“Yeah, we still have some time. I’m going to go talk with my boss about something.” She waved goodbye before heading to the stairs. I took the elevator, refusing to go down so many flights of stairs.
When I got to the lab, I made a couple of adjustments, took some notes, and then locked everything up tight. I even added an extra layer of protection to keep people away from door.
No one was breaking into my lab again without my knowledge.
Chapter 9
I took in a deep breath, feeling the life all around me. The moment we stepped off the parking lot and into the grass, I kicked off my shoes and carried them, enjoying the feel of the grass against my feet.
Ami laughed but didn’t say anything, used to me acting like this. Any aches I felt from this morning’s magic mishap quickly disappeared as we walked further into the park and away from the industrial life of the city. This was where beings went when they needed the wild but didn’t have time to go outside of the city. This place kept a lot of them sane.
I loosened the hold on my magic a little, just enough for some of it to seep into the ground and boost the natural life around me. I sighed as we headed toward where everyone had gathered, some cheering in excitement.
There was a large arena set up and people already surrounded the stage. The construct hummed with magic used to contain whatever happened inside the arena. The sponsors didn’t want any magic or energy seeping out and hurting someone. That would be bad for business.
Money was already being exchanged as the screen magically lifted in the air to show the line-up filled with names of those who were still signing up to fight.
Looked like everyone came out. The weather was perfect, just enough clouds in the sky to keep the sun from burning anyone, the temperature just right to keep the skin warm but not to make anyone sweat. The sweating was going to be for those in the arena.
“Riot is fighting first!” Ami said, a little too excited. She grabbed my hand and pulled me further into the crowd. The closer we got, the more packed it became, people pressing up against each other for that extra inch. I was amazed with how Ami easily cleared a path for us to slip through.
We got to the front just as the emcee climbed into the cage and began talking, going over the rules. No death and keep everything in the cage. They fought until one was either knocked out or conceded.
Two men climbed onto the stage, the first one screamed shifter, the other something harder. A gargoyle.
“The shifter is Riot,” Ami explained. “He’s only lost one match and that was early on in his career. He’s been undefeated since.”
Riot stood tall, the lack of a shirt putting his wide chest on display for anyone with ovaries to enjoy. He was observant, watching every movement the gargoyle made. Something about the shifter screamed ruthlessness. This was more than just a game to him. He wanted to win, not for the fame, but for a deeper reason.
The gargoyle, Basten, sneered at the man. He was about a foot shorter than Riot, with gray hairless skin, hard ridges all along his body and leathery wings tucked tightly against his back. Gargoyles had the ability to harden their skin against attacks so it made me curious how Riot was going to approach the fight. If the gargoyle did harden his skin, his movements would be slow, but that also meant Riot wouldn’t be able to deal out much damage. It was definitely going to be an interesting fight.
The emcee asked if each fighter was ready, and when they agreed, he made a dive for the exit, locked them inside, and declared the match started.
Neither of them moved. Riot assessed Basten and everyone held in a collective breath, waiting for the first move. The first move was going to be what set the tone for the rest of the match. Would they be vicious or cautions? Would they go in a flurry of attacks or conserve their energy?
Basten made his move first, unfurling his wings and using them to give him momentum as he charged after the shifter.
Riot was unperturbed by the charging gargoyle. His bare feet slid across the mat as he sidestepped. Basten’s claws unsheathed and the air whistled when he swiped at Riot. The crowd cheered at the prospect of blood splattering the ground. They quickly met disappointment when Riot twisted his body, evading the attack and brought his arms down hard onto the gargoyle’s back—his muscles bulging with unrestrained strength. Basten hit the ground with a loud thud. Riot followed the attack by throwing his weight on top of his opponent and pinning him. For a few seconds all we could hear was the thwack of Riot’s fists repeatedly meeting Basten’s face before he backed off.
I noticed the hardened glisten of Basten’s body as the light refracted off it. He had turned his skin to stone to protect himself against the ground and pounding he was about to receive.
Basten stood up and shook himself off as he focused on his opponent. Blood splattered the mat from a cut along his eyebrow and the crowd cheered. Riot didn’t seem deterred, just contemplative as he tried to figure out the puzzle before him. How did he defeat someone who could just harden their skin to prevent receiving damage?
I had a couple of ideas, but I was also a magic-user. I could throw some magic to hamper the gargoyle’s ability. As a shifter, Riot didn’t have that option.
Instead he shifted into a bear. Clothes ripped and a growl escaped the hulking beast. The surrounding people jostled me as they tried to move forward, screaming for more blood.
I just blinked as I stared into the black beady eyes of the deadly creature.
Riot was a fricken black bear, standing at about eight feet.
There weren’t many bears in Springer City. They were too solitary and either set up their homes in small towns around the base of the mountains or lived in secluded cabins. We didn’t really have mountains nearby for a bear to enjoy. The closest one was about two hours outside the city.
That explained why he fought in these matches instead.
The next few minutes were vicious as they try to tear into each other tooth and nail. They would attack, back off, circle, and go at it again to get their piece of flesh. Blood splattered against the arena as they mangled each other, the bear doing a better job of giving damage. When Basten came in for an attack, Riot refused to back off, his vicious snarls a testament to how stubborn he was.
The crowd cheered with each attack, demanding more blood as the predators in each of them came out to play. I stood and watched, noting the way they moved, how they strategized each attack against. They really were brutal. I could never fight like that. I didn’t even know how to fight at all. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to learn either.
Finally, Riot found an opening. Basten went in for a neck wound, but Riot avoided it and swiped out his massive furry arm. His paw smashed into the side of Basten’s face and he went flying, landing on the floor with a little bounce.
He didn’t get back up.
The crowd held their breath, waiting for some sign of movement. Nothing.
Riot won with a knockout.
The emcee came in, announcing the victor as Riot shifted back into his human self. Someone tossed him a robe and he slipped it on, covering all his goods. We all broke out into a cheer, Ami jumping up and down, woohooing her excitement at her favorite man winning.
She gripped my arm while jumping, her nails digging into my skin.
“Ami, you’re stabbing me,” I said, yanking away from her.
“What?” She turned to me, confused.
I gave a pointed looked at my arm where her nails had left their imprint and then at her hand.
“Oh!” Her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry.”
“You’re fine, just keep from doing bodily harm.”
She laughed. “Come on, let’s go say hi.” She dragged me through the crowd to meet Riot. He stood underneath a small tent with a healer checking over his wounds. He grinned when Ami let me go to bounce over to him.
She gave him a high five and then a hug before pulling away. I watched the two of them, wondering how they came to be and what this was exactly. I couldn’t figure it
out. I didn’t get the impression they were in a relationship, and with how Ami never stayed with a guy for long, I knew she wasn’t in one.
Riot wrapped an arm around Ami’s shoulders and pulled her into his side. She rested her hand on his chest. “You freaked me out there for a bit. Can’t believe you went up against a gargoyle and won. I feel like they’re cheaters.”
“Anyone with magic could easily take them on, preventing them from hardening their skin,” I said. “So not so much a cheater. It does make the match more impressive because you didn’t have to rely on magic to weaken him. Good job,” I said.
“Thank you,” he said and held out his free hand. “I’m Dion Gillen, Ami’s cousin.”
“Distant cousin.” Ami rolled her eyes.
“Close enough,” Dion gave her a squeeze.
I laughed at their antics, understanding why they were so close with each other.
“I need to get my winnings and get out of here. Too many people for my liking.” His eyes flashed dangerously as he looked around, taking in the crowd. Groups of women were trying to inch their way closer to him. He shook his head.
“I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow, Ami,” he said, giving her a peck on the cheek before grabbing a bag and taking off, slipping through the back of the tent and out of sight.
She laughed. “Come on, let’s go get some food. When was the last time you ate?” she asked.
“This morning.”
“It’s almost dinner time,” she said. “I need a burrito. I’m starving for one right now.”
“All right,” I said, and we squeezed our way through the crowd, ready to watch the next fight. Apparently, the only reason we’d come was to see Dion fight and kick butt.
We walked for bit, enjoying the nice weather before the heat came back.
“How’s your assignment going?” she asked.
“I just started,” I said. She snorted, knowing me better. I may have just started, but it didn’t mean I didn’t get anything done.
I laughed and vaguely talked about some of what I had planned, not wanting her to know the specifics. The only ones who would know would be Mr. Lombardi and the guys who were helping me.
We chatted the rest of the way to a small store and ordered. After settling down on an outside table, Ami made quick work of her food. I picked at a pastry.
“Are you going to tell me about your hands yet?” she asked.
I paused in digging out the peanut butter cream in the middle. “How did you know?” I asked.
Ami gave me an incredulous look.
“Oh.” Of course. I mentally rolled my eyes. I swore, if anyone got hurt in the company, everyone knew about it instantly. The rumor mill ran strong. For a group of people who were trained to keep a secret through torture, they sure knew how to talk.
I laughed at that, thinking about how true it was. I had no doubt the moment I showed up on the med floor, the rumors began spreading.
“So? What happened?”
“Nothing I can’t handle. I was doing magic and someone interrupted me.”
Her eyes narrowed, her face growing serious. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
Everyone knew the rules when approaching a labbie’s space.
“No, it shouldn’t have happened.”
“Did you get them in trouble?”
“No.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I’m handling it, all right. I couldn’t blame her. I would probably have done the same thing.”
“No. No, you wouldn’t. Know why? Because you’re too damn considerate. No matter the reason, you wouldn’t have interrupted someone doing serious magic. You would have waited, no matter the situation.”
I leaned back in my chair. “Maybe.”
“No maybe. You always do that. I noticed that since I first met you. You’re patient. You wait people out. You’re considerate. She deserves to be in trouble. She knows the rules. She could have gotten you killed.”
“But she didn’t, so it’s fine.”
“No! It isn’t,” she snapped and then blew out a breath. “Damn.” She ran a hand through her hair and shook with her frustrations.
“Ami,” I sighed and reached over to her, resting my hand on her arm to get her attention. She was coiled tight with stress. “I’m fine. And I’m not going to get her in trouble because there are reasons that will make me interrupt someone, even if they are doing death magic. To me, her reasoning makes sense. I can’t fault her for doing something I would do in her situation.”
“What happened?” Ami asked.
“Someone had broken into my lab. I noticed when I went into work this morning. They didn’t take anything. I don’t leave anything out to be taken anyway. But that same person went into another labbie’s space and took their notes apparently. She figured I did it because people saw me on her floor and we don’t usually go to the other floors if we don’t need to, so I didn’t exactly belong there.”
Ami snorted. “What the hell would you want with their shit? What they’re doing isn’t even on par with what you do.”
I smiled. I thought the same thing. It was probably cocky of me to think it, but it was also reality. About half of the labbies didn’t create new gadgets. They improved upon others already, coming up with a variation of the original product. Those who didn’t focus on improving products, tested them out instead. I did everything myself and only released the product when I knew it was perfect.
“Does the boss know?” Ami asked.
“Lombardi?” I nodded. “I told him today when I met up with him to talk about the assignment. He’s letting me deal with the problem since someone was in my space without my permission.”
Ami snorted. “He’ll lose his patience if you don’t resolve this quickly.”
“I will.” I didn’t leave any doubt in my answer.
“What do you plan to do with them when you find them?” she asked.
“I won’t be considerate.” I snorted.
That had her laughing.
The rest of our dinner flew by as we caught up—despite hanging out the night before. With Ami, it was always easy. I didn’t need to wrack my brain for something to talk about. Our conversations always flowed well from one topic to another.
After finishing up, she took off, and I headed back home, looking forward to the next week.
I thrived on challenges, and I had a few good ones to complete.
Chapter 10
The rest of the weekend went by quickly. I spent most of it in my lab at home, completing my little transport devices. I etched in another sigil for containment, and then made the image in my head just permeable enough to allow air to flow. I wanted to capture them, not suffocate them.
I imagined anyone captured was going to be questioned thoroughly so the dragon could gain more information on his enemies. I felt like I should feel pity for them, but I didn’t. They were breaking into BMS with intent to cause harm. I couldn’t let that go.
On Monday morning, I was excited to test out the transports. After that I could set up the traps, tighten the security, smooth out the ruffles and get the show on the road.
I went directly to my lab, checking for signs of another break in but found none. Everything was exactly where it needed to be. I put my transport devices away and grabbed a rolled up map. Clearing one of my benches, I laid it out, using a little magic to keep the map flat on the surface.
On the paper was the layout of the building and surrounding grounds. Alijah got it for me over the weekend. I looked it over, marking weakness on the map. A couple of them I could easily close up and then add in another layer of wards, but some of them were too gaping thanks to the size of the property and the shape.
I would have to go to a library to verify the ritual to some of the wards. I needed to get it right and make sure the ones I made didn’t undermine the ones in place. In my opinion, the whole place needed a magical upgrade. While security was tight, there were too many holes for a company that pr
ided itself on being the best in North America. Since rising in the ranks, they had become a little lax. Maybe this assignment would be a good way to show Lombardi and the upper echelon that they needed to up their game before we got overthrown by another company.
If we wanted to stay the best, we needed to fight to be the best.
I marked a couple more spots and planned to do some more scouting. When I was happy with what I had circled and marked, I went over to my little library and looked through my books, finding the one I needed. The wards I wanted to create were going to take time, patience, and a few materials not easy to come by. A couple of them involved going out into the forest outside the city.
Not the safest place to hike, but not the most dangerous. Those more in tune with their instincts tended to hang out there, and as a female, I would be asking for trouble.
My phone beeped, and I checked my messages. I got one from Davies saying they would be there in a couple minutes. I went to the door and hit the button so it stayed open and then went back to putting my list together.
The list was a short one, but it didn’t mean it was an easy one. And no way would I attempt the ward without a little help from the potion. If I had to do this around a smaller area, I might have been able to pull it off without a boost, but with the company covering a good chunk of land, I needed something.
The second potion I needed to spread around the borders of the ward to hold it in place and prevent it from unraveling. This spell was definitely easier, though the list longer. I could find the majority of it at a witch shop. But two of them, the agrimony and woad, I would have to find outside the city.
“Ready?” Davies asked, coming into the room wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. He had his blond hair pulled back in a short ponytail to keep it out of his face. He grinned at me as the other two followed him in.
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