“The Order of Chaldea,” came a woman’s voice.
He looked over at Reese. She looked relaxed, but focused and ready, like a casually coiled snake. Jack opened the door.
He recognized both of the women standing on the other side of it. One of them was Margaret, the red-haired Order of Chaldea agent who’d almost managed to apprehend him by surprise a few months earlier.
The other was Katie.
CHAPTER 13
Jack stared at them, his jaw hanging open in slack surprise. Margaret wore jeans and a sloping maroon blouse, both of which tight enough to show off the curves of her borderline voluptuous figure. She looked good, and nothing about her would have identified her as a powerful mage, though she would have received a fair amount of attention for other reasons.
Katie was dressed in a similarly casual outfit. She wore a tight grey tank top with a baby blue windbreaker over it, along with black yoga pants and sneakers. Her brown hair was gathered into a neat ponytail, and she had more of a tan than the last time Jack had seen her, though the freckles dusting her cheeks and nose were still visible through it.
Seeing her brought up a wealth of emotions that he knew he shouldn’t let himself be feeling under the circumstances. Katie was cute in a girl-next-door kind of way rather than supermodel beautiful. She had a fit figure, slightly larger than average breasts, a butt that was as taut as it looked, and a wicked smile. She wasn’t smiling at that moment, though. She looked as shocked as Jack currently felt.
“What… are you doing here?” said Katie, shaking her head.
“I could ask you the same question,” said Jack.
Reese had risen and moved to stand at Jack’s shoulder. She shot a suspicious glare back and forth between him and Katie, and probably for good reason. Mezolak had said they’d be walking into a trap, and throwing an additional surprise into the mix only made the situation that much more convoluted.
“Jack Masterson,” said Margaret. “Another piece of the puzzle falls into place. It’s good to see you again, though I wish it could be under different circumstances.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” said Jack. “Listen, this isn’t what it seems like. I’m only here because…”
He felt a sudden rush of fear and pain, which pounded a stern reprimand through him until he abandoned the words that had been on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to warn Katie and Margaret, to let them know that Mezolak was expecting a trap and that he’d have no choice but to sow destruction if it came to that. He wanted to explain the loyalty oath and how it would force him to do horrible things that he hadn’t willingly agreed to.
Except, telling all of that to Katie and a representative of the Order of Chaldea would not be acting in Mezolak’s best interests. The command he’d been given barred him from that option. His only choice was to play along and hope that Mezolak’s assumption about the meeting being a trap turned out to be empty paranoia.
“This isn’t what it seems like?” asked Margaret. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What my companion means to say is that our employer sent us in his place,” said Reese smoothly. “Mr. Farmoore was concerned that the Order might not be acting in good faith.”
Mr. Farmoore. Listening to Reese confidently referring to Mezolak by his father’s name made Jack’s skin crawl. He let the emotion show on his face and felt the pain and fear of his compulsion flare up, even as small of an act of defiance as it was.
“We’re here in good faith,” said Katie. “Margaret? Can I speak with Jack alone for a moment?”
“Absolutely not,” said Margaret.
“But—”
“Katherine,” said Margaret, in a stern voice. “You’re my apprentice. Mind your place. I know he was your friend once, but I won’t allow you to speak with a vampire who used to feed off you alone, under any circumstances.”
The stubborn, pouty look that Katie gave the other woman made Jack feel like chuckling, despite the tension of the situation.
“Fine,” said Katie. “I’ll speak with him in front of you, then, if that’s how it has to be. How have you been, Jack?”
Jack smiled at her, and felt his heart pound a little harder as she gave him a small one back.
“To be honest, I’ve been better,” he said. “It looks like you managed to find a place at the Order, after all. I’m happy for you. Well, sort of.”
“I would have told you about your father, but I only found out that he was alive about a week ago,” said Katie. “I guess you were right about something being strange concerning the accident. I’m sorry for not doing more to help.”
“Don’t be,” said Jack. “The situation is more complicated than it seems.”
He didn’t feel any pain or fear this time, and he took it as encouragement to keep his future statements equally vague and cryptic.
“He’s helping you, isn’t he?” asked Katie. “The Order suspected that James might have been involved in some secretive, dark business. But really he was just trying to keep you safe, kind of like the way I tried to. Or am I wrong?”
“Katie!” said Margaret, in a stern voice. “Mind what you reveal.”
Katie was still looking at Jack, waiting for an answer. Reese was also looking at him, though her expression was set into a cautious, warning glare. Jack could already feel the compulsion throbbing through him preemptively.
“Yes,” he said, while shaking his head no. Another stab of pain. Totally worth it. Katie and Margaret looked confused, and they both shot a glance at each other before looking back at Jack.
“I feel like I should get something out of the way,” said Margaret. “Jack. The Order is aware of your existence. Katie and I explained your… unique situation. We put in quite a lot of work vouching for you to keep from the reaction from being as volatile as it could have been. I hope that you don’t invalidate the trust we’ve already placed in you.”
“Of course not,” said Jack. “And I’m sure that trust is something that the person who sent me would never consider trying to take advantage of. It’s not as though he sent me in his place, knowing that the two of you would be the agents here, to throw you off guard or anything like that.”
It was pure, wild speculation, and perhaps because of that, the pain and fear weren’t as bad as they could have been. Reese shot a furious scowl at him, and Katie and Margaret seemed a little taken aback, unsure of how to respond.
“Interesting,” said Margaret.
“He has a strange sense of humor, as I’m sure you know,” said Reese. “Now, I think it’s time for us to get down to business. What is it that you want with our employer?”
“Just the answer to a few questions,” said Margaret. “Would the two of you like to join us for lunch in the dining car?”
Jack nodded, and after a second or two, so did Reese. The four of them stepped out into the hallway. Jack let Reese move ahead of him, and Katie held back a pace, giving them a chance to walk side by side, out of sight of their respective handlers.
“What’s going on, Jack?” whispered Katie.
What he could he say? How could he answer her in a way that would explain the situation without butting up against his supernaturally enforced loyalty to Mezolak?
“It’s not me, Katie,” he said, through gritted teeth.
“I know it’s not you, Jack,” she said. “This is bigger than just us, now. But hopefully, we can figure it all out.”
The dining car was mostly empty, with only a single couple in one corner. Jack and Reese took seats at one side of an empty table, and Katie and Margaret sat down across from them. Almost immediately, one of the train’s attendants appeared, smiling as she handed them each a menu.
“I’ll bring some breadsticks as an appetizer to start you off,” said the attendant. “Let me know when you’re ready to order.”
“Thank you,” said Margaret. She opened her menu, and everyone else at the table did the same, as though they could all ignore the tension hovering in the air by rea
ding through entrees.
The discussion didn’t kick off immediately, and when the breadsticks arrived, Jack started helping himself. He was surprisingly hungry and figured that regardless of what happened over the coming minutes, it wouldn’t hurt to face it on a full stomach.
“Our sources tell us that your employer has been operating out of Arc City for at least a couple of months now,” said Margaret. “Is there any specific reason why you’re there?”
“Of course,” said Reese. “I’m not privy to all the details of Mr. Farmoore’s business, but his main focus in Arc City has just been tending to a few real estate projects.”
Margaret nodded, though her expression looked fairly skeptical.
“Right,” she said. “How does Jack factor into this? Has James been assisting him with finding easy targets to feed off?”
Jack opened his mouth to answer, but Reese set a hand on his shoulder and spoke before he could.
“Jack has been feeding off me, exclusively,” said Reese. “James thought it would be the best option. He keeps a supply of anti-enthrallment potion on hand to mitigate the side effects. Isn’t that right, Jack?”
Jack gave a non-committal shrug. He wanted to be as truthful as he could get away with, but at the same time, the truth behind how he’d kept his urges sated was darker than Reese’s explanation. He would tell Katie the truth, eventually.
Assuming he ever got the chance to speak freely again.
At the moment, she had an odd, annoyed expression on her face. One arm was crossed over her breasts, and Jack couldn’t tell if it was his imagination or if the index finger of her other hand was actively caressing the spot on her neck where he usually bit.
“We know that helping Jack isn’t the only reason why James’ behavior has been so unusual recently,” said Margaret. “Why has he been so hesitant to agree to a direct meeting with the Order?”
“The Order of Chaldea has a tendency to jump to conclusions,” said Reese. “I’m sure you can see why my employer would be hesitant to put himself in your power, given his history with the Order. He’s concerned that he might be seen as a loose end in the eyes of some.”
Margaret frowned and looked back and forth between them. Katie looked like she wanted to say something, but she was doing a surprisingly good job of holding her tongue.
“Ah, yes,” said Margaret. “It’s funny you should bring up history, Reese. You never lived with the reclusive tendencies that James has developed, at least not until you started working for him. We know all about you.”
Her words took Jack off guard, and if Reese’s reaction was any indication, she was similarly surprised.
“How does a veterinary student end up as the lackey of a powerful ex-wizard?” asked Margaret. “Or maybe a better question is how did you survive those protests against the poachers in South Africa? It doesn’t seem like anyone else who was on your expedition made it back.”
“I…” Reese looked flustered, but she composed herself with remarkable speed. “That isn’t what we’re here to discuss.”
“Isn’t it, though?” asked Margaret. “James Farmoore has not added up, as a person, for a very long time. Little abnormalities, such as you and your service to him, or the fact that his son is a vampire, add up to a bigger picture. I’m afraid I must place both of you in the custody of the Order until he agrees to answer some of our questions in person.”
Reese tensed up, and Jack could already feel his compulsion and Mezolak’s order thrumming in the back of his awareness.
“That isn’t going to happen,” said Reese.
It was dead silent, at least at their table. A few more passengers had entered the dining car, which gave Reese a proper audience as she stood up and flipped the table.
CHAPTER 14
The fight was chaotic from the very start. Margaret pulled Katie out of her seat and back a few feet, the two of them standing side by side in the train car’s narrow aisle. The six passengers in the dining car with them seemed almost like they were trying to ignore what was going on and continue eating their food. Reese gave a slow nod to Jack, her eyes appraising him and making sure that he would support her as the fight progressed.
“This won’t end well for you,” called Margaret. “Don’t be stupid!”
She’d pulled a wand out, and the tip of it was leveled toward Jack and Reese. Jack exhaled through his teeth and tried to catch Katie’s eye. She was busy directing the two passengers on her side of the train car to the connecting door, for their own safety.
“Stupid is thinking that we didn’t expect you to try something like that from the very beginning,” said Reese. “Stupid is—”
Margaret flicked her wand. A baseball-sized sphere of twisting flame erupted from it, crossing the relatively short distance between them in the blink of an eye. It was fast, but Jack was faster, especially with his reflexes primed by Mezolak’s dark command.
He summoned his Spectral Sword and stepped up to the plate. A single slash of his ethereal blade was enough to dissipate the flames and heat, though the interior of the train car was left feeling a few degrees warmer.
“Pyromancy,” said Jack. “You once told me that it was dangerous to use that indoors.”
“Like with everything in life, it’s a tradeoff,” said Margaret. “At least here on the train, if the fire starts to get out of control, there’s the option to decouple the offending car.”
“Right,” said Jack. He was about to make an attempt at forcing out words that might have brought the encounter to a peaceful end when Katie made her move.
She launched herself forward with the grace of an acrobat, stepping up onto one of the tables and diving at Reese. She had a wand, too, and Jack watched in disbelief as the tip of it glowed purple and released an invisible blast of force. The blast struck Reese in the chest and sent her flying backward, where she unceremoniously landed in a crumple across one of the occupied tables.
The passengers were screaming now, and their terror triggered Jack’s latent instructions. He felt his head pounding with unbelievable pain as his body began moving on its own. Two of the passengers were attempting to open the door leading back to the private cabins. Jack cast Spectral Hand and used two shadow tendrils to snare them by the ankles and pull them back.
“No…” he muttered. The arm in which he held his Spectral Sword was lifting into the air. Jack devoted every ounce of willpower he had to holding himself still. He might not be able to reverse his course, but maybe with enough focus, he could keep from going any further. He had to if he wanted to go on living with who he was.
“Jack?” said Katie, in a confused voice. “What are you—”
Reese punched her in the face before she could finish her sentence, hard enough to make Jack feel a sudden surge of sympathetic pain. Margaret still had her wand pointed toward them, but couldn’t risk taking the shot with Katie in the mix.
“You won’t win!” screamed Margaret. “We have agents waiting at the next stop! It’s over!”
“We also planned ahead,” said Reese. She flashed a wicked smile at Jack, and then nodded to one of the train car’s windows.
It took him a second to recognize what he was seeing. Dust was being kicked up from the dry earth as some kind of vehicle kept pace with the train. Not a vehicle, Jack realized. An animal. A massive, orange tiger that was running at full speed.
The tiger suddenly veered in closer to the train and then leapt into the air. It disappeared from view for an instant, and then the train car shook as something heavy landed on top of it.
“You…” said Margaret. “This is treachery!”
Pot calling the kettle black, Jack wanted to say. Unfortunately, his focus was still on not letting himself kill the cowering passengers. They were terrified of him, and he knew that every bit of it was justified.
The train car’s ceiling let out a harsh groan as a massive hole opened up overhead. The tiger was peeling the metal back as though it was a loose carpet on moving day. It le
t out a rumbling growl as it poked its huge head into the train car.
Margaret was already preparing another blast of fire, which was aimed at the beast, judging from the angle of her wand. Reese hissed and tackled the other woman just as the spell released. It went sideways instead of up, blowing another hole in the side wall of the train car large enough to ride a bike through.
The sudden gaps in the train car’s structure let the whipping air run havoc inside, scattering napkins and making the tablecloths flutter. Everyone except the combatants was screaming now, and each scream made it a little harder for Jack to stay in control.
He was doubled over completely, clutching at his heart with his free hand. He had a dozen shadow tendrils extended from his shoulders, and each of them took a measure of concentration to keep from automatically seizing one of the passengers and flinging them out of the train to their deaths. The pain and fear were both there, alternating back and forth in a relentless, psychic assault on Jack’s self-control.
“Jack…” said Katie. “What are you doing?”
She had her wand pointed at his chest. Jack met her eyes for a horrible instant, and saw a look on Katie’s face that he recognized. It was the one that she always gave him when she saw him cross over the line between good and evil. The look that Katie gave to monsters.
He knew that this time it was more deserved than ever. Jack leaned forward, shifting so that her wand was pointed at his head instead of his chest.
“Do it,” he said, through gritted teeth. “I… can’t stop myself.”
Or could he? Reese, her tiger, and Margaret were currently distracted. The passengers were screaming. Katie was in front of him. And the hole in the side of the train was only a few steps forward and to his left. He felt his willpower slipping, and knew that the choice he was about to make might be the last one he’d have the opportunity to decide on, at least until the massacre had run its course.
“Jack!” Katie tried to grab his shoulder as he moved. She fired her spell, but it had slipped off angle, and collided with his shoulder instead of anywhere that mattered.
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