The golem fought to its feet and let loose a quivering, almost amoeba-like black ball. It floated toward the demon goddess, and when it reached her, it exploded, coating her with an oily gelatinous substance.
Dad and I fired again. The demon goddess screamed, a sound that hurt my ears. And then Akashrian was gone. The energy beams Dad and I held on her hit the water where she was standing, and with an explosive burst of steam, vaporized the river. I cut off the concentrator, and a moment later, Dad did the same.
A large crater—half on the bank and half in the river—filled with water. But I thought I saw something in the bottom of the crater before the river covered it. The avatar.
One of the hydromancers working with us cleared out the crater, revealing the avatar sitting in the bottom. It was unscathed but powerless. The malevolent magik everyone had felt from it before was gone. The red, glowing eyes were black and lifeless.
The elves used their magik to help fix the dam, but it took them three days. Joren told me that rock wasn’t as amenable to manipulation as wood, and none of them had worked with concrete before. It wasn’t as simple as just patching the hole Akashrian had blasted in it. They had to reconstruct part of the west generator room. Mom had to order a new generator, converter, and enhancer. It would be weeks before all the equipment came in, but I didn’t think anyone in Baltimore would complain about reduced electricity if it came with a reduction in demon attacks.
Aleks and I brought the rabbi back to Loch Raven, and he decommissioned the golem. He told us that the black blob that had hit Akashrian was the sum of the chaotic magik we had filled it with. He had taken a chance, cast a spell through his crystal, and that was the result. He speculated that it had disrupted Akashrian’s protection, allowing the energy beams my father and I employed to destroy her.
We showed him the avatar, and he said, “This is very similar to a golem. I’m not surprised that you were unable to destroy it. But I think this is the proof that she has been destroyed. You said it was active when she was still in the demon’s realm? And now it is harmless.”
I asked him if he wanted it, and he acted as though I’d tried to hand him a venomous snake. So I tried to give it to Dad.
He shuddered. “No. I’ll never get her out of my nightmares, I don’t need a likeness of her sitting around.”
“Maybe you should keep it,” Kirsten said. “It is a beautiful piece of work.”
I took a long look at it. She was right, viewed in isolation, it was beautiful, if disturbing.
“I think I’ll donate it to a museum,” I said. Everyone seemed to think that was a good idea, so I gave it to Olivia to decide on a fitting place for it.
Demons’ coordinated attacks ceased. Without either Akashrian or Besevial to direct them, major demons seemed to wander around aimlessly. Lesser demons looked to the major demons for direction, and not finding any, wandered off themselves. Minor demons listlessly went about their business, but without the enthusiasm for disruption and mayhem they had always displayed. Since the demons lost their focus, I expected their activity to revert to the random attacks we had always endured.
When Aleks, Kirsten, and I arrived back in Baltimore, we were struck by how peaceful it seemed. There had been a lot of destruction over the previous few months, but walking the streets was downright peaceful.
Chapter 45
Frank Novak had invited Olivia to stay at his estate north of Baltimore and east of Loch Raven. The Novak Family was large, the main house expansive, but she was given one of the guest houses on the property. She described it as ‘cozy’ and ‘quaint but comfortable.’ I thought it was huge and was glad I wasn’t the one who had to keep it clean.
A week after the confrontation with Akashrian, Olivia invited Kirsten and me for a ‘family dinner’ and told us to bring our boyfriends. Remembering what family dinners had been like at the Findlay estate, I feared the worst, but it turned out the guest list comprised only about twenty people.
Mary Sue caused a bit of a stir when her escort turned out to be an elf. Mom surveyed all the whispering and winked at me. Olivia didn’t betray any surprise at all. He wasn’t the only elf present, as Joren evidently was included in the definition of family.
Olivia had brought several servants with her from Ireland, including her cook. Dinner was semi-formal, the food excellent, and the company very comfortable.
"So, what’s been going on, besides demons and occasional battles with people who prefer larceny to proper work?” Olivia asked as dinner was served. “I thought I had a deal with my granddaughter to keep me updated on this part of the world, but as you all know, she’s never grasped the concept of answering her phone.”
Everyone took turns telling their recent history, most of it having to do with demons and the ‘Akiyama bandits,’ as Olivia dubbed them. But when Kirsten’s turn came, she held out her left hand. The diamond was proper trophy-wife size, and the smile on her face was as big as the one she wore after spending her first night with Mychal.
“He finally worked up the courage to ask you? Took him long enough,” I said.
“He finally worked up the courage to tell his father,” she replied.
“And?”
Mychal laughed. “He asked me what took me so long, and told me I was lucky she hadn’t given up.”
After the dessert, over drinks and coffee, Olivia revealed the real reason for inviting us.
“It appears that the demon menace has diminished, at least for a while,” she said. “The Port of Baltimore and the airport are firmly in Findlay hands. Since Akiyama no longer has its demon allies, and Moncrieff has cut off all support for Courtney and Akiyama, they are significantly weakened. Most of their allies show no appetite for continuing the conflict.”
She smiled—a rather predatory look, it seemed to me. “Osiris has hired several regiments from Whittaker, and we plan a three-pronged offensive against Akiyama’s interests in Vancouver, Montreal, and Wilmington. The objective is to drive them out of North America completely.”
“Are the rest of the remaining members of the Council involved in this?” my father asked.
“Oh, yes,” Olivia said. “Novak, Domingo, and their allies are completely on board, as are the Europeans. We plan to knock Akiyama down a peg and shut them out of Europe and the Americas, except on our terms. Akiyama Benjiro made his play and failed. It’s time for consequences.”
She let that sink in, then said, “Dani, Lucas, we need your help at the Cerberus factory. Mary Sue can’t do it all by herself. We need as much output there as possible before we launch our attack. And we have only a month. Dani, I’ve already spoken to Tom Whittaker, and he’s granted you an indefinite leave of absence until this is all over.”
And to think I had been happy to see her.
“I want to go home,” Olivia said with a catch in her voice, “and I want to bring my family home. I’ve been away from it for too long.”
Dad and I met with Mary Sue outside as the other guests were making their way to their transportation.
“Where are you living?” I asked. “You’re not commuting up there from Baltimore every day.”
“Not a chance. Too dangerous, for one thing. I rented a townhouse in New Castle.” She shrugged. “It’s cheap. I’m working fifteen hours a day, so it’s mainly a place to sleep. I can’t even remember the last time I cooked a meal.”
I couldn’t either, but I had Kirsten. Dad and I shared a look.
“It’s really that bad?” he asked.
Mary Sue nodded. “Akiyama runs military patrols up and down the main highway and supply convoys to the Findlay estate. They’ve never bothered me, but I don’t drive my own car. I’m pretty sure they have Dani’s picture, though. You’d probably be okay unless they find out you’re back.”
“Yeah,” I said to Dad. “Courtney’s tried to knock me off multiple times to solidify her claim to Findlay. She’d go crazy if she knew you were still alive.”
He thought for a while. “Tell me why we have a m
agitek munitions factory right under Akiyama’s nose instead of somewhere safer.”
“Because the Port of Wilmington belonged to Findlay when we started. Too difficult and too much time and money invested to move it,” Mary Sue said.
Kirsten was waiting for me by Mychal’s car. We hugged. “I’m happy for you,” I said. “Where are you going to live?”
She bowed her head, not meeting my eyes. “At Novak. Mychal’s going to build a place for us on the estate. But the wedding isn’t until June. I’ll still be at our place until then. And I’ll still pay my half of the mortgage. I won’t leave you in the lurch.”
I leaned forward, and she raised her eyes.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “Mary Sue says I’m making money, so I’ll buy you out, but I’ll keep your room for you in case Mychal is ever mean to you.”
Her smile flashed. “I don’t think he knows how to be mean. Besides, I’m tougher than he is.”
The following day, Aleks drove me up to New Castle so I could look for a place to rent. Mary Sue had rented her place before Akiyama took the port, and housing Akiyama’s people had soaked up the market. We didn’t find anything, so we expanded our search area. I did find a townhouse in Newark that wasn’t too rundown. They asked an outrageous price for it, but it was large enough for both Dad and me so I took it.
Tired but happy, we went back to Baltimore, where Frank Novak loaned me a car that no one could connect to me. Dad and I spent the next few days adding magitek options to it so it would fly, as well as some shielding and stealth abilities.
After all that, we drove over to the factory Mary Sue had set up in old warehouses near the port in Wilmington.
I hadn’t seen the place since Olivia first showed us the empty warehouses. Since then, Mary Sue had erected wide, paved, covered pathways between the buildings. Inside, there were work cubes, assembly lines, parts rooms, and all the things one would expect in a manufacturing facility.
Dad commented on the covered pathways. “That’s a great idea. I’m sure it makes it much nicer walking between the buildings in bad weather.”
Mary Sue chuckled. “That’s kind of a nice side benefit. We actually did it to confound aerial surveillance. I think the wards we have in place will protect from most assaults, but I’m not sure they will withstand a concentrated aerial bombardment. I’d rather not find out.”
She gave us a tour, and I discovered the two Dressler engineers I had been working with had already moved their work to Wilmington. Dad was impressed and acted like a kid with a new toy when Mary Sue showed him his office and the workshop she had set up for him.
Afterward, she took us out to eat at a funky little crab shack and brew pub south of New Castle. I figured it would be one of the last chances we would have to relax before work and the upcoming resumption of war took all of our time.
Chapter 46
Dad considered evaluating the Cerberus factory and its work processes his first priority. Mary Sue and I trailed along after him like a couple of ducklings.
After a morning spent doing that, the three of us sat down at lunch.
“What is your failure rate in quality control?” he asked.
“A little less than half of one percent,” Mary Sue answered.
Dad nodded. “After a magitek finishes with a drone, he or she tests it, right? And what is your failure rate at that stage?”
“About three percent.”
I saw the faint trace of a sly smile. “How long does it take for the magitek to load the magik in the drone, and how long to test it?”
Mary Sue shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “About an hour and a half for each step.”
“And how long for quality control?”
“Two hours.”
He pounced. “So, to increase your quality numbers by two point five percent, you’re slowing your production at the critical stage by fifty percent. Does that really make any sense?”
Mutely, she shook her head.
I had done an internship at one of Dressler’s factories when I was at university. Mary Sue, in spite of being a Dressler, had landed an internship in Italy with a fashion designer. I realized for the first time that I should have paid more attention to how the factory processes were designed. I had handed it all to her, and failed her. She had done well, but together, we could have done better.
By the end of the week, we had overhauled the production flows and increased total output by thirty percent. Then we set to work on the design process. The result of our analysis there was to cut the design staff by a fifth and put them to work in production.
At that point, Dad turned us loose and devoted his attention to the battlebots.
I was used to working twelve- to fifteen-hour days but found myself far more exhausted coming home from the factory than when I was chasing bad guys. Both Mary Sue and my father told me I was an adrenaline junkie, and I found it hard to argue with them. Especially since Kirsten and my mom had been telling me the same thing for years.
There was a downside to the absence of demons. With time on their hands, the Akiyama troops had more time to snoop around. Mary Sue told us that patrols in the area of our factory had increased, but the patrols didn’t appear to be very enthusiastic or alert.
“They’re going through the motions,” Dad said. “They were told to patrol, so that’s what they’re doing. But they don’t act like they expect any trouble.”
“Maybe,” I replied, “but if they’re anything like cops, boredom can be dangerous. You never know what kind of stupid ideas they might come up with to stick their noses into somewhere they don’t belong.”
He looked at me a little oddly. “I never thought of it that way.”
“Believe me. Half of the shootings at traffic stops could be avoided if the cops had better things to do than worry about broken taillights.”
What I said must have worried him, because over the next few days, about fifty Findlay guardians with magikal ability filtered into the factory. They didn’t wear uniforms, and were introduced as new employees, but I recognized a number of them.
In his spare time, Dad took the six old-fashioned battlebots Whittaker had given us and refurbished them. He gave each of them a thorough maintenance, upgraded their control systems, installed modern weapons, and added magitek. They weren’t even close to what we were designing, but they were a lot better than what humans had during the Rift War.
I was detailed to taking care of the electricity. The line that ran from Loch Raven to the port followed the main freeway. An automated electrical substation south of the port split the main line and fed smaller lines into the city and the port. I had never touched that substation in my life, but Dad said that he had overseen its construction. He gave me the plans for it, and told me to modify it to our advantage.
There was a fence around the substation, and its gate and the building were locked, but that was no obstacle. I took two of the guardians with me in a service van and drove right up to it one morning. We got out, pulled tool boxes from the van, I unlocked the door, and we walked in.
The tool boxes contained our weapons, in case we needed them. While my companions played cards, I found the lines for our factory and installed a new computer and new switches on them. Then I installed a shutdown switch on the main computer.
When I finished, and we were loading our stuff back in the van, an APC with Akiyama soldiers pulled up.
“What’s going on?” the sergeant in charge asked.
“Routine maintenance,” I answered. “You don’t want to wait for things to wear out. Better to take care of it and not have any disruptions.”
He watched me lock the building up and didn’t even bother to ask for identification. My pals drove the van out of the enclosure, and I locked the gate behind us. We said so long to the soldiers and took off in the opposite direction of the Cerberus factory.
Chapter 47
The week before the offensive was scheduled to start, Mary Sue gave all the employees three w
eeks’ pay as a bonus, and told them to take a three-week vacation. Only fifty core people and the guardians showed up the next day. We loaded all of the completed drones into trucks and vans, along with three more trucks filled with spare parts, and sent them on their way to Whittaker.
After everyone was gone, Mary Sue gave Dad a ride back to Loch Raven, leaving only me and the guardians in Wilmington. The following morning, two hundred of Whittaker’s commandos and one hundred of Osiris’s special operations people showed up and converted the factory into a command center.
The operation was scheduled to start at seven o’clock on a Wednesday evening. At six o’clock, I got in my car, drove past the electrical substation, and used my magik to flip the switch that cut power to most of the Wilmington area and the port. The metropolitan area went dark, with the exception of the Akiyama barracks and ships in the harbor. I knew that Dad would have pulled the plug on the Findlay estate’s power at the same time.
As I drove south out of town, fighter-bombers from Whittaker and Novak began bombing the Akiyama installations. The parts of the Akiyama operation that were still lit up made incredibly easy targets to identify, and I chuckled as I heard the sound of explosions behind me.
I avoided the freeway, instead taking the old highway, the one Akiyama was using to provide supplies to Courtney at the Findlay estate. I still ran into a checkpoint manned by Whittaker troops about ten miles out of town. I showed them my ID, and they let me pass.
I had to pull over twice to let Whittaker troops go by—once for a troop convoy and the second time for a convoy of rocket launchers and artillery.
My route took me past a road that led directly to Loch Raven, but that wasn’t my destination. Instead, I continued to Hunt Valley and Oregon Ridge. At a trailhead there, I pulled off and parked next to the only car in the lot. Aleks got out, locked his car, got in beside me, and gave me a kiss.
Soul Harvest (The Rift Chronicles Book 3) Page 22