by Martha Carr
“One sec. Let me check something.”
Shay started the car back up and pulled into the street.
“I’ve got an idea,” Peyton announced after a couple minutes.
“About?”
“I was looking at the earlier incidents, and I think I’ve figured out a pattern. It’s not that your target is bouncing around randomly. It’s not always even far away, relatively speaking. I think what they’re doing is bouncing between high and low district numbers.”
Shay blinked. “Okay. So our wand wielder is familiar with the layout of Paris, so probably a local. If that pattern is true, what’s the next district.”
“It should be something in District 8. I’ve got my drone on the way.”
“And so am I.”
“Got another hit,” Peyton shouted.
“Tone it down, you’re right in my ear.”
“Sorry. The Fountain du Cirque in Jardin des Champs-Élysées is filling with blood, according to a panicky old lady. My drone is a few minutes out.”
Shay grinned. “I know exactly where that is, and I’m damned close.” She pressed the pedal to the floor.
I’ve got you now, asshole.
11
“I’ve tagged our target with the drone,” Peyton announced. “Unless somebody else is carrying around a golden rod topped with a bird. Looks like a woman in a dress, from what I can tell at this distance. Also, uh, she shouldn’t be hard to spot since she’s glowing.”
“Glowing?”
“Yeah. Glowing blue.”
“You’d think people would have reported that shit.”
Peyton laughed. “There aren’t a huge number of people on the street, but I swear, most people she’s running past are barely paying any attention. These Parisians have taken jaded to a whole new level. I think even in New York people would pay attention to a glowing woman with a golden rod.”
“Well, not in Times Square.”
“Yeah, not there.”
Shay chuckled. “Anyway, where is she? We’re on a mission here, not filming a travel show. I need to know her location.”
“Sure thing, Boss Lady.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Roger. She’s southeast on Avenue Gabriel. She’s almost to the intersection with Rue Boissy d'Anglas.”
“Flying? Zooming? Jumping really high? What?”
“Nothing. She’s just walking kind of fast, but not super fast. You know, like normal speed-walking. Maybe that’s why no one cares.”
Shay snorted. “I care.”
She yanked on the wheel and made a hard right, cutting off another car. Their harsh horn cut through the night, but she ignored the other driver and barreled down the street, occasionally weaving between other vehicles. If she ended up getting a ticket later, her fake identity could deal with it. From what the Professor had told her about the Scepter, traffic shenanigans in defense of a major city would be worth it. Those, and the millions of dollars the Professor was offering.
Her car zoomed around a fountain, and Shay took another hard turn before screeching into a parking spot along the street. She whipped her head to the side just in time to catch a glimpse of a form outlined in blue light turning the corner.
You got sloppy, and I’ve got you.
The tomb raider bolted out of the car and sprinted after her target. She turned the corner. A young woman in a loose summer dress and ankle boots stood on the other side. A cerulean glow surrounded her, thin arcs of twisting energy extending from the glow’s source: a golden rod topped with a hand holding the Earth and a bird. The Scepter of Dagobert.
“I’ve got eyes on the witch,” Shay reported.
“I’ve got you both on the drone feed from three hundred feet up. No reinforcements coming her way from what I can see, and not a lot of people around.”
“Good. Maybe I can stop this from getting too messy.”
The witch spun toward Shay, sweat coating her arms and face. Her eyes glowed a solid azure, and her mouth twitched.
“It’s not working,” the witch spat in French. “I don’t understand.”
“What’s not working?” Shay answered in English, hoping to draw the woman into switching languages.
The witch waved the Scepter, her eyes frantic. “The portals won’t open for me now. I don’t know why.” Her English was French-accented but otherwise perfect.
“You’re glowing,” Shay pointed out. “Not a good sign. I’m not an expert, but maybe you’re using too much power or some shit like that.”
“Too much power?” She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t seem surprised by this. Who are you? Is this your fault? Did they send you to stop me?”
“I’m about as magical as your typical rock in the park.” Shay shrugged. “But, yeah, I’ve been looking for you—not that you’ve made yourself that hard to find with all the bullshit you’ve been doing.”
“I needed to practice.” The witch stepped back, taking Shay in with a sneer. “But you’ve come to take the Scepter from me, haven’t you? You’re lying, aren’t you? You’ve done something, maybe poisoned the magic. Because you’re jealous.”
“I don’t want it, but I know some people are concerned about it.” The tomb raider’s hand inched toward her holster. “Look, I’ve got nothing against you, chick, but I’d prefer you just hand it over. It’s too fucking dangerous for you to run around with. Too fucking dangerous for anyone, from what I hear. Let me take it and hand it off so they can bury it at the bottom of some enchanted lake or pit or under a dragon’s butt.”
“Give up the Scepter of Dagobert?” The witch let out a cutting laugh. “Do you know how long I’ve been mocked? They told me I would never have great power?” She lifted the Scepter. “But I have it now. I found it—something they said was already gone—and I…I…” She shook her head and grimaced. “I will control it. I just need more time. No one will stop me. No one.”
Killing the woman was the obvious solution, but Shay balked at the idea of gunning down someone who didn’t seem to be a complete garbage fire of a human being. James’ influence, perhaps.
Yeah, not the time to get soft.
Shay shook her head. “Just hand it over, and we can all walk away from this without anyone getting hu—”
A blue energy orb shot from the tip of the wand and Shay threw herself to the side. The orb passed over her and slammed into a nearby brick wall, the energy spreading out in several crawling strands.
Sonofabitch! Okay, so much for the nice-girl approach.
Shay whipped out her 9mm and opened fire, but the bullets disappeared in a puff of blue mist as they struck the witch’s body.
The witch didn’t stand and fight. Instead, she rushed across the street.
“Now I wish I would have brought the damned sword. If these French people can ignore a glowing crazy woman, they could have ignored that.”
The tomb raider sprinted after her, narrowly missing being hit by a car zooming down the road. Another car slammed on its brakes to avoid the fleeing witch.
Shay vaulted, rolled over the vehicle, and continued after the witch even as the driver shouted obscenities at her. A quick middle finger was her only response.
Her quarry ducked into a side street.
“Shit. I can’t see her. Tell me you still have eyes on her, Peyton.”
“Yep. She ran down the street about thirty feet in front of you and then broke left.”
“Got it.”
The sound of Shay’s boots striking the asphalt echoed through the narrow alley. She emerged from the alley, her gun still out.
Years of instinct saved the tomb raider when she spotted a bright flash out of the corner of her eye. Throwing herself to the ground, she avoided the bright glowing lances flying across the street.
They didn’t explode as they hit a wall. A loud buzz followed instead, along with a pungent but sweet scent. Irregular patches of different types of wood now lay scattered across the wall. Instant transmutation.
What the fuck would have happened if those had hit me?
Shay leapt to her feet, catching sight of the glowing witch as the woman hurried onto another side street. She holstered her weapon and now regretted driving around earlier in a car instead of a motorcycle or moped. A good tackle from a vehicle could end a fight quickly.
Loud static filled her earpiece. “Peyton, you still there?”
“Shay…I…losing…”
A massive wave of blue energy shot from the side street like a translucent tsunami.
This isn’t good.
Shay winced and threw up her arms as the wave slammed into her. She blinked her eyes open after a few seconds.
“Huh, not dead. That’s convenient.” She sprinted toward the side street and skidded to a stop after she turned the corner and spotted her prey. The witch stood in the middle of the tree-lined street highlighted in an even brighter glow. The Scepter was pointed straight up.
A long moment passed during which the two women stared at each other before Shay realized the light wasn’t brighter, but rather every other light in the area was off, making the glow seem stronger.
“Peyton?” she whispered. “Can you hear me?”
He didn’t respond. There wasn’t even any static over the link. She wasn’t surprised, just annoyed.
Shay eyed the witch. “Magical EMP?”
“The Scepter of Dagobert responds to my will. You will not have it. You can’t even harm me, so why do you insist on chasing me? I don’t want to kill you, but I’ll have no choice if you won’t leave me alone.”
“I’m a stubborn bitch, and I’m being paid. Sorry.” Shay shrugged and holstered her pistol. Her gun had already proven useless, but she trusted the adamantine knives to do the trick if she could close on the witch. “You’ve already admitted you can’t control that thing like you want, and it’s only going to get more dangerous. Just hand it over before you blow yourself and half this city up. You don’t seem like a psycho. Do you really want to kill a bunch of people to prove some point to a bunch of mean girl witches or whatever?”
The witch gritted her teeth. “Don’t…mock…me.”
“Just saying.”
The witch pointed the Scepter at a nearby tree. A blue bolt shot out and struck the trunk. Wood cracked as the plant pulled itself out of the ground, its roots replaced by spindly legs and its branches thrashing.
“Oh come on!” Shay sighed. “Guess that’s what I get for not bringing my chainsaw.”
“Do you understand now? I control so much power, and I will not surrender it to anyone.”
“And you don’t think this is a ‘power corrupts’ situation?”
The witch glared at Shay. “I don’t believe anything you say. You just want to steal the Scepter of Dagobert from me. You’re nothing more than a heartless mercenary.”
“I prefer the term ‘tomb raider’ or ‘field archaeologist,’ but come on, chick. Use your head! There was a reason that thing was locked away for so many years.”
The witch’s lips pressed into a thin line, and she shook her head. “You’ll have to kill me to take it, but it doesn’t matter. There’s no way you can win against me while I have it.” She muttered something and made a few quick movements with the Scepter.
The tree lumbered toward the tomb raider, with no visible mouth, eyes, or weak spots.
Yeah, this is perfect. I miss the days when a tall guy with a gun was the weirdest thing I had to deal with on a job.
I’ve played nice, but it’s time to end it.
Shay yanked a knife from a sheath and threw it at the other woman. It bounced off her with a blue flash but didn’t vaporize like the bullets.
“Damn it.”
“This is pathetic.” The woman shook her head. “You thought you could win with a knife?”
Shay shrugged. “It’s a very nice knife. A gnome made it for me.”
She waited until the tree was nearly on her, then ducked underneath a striking branch and rushed the witch.
The witch flourished the wand in two swoops. A roar deafened Shay, and an invisible shockwave knocked her to the ground.
The walking tree got the worst of it, since the shockwave smashed into and reduced it to a shower of splinters and leaves. The old stones paving the side street cracked under the assault as well.
Shay crawled behind a nearby dumpster. She was coughing up blood, and every part of her body ached.
Why the fuck am I not dead? Huh. She keeps running, even with the wand. Maybe things are stronger for her far away. Time to bet my life on that.
Shay readied another knife, but a loud buzz sounded and the dumpster slammed into her. She grunted, and pain spiked in her arm. She rolled away from the dumpster and ignored the throbbing in her arm and the rest of the pain throughout her body.
Before, the increased illumination had been a trick of mere contrast, but there was no doubt now that the intensity of the glow around the woman had increased. Shay had to squint to even look directly at the witch.
What the fuck is going on? Is she getting stronger? Or maybe weaker?
The other woman took quick, ragged breaths as she gripped the Scepter with both hands, pointing it up at an angle.
“Why won’t you die?” the witch shouted, this time in her native language.
“I told you before. I’m a stubborn bitch.”
The witch whipped the Scepter down and Shay dodged a blue ball of energy that erupted from the wand. She closed on the woman, zigzagging to escape follow-up attacks.
Whatever the magical skills of the witch prior to finding the Scepter of Dagobert, it was painfully obvious she’d never been in a real fight. No anticipation, no leading of the target, no dynamic defense movements. The best weapon in the world meant nothing without proper training and experience.
Or killer instinct.
Shay closed the distance and brought her knife up. The witch’s eyes widened as the tomb raider stabbed toward her heart.
“Got you.”
The blade slammed into an invisible force, not even ripping the witch’s dress.
“Shit,” the tomb raider muttered. “That’s just perfect. Fucking great.”
The witch took a few steps back and looked down at her chest. She started laughing and lifted her wand. “I guess you lose, stubborn American bitch.”
Shay spun and sprinted toward another open alley. Another harsh buzz filled the air a second before agonizing heat struck her back. She cried out and fell to the ground.
The tomb raider took a few deep breaths and threw off her jacket, or at least the burned tatters that remained of the leather.
The witch strode toward Shay with a wide grin on her face. The glow was even brighter now. It was as if a blue star had come to Earth, and two pulsing wings stretched from the woman’s back.
Shay refused to close her eyes as the witch aimed the Scepter right at her head. Her pulse thundered in her ears.
“Just do it,” the tomb raider shouted. “I’m not gonna beg.”
The woman twitched and didn’t respond.
“What’s the matter, never kill anyone before?” Shay sneered. “If you’re gonna try to play with the big girls, you have to…” She blinked as the woman collapsed to the ground, writhing and screaming.
Shay stood and slowly backed away from the woman, clueless about what the hell was going on.
The witch’s limbs jerked and folded on themselves at painful angles, as if being rearranged by a sadistic invisible giant. Her blue wings grew longer and more solid, actual feathers sprouting into existence. The witch’s shrill screams turned Shay’s stomach. Intense light engulfed the woman, and Shay averted her gaze.
Nothing like being at Ground Zero in a massive magical explosion.
Shay let out a weary sigh and half-wished she could have at least gone out while eating some pizza. A bright blue flash enveloped her.
No heat. No new pain, only the lingering pain from before. No annoying noises.
Her eyes adjusted a
fter a moment. The Scepter of Dagobert lay in the middle of the charred road, unmarred by even a scratch. A small bird covered in blue feathers tilted its head back and forth as it stared at Shay. She didn’t know what type of bird it was, but it was hard to miss that it looked exactly like the top of the Scepter.
Shay snickered and remembered Tubal-Cain’s words:
Be careful about misusing the artifact. Everything has consequences.
She grabbed the Scepter. “You need your own power before you can control other power.” She gave a little wave to the bird, grabbed her knives off the ground, and struggled down the street, through the alleys and side streets until she reached her car. Street and building lights flickered on as she approached her vehicle.
Shay let out a sigh of relief. “Peyton, can you hear me?”
“Yeah. I can now, but I lost the drone.”
“Lost the drone?”
“The feed’s dead. I think the drone lost power and crashed. Last thing I saw was some weird flash from the witch.”
“Yeah, there was some sort of EMP, but it’s all over now, and I’ve got the Scepter. I’m driving straight to the airstrip and getting the hell out of the country.”
“Nice. And the witch? You take her out?”
“Not exactly. Let’s just say she’s been given a second chance at life with a new perspective.”
Shay yawned as she stepped down the stairs from the small plane, a large bag containing the Scepter in hand. Smite-Williams stood at the bottom, a large, thin silver case covered in runes lying on the ground next to him. It was large enough to fit the Scepter of Dagobert.
The Professor waited until she’d hit the ground to speak. “Did you have a good flight back, Miz Carson?”
She shrugged. “I mostly slept. Everything okay on your end? I know that job didn’t go as quietly as you would have preferred.”
“Aye. Although some people are well aware that something magical happened, they’re attributing it to pranksters rather than something more serious. It’s not like an entire building blew up.” He chuckled.
“Only messed up some paving stones and a wall. Uh, and a tree.” Shay opened the bag and handed him the Scepter. She didn’t even want to touch the thing, but she didn’t feel anything strange when she did.