War Song (The Rift Chronicles Book 2)

by BR Kingsolver

  “She’s family,” my grandmother said. “I knew she wouldn’t turn us away.”

  Osiris took a sip of his coffee. “At the same time, an operation freed Akiyama Hiroku at Whittaker’s estate. Hiroku is now commanding the Akiyama forces here in North America.”

  “Demons?” Kirsten’s voice came out almost as a squeak.

  “Yes,” Osiris said. “I don’t think we need to guess about Akiyama’s intentions anymore. It’s obvious they think the Magi Council has too many members.”

  “So, what now?” I asked.

  “We have a plane waiting to smuggle us to Ireland,” Olivia said.

  Findlay had extensive holdings in Ireland, as did their Flanagan and Kennedy allies.

  Mom set two bowls of stew and fresh bread on the coffee table in front of Kirsten and me. “We needed to make sure you girls are safe as well.”

  “I don’t understand how all this works,” Kirsten said. “I thought you said Courtney has gained control of the Findlay Family.”

  “Not exactly,” Olivia said. “She may have physical control of some of our most valuable holdings, but she doesn’t have the bank accounts, the ships at sea, the overseas holdings, or our allies. And since we do most of our banking through Novak, Domingo, and Martineau—none of whom are friendly with Akiyama—I don’t expect she’ll have much luck getting at the money. I also think she’ll fail at getting recognition of her for George’s seat on the Magi Council.” She chuckled, an ugly sound. “It all would have been easier if she’d managed to kill or capture me, but she’s not as smart as she thinks she is.”

  “She’ll fold what she can into Moncrieff,” Osiris said, “and increase their wealth and prestige. She’ll have greater leverage in her dealings with Akiyama. And over the coming weeks, I’m sure some of Findlay’s captains, pilots, managers, as well as some of my guardian commanders, will be persuaded to support her. But her bold move failed when Lady Findlay-James escaped.”

  Kirsten and I were dead tired, so as soon as we finished our dinner, we wished everyone good night, and we all went to bed.

  Chapter 21

  I woke up to the rattle of dishes and the smell of cooking sausages, and when I made my way downstairs, I found Mom in the kitchen making pancakes.

  “Need some help in here?” I asked.

  “You can set the table and then roust everyone,” Mom replied.

  It was full daylight outside. “What time is it?”

  “One o’clock in the afternoon.”

  Over breakfast, I asked, “So, what’s the next step?”

  “You’ll need to drive them to Pittsburgh,” Mom said. “I need to get back to Baltimore. My father is coming in with a company of warriors the day after tomorrow.”

  “From Iceland?”

  She nodded.

  “I didn’t think the elves cared about what the Magi did,” I said.

  “They care about Akiyama allying with the demons,” Mom answered. “The old thing about the enemy of your enemy and all that. The Fae think that having an intelligence outpost in the Mid-Atlantic is a good idea.”

  I didn’t even ask where they planned to stay. They could establish a city in Loch Raven Park, and no one would even know they were there.

  I thought about what was going on all day, and when we sat down to dinner that evening, I said, “We’ll drive you to Pittsburgh, but I’m not going to Ireland. Kirsten can go, but you’re going to need someone you trust here.”

  Kirsten snorted. “And who’s going to watch your back? No, I’m not part of the Findlay Family, so I doubt anyone is going to mess with me. I’m only a witch, so I’m beneath their notice. I’ll be staying even if you don’t. Besides, if this thing truly turns into a war and not just political jockeying amongst the Magi Council, you’re going to need someone to liaise with the witches. We may not be enamored with the Magi, but we damned sure aren’t going to lie down for the demons.”

  Mom chuckled. “The Magi have always underestimated the witches.”

  “Well, I guess there’s more urgency for this than ever,” Olivia said, producing a tiny computer chip from her pocket. “Amelie, can you insert this under Danica’s skin? It doesn’t matter where, she just has to touch it for it to work.”

  “Can I see it?” I took the chip between my thumb and one finger. “What is it?” I sent my consciousness into it and was surprised. It was the most technologically advanced piece of electronic equipment I’d ever touched.

  Osiris answered, “It interfaces with your implant. It has the locations, identifications, and pass signs for all the intelligence operatives in our network. Worldwide. It’s also a communications device.”

  Olivia chuckled. “You’ll never again be able to ignore my calls.”

  “And a tracking device?” I guessed.

  “Yes, but not a listening device,” Osiris said. “You have to answer a call on your phone or place a call. And you’ll note that you’re not in the database, although there’s a proxy where someone can leave you a message.”

  “You can also tap into a database or data stream and route it through that chip to a remote location,” Olivia continued. “Either to me, to one of our computer systems, or to a computer of your own.”

  “You’ll be tied into our network here in North America automatically,” Osiris said.

  I stared at the chip and let what they said sink in. “And if some of your assets turn? You said that was a probability.”

  The corners of Olivia’s mouth twitched slightly. “I can track you. Osiris can track you. No one else can. You’re the blind spot in the network, but you can see everyone. Dani, I told you once, you are my heir. No matter what that bitch Courtney thinks, I am Findlay now. All of my passcodes, my accesses, my pathways are encoded in that chip. If something happens to me, it’s all yours.”

  “But I don’t want it.”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t ask you if you want it. You can give it away, if you wish. Pick someone such as Mary Sue who would appreciate it. Hell, give it to Courtney to buy your safety if you’re stupid enough to trust her, but it will be your responsibility until you do.” Her smile widened. “Don’t worry. I’m planning on sticking around long enough to dance on Courtney’s and Benjiro’s graves.”

  I turned to Kristen. “See, I told you she wasn’t really nice. She just puts on a good front.”

  Olivia simply smiled and batted her eyes.

  Mom and I discussed where to insert the chip. I didn’t want it just under the skin, because if might be detected. Kirsten suggested that it could be damaged, considering my proclivity for injury. Mom finally made a tiny cut under my right breast and slid it in there, then applied her healing touch to close the incision.

  That evening, I spent four hours in my father’s workshop at the cabin preparing a magitek shielding device and a couple of more precautionary surprises. I labeled them and included brief instructions, then stuck them all in a canvas bag I found on a shelf.

  The following day, all the way to Pittsburgh, my grandmother and Osiris tried to talk me out of my decision to stay behind. The trip took a long time—driving on back roads—but I wasn’t taking any risks. Kirsten had cast a spell to change the van’s color, and we traded license plates with my mom’s truck. We left the house with the cloaking device engaged and didn’t turn it off until we hit a major freeway.

  Even so, I was nervous as we approached the airport.

  “How many other choices did you consider for airports?” I asked.

  “We have planes that are capable of a non-stop to Ireland waiting for us at six different airports,” Osiris said. “If things look dicey, keep going to Cleveland.”

  Olivia chuckled. “Dani, we’ve been playing this kind of game since before you were born. In Cleveland we have the choice of a plane or a boat that can take us to Buffalo, where we can sneak across the lake to Toronto. Courtney and Hiroku can’t cover all our options. They just don’t have the manpower.”

  “I would suggest going back thro
ugh Gettysburg or Harrisburg,” Osiris said.

  “Maybe,” I replied. “I was thinking about going through Morgantown and back by Harper’s Ferry. I want to confirm that the cabin is still a safe hideout. If Courtney had a witch scry you, I don’t want any unpleasant surprises in the future.”

  Kirsten shrugged. “It’s probably safe. I doubt anyone is able to scry through the combination of my wards and your mother’s, but it doesn’t hurt to check.”

  The Pittsburgh airport was west of the city, and it was the largest airport outside of Baltimore-Washington in the Mid-Atlantic. It was almost four hundred miles from the coast, but every large coastal city other than Baltimore had been nuked at least once.

  Osiris directed me to take the cargo plane exit off the freeway. Once I was out of traffic, I engaged the cloaking device again, left the road, and turned onto the tarmac. Dodging cargo trucks and airplanes was fairly easy, and none of them moved very fast. Osiris spent the entire time muttering into a secure microphone and listening to his earpiece, giving me directions occasionally.

  I drove past the various company offices and hangers, including those of Findlay, until I reached a giant long-haul cargo plane sitting near the entrance to one of the runways. Its engines were idling, but as we approached, the pilot began feeding more power to them in preparation for takeoff. Since I knew we were invisible, the only way they could know of our approach was from Osiris.

  Bringing the van to a stop next to a passenger stair, I called, “Last stop on the Pittsburgh line. All ashore that’s going ashore.”

  Olivia leaned over the back of my seat and hugged me. “Take care of yourself.”

  “You, too,” I said. “Don’t take any chances, okay?”

  They opened the door and Osiris jumped out. Olivia followed him, I knew that at that moment, they were suddenly visible, and if anyone was watching the place, things would get very exciting very quickly.

  “Osiris!” I called. He turned back, and Kirsten passed him a tote bag.

  “Once you’re on board, activate that device,” I said. “It should block any weapon, missile or magikal.”

  His craggy face split in a grin. “Thanks. Take care of yourself, Dani.”

  They took off running the few steps to the stairs, then up them into the plane. I turned the van around and headed for the exit. No sooner had I pulled away than something exploded on the runway where the van had been parked.

  “Woohoo!” Kirsten shouted. “I think a little bit of evasive driving might be advisable!”

  I swerved hard to my right, then after about twenty yards, back left toward our destination, and stepped hard on the accelerator. In my rearview mirror, I saw the large airplane start to lumber forward. I also triggered the magitek shielding device.

  Another explosion to my left put a hole in the tarmac. Then a huge fireball, obviously magitek enhanced, launched from the Findlay control tower. It flew over us and splashed down outside the airport fence in a small copse.

  “I think someone up there loves us,” Kirsten said with a grin.

  “Maybe so, but once we’re through the gate, we’ll be on our own.”

  She hefted the Raider in her lap. “Just don’t wreck us.”

  As we neared the gate, I saw a couple of men come out of a small guardhouse and stand there. They couldn’t see us, but it made me suspicious.

  “Fire a couple of rounds at those guys,” I said.

  Kirsten leaned out her window and pulled the trigger twice. The men didn’t seem concerned, and as far as I could tell, the bullets bounced off something at the gate.

  “Roll up your window!” I shouted.

  I swerved, taking the van to the right of the guardhouse and through the chain-link fence. Terrible noises of rending metal, but the shielding device protected the van. We bounced across a shallow ditch, into an open field, and about fifty yards later, back onto the road. I couldn’t see much in my mirrors, but I was more concerned with what was in front of me.

  “Yeah! That did it,” Kirsten said. “They’re all mixed up. Let’s hear it for invisible delivery vans!”

  Chapter 22

  We stopped and grabbed some burgers near the university in Morgantown. A potion from Kirsten kept me awake, and we made it to Harper’s Ferry after midnight. The magitek alarm I had set on the road into the cabin told me that no one had crossed its path since Mom and my party left the previous day.

  Not wanting to get cocky, we left the van—invisible again—and hiked in to the cabin. Kirsten confirmed that the wards were undisturbed, and we spent the night there.

  We opened some of the canned goods in the pantry for breakfast, and while we were eating, Kirsten asked, “Where are we going?”

  “Mom’s first, I guess. At some point, we have to get you back to your shop and to our house. The plants in the greenhouses won’t take care of themselves forever.”

  She nodded. I knew the greenhouses were a concern. She always fretted about them when we went away.

  “And what about you?”

  I chuckled. “I’m a cop, remember? My name isn’t Findlay, and I’m fairly certain that Whittaker and Novak will shield me. Maybe Domingo as well.”

  “What are you getting through that implant your grandmother gave you? Any news?”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t accessed it. I’ve had more important things on my mind, such as getting here in one piece. Let’s worry about us, and then we’ll worry about the rest of the world, okay?”

  Kirsten’s face relaxed. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  I reached out and put my hand on hers. “You and me, right? We take care of each other, and the rest of the world better stay out of our way. Never doubt it, Kirsten, I’ll let Findlay fall into the Rift if the choice is between them or you.”

  Her eyes misted over, then she gave a forced kind of chuckle. “Don’t get all mushy on me,” she said. “Yeah, I think we’ll be all right. They say war is hell, but for two girls who are veterans of Baltimore’s dating scene, it should be a walk in the park.”

  We took a roundabout route to my mom’s place—from West Virginia up into Pennsylvania, and then south. Kirsten drove while I cautiously accessed my new implant. I didn’t try to contact anyone, just explored the cyber realm it opened for me. There was a message drop where Olivia let me know they had safely escaped. There were areas where messages were left for other Findlay operatives. Each operative had access only to their own direct mail, but I evidently could see everything except Olivia’s business. I even had access to Osiris’s private folders, but as far as I could determine, he was blocked from mine.

  There were still people loyal to Olivia in Findlay House and other parts of the estate, as well as most of the staff working at the ports in both Baltimore and Wilmington. A database listing those who were untrustworthy or openly supporting Courtney was being built by some anonymous IT operator with the username of ‘Dexter.’ That was my father’s middle name.

  We stopped by the prison in Gettysburg because it was run by the Whittaker Family. We pulled into the facility, and I showed the guards my credentials. They allowed us into the administration building, where I placed a call to my boss.

  “Thank God you’re safe,” Tom Whittaker said when he answered the phone. “I haven’t been able to get any information on what’s going on at Findlay.”

  I told him that Olivia and Osiris were probably in Ireland by that time. I also filled him in on what Osiris had said about Courtney’s coup.

  “Akiyama is working with demons?” he asked.

  “According to Osiris, there were a couple of hundred demons involved in the takeover at Findlay House. He said Akiyama used them as shock troops. He also said that Hiroku is in Wilmington and commanding the Akiyama and allied forces in North America. How did that happen?”

  “Yeah, some of my people were paid off, and he escaped. I’ve dealt with it. But I really can’t believe Courtney pulled it off,” Whittaker said.

  “Money and death,” I replie
d. “Boss, I have the body counts, and at least two hundred of the top people at Findlay in the Mid-Atlantic—family and employees—are dead. Many of them were killed by their own subordinates. If you don’t flinch at killing your own father, then you probably don’t have many scruples on who else you murder.”

  “Very true. What about Denise?” He meant my Grandaunt Denise Butler-Findlay, Granduncle George’s wife and Courtney’s mother.

  “As far as I can tell, she’s being held at the estate. One report says she knows Uncle George is dead, but not who killed him. I’m wondering whether that is going to get pinned on me, Osiris, or Olivia.”

  A moment of silence followed. “Hmmm,” Whittaker said. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “The Council rather frowns on patricide,” I said. “With two rival claimants to Uncle George’s seat on the Council, it would follow that they would blame each other for his death.”

  “Unless Courtney passes it off as natural causes,” Whittaker said. “That would be the smartest thing to do, and she isn’t stupid.”

  “Well,” I said, “in any case, Kirsten and I are trying to keep our heads on our shoulders. At some point, we’ll show up in public again, and hopefully, I’ll still have a job and some protection.”

  “Count on it.”

  The other call I made was to Mary Sue. “Drop by the funhouse for dinner tomorrow,” I said when she answered, then I hung up. She would recognize my voice, and although I doubted anyone might be bugging her phone—Mary Sue was a magitek and far from stupid—no one would know her private name for my mom’s house. The Dressler Family were one of Findlay’s closest allies, and since we were the same age and went to the same schools, we had known each other since pre-school. I figured she knew about the events at Findlay House. I wondered how various Findlay allies—many connected by marriage for decades—were dealing with the sudden Family civil war.