Enchantress Under Fire, page 9
part #4 of Arcane Artisans Series
I’d had time to think on the drive. The Void’s capture actually presented an opportunity. If I figured out the location of the prison, I could free the girl at the same time as Desmond. Desmond was so strong a Void that no tracking enchantment would work on him. But the girl was a weaker Void. If I had access to something she considered truly precious, I might be able to make a tracker that could lead me to her. Hopefully Desmond would be held in the same place. It was a long shot, but the only shot I had.
I returned to my room, where I promptly checked the balcony to see if any squirrels awaited me outside.
Nope.
Reluctantly I conceded that I needed a way to signal Kendall to come talk to me. I hadn’t wanted any contact methods left under my control, in case the cult identified me and tried to force me to give the others away. But if this was going to work long-term, my communication with Kendall needed to go two ways.
I left the glass door open and went poking around in the dresser drawers for an inconspicuous means of signaling Kendall. Somebody had purchased clothes for me. Mostly jeans and t-shirts, with a couple sweaters. None suited the colorful style I preferred. Bland clothes meant bland Marcela, which was just as well.
The dresser and nightstand yielded no signal ideas, so I headed into the bathroom. While I rummaged through the basics left in the medicine cabinet, I heard a scuffling from the patio.
Hairbrush in hand, I returned to the door to see a small brown squirrel scratching at the edge of the screen door. I was about to chase it away when it looked up at me and twitched its ears in a way I recognized.
I slid open the screen. “You changed color.”
Kendall disappeared into the bathroom while I shut the doors and curtains. She emerged in human form, wrapped in a towel. Her naturally red hair was now dyed a mousy brown. She kept her voice low. “Turns out dying your hair doesn’t change your animal form’s fur. I had to dye myself as a squirrel.”
I blinked. “Like, you sat in a tubful of hair dye? Like a squirrel spa?”
“A mud bath, yeah. Except not the fun kind. I kept having the animal instinct to shake myself dry, so parts of my fur kept staying red. I had to hold my breath and submerge myself in the dye over and over. That hotel room’s tub is going to be stained forever.” Kendall looked me up and down. “What happened? You look ashen.”
I sighed and sat on the bed. “I helped capture a Void.”
Kendall’s hand rose to her mouth. “You–”
“I know I couldn’t have helped her escape. I’m not having second thoughts.” I shook my head. Kendall was under enough pressure without trying to make me feel better. “It actually might work out for the best. I’m going to give you the address where we captured her. I want you to poke around and see if you can find anything that might be a personal item, something sentimental to her.”
“You gonna make a tracker?”
“Hopefully.” I described the Void girl and the grocery store to Kendall. “You’re looking for a diary, a photo album, even a worn stuffed toy. Anything that she’d consider a part of herself.”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a squirrel. Don’t think I can drag a whole photo album over that big-ass wall, especially without attracting attention.”
I felt like an idiot. “No, you’re right. You’ll have to have Sam make the tracker. She can target the enchantment on something small, like a thin bracelet, and you can bring that to me instead.”
“Is that wise? Sam’s only just returned from crazy land.”
“It might not be,” I admitted. “But I need to find the prison in this compound. It’s bothering me that Geralt is taking other Voids as prisoners. His entire goal is to kill them, so this doesn’t make sense. Aside from freeing Desmond, this feels like a piece of information we need. And we don’t have any other options, unless we can come up with some plan to get me into Geralt’s inner circle where he’ll tell me all the classified information. There are too many buildings for me to search them all without getting caught. I saw two new ones only this morning.”
Kendall pursed her lips. “Of course they’d make it hard to find the secret illegal prison. Jerks. All right, I’ll get Sam to make a tracker for you. Hopefully she doesn’t kill herself or anyone else doing it.”
“She’s tough,” I said. “She’ll manage it.”
“Can I tell her what this is about?”
“No. It’s still safer if only the two of us know exactly where I am. Speaking of Sam, tell her to be especially careful. Geralt is searching for her, to use her as a replacement sacrifice.”
Kendall’s lips thinned. “That bastard. I’ll have her keep her head down. She’s already doing that, actually, but there are a few complications. She–”
“Don’t tell me,” I interrupted. “The less I know, the better.”
Kendall winced. “Right, sorry. It’s just ... can I tell you a little bit about the Underground? Nothing the cult could use. Just something you might like to know.”
I paused, then nodded. “What is it? Tell me they’re at least holding together.”
“Kinda sorta. Everybody’s wondering where you are. I keep reassuring them you’re off on top secret enchantress missions, and so far most of them accept it. The shifters and elementals are best buddies after fighting together in the Battle of San Francisco.”
“Battle of San Francisco?”
“I know, it’s a stupidly unoriginal name, isn’t it? I nominated Clash of California Conjurer Chaos, but nobody seconded.”
I suppressed a smile. “We’re not conjurers.”
“I know, but it sounds good. Anyway, nobody’s stabbed anybody else yet, so I have high hopes. But the vampires are doing their own thing now. They’re still fighting the cult, and they haven’t attacked the rest of the Underground, but some normals have gone missing and nobody’s sure if it’s the cult or the vampires behind it.”
My eyes closed. “I’ve only been gone for a week.”
“Meh. They’re like playground bullies. If teacher isn’t looking over their shoulders, they won’t behave. Yvonne was going to confront Ian about it, but she didn’t want to start infighting.”
“No, she’s right. We can’t afford to have Ian turn the vampires against us, especially since the cult is trying to win them over. We’ll have to ignore their hunting until this is over.” There went another concession from my conscience. I was getting good at those. I barely felt a twinge of guilt this time. Maybe that was just the fatigue. “Any other controversies I need to weigh in on?”
Kendall fidgeted. “Not yet. But there might be something coming up. Remember Taevas?”
“The rich falcon shifter?”
“That’s the one. Nobody’s actually seen him, but rumors say he’s back in San Francisco.”
I rolled my eyes. “If that’s true, he’s probably here to beg for Geralt’s forgiveness. The cult wasn’t happy when he failed to capture us.”
“Actually, he hasn’t made contact with the cult. A few of our shifters have talked to Taevas’s birds, and they say he might possibly be thinking of maybe joining the Underground.”
I frowned. “Does the cult know about this?”
“We aren’t sure.”
“You shouldn’t tell me intelligence Geralt doesn’t already know.”
“I know, but Yvonne wants your input. What do you want her to do if Taevas approaches her?”
I didn’t have to think about it. “Welcome his support with open arms. Overwhelm him with how much we appreciate his allegiance. Make him wish he’d joined us a long time ago. But keep a very close eye on him. Don’t give him any important assignments, and be prepared for him to betray us again in a heartbeat.”
Kendall nodded. “Sounds about right. I’ll tell her.”
The discussion had made me hungry for more news of the Underground, but I didn’t dare ask any of the strategic questions on my mind. Instead I settled for something generic that would still ease my curiosity. “How are things in the city? Keep the details vague, just give me the overall picture. Are we pushing back the cult?”
Now Kendall’s face fell. “Not really. For every patrol we sneak into the city, they turn another two back. Seems like there are always at least a dozen of those armband-wearing dorks hanging around where we want to go, and some of them can throw nasty magic. The water is still impassable with the merfolk going all Benedict Arnold on the rest of us. Speaking of armband-wearing dorks, I see you’ve joined them.”
I glanced at the white band on my wrist. “It’s a way to get out of the compound if needed, and get them to trust me. I’m trying to strike a balance between questioning their rhetoric and falling into line.”
“Bet that’s a tightrope.”
“Yes.”
“Too bad you’re not a squirrel.”
My own laugh surprised me. I swatted her and rose from the bed. “We can’t all have your immeasurable talents.” I wanted to talk more, but I was starting to feel the minutes passing. “You should probably go. You’ve been here too long already. But before you go, I want to set up a signal to warn you if we need to talk right away. Can you see through my patio window from the trees?”
“I have immeasurable talents, remember? Yes, thanks to squirrel vision.”
“Okay, good. If something urgent comes up, I’ll leave a hairbrush or other bathroom item on the nightstand. Otherwise, just come when you decide it’s safe, like we originally planned.”
“Sounds good. I can’t make it down here every day, but when I’m in the area, I’ll hang around outside until you show up in your room.”
“Will that be suspicious?”
“Not now that I match the other locals. There are a ton of wild squirrels in this little private forest. One of them started doing the whole ‘wanna mate’ chase with me yesterday, but it’s nowhere near mating season, so I think he was high.”
“Can squirrels get high?”
“I dunno. Pot’s legal now, though, so a contact high has to have happened at least once, right?” She flashed a strained smile. “I’ll come back soon with the tracker. Take care of yourself.”
“You too.”
That evening, a smaller crowd gathered in the palm tree courtyard. Fael waved me over to his table, where he sat with Greg. Meg was apparently still working. Instead, Sydney had joined us, her heart-shaped face laughing merrily at something Fael had said.
So far, Fael felt like the most promising candidate for my resistance. He had a modest amount of magical strength and a position of some responsibility within the Family. Most importantly, I’d seen a few cracks in his loyalty. Sydney’s expertise in recruitment made her an attractive prospect, but I didn’t know enough about her yet. Meg seemed unlikely, and Greg was an enigma, but their power and authority could be useful if I managed to win them over. I’d continue feeling out others in the cult, but I’d decided to concentrate my initial efforts on these few.
I slid onto the picnic bench beside Fael, across from Greg and Sydney. “Hello again,” I said, placing my plate of fresh fruit and fish tacos on the table.
“Newbie,” Greg said with a nod and no facial expression. Damn, he was a hard one to read.
Sydney beamed at me. “Oh, Marcela! I’m so glad you decided to stay with us. How was your first day of work?”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “We looked for Voids. Found one. Brought her back here without a fight. Apparently she’s in jail now.” I took a bite of a taco, which turned out to be mushy. I watched for any reaction my comment sparked. Sydney’s lips thinned slightly, and Fael shifted in his seat. Greg remained a stone.
I couldn’t tell if any of them knew where the prison was, or if their reactions were to the concept of capturing Voids in general. Wary of asking overtly about the prison, I took another bite of my taco and swallowed. “What about you?”
“Recruitment,” said Sydney, quickly smiling. “Not in the city, though. I only do that when I want to get out for a bit. Usually our regular patrols keep an eye out for magic users, and if they spot one they call in someone like me. No calls today.”
“So if you weren’t looking for enchanters in the city, where were you recruiting?”
“Online. We have a major presence in the paranormal communities around the internet. I watched message boards and started conversations with a few likely people. Only one showed an interest, but it turned out she lived in China.”
A chill ran down my arms. Sydney was probably the face behind the LifeinShadow username that had tried to recruit me a while back. It was another reminder of how deeply my ties went to these people. They’d never truly been gone from my life, even when they had no idea where I was.
“So you don’t recruit from China?” I asked, managing another bite of my soggy taco.
“We’ll take people from anywhere, but usually there are other Families closer to them,” said Sydney. “One of the Mentor’s primary responsibilities is maintaining ties with other groups like ours.”
My interest piqued. “Oh, does he visit them? Go on trips and such?” The Underground had suspected Geralt was traveling to negotiate or fight with other fleshwriter cults.
Sydney nodded. “He’s been all over the continent recently, bringing other Families into our own. They need protection in such troubled times. That’s how a bunch of our new members came here.”
So Geralt was leaving the compound regularly, consolidating his power, eliminating rivals, and strengthening his own cult with their followers. That explained why he hadn’t been around over the past months, though I doubted it was the full story. I wondered just how much of North America’s paranormal world was now under his direct control. It was a troubling development, but at least my team had predicted it.
Sydney smiled at me. “I should probably admit, you’re one of only a couple people I’ve recruited in person. Lauren’s another one. It’s always a thrill, but it happens so rarely.”
“What got you into recruitment?”
“I was in HR. When I went to Virginia to join the Family, it was a natural fit. Especially since the person they had doing recruitment wasn’t that good. They only found me because I was trying to find them first.”
“You lived in Colorado before, right? Why were you looking for the Family? Were you running from the Voids?”
“No.” Sydney’s smile tensed. “I was lucky enough to never live under the Voids. I didn’t have any ... interactions with them until we came here.”
The way she said interactions made me suspect something darker lay beneath the word. Before I could ask, though, Fael spoke quietly. “Heads up. Enrique is here.”
All heads swiveled toward the path leading back to the dorm. I turned to follow their gazes and spotted a Hispanic man making his way along the walkway toward the buffet line. His gaze was fixed on the ground, his hands stuffed in the pockets of the grey jacket he wore, hood up. His face bore the care lines of late middle age, or perhaps just someone with a lot of baggage. The jacket hung off his skinny frame like a tent.
Sydney put on a bright smile as he passed our table. “Hi, Enrique. How was your day?”
He glanced up sharply, as if surprised she had spoken. After a pause, he shrugged.
“We have an open spot at the table. Would you join us?”
Enrique hesitated, then shook his head. He scooted past us and grabbed a couple plain burgers, then returned the way he’d come. His whole stay lasted under two minutes.
“Is he all right?” I asked after a silent moment.
Sydney’s lips thinned. “That’s Enrique Cortes. He was an enchanter living under Void law.”
My gut churned. “They did something to him?”
“I’m sure he faced the same discrimination and oppression as the rest, but Enrique’s story is unique. We know from Void mob records that he worked night shift at a manufacturing plant across the Bay. When the Voids fell, he was still at work. By the time he left the factory, the fighting was over and the Voids had scattered. Enrique hasn’t shared much, but our best guess is, a group of fleeing Voids picked him up from his job. Then they dragged him off into the wilderness and held him hostage for months.”
Horrified understanding broke upon me. Maribel Kilby, cougar shifter and now my ally in the Paranormal Underground, had been trying to hunt me down after the Void Union collapsed, blaming me for the city’s magical problems. She’d abducted an enchanter, an enchanter I’d spent months trying to track down and recruit to my cause. By the time I’d found her hideout, the enchanter had escaped.
The cult had gotten him instead.
I swallowed again and forced words out. “That’s awful.”
Sydney nodded sadly. “We found him wandering around some ranches out past the suburbs, his magic running wild. He’s been with us for months now, and he’s improved. The first six weeks, he wouldn’t even leave his room. We’re just trying to win his trust.”
It might help if you weren’t holding him captive just like Maribel was, I thought. A comfortable cage still had bars. But I simply nodded and buried my emotions. It was growing easier to do that each time.
Maybe after this was all over, something could be done for Enrique. I had too many other problems to solve right now.
Chapter 9
I ATTENDED ANOTHER CLASS THAT NIGHT, this time about performing enchantments in tandem, alongside another enchanter. It was all basic technique, but I had been told it was required knowledge for Family members, so I put in an appearance. I managed to flub several enchantments before getting it right, reinforcing the idea that I wasn’t very good at this.
The following morning, I reported to the glass doored lobby of the conference center. Meg was waiting there, but when she saw me, she shook her head. “You have a different assignment today. You’ll be in the gym, down on the other side of the conference center.”
“What am I doing there?” I asked.
“Evaluation,” said Meg. “Our primary trainer is back from her trip, and she’s ready for you. Since your magic is so new, we want to see how strong it is. You might have potential you never even imagined.”
