Death Magic (53 page)
Authors: Eileen Wilks
The mental voice was fainter.
I regret the lack of notice. I have trouble differentiating threads in . . . from the not-now. I had intended to give you more . . . as well, perhaps. You would have . . . quite annoying. I am nearly out of range, so . . .
I regret the lack of notice. I have trouble differentiating threads in . . . from the not-now. I had intended to give you more . . . as well, perhaps. You would have . . . quite annoying. I am nearly out of range, so . . .
And that was it. Mika was gone.
“Son of a
bitch
.” Rule spat out the last word.
bitch
.” Rule spat out the last word.
“Has everyone been messing with my head?” Lily was so angry she was shaking. “The Lady, the dragons—is there a sign on my head that says ‘please tamper with my brain?’ ”
Cullen leaned back in his chair, frowning. “Once the two of you are done cursing the damned know-all, see-all, tell-nothing dragons, we might try to figure out why they’re taking off so suddenly. It isn’t for one of their sing-alongs. They wouldn’t have kept that a secret until the last moment.”
Lily drew a shaky breath. She was okay. At least she thought she was. How could she tell anymore? “What’s to figure? We don’t have anything to go on.”
“We know Mika’s traveling a long way, but expects to get there by dawn.”
“Do you know how fast a dragon can fly? I sure don’t.”
“There were fighter jets pacing the dragons when we returned from Dis.”
She remembered. In retrospect, it didn’t make sense. How could wings carry dragons anywhere near as fast as a jet? Even if those jets were intentionally going well below their top speed . . . she turned to Rule.
Who had an odd look on his face. “This is farfetched, but . . .” He looked at Lily. “Mysterious Rhej business?”
She blinked. “It has to be coincidence. Doesn’t it? The Rhejes don’t take orders from the dragons. Or vice versa. I doubt they’re in contact at all.”
“No,” Cullen said slowly. “But what if the dragons are in contact with the Lady?”
THE
land was rock and dirt without a shred of green, lit by the eerie fluorescence of a sky lacking sun, moon, or stars. Lily crouched behind a rocky outcropping, firing an M-16 at the nightmare swooping down upon her from that empty sky. The horrific blasts from her weapon had her head pounding as if something was trying to get in, but the creature kept coming—
land was rock and dirt without a shred of green, lit by the eerie fluorescence of a sky lacking sun, moon, or stars. Lily crouched behind a rocky outcropping, firing an M-16 at the nightmare swooping down upon her from that empty sky. The horrific blasts from her weapon had her head pounding as if something was trying to get in, but the creature kept coming—
Cheep, cheep, cheep.
Her eyes popped open. It was dark—dark as in nighttime. Normal night. She was not in Dis . . . stupid damn nightmare. Blindly she groped for her phone on the bedside table, sitting up. Rule was gone. Maybe it wasn’t the middle of the night, after all. Her hand connected with the phone and she thumbed it on. “Lily Yu here.”
“Lily, I’m so sorry if I woke you.”
It was Deborah Brooks. Lily glanced at the clock. 6:35. It wasn’t night anymore, though it was still dark; sunrise was thirty or forty minutes away. Rule must have messed with the alarm again, dammit. He did that when he thought she needed sleep. “Not a problem,” she said. “Something’s wrong, or you wouldn’t have called.”
“It’s the elemental. It’s leaving.”
“Everyone’s leaving.” No, wait, Deborah didn’t know about the exodus of dragons and Rhejes, and this couldn’t be connected. Could it? Lily reached for the lamp and switched it on, hoping light would get her brain working. “What do you mean?”
“It’s difficult to put what it tells me into words, but it’s being called—or maybe offered something. I think someone has promised it something. Or perhaps it wants to see the others. There are other earth elementals there. I’m not sure how many, but it wants to go where they are. I think I should go with it.”
“Wait. Go with it? Where and why?”
“The National Mall. I’m almost sure it’s going to the National Mall. That’s where those Humans First people are. That can’t be good, can it? So I need to go with the elemental. I thought you and Rule should know. I wasn’t sure who else to tell.”
“You did right.” She threw back the covers and headed for the chest of drawers. “Stay where you are. We’ll be—”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I need to go now, Lily. It likes me and is happy for me to go with it, but it won’t wait for me. You won’t be able to call me because it doesn’t like cell signals. It says they itch. I have to go now.” The line went dead.
Lily didn’t waste time cursing. She called Rule loudly as she grabbed underwear from the drawer. She never slept naked when there were people in the house, but last night they’d made love so late and she’d fallen asleep without dragging on a T-shirt or anything else and . . .
The door slammed open. “What is it?”
“Deborah Brooks called. Fagin’s elemental is headed for the National Mall. At least that’s where she thinks it’s going, and she’s going with it.” How? Deborah couldn’t ride on the thing. Follow it in her car? On foot? Lily had her panties on and was fastening a bra. “I tried to get her to stay put, but she wouldn’t. She said there are other earth elementals there now. And someone’s offering them something.”
“Cullen,” Rule called as he moved to the closet. “To me. José! Send someone for the van, double-time. I want ten guards downstairs and ready to leave immediately. The rest here and on high alert.” He pulled something dark from the closet and tossed it at Lily.
She caught it. A T-shirt. Good. She pulled it on and went to get her weapon. A pair of jeans sailed her way, but landed on the floor.
Cullen burst in. He was wearing even less than her—as in nothing.
Lily grabbed the jeans as Rule continued briskly, “Earth elementals are headed for the National Mall—we think. So is Deborah Brooks, who called Lily with the information. Can you stop or interfere with a summoning?”
“Depends on what they’re doing, how far along it is, and how close I can get.” He scrubbed at his face with both hands, clearly trying to wake up. “Why would Humans Firsters summon elementals?”
“Bet it will look like me or Ruben is doing the summoning,” Lily said, fastening her slacks, then reaching for her shoulder harness. “They plan to use the elementals to inflict damage—the Washington Monument, maybe? The Smithsonian? —and blame us. The Gifted in general, but specifically the Unit. They want the Unit completely discredited.”
“It won’t be you doing the summoning,” Rule said. “Ruben. He’s in hiding so he won’t be alibied, and too many people know that sensitives can’t work magic.”
“Shit.” Cullen said. “Yeah. I’ll get dressed.” He dashed out.
“Dammit,” Rule said. “Where’s my phone?”
“Here.” Lily plucked it from the dresser and handed it to him. “Do we have a plan?”
“We’re winging it.”
“One good thing. They can’t know we’ve been tipped. They don’t know about Deborah, so . . .” Her phone beeped. A text. She grabbed it. Maybe Deborah had something to add to their too-short conversation.
It wasn’t from Deborah. It was from Doug Mullins:
Found Anna. Still alive. Others too. Need backup at 1225 N Hammond in D.C. Approach from FRONT. Bad guys behind me on Webster.
THIRTY-FIVE
HE
woke nameless and naked and clogged with dreams. The images choked him. He whined, but the sound frightened him. It was wrong. He was wrong. Shaped wrong. Bare and furless and—
woke nameless and naked and clogged with dreams. The images choked him. He whined, but the sound frightened him. It was wrong. He was wrong. Shaped wrong. Bare and furless and—
“Shh.” A comforting smell, a heartbeat and presence he knew, drew near. The leader. He was in his tall-shape, the furless one where his forelegs could grasp and hold things. At first that had been terrible, seeing the leader’s proper form vanish, replaced by the alien shape, but the leader kept doing it.
After a while he’d understood that the leader wanted him to acknowledge him no matter what. To know that this one was leader no matter how he was formed. Once he understood that, it made little difference which shape the leader took.
“You slipped into your other form while you slept,” the leader murmured. “That’s unexpected for both of us, but you’re okay. You’re all right.”
Dimly he struggled after the words, the sense of them. Oh—he
remembered
words. Language. He hadn’t known he’d forgotten until this moment, when he remembered. He needed words now. “Dreams . . .” he whispered.
remembered
words. Language. He hadn’t known he’d forgotten until this moment, when he remembered. He needed words now. “Dreams . . .” he whispered.
“You dreamed?” The leader laid a hand on his shoulder.
“We . . . go. We go.” He tried to sit up, but he’d forgotten how this form worked and thrashed awkwardly before managing it. “Stop them. Must stop them.” He panted as if he’d been chasing for hours instead of sleeping. Then more words tumbled out, surprising him because he didn’t know what they meant. “Albany. D.C. Albuquerque. S-San Diego.”
The leader thought for a long moment. He smelled calm, and that helped. But he had to understand. Had to help. They must
go
.
go
.
“Well, you’re breaking enough rules all on your own,” the leader said at last. “Why shouldn’t I break one, too? Ruben,” he said firmly.
Something yanked at him. Something inside that twisted his thoughts, opening . . . opening . . .
“Ruben. It is time to remember. You are Ruben Brooks.”
THIRTY-SIX
“IT’S
a trap.”
a trap.”
“Maybe.” Lily gnawed on her lip. Was it really from Mullins? She had—maybe—been tricked by someone using Sjorensen’s phone. She texted back:
Why do you have to beat women off with stick?
He replied:
Massive charm and intellect and my goddamn sense of humor. Hurry.
“It’s Mullins.” She texted her reply—
On my way. 20m.
—then looked at Rule. “I have to go. If it’s a trap, I’ll just have to be smarter than they are. If it’s not . . . he says she’s alive.”
On my way. 20m.
—then looked at Rule. “I have to go. If it’s a trap, I’ll just have to be smarter than they are. If it’s not . . . he says she’s alive.”
Rule was rigid. “All right. I go with you.” He started to turn. “José—”
She grabbed his arm. “No. Rule, you can’t go with me everywhere. You can’t. I need to do this. You need to lead your people. You’ve got a mix of Leidolf and Nokolai and they aren’t all—”
“They’ll do as they’re bloody well told!”
“José isn’t you! He doesn’t know enough to lead them into who-the-hell-knows-what with dopplegängers and elementals!”
“I’m not going to leave you.”
His phone sounded. It was “Dueling Banjos,” Isen’s ring tone.
He released her and spun around, grabbing the phone like he wanted to choke it. “Yes.” His expression darkened, but he said nothing for several moments. Then: “You’re sure? . . . I see. I . . .” His jaw clenched. “Give me a moment.”
He paced away, the phone gripped at his side. Turned and looked at Lily. “Ruben woke as a man. He had dreams—visions—and they seem to have propelled him back to his original form. He is not yet in full possession of language, but from what Isen pieced together, events will take place very soon in Albany, Albuquerque, San Diego . . . and here. At the National Mall. He’s already spoken to Benedict and Manuel. Benedict will take a troop of Nokolai into the city. Manuel agreed that Albuquerque was Ybirra’s to handle. Ruben . . . with Isen’s help, Ruben will lead Wythe to deal with events in Albany.” Bleakly he finished, “My Rho orders me to go immediately to the National Mall.”
Softly she said, “Then you have to go.”
He closed his eyes. Shuddered. “Yes.”
She went to him and put her arms around him. “I’ll live if you will.”
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