Shadow Of The Ring: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Book 16)

by Michael Anderle

  Zoe laughed quietly. “I always want some of you, my little supernova, but in this case, I’ve woken you up because someone has tripped the external wards and is coming toward the front door. I’m not expecting anyone. Are you?”

  “No.” Trey sat up with a frown, his heart rate kicking up.

  “Whoever they are, they lack magic,” Zoe replied, still smiling. “So I’m doubtful they are of any serious concern, but you should still be careful.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be careful. If this is real trouble, I’m gonna be seriously pissed off. They should know better than to fuck with a man at his home, and this was supposed to be my nice day to wake up.”

  Trey grabbed his gloves from the nightstand and slipped them on, his current look ridiculous since he was only wearing boxers. He rolled out of bed and grabbed a gun from Zoe’s closet. That and the gloves would be enough to defeat most common thugs; Zoe had already confirmed that the enemy wasn’t magical.

  Hope they didn’t let that motherfucker Jared out. He’d best not be coming for vengeance, or we’re gonna need a more permanent solution.

  Someone knocked with loud urgency at the front door.

  Trey’s frown deepened. “Damn it.”

  He headed toward the living room as the new arrival knocked again, this time even louder.

  “Hold on, I’m almost there,” Trey shouted. He stepped to the side so he wasn’t lined up with the front door. He wanted to make sure no one would open fire now that they’d confirmed someone was inside and close by.

  No bullet storm came. That was promising. A soft knock came instead.

  Don’t let it be Jared or any of my informants. Or, fuck, even one of the boys.

  That last didn’t make sense once he thought of it. Any of the other bounty hunters in the agency would just call him.

  Unless some really big shit was going down.

  Trey arrived at the door and looked through the peephole. Three large men in suits stood outside, the one in the center wearing a tie and the guys on either side sporting gold chains. Trey recognized one of the chain men as local Mafia, so he assumed the other two were the same, or at least closely allied.

  He sighed and shook his head. It wasn’t as bad as he’d feared, but it was nowhere near “no big,” like he’d hoped.

  What the fuck? Did I sell the Mafia out in a previous life or some shit? Is that why they’re so far up my ass lately?

  He considered that thought. While Vegas did have an unusually large concentration of Mafia, particularly Italian Mafia, the post-Oriceran chaos had led to opportunities for organized crime. It wasn’t like LA lacked such groups, but somehow the Family men in Vegas seemed far more interested in irritating Trey.

  Huh. James has been working LA for so long that maybe those assholes are just used to staying out of the way of all things Brownstone.

  Trey hid his gun behind his back as he opened the door. “It’s too early in the morning to sell me cookies, guys. You’ll need to come back later when I’m awake and hungrier.”

  The man in the center, whom Trey still didn’t recognize despite trying to place him, chuckled. “We apologize for the early arrival, Mr. Garfield, but we thought this approach would be best. It lowers the chance of other shit happening, such as dangerous misunderstandings, especially with people in our line of work.” His gaze dipped to Trey’s visible hand, and he frowned slightly. “Or with you, for that matter.”

  “I don’t know about all that, but what’s this about?” Trey asked. “If this is about starting something, I really, really wouldn’t recommend it. You guys can’t win at this range.”

  “No, nothing of the sort. Like I said, we want to avoid any misunderstandings. My boss has made that very clear.” Mr. Tie raised his hands in front of his chest. “We mean no harm. Really, pal. Far from it.” He cleared his throat, a nervous look on his face. “Now, I’m going to reach into my jacket and grab a card for you. I’m telling you that because you seem a little jumpy. I’m guessing those gloves on your hand are the magic ones people have been talking about, and you obviously have your gun behind your back and are itching to shoot us.”

  The other two men tensed, and their hands moved, but Mr. Tie threw up his hand and they stopped.

  “What are you idiots doing?” the mobster asked, frowning. “We didn’t come here for that.”

  Trey looked at all the men and nodded slowly. “What would you do if three random guys showed up at your house early in the morning?” He narrowed his eyes on Mr. Tie. “Especially when you already have a rep and people have challenged it, mainly Family men.”

  The man sighed and shrugged. “Probably the same. Can I get the card now?”

  “Yeah, but slowly.”

  The Mafioso reached into his jacket and inched out a business card. He held it out in his palm.

  Trey snatched the card with his free hand and glanced down at it, now even more confused. “This is just a handwritten address and time. What the fuck does it mean?”

  “The date of the meeting is tonight,” the mobster explained. “You’re to come alone, or the meeting is off.”

  “The meeting for what? I don’t know about no meeting.” Trey frowned. “With who? And why?”

  “It’s to your advantage to come to the meeting. No obligations will be incurred for coming, so it’s win-win for you.” The mobster shrugged, a bored look on his face. “Coming would be the smart move anyway. I was ordered to not say anything more than that, and I always follow orders.”

  Nah, it’s the fucking opposite. It’s like I’m Mafia catnip all of a sudden. Or is this shit about taking down Cantu? They pissed that I messed with their operation? But if they were pissed, they’d probably just try to gun my ass down right here. They have to know I’m gonna be well equipped and expecting trouble at this little meeting. Or are they depending on that shit?

  Trey grimaced as he tried to think through all the permutations of the scenario in his head then decided the Mafia probably wasn’t playing that sophisticated of a game.

  The mobster cleared his throat. “So, you coming? I need to tell my people if you are. If you’re not sure, just say yes. That will make things work out better for everyone.”

  Trey snorted. “What happens if I don’t show up? Or if I bring someone?”

  “Then you’ll be disappointed and throw away something useful for no good reason.” The mobster shrugged. “This isn’t about trying to kill you, Garfield. Everyone’s already learned that lesson. This is about something else entirely.”

  “Fine. I’m coming,” Trey offered with a shrug. “But I reserve the right to get the fuck out of there if I smell a trap, and I guarantee I’ll be taking at least three or four guys with me if it is a trap.”

  The mobster nodded. “Of course.” With a final nod, he turned and walked away, the other two men following.

  Trey watched them until they got in their black SUV and pulled away, then closed the door. Zoe stepped into the living room in a green silk robe, her thighs flashing with each movement. Normally he’d be turned on, but he was too confused about what had just happened to care about that.

  “Did you overhear that shit?” Trey asked.

  Zoe nodded. “I did.”

  “What do you think? Because I don’t know what to think. I don’t get why the mob’s doing all this need-to-know spy shit all of a sudden.” Trey shook his head. “I get that they might want to hold back a few details, but that was on a whole other level.”

  “I think it wouldn’t hurt for you to attend their meeting.” Zoe smiled and sat on the couch. She crossed her legs. “There was nothing in their arrival or pitch that suggested hostility. There was not even an implied physical threat from what I can tell, and I’m very good at reading people.”

  “Those two guys went for guns.”

  “Yes, after they realized you already had yours out. You created the hostility in that situation.”

  Trey shrugged. “People know who I am, and people know I’m living with a witch.
They might have just figured it was a dumbass move to try to attack or threaten me where I live because of magic and shit. That might be why there was no hostility.”

  “Maybe, but I don’t even think there was concealed hostility, at least not from the speaker. His manner was easy. Grateful even.” Zoe tapped her lips. “I don’t know what they want to discuss, but I doubt it involves any threat to you. It probably is some sort of real opportunity. Whether it’s legal, who knows?”

  Trey set his gun on the coffee table and sat on the couch next to the witch. “Mobsters just don’t show up at a brother’s crib without some sort of reason to throw opportunities at them. Maybe this is more of them trying to do that alliance shit. I’m not trying to pick a fight with the mob, but they’ve got to understand the Brownstone Agency won’t be their bitches either because they ask all nice-like.”

  “Then go to the meeting and make that clear.” Zoe uncrossed her legs and crossed them the opposite way. “Perhaps this is just them paying their respects to you in their own way. Even if the Brownstone Agency will not formally ally with them, they might wish to at least convince you that they are a resource or something like that.”

  “Bounties are bounties.” Trey shrugged. “There ain’t gonna be a situation where the mob suddenly gets a free pass.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with explaining that to them, either.” Zoe smiled softly. “The truth is, you’ll never know what they want if you don’t go to their meeting. I’ll give you a few more potions to ensure your safety. If they try anything, you can escape and then gather reinforcements to punish them.”

  Trey looked back down at the card. “This shit’s gonna interfere with our date tonight.”

  Zoe chuckled. “I’ve suffered far worse disappointments in my life, my little supernova.”

  “Fine. I’ll check and see what these Mafia bitches want.” Trent frowned at the card. “But this shit better be worth it.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Find and engage new stronger enemies, Whispy demanded.

  James laughed.

  You know, Whispy, you’re like a fucking drug addict. I find someone powerful and we fight, and you do your adaptation thing. You’re happy for like five minutes, then it’s back to demanding I find more people.

  Achieving maximum adaptation requires maximum sampling.

  James nodded. It’s fine this time. That’s why I came along. You’re right. Every new adaptation makes me more of a badass, and we’re gonna probably need that to complete the primary directive of destroying all Vax symbionts. If they never come here, there are plenty of Council wannabes and shit like them to take down.

  Primary directives in conflict.

  Then just do what I fucking say. James grinned. Your new primary directive is, obey James Brownstone.

  Link error acknowledged.

  James snorted. That was the symbiont’s way of complaining about not being in control of the partnership.

  His smile faded. Are they coming? The Vax?

  Pulse not initiated.

  Could they come anyway? What happens if a Forerunner gets his ass handed to him? Or he’s killed? That’s got to happen sometime.

  Purifier will be dispatched or system will be marked forbidden.

  James stopped with a frown. Why didn’t you ever tell me that shit before?

  Primary directives in conflict. Memories stored.

  He let out a long, low growl and started walking again. So they could come. I’d half-convinced myself that they wouldn’t. When will they send a Purifier? How long do they wait?

  Unknown, Whispy responded.

  James walked a few feet and kicked at a blackened stump. “I better let Johnston know about this shit. Too bad it’s gonna ruin his fucking day when I do.”

  Now that the government knew that James was an alien, he saw less reason not to share information with them when it was relevant to the safety of the country. Shay was right. While he didn’t trust most of the government, in the end, if the Vax came, the military would have to play a role in defending the country and the planet. The more the government knew about the possible threat, the better they could prepare.

  Even if he achieved the adaptations he needed, it’d be idiotic to place the fate of all of Earth and possibly Oriceran in his hands alone. For all he knew, some sniper might blow out his brains at a barbeque competition when he wasn’t bonded to Whispy.

  James had even briefly thought about whether he should have agreed to go to the Nine Systems Alliance a few times in the last few months before deciding that would have been an equally stupid plan, especially since the Alliance didn’t seem to have a reliable method of beating the Vax except at the earliest stages of an invasion.

  It might not be a good idea to depend solely on him to defend the planet, but James might potentially be the Earth’s last line of defense if the Vax did come looking. He had no reason to believe they wouldn’t come to Earth or Oriceran looking for him if he never sent off his Forerunner pulse. If anything, it seemed like the opposite would occur.

  How does a system get marked forbidden? James asked

  Unknown, Whispy responded.

  You’re not just fucking with me, are you?

  Unknown, Whispy insisted.

  Oriceran’s not safe, James thought to himself. My parents sent me there first, so I have to worry about both damned planets.

  Whispy didn’t say anything for the next several minutes. His mental presence seemed cold and distant, almost like when he was in his quiescent mode, but James continued walking, still in advanced mode, through the dense trees. He’d marked several of them to help him navigate and avoid getting lost.

  So far, he’d found no evidence that he’d been walking in circles or had teleported, but he also had no idea what direction he should have been walking in.

  Worst-case scenario is that I just keep walking one direction. I’ll eventually hit the wall, and I can find a gate from there to work my way back to the first one.

  James wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he came upon a small clear blue pond nestled beneath a huge tree. Unlike most of the trees he’d seen in the deep forest, this one lacked any deformities. Other than having unusually bright red leaves, it seemed like a normal, albeit large, tree.

  The presence of the healthy tree and water was unusual in itself compared to what he had seen during his time in the forest. In addition, most of the nearby grass was as bright a red as the leaves on the tree.

  This looks like something special, but what is it? And is it going to be annoying?

  Find and engage new enemies, Whispy ordered.

  At least something was back to normal. James didn’t know how many secrets the damned symbiont was still holding, but at this point, it didn’t matter much. They agreed that he needed to get stronger, so the partnership would continue.

  James smacked his lips. The sight of the water was making him thirsty, but he wouldn’t risk drinking from the pond. If it wasn’t poisoned or tainted, it was probably enchanted. He grabbed the canteen off his belt and took a sip.

  The water stirred, and the top of a head with long, dark hair broke through the surface.

  His pulse quickened.

  “Shay?” James called. He didn’t know why she had been hiding in the water, but he was happy to have stumbled onto her. “What’s going on?”

  He frowned a few seconds later. A beautiful naked woman slowly rose from the water, her drenched hair pasted to her body. She continued rising until she stood atop the water, with no visible means of support.

  Most men would be excited by the sight of such a gorgeous being in the middle of nowhere, but the only thing she was stirring in James was annoyance. Whoever this woman was, she wasn’t Shay, and she’d gotten his hopes up, even if it wasn’t her fault or intention. It pissed him off, and he’d already had an annoying enough time in the forest. He wasn’t feeling generous.

  The woman crooked her finger and offered James a winsome smile. She ran her other
hand down her side.

  Engage enemy, Whispy suggested. Adaptation potential moderate.

  Not gonna kick her ass until I’m sure she’s an enemy. She’s not charging me with a sword, so I’m gonna at least give her the benefit of the doubt. But there is something she’s doing that’s pissing me off.

  James cut through the air with his blade. “Knock that shit off right now. Do I look like I’m in the mood?”

  The woman blinked and lowered her hand, surprise on her face.

  “I don’t know if you’re a succubus or a leanan sidhe or some weird-ass seduction bug or something, but whatever plan you have, I’m not falling for that shit.” James slammed his blade into the ground. “I’ve got Shay, for one thing, and I’ve already been told how fucked up this forest is, so I’m not trusting anything or anyone I see. That clear? As long as you understand that, we don’t have to have any trouble. I’m not here to start shit with every random-ass magical creature who lives in this forest. I’m just here to find something. Maybe you could help me find it?”

  The woman let out a long sigh and started speaking. He didn’t understand the language. It sounded very melodic, and more like Light Elf than any human language.

  Whispy, can you translate that shit?

  No. Ability outside modifiable range for base matrix.

  James frowned in disappointment, but the limitation made sense. The amulet could perform all sorts of physical modifications, but understanding a language wasn’t just about changing a few physical traits as far as he could figure out.

  He shrugged, which looked all the stranger given his armor and blade, and pointed to his mouth and then his ears. “I can’t understand you. I don’t understand the words coming out of your mouth.”

  The woman said something else and pointed at her mouth.

  “Yeah.” James nodded. “I can’t understand you. Don’t speak your language.” He said the last two sentences louder and slower.

  He chuckled at a stray thought. Whispy’s trick to get him into advanced mode without him being filled with rage was making it easy for him to maintain and even have conversations in here. Right now, he was more mildly annoyed than anything else. That would make every encounter in the forest that much safer while he still maintained full control.