by TR Cameron
“I didn’t know that. One more reason to dislike them.”
“Magic City issues should remain with Magic City people.”
Ruby replied, “Right? That’s what I’ve been saying.” The enemy charged at her, moving to the opposite side of where the dwarf was and slashed as she went past. Ruby blocked the first sword with the tip of hers and the second with the blade near the pommel, then snapped out a kick. The woman twisted away, and Ruby decided she had to be an elf based on her impressive agility and height.
She turned to stay engaged with their foe, trusting that Grentham wouldn’t attack her from behind while they had a common enemy. They traded a series of thrusts and blocks. Her foe said, “You know, there’s no way you can make a difference on your own. Maybe we should join forces.”
Ruby brought a chop around at the woman’s arm, hoping to wound her enough to take away one of her paired weapons. Maybe Keshalla's right and I should keep pushing to master the double sword. Then I’ll need to get another artifact blade, and it’ll be a whole big thing. And I’m so busy already. She laughed at her nonsense. “Yeah, no, I don’t think so. You seem like a part of the problem rather than the solution.”
Morrigan's voice snapped, “Jewel, three o’clock, incoming.” Her sister had taken to using the call signs most of the time. She and Idryll were still having problems making that a habit. Ruby immediately covered herself in a force cocoon and twisted toward the designated direction. A grenade was sailing in, launched by someone in a PDA uniform holding a combination rifle and grenade launcher, and she deflected it off to the side with a burst of magic. It exploded, and she realized the agents weren’t very particular about collateral damage at the moment. Probably figure they can blame it on us. She shook her head and called, “Okay, short stuff. I guess you’ll have to finish the skinny trash queen on your own. Good luck.” She dashed toward the man with the launcher.
Morrigan drew a bead on one of the PDA soldiers who faced away from her, aiming for the center of his backpack. She’d lost the chance to get to the leader Ruby had chosen for her. That person was no longer traceable, according to Demetrius, so now she sought targets of opportunity. She selected a magic arrow that delivered a force blast upon impact, thinking it should knock him into the one next to him and send that one into a couple more. The geometry felt properly laid out, like a trick shot in billiards, which she was pretty good at. She released the arrow with a smile on her face and watched it speed across the distance in a matter of seconds. It struck precisely where she intended it to and ultimately failed to do anything more than bounce off. She spat a curse and announced, “The backpacks are anti-magic emitters, and they’re active.”
Demetrius swore as his worry escaped him momentarily, something he rarely did. Ruby replied, “Nothing we haven’t faced before. I’m on my way after one, do what you can.” She reached for a razor arrow, lacking any technological options that weren’t explosive, then sighed. I can’t put bladed arrows into federal agents. That’s crossing a line we won’t be able to come back from.
She pressed the button to collapse the bow and shoved it into her holster. Using her pistol or her daggers risked the same issues as the razor arrows, so she leapt off her pedestal, ran to the nearest downed security guard, and grabbed a pair of stun batons lying beside him. No arrows, no daggers. Honestly, this hero thing is way too restrictive. She spotted a couple of people in Aces uniforms as they crept around the periphery of the battle with their guns raised, looking for targets. Their posture and the looks on their faces spoke of predatory behavior, not the responsibility and defensive focus she’d expect to see in the casino’s protectors.
She charged in under a veil, materializing as she smacked the batons down on both of their gun hands, sending one weapon to the floor and the other one flying through the air. They quickly recovered from their shock at her appearance, the one on the left a beat faster than his partner as he threw a punch at her face. The man stepped into the blow, causing her to lean back so far to avoid it that she had to turn the move into a backflip. She regained her balance and stared at the pair, who hadn’t pursued. The one on the right was clawing at something on his belt and came up with a Taser. A laugh escaped before she realized that without the ability to shield herself, the weapon had reasonable potential for harm.
She threw her stick on that side at his face, forcing him to focus on defending against it rather than bringing the Taser to bear, and attacked the other. She slammed an elbow at his temple, and when he blocked it, jammed the stun baton in his torso. He got an arm in the way, but it still made contact with the shock head of the weapon, and he jittered before falling away. The first had regained his equilibrium and fired at her. She couldn’t evade the tines, and they stabbed through her costume, which didn’t include the protective vest because they’d deployed so quickly. She stiffened as the voltage coursed through her, then collapsed to the floor as her muscles told her brain they weren’t interested in anything it might have to say.
Grentham wished again that he had his axes if only for the poetic closure they would offer to this rematch with the woman. He taunted, “Decided your face was too horrible to show? Were you burned? Did the explosion get you?”
She shook her head, and a smile grew on the parade of faces that moved across her visage. “No, I want to be sure that when they look at the security footage, they can’t identify who it is. Because they’ll think it was you all, and your company’s going down.”
He threw a bolt of fire at her face and another immediately after at her legs, hoping that one or the other would connect. She danced away from them both, frustratingly competent. The woman had given up her swords when the costumed weirdo left, returning to a magic-on-magic battle. She dodged and attacked. He attacked and summoned shields to block. They were fairly evenly matched, him tougher and her more nimble, although he couldn’t help but think she had something of a home-field advantage, having planned to be at the casino tonight as opposed to getting drawn in without warning.
Scimitar’s voice interrupted unexpectedly, talking in that chopped fashion she used during tense moments. “Been analyzing people's movements. Clusters are forming around you and J.” She only ever referred to them by their initials over comm. “I think it’s a trap.”
Grentham's adrenaline level jumped through the roof. If the objective had been to bring them out, it had worked. If the further plan had been to separate them, that had worked, too. Holy hell, we played right into their hands from step one. For an instant, he wondered if Worldspan had lost the battle at their headquarters on purpose to set this moment up, but then he rejected that idea. Nope, too paranoid. They would’ve killed us there if that was their intent, or at least tried a lot harder. This tastes like revenge. He summoned a wall of flame, one of his most powerful spells, setting it between him and the elf woman, then ran in the opposite direction. “Where is he?”
Scimitar guided him into position, and he found Jared and one guard being manipulated into a corner by a series of magical attacks. He brought up his shotgun on the run and blasted the two he had clean shots at. The third spun, bringing his hands up defensively, then pitched forward and fell. Jared was behind him, the pistol held at head level smoking. Grentham said to his partner, “This is about us. We need to get out of here.”
Jared nodded. “Lead the way.” Grentham summoned a portal, and they both ran through it before any of the PDA losers with their anti-magic backpacks, which he had recognized immediately upon seeing them, could intervene.
Idryll finished tying up the one who’d knocked down Morrigan and asked her for the fifth time if she was okay. The woman growled at her and swore that if she didn’t go away right then, she’d make her life a living hell for the next month. Idryll took that as confirmation that their partner was fine and ran toward Ruby, who was just finishing rendering a Paranormal Defense Agency agent unconscious. She ripped a rifle out of his loose grip and threw it across the room.
As Idryll arrived
, more noise came from the entrance, and a bunch of people in military-style gear flooded in, along with uniformed members of the Ely Police Department. Ruby growled, “You’ve got to be kidding me. Worldspan security, now? I thought someone ran them out of town.”
Idryll gestured toward the back of the casino. “Maybe it’s time for us to fade away. Looks like this is going to wrap up pretty soon.” She moved in that direction, and Ruby followed.
Her partner said, “I don’t see the point of it. Was this only to make the casino security look bad? Or something deeper?”
“That would be a lot of effort for a minimal reward. It has to be part of a bigger game. Maybe it all went wrong when the PDA showed up.”
Ruby nodded. “Yeah, could be. If they hadn’t, and we hadn’t, it would be a smack in the face, demonstrating Aces’ ineptitude. It seems like the PDA makes everything worse.” She stopped in her tracks, and Idryll turned to face her. “You know, I think it’s time to do something about that. I’ll need your help.”
Ruby laid out the plan, and Idryll ran to do her part. Demetrius vectored them in on Paul Andrews, who was leading from the front. I can respect that about him, at least. Although he’s probably doing it out of the desire to harm rather than any noble instinct. He had four others with him, and Idryll jumped to the top of a nearby slot machine and launched herself toward them. They scattered as people tended to do when a screaming person suddenly flew at them, and Ruby threw the EMP at the PDA leader.
Idryll landed and twisted as it went off, intending to go to her partner’s side. Ruby cast a wall of force to separate Andrews from his support people. Intentionally or not, it also separated Ruby from the tiger-woman. She watched through the translucent barrier as her partner cast a portal and tackled Andrews through it. At the last instant, the man’s sidekick leapt through, clearing the edge as it closed. Idryll mastered the anger that flowed through her at her partner’s decision to yet again go it alone and started rehearsing the words she was going to scream at her when they were next together.
Morrigan's voice came over the comms. “Come on, Cat. Time to get the hell out of this mess. Probably the Army will show up next. Or a marching band. No way to tell, this kind of night.”
Chapter Thirty
Ruby landed on top of Andrews in the receiving room in her bunker, with small fixtures set in the sides and the ceiling dimly lit. She rose to her feet and retreated to the corner to await his reaction to being portaled away. She hadn’t anticipated another PDA goon coming along, but neither was she worried about it. This was her place, and she had all the advantages. She could take them both out with magic, but that was too easy, and the purpose of this little adventure was to teach them a lesson.
Andrews stood slowly, then convulsively moved as he went for the pistol in his holster. She reached out with her force magic, ripped it from his hand, and used her power to bend the barrel, rendering it too dangerous to use. She let it fall and plucked the woman’s from her holster and repeated the process. He snarled, “So, what, now you’re going to kill us? I knew I was right about you all.”
Ruby shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. If I’d wanted to kill you, I would’ve done it there. It’s time we came to an understanding. I sense you lack respect because you think everything impressive about me is magical. So, you know, give it your best shot. I can take you without magic.”
His subordinate asked, “You’re kidding, right? Are we in the schoolyard or something?”
Ruby shrugged. “I tried this once the grown-up way. Showed up to have a calm conversation. What I got instead was an elaborate trap. So, if you all want to be children, we’ll play by children’s rules.”
Andrew said, “You took away our weapons.”
“That I did. I won’t use any either. Plus, there are two of you to one of me. Of course, you could accept the truth that your fear of magicals is clouding your judgment and negatively influencing your actions.”
The woman shook her head. “How does a fistfight accomplish that?”
Ruby sighed. “Probably it won’t. Frankly, I’m out of other ideas with you people. I could kill you out of hand, but I don’t need the federal nonsense that would bring down. I could portal you to the World In Between, but that seems exceptionally cruel, even given your transgressions.” Their eyes widened, indicating they had at least some knowledge of the horrific landscape that existed in some indeterminate space connected to both Earth and Oriceran, but hadn’t considered she might know how to access it.
She was silent for almost a minute while thoughts ran through her head, and apparently, she’d scared them enough that they feared to interrupt. Finally, she said, “When I brought you here, I thought you deserved a beating. Payback for the garbage you’ve done if nothing else. I still think that, but I also believed a demonstration of non-magical power might influence you. It won’t, will it?”
Their expressions provided the answer to that question. She shook her head in frustration. “You know, I don’t get you people. Supposedly your job is to stand up for the little guy, but it seems like all you do is try to control the little guy. I’ve seen other government organizations, and they don’t behave that way. Which means you are the problem.” Andrews flinched at that, and she shouted, “Don’t you move, or so help me, I will both beat you down and throw you broken into the World In Between.” He froze, apparently believing the lie. I really, really hope it’s a lie. Might be Morrigan's not the only one with mental baggage at the moment.
She mastered her anger. “So, here’s the thing. You saw evidence tonight that my companions and I are not a threat to Magic City. We’re here to help.” She put one hand on her hip and pointed at Andrews with the other. “I’m giving you exactly three options to choose from. First, and best, you get the hell out of my town and take all your people with you. We didn’t ask for your help, and we don’t need it.”
He scowled and shook his head. “You’re delusional.”
She cut him off. “Shut up, dumbass. I’m speaking. Second, not so good, you stay, but you keep your focus where it belongs. That means away from me and mine, and actually investigating things, rather than only throwing a surveillance net around everything so you can show up to deliver fictitious justice to some magicals whenever the opportunity presents itself.”
Now the woman sputtered, and Ruby turned a glare on her. “You also shut up. I get the idea you all think that magicals are bad or dangerous by definition. We’re no more of each than any human. We simply have different tools. Some people use drones, for instance. I can’t imagine how much the damage you caused tonight will cost to repair, and there are some kinds of harm that aren’t fixable. You all are every bit as reckless and uncaring as the worst magicals I’ve ever met.
“Now third—and I think you should really consider not selecting this option—you keep doing what you’re doing. If that is your decision, you should know that the hands-off approach I’ve been taking to your overly invasive tactics in my town is over. You’re way past the line, and you have gained my complete attention. I am more than happy to knock you back to the proper side of it as painfully as possible. So, choose wisely.”
Without giving them a chance to respond, she created a portal at their backs and blasted them through it with bolts of force, sending them into the desert near the abandoned motel that was now only fire-blackened wood. Right before the rift closed, she tossed a microphone transmitter through, tiny enough that they wouldn’t notice it. Her earpiece carried their voices across the distance.
Andrews said, “Damn her. Damn them all.” He was shouting at the end of the sentence. Ruby laughed at his angst.
His companion replied, “Are you going to do it, boss? Are we leaving?”
His voice was dark. “Hell no. They’re going down.”
Ruby sighed as he made the choice she’d expected but hoped he wouldn’t. Okay. Option three it is.
The next night, Ruby sat to dinner with her housemates and a couple of guests. Morrigan
, who had already become fast friends with Shiannor, sat at her left, and Idryll sat to her right. She’d explained that one was her sister and the other was her companion, who would be rooming with her occasionally now. Liam asked, “Does this mean you and Demetrius are over?”
Ruby laughed. “Hardly.” She rose and gave the man in question a giant kiss on the lips. Hoots and howls sounded in response.
Daphne announced, “I have good news as well. I resigned from the Ebon Dragon to pursue my magic full time.” Loud applause greeted her words, and she gave a small bow. “That means I’ll be around more, and if you are all okay with it, I’ll kick in a little extra toward rent if you’ll let me use the place as my business center.”
They all agreed and shared a great meal Ruby had brought from her favorite restaurant in Spirits. When they were in the kitchen afterward, Ruby having volunteered Morrigan to help her clean up, her sister asked, “Everything all right?”
She shrugged. “The PDA has decided not to back down, so we’re going to have to take them on. Plus, the Drow worries me.”
Morrigan sighed. “I get that. At least our opposition seems clear now.”
“I’d like to believe that, but you know what? As soon as you start believing that, life kicks you in the teeth and shows you that what you think is true really isn’t.” The vehemence in her tone came as a surprise even to her.
Morrigan's voice softened. “Well, sister, one thing will always be true where you and I are concerned.”
Ruby stopped washing dishes and turned her head to look at her sister. “What is that?”
The other woman put her hand on her shoulder and said, ever so softly, “I will always be prettier and smarter and more interesting than you.”
She smashed a handful of soap suds into her sister’s mouth, and they started slap-fighting as they’d done when they were children, howling with laughter. A moment later, Idryll came in from the other room and froze at the sight of them. The shapeshifter shook her head. “Honestly. Most immature Mirra ever.” She turned and stalked out of the room, leaving Morrigan and Ruby laughing all the harder.