“If you say so,” Lilith said, trying to keep the heat from rising in her cheeks.
She wasn’t successful, but she did try.
Chapter 29
Wednesday, May 1st, 2031
Guardian Compound, Paragon City
“What’s this?” Morgan asked, turning the tablet to get a better look at the diagram on it, and as she did her eyebrows rose.
To the vast majority of people, the intricate diagram would make no sense at all. Most people didn’t have the knowledge to decipher magic, and it was made worse due to how magic worked. Few spells were written in common languages, and even worse, spells were often recorded in wildly divergent ancient script as well. Morgan had seen spells written in Sumerian, ancient Egyptian, Sanskrit, Hebrew, and many others, some of which were still spoken, and some of which weren’t. Fortunately, some spells were recorded in more modern languages, though very few used commonly spoken ones, for reasons Morgan didn’t entirely understand. The problem was that deciphering them was more of an art than a science, and it required at least a rudimentary understanding of the language, as well as a knowledge of how magic flowed through the world.
The spell’s form appeared to be shaped by Latin, which was one of the languages Morgan had a better grasp of, and as she looked it over her eyebrows rose, because it wasn’t what she’d expected. Shade had asked her over to ask about combat spells, not large-area wards, and this one was far more intricate than any she’d seen before. It made even the spell that Ebon Dragon had made to twist Gina’s magic look simple to her.
“I know it isn’t what I asked you here about, but I was curious what you’d make of it. That’s a spell I came across a few years ago, and I’ve been trying to pick it apart ever since,” Shade replied, shifting in his chair. Morgan thought he felt out of place in his foreboding guise while surrounded by a relatively modern meeting room, complete with a coffee maker in the corner.
“Mm… well, this is certainly the most complicated spell I’ve encountered of the type. It’s obviously a warding spell for a large area… I’m not sure how large, but covering an area a couple of miles across wouldn’t be difficult,” Morgan said, frowning at the tablet thoughtfully as she worked through the spell. “This is also very heavily interconnected. I’m not sure that you could break any portion I can see without it being detected, and some of these lines… a redistribution network? I think this would spread the force of any attack across the entire ward. It’s fascinating… and I can hardly imagine how difficult it would be to set up.”
“But could you break it?” Shade pressed, and she looked up at him curiously, not replying immediately as she considered the diagram.
“No, not without studying it and seeing if I could find weak points. Depending on how much power the ward has been imbued with, it could take anywhere from a dozen spellcasters to a hundred to breach, if it’s even possible. This is… impressive,” Morgan said, sitting back at last as she tapped the table, looking at him. “That said, you seem far more intent on it than I would have expected. What’s this from?”
Shade sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit, but he didn’t reply. Not immediately, anyway.
“It’s a spell formation from up in the mountains. A particularly powerful one,” Shade said at last, a note of resignation in his voice. “You’ve heard that Black Emerald is in this region, haven’t you?”
“Ah, yes, yes I have,” Morgan said, a chill running down her spine at the mention of the villain. “Are you saying this might be around her base?”
Black Emerald wasn’t a supervillain that struck often, but when she did, she tended to dominate the news, as she was incredibly ruthless. The one time that people had tried to call her bluff when she threatened to release a flesh-eating gas inside one of the pharmaceutical plants she’d captured, they’d learned it hadn’t been a bluff. No one died, but it was a near thing. Coupled with how some of the people who were particularly vocal critics of hers simply disappeared, she was the sort of villain which practically every hero was wary of. In Morgan’s opinion, Black Emerald was more dangerous than Shadowmind or Destruction Corps. The villain simply wasn’t ambitious, as far as she could tell. Black Emerald only focused on a couple of companies, and rarely attacked anyone else. She obviously had a grudge against them, though why was another question entirely.
Shade laughed at her question, a short, barking laughter that had no mirth in it. “Might be? No, it is her base. I’ve known for years, and so has LANCE. The problem is that the wards are damn near impregnable, and according to some of their specialists it’s designed to take any attack, absorb it, magnify it, and send it right back at the attackers. She teleports in and out, so we haven’t been able to do anything but glare at her base menacingly. Hell, she even has a satellite uplink for television, like she’s flaunting where she is!”
“What? But… why haven’t I heard about this?” Morgan asked, shock rippling through her, incredulous that she’d never heard about Black Emerald’s lair being found. That was the sort of thing which tended to get a lot of attention.
“Because they realized that if it was spread around, heroes might attack without preparing properly, and that could lead to reprisals from her. As psychotic as she is, she hasn’t done anything evil in the buildings above her lair, and simply runs a medical center there. If we can ever figure out a way to break her wards, though…” Shade said, and let out a sigh as he shook his head. “That hasn’t happened yet. If we could, we’d go ahead and take her out.”
“I… well, I understand why they haven’t broken her wards, if this is an example of them,” Morgan said, glancing down at the tablet again, a bit disbelieving. “It’s just… while she’s well-known for her biotech, I’ve never heard of anyone calling out her skill with magic. I’d think I’d have heard of it if she were a powerful spellcaster.”
“Because she isn’t. I’ve no better idea than you do how she put up wards like this, but she’s never used magic in combat, not that wasn’t some spell built into her pet monsters,” Shade said, standing up and going over to the coffee machine. He took a pod out of the rack next to it as he continued. “In any case, I suppose it doesn’t matter, since that isn’t the main reason I asked you over. We were going to go over spellcasting.”
“That’s right,” Morgan said, inclining her head as she watched him, wondering how he was going to drink with the mask he had on, or if he was going to take it off. Somehow she doubted he’d do that. “What sort of spells did you have in mind?”
“Mostly I’m looking for something that isn’t shadow-based, but feels like it fits me. Corporal Punishment’s whip ripped right through most of my conjurations, so I think I need something that’s energy, not physical,” Shade explained, glancing over as he added, “I had a couple of sample spells on the next few pages of the tablet, but I couldn’t quite figure them out. If you’re willing to help… well, I’d appreciate it, a lot.”
“Alright, let’s see what you have,” Morgan said, picking up the tablet and flicking her finger across its surface, which brought up another diagram, and she couldn’t help a smile at the sight of the spell.
She didn’t have personal experience with casting lightning spells, but they were a classic for a reason, and this one appeared to be adjustable, so it wouldn’t risk killing someone quite as easily. The problem was that someone appeared to have transcribed it wrong, which would explain Shade’s frustration.
Looking it over, Morgan pursed her lips, idly wondering how Lilith and Gina were doing. She’d rather be with them than Shade, but keeping good relations with other heroes was rather important.
Clarkson Mall, Paragon City
“I don’t know… it’s very light,” Lilith said, looking at the necklace and frowning. It was a silver chain, much like her current one, but instead of a single pendant, there were five silver chains that dangled on their own, with silver beads spaced down their length. It took her a few seconds before she remembered something else as she added, “B
esides, it reminds me of the necklace you were wearing when we first met.”
“It does? What are you… oh, right! I almost forgot about that!” Gina said, grinning as she added, “I remember what you were wearing far better than what I was.”
Lilith laughed and shook her head, straightening as she looked around the jewelry store, not seeing much that interested her. Oh, the jewelry was beautiful, by and large, and she could afford anything in the store, but nothing really held her attention.
“I think that’s the case for both of us. I remember quite clearly, thank you,” Lilith murmured, deliberately avoiding the gaze of the man who’d tried to help them several times. Or the people who were lingering behind her, watching her closely. “No, that isn’t something I want.”
“You could go with a silver cross or something, if you like the shape,” Gina suggested, gesturing toward the other end of the cabinet, where there were dozens of crosses.
“No, I’m not exactly religious, and I don’t want to give the impression that I am,” Lilith replied absently, shaking her head. “I know that an ankh is something of a religious symbol too, but it isn’t as common. Besides, it’s the symbol of life, and I think that’s rather appropriate for me.”
“Mm… yeah, I can see that,” Gina said, nodding as she looked at Lilith, a smirk playing across her lips. “Still, we need to get something.”
“No we don’t,” Lilith replied, returning Gina’s gaze pointedly. “While I’ll admit it would be nice, if there’s nothing that I want, I don’t see the point of getting anything. Perhaps a new chain would be in order, but not much more than that.”
Of course, Lilith wasn’t entirely being truthful. She had seen some other things that intrigued her, and she’d been quietly researching more about relationships over the last couple of months, but she wasn’t sure just what she wanted to do. Relationships were messy, based on everything she’d learned, and relationships with multiple people… she really hoped that hers wouldn’t self-destruct like some of them did. Instead, she was trying to figure out what she could do to stabilize it. Which meant that rings could wait. Besides, it wasn’t as though it was legal to marry multiple people, which just perplexed Lilith. Sometimes she didn’t understand why laws formed the way they did.
Gina stared at Lilith for a few seconds, then let out a sigh, raising her gaze to the ceiling as she said, “Fine, fine… if you insist! I just wanted to get you something nice for a change.”
“You can. Just not one of these,” Lilith said, glancing around the room and shrugging. “I’ve seen things I’ve liked here and there, but I think my tastes are just different than most people’s. There were a pair of earrings that I saw online that were interesting.”
“Oh?” Gina asked, perking up a little. “What sort of earrings?”
“They were pretty simple, really… a sort of spiral cage around a hematite bead,” Lilith said, smiling warmly in return. “Maybe not exactly that, but something similar might be nice. I like symmetry, at least most of the time. Your blue dress is quite nice, even if it’s not symmetrical.”
“Mm… well, there always have to be exceptions,” Gina replied, a hint more blue to her cheeks as she cleared her throat. “Why don’t you pick out a new chain, then we can head home so you can show me the earrings? I’m curious what they look like.”
“Alright,” Lilith agreed, and walked around to where the chains were on display. Leaning over to study them, she debated on which she thought would look best with the pendant she already had.
Glendale
Dorofei settled down in the car, adjusting his seat so he was a little more comfortable, then adjusted the rearview mirror. Shawn resisted the urge to sigh as he glanced around. They were on the edge of a four-lane road, complete with a median and parking lanes on either side of it, which made him a bit uneasy.
“I can’t believe they decided that doing this in the middle of the street was a better idea,” Shawn muttered, unbuckling his seatbelt.
“You prefer the mall?” Dorofei asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, of course not! They had really good security, and there were too many people there. At least we don’t have many supers in this area, but…” Shawn paused, then growled, “I just don’t like having to shift plans like this. Lois likes being far too clever for her own good.”
“Her money, her risk,” Dorofei said, shrugging and sitting back. Then he added, “Nice town.”
“Yeah,” Shawn admitted, letting out a sigh as his frustration deflated slightly. He sometimes hated how casual his partner could be, but Dorofei put up with his occasional rant with barely a raised eyebrow. “Not a bad place to live. A little dry for my tastes, but not bad.”
Dorofei didn’t reply, and Shawn looked around while they waited.
They were on the most direct route back to Lilith Carpenter’s home from the mall, and several other members of their team had been hastily getting ready for the ambush, assuming their targets came down the street. Shawn really didn’t like the spot, but it was farther from the areas the other supers frequented than the mall, and there were several good vantage points atop some of the buildings, which he suspected Lois was taking advantage of. The woman did love her sniper rifle.
The key would be to hit hard and fast, Shawn knew. If they weren’t quick enough, Warden would shut down their attacks, and nothing they had could punch through her shields. Worse, in the glimpse of Lilith that Shawn had caught earlier, he’d seen that she was armed, which was not normal for her. Part of Shawn wondered if someone had leaked that they were after her, and if they had he hated to think about the potential consequences.
“Target sighted.” Lois’s voice was soft through the earbud, and Shawn tensed. Dorofei just glanced into the rearview mirror, while Shawn looked in the side mirror.
It was easy to pick out the car, with how their target drew attention. The vehicle was nice, but not what Shawn would have expected for someone as wealthy as Lilith. It was a compact, dark blue hatchback, a model he didn’t recognize offhand, but which he thought was imported from Japan based on the design. The vehicle was sleek, and he admired it for a moment. It was just a shame what they were about to do to it.
Circe’s bandwidth to Lilith’s car was limited. It had to be, to avoid catching the attention of the local authorities, and to keep them from complaining. That didn’t mean that she didn’t pay attention, or that she didn’t have a good idea of what was going on in Lilith’s area; it just meant that she couldn’t keep as close of an eye on Lilith’s surroundings as she would like, even with a lesser shard of her personality embedded in the vehicle’s computer.
That was why it took her so long to react after she detected the transmission. The radio signal was practically hidden by background noise, and even once she noticed it, it took valuable time for Circe to break the encryption on the signal. It didn’t give her much detail, but it didn’t need to, as Circe reacted as fast as she could, speaking through the car speakers and interrupting Gina and Lilith, hoping she was fast enough.
“Ambush!”
Chapter 30
Wednesday, May 1st, 2031
Glendale
Circe’s voice interrupted Lilith’s conversation, and it took longer than Lilith cared to admit for her to process the warning. While Lilith had a driver’s license, she hadn’t driven much, so she was cautious even at the best of times. That was a good part of why Gina had her driving, so Lilith had been carefully following the speed limit as she adjusted to the different laws in Utah. Unlike Lilith, Gina didn’t pause. The blonde thrust her hands outward, and golden-blue light rushed out of them, forming a barrier.
A near-deafening crack exploded through the car an instant later, and Lilith flinched as a hole appeared in the windshield right in front of Gina, fractures spiderwebbing out across the glass, and there was a puff of stuffing as something hit the car roof. Lilith swerved slightly, but Gina spoke, her voice barely audible over the ringing in Lilith’s ears.
; “Pull over! We’re sitting ducks in here, and—” Gina began.
A parked truck detonated next to them, and it was like a giant had slapped the car. The windshield shattered entirely, and Lilith was shoved sideways as the car spun out into the road, her seatbelt holding her in place as she slammed into it. Her foot instinctively hit the brakes and the car screeched to a stop.
Another popping sound made Lilith cringe, ducking for a moment, then she belatedly realized that it wasn’t another bullet, but instead was Gina switching into her suit as the heroine unbuckled her belt and spoke, her shield expanding to envelop the car. “Out, Lil!”
“R-right,” Lilith said, her breathing coming fast and hard, and she fumbled with her seatbelt, her hands trembling with adrenaline and shock. The car had shut off, she noticed, either due to Circe or something going wrong, so she didn’t have to worry about that. No, her main concern was that the belt buckle just wouldn’t release, and she could hear alarms blaring from other cars behind them.
It took three tries before she managed to get the buckle loose, and as she did, another loud crack split the air, as a bullet bounced off Gina’s shield. The heroine pulled back a hand, power scintillating around it as it formed into a spear, then thrust forward, launching the spear at a rooftop a few hundred feet away.
The spear ripped through a chunk of roof over a hardware store, and Lilith saw a figure scrambling away, holding a rifle as she moved.
The car door popped open, and Lilith jumped out. A bolt of red light slammed into Gina’s shield only inches from Lilith’s face, and she recoiled a little, yelping as she drew her pistol and protested. “What is going on?”
Queen's Move (Lilith's Shadow Book 3) Page 24