waste,” Oriel said. “I got a key card to the security building, Gottfried’s computer password, and the combination to the personnel files. I think that computer might contain records on the Knights’ undercover agents, at least the ones here in England.”

  “And we were followed everywhere we went,” Karl said. “I’m sure I now have a black mark as a chaplain inappropriately entertaining a young female Knight. We need to divert their attention away from us.”

  The next morning when Mason and I went to breakfast, Josh joined us. As we ate, he told us about the attack on the hospital the night before.

  “Vampires,” he said. “They staged a raid on the blood bank.”

  “Isn’t the building warded?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but not the entrances. Rather unique means of attack. They hit us with mortars and machinegun fire, I guess as a distraction, while they snuck in a force close enough to rush a side entrance that wasn’t heavily defended.�
��

  I saw Mason prick up her ears. “Why wasn’t it defended?” she asked.

  Josh shrugged. “We had two men there, and the door was steel and locked. It was an emergency exit. I guess the chevalier didn’t expect a vampire attack. They killed the two guards and ripped the door open. Once they were inside, the attackers on the main entrance withdrew. In the confusion, it was half an hour before anyone realized the vamps were inside.”

  “It sounds like you people weren’t prepared,” Mason sputtered.

  “Well, I wasn’t in charge,” Josh said. “By the time we figured out what was going on, they hauled half the blood on hand up to the roof and were gone. The chevalier told us that if anyone asked us any questions, we should refer them to him. I think he and the hospital administrator want to cover it up.”

  “Incredible!” The Knight sergeant was so worked up that she picked up her tray, dumped it in the trash, and stormed out, no doubt to report to her security friend.

  Josh chuckled.

  “True story?” I asked.

  “Oh, we had a vamp attack, and two men died, but the vamps never gained entrance. We’ll see what kind of ruckus her false report raises. The chevalier at the hospital is the younger brother of the base commander.”

  Chapter 16

  Karl found me mid-afternoon. “Drive me into town.”

  Instead of our SUV, he led me to a dark blue sedan with the engine already running. Oriel stood next to the car and grinned at me as I approached.

  “Unless you know how to hotwire a car, don’t turn it off. It has plenty of gas.”

  I grinned back. “Oh, I know how. This isn’t the first car I’ve stolen.”

  His grin slipped a little as I slid into the driver’s seat. Karl got in the other side, and I drove out the main gate. As we drove by the security building, I noticed that it appeared to be locked up and two Knights stood guard outside.