Gray Dawn, page 2
“Their recovery makes a great many things possible, but it doesn’t solve the problem of Aedan.”
“No.” I hated to admit how stuck I was on that point. “It doesn’t solve Aedan.”
“We need to buy time with Calixta while we locate and secure the director.”
“I’m open to suggestions.”
“She’s a new queen, and her position is precarious. She won the throne through a fair challenge, no one can contest that, but it’s clear she holds the Haelian Seas kingdom in higher regard than Hael.”
“That sounds an awful lot like you’re saying we should lean into the civil unrest.”
“Thanks to Carver, we know there’s a movement to put me on the throne.” He wiped glitter from under his eye. “Stirring the pot is dangerous, but we have several advantages. The centuria being the largest of them. They know how to make an impact, without bloodshed, and they can contain the situation. And, if it comes down to it, I can offer to appear in Hael and give my endorsement of Calixta.”
Aside from that last part, which was never going to happen, I had to agree it was a solid plan. But eager as I was to shout let’s do it from the rooftops, I still had to ask him, “Are you sure about this?”
Asa might have given up his title, but he wanted the best for his former kingdom, and this was not it.
“We need a distraction. If we convince Calixta her crown is in peril, she will refuse to leave Hael. She’ll contact us and ask for an extension, which gives us the time we need to locate the director.”
“I asked you once if you’re sure. I’m not a good enough person to ask you twice.”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t convinced this is our best course of action.” He kissed my fingers. “I’ll contact Moran and organize our efforts through her.”
“What do we tell her?” A groan tore out of me. “About Clay?”
“Nothing,” Asa decided after sitting with the question. “We keep his absence quiet for now.”
Moran would take her boyfriendlike person—they hadn’t stuck a label on it yet—having his switch flipped about as well as I was taking Colby’s disappearance. But she would accept the news with a stiff upper lip if it came from Asa. She still viewed him as her liege, even though Aedan had claimed his title.
From me? Clay’s best friend? The person who should have kept him safe?
She wouldn’t be half as deferential or as forgiving of my failure.
“All right.” Coward that I was, I relaxed into his decision. “I’ll text Carver, let him tag along. He has the inside track, so we might as well put him to use.”
>I’ve got a mission for you.
>>I’m all ears, my lady.
>Moran is heading into Hael. I want you to go with her. She’ll give you your marching orders there.
>>Should you need me, you only have to send word, and I will return to your side.
>I’ll do that.
A commotion near the lift drew my attention to the arrival of the helicopter we kept on retainer. A black metal box with finger-sized holes in its sides used for transporting dangerous creatures from urban areas swung from chains under its belly. A flatbed would arrive soon to haul the Kellies to Boston.
A throat cleared behind us, and I turned as Fergal stepped forward with his lips pulled tight over his teeth.
“Let me guess.” I felt the universe cock its fist and take aim. “We have a problem.”
CHAPTER TWO
“Your father has returned.” Fergal turned his gaze skyward. “With help.”
A ball of limbs spiked with struggling wings grew silhouetted against the moon, and I squinted to see if Dad was carrying Mom. Except Mom tended to curl against his chest, not chicken dance across the sky.
“I wasn’t the only one dispatched, I see.” Asa twitched his lips. “Maybe Saint had more luck than I did.”
Except I hadn’t issued orders to either of them. I hadn’t been in my right mind. I wasn’t sure I was now either. Asa had decided to make one last appeal to his grandmother, in the hopes she had figured out a way to remove the Hunk so that I could get my magic back.
With my magic restored, I could trace Colby through our familiar bond, find her, and bring her home.
Without that connection, I wasn’t sure how to locate her hidden within the spells the director cast to cover their tracks.
Dad had left shortly after Asa. Without a word to me. Not one I registered anyway. Numbness had seeped in by that point. I was used to him appearing and disappearing, so I hadn’t questioned him about his plans.
Clearly, that had been a mistake.
“Is that…?” I jerked my head toward Fergal. “He flew in a warg?”
A long howl in the distance told me a second one wasn’t far behind, and my heart beat in my throat.
“Yes.” He smoothed his tie. “From the looks of it, she didn’t appreciate it much.”
“She?” I wiped a hand through the air to erase the inane question. “I know who it is.”
From the amusement bright in Asa’s eyes, he had identified our incoming guests too.
Before I could determine Dad’s drop zone, a lean gray beast exploded from the hill with a snarl. “Derry?”
The wolf ignored me and began leaping, higher and higher, attempting to clamp on to Dad’s leg and drag him to the ground. A beat later, flames erupted out of the corner of my eye as Blay emerged with a grin.
“Derry friend,” he called, waving his arms. “Blay says hi.”
The wolf might as well have had springs in his paws the way he was bouncing like a kid on a trampoline.
“Stop,” I yelled at him, and…yep. Ordering around an alpha worked about as well as I had figured.
Blay, who must have thought this was a fantastic game, bounded after his friend. Both of them launching into the air, jaws snapping at Dad’s heels.
“Back away slowly,” Dad growled at Derry, “and I’ll return your mate to you.”
He was hovering almost above my head, which meant I could now see the problem.
“Marita is shifting.” I reached for my magic to zap Derry to attention, but no power answered me. That fast, I had forgotten. Right. No magic. I picked up a rock and hit him between the eyes with it. “Stand down.”
Between the frantic chase after his mate, and the direct orders from Dad and me, he was in full-on alpha mode. I don’t think Derry could stop and think if he wanted to, and he very much did not want to if the drool stringing his jaw as it snapped shut a foot away from my face was any indication.
Not until spittle hit my cheek did Blay quit playing around and clue in to what was happening.
Above me, Marita finished enough of her transition to speak, and speak she did. At the top of her lungs.
“You idiot,” she yelled. “You’ve bit me sixty-five times.” She stuck out her (hairy) human leg. “Look at my poor foot.” The wolf cocked his head, and I had to agree with him. I didn’t see a scratch on her. “I healed it, obviously.” She wriggled in Dad’s hold. Now that his forearms were locked under her boobs instead of around her wolf’s chest, he was starting to look green. “You attacked me. Your mate. You’re a total idiot.”
The wolf bellycrawled to Blay, whining low in his throat in a show of submission few would ever witness from an alpha, even in deference to his mate. Certain Blay would protect him, Derry began his change.
“Yeah.” She thrashed against Dad. “You better shift.” She blinked, noticing me at last. “Hey!”
“Hey, Marita.” I couldn’t wipe away my smile. “Mind if Dad puts you down?”
“Not at all.” She quit wriggling. “I want a head start.”
Poor Derry. He didn’t stand a chance. Maybe Dad sensed that and made his descent as slow as possible.
Hands on my hips, I watched the spectacle. “Anyone want to tell me why you got airlifted into camp?”
“Oh.” She swung from Dad’s grip, landing with a soft thump. “I just wanted to know how it felt to fly.”
As I exhaled, my head wilted on my neck. “And Derry was chasing you because…?”
“Saint can only carry one, and I weigh less.”
“That…” I was still foggy on the why of it, but sure. “That makes sense.”
“Blay would like to fly,” he tossed out casually. “Like in Super Mystics.”
The commercial for what must be the latest Mystic Realms moneymaker made me snort. Then it hit me. Like a city bus going sixty-five through a crowded pedestrian crosswalk.
Colby isn’t here.
Not to put him up to reciting an infomercial.
Not to cackle behind his back like it had been his idea all along.
Not to fly laps around the ceiling, evading capture and a lecture on her spending habits.
“Also?” Marita leaned around me and stuck her tongue out at Derry. “I said upsies first.”
As soon as Derry got his legs under him, she ducked past Blay, tackling her mate.
While they wrestled, naked, I decided I would rather be somewhere else. Anywhere else. “Dad?”
He trailed after me, still aloft to avoid the wargs, until I reached the edge of the cliff where I had the best view.
Upon spotting the Kellies’ helicopter, and its cargo, he landed then joined me with a quizzical brow.
“As much as I love Marita and Derry, I’m not sure why they’re here.”
“We need their noses.” He watched the box sway on its chains. “They’re familiar with Clay’s scent.”
And Colby’s, but he and Mom didn’t know the full story there yet. “That only matters if we get close.”
“Your mother also believes the moral support will help.” He cleared his throat. “She’s often right.”
“She was right.” I screwed up my courage to dart in and hug him. “Thanks, Dad.”
He settled his hands on my back, soft as a whisper, before I rocked back on my heels to check on the wargs. Their wrestling match had devolved into a make out session. No surprise there.
“The Kellies are our best hope for finding Father.” He grimaced as he noticed the Mayhews making up with as much enthusiasm as they had fought. “They know where his safe houses are located and where his personal funds are kept. What they don’t know, they can speculate enough to discover.”
“I’m counting on it.” I rubbed my chest, over the dormant Hunk. “Clay is smart and clever and…”
“I’m sorry.” Dad shifted his weight but decided against another embrace. “I know he was your friend.”
“Is.” I curled my fingers into my palms. “Not was.”
“You can’t trust him.” He settled for resting a hand on my shoulder. “He’s not himself.”
“I’m aware.” I had seen Clay through times like these over and over again. “I’m not giving up on him.”
“Of course you’re not.” A smile hooked up one side of his mouth. “Neither would your mother.”
The reminder I hadn’t seen her had me craning my neck, searching for her. “Where is Mom?”
“Meg is drafting the contract for Calixta.” He lowered his arm. “Your mother is assisting.”
A swirl of complex emotions spun through me as it sank in this was what it meant to have parents. Good parents. People who loved you no matter what. I was lucky to have them. To get this chance to forge the relationship we could have had if the director hadn’t ruined all our lives in one fell swoop.
“Everyone has a job.” I angled my face toward him. “Except for me.”
“Your job is to stay alive until we can unbind your magic.”
“I can’t sit on the sidelines.” I gazed out across the sea. “I have to do something, or I’ll go insane.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“To babysit me so I can’t run off and do something stupid?”
“Children are more likely to rebel against their parents than their friends.” He brushed an errant curl out of his eyes. “Your friends are more than happy to protect you, even from yourself.”
“Okay.” I dragged out the word. “What does that leave for you to do?”
“Not me.” He cut me a look. “Us.”
“A father-daughter mission. I like it. What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to destroy that dark artifact before it destroys you.” His wings unfurled on a fetid breeze. “And, if we have time left after that, find Luca and stop her before she exposes our world to humans.”
“Blay come too.” His appearance startled me as he slung his arm around my shoulders. “Keep Rue safe.”
Inclining his head, Dad showed him respect that warmed me. “I would expect nothing less.”
“Rue’s dad?” He raised his arms over his head. “Upsies.”
As Dad’s lips parted on an answer that would surely break Blay’s heart, I elected to negotiate.
“Once around the camp?” I pleaded with Dad. “That gives me time to make the rounds before we go.”
“All right.” Dad drew his wand with a thoughtful expression. “How do you feel about mice?”
“Blay like bunnies.” He made long ears behind his head with his fingers. “Blay fly now?”
Faster than I could tell Dad to watch where he was pointing that thing, he tapped the end of Blay’s nose, transforming him into a crimson bunny with black rosettes. The bunny’s burnt-crimson eyes swiveled up to me, and he leapt into my arms.
“You turned him into a bunny.” I stroked his velvety fur. “A bunny.”
“A mouse would have fit in my pocket,” Dad lamented. “Either way, he’s easier to carry now.”
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” I lifted Blay to eye level, searching for signs of distress. “Twitch your nose once for yes and twice for no.”
His adorable nose twitched a mile a minute, which told me nothing.
“We’ll be fine.” Dad took him from me and tucked him under one arm. “Hurry back.”
On my way to update my lieutenants, I stumbled across Derry and Marita.
They paused their whatever they were doing to sniff in my general direction, and I parted my lips.
“I smell…” Derry wet his lips, his eyes flashing gold, “…a bunny.”
Snapping my mouth shut, I decided that was why Dad hadn’t turned Marita into a prey animal for transport.
“Touch that bunny and die.” I kept walking. “And get ready to run.”
“We’re leaving?” He palmed Marita’s forehead and shoved her back. “I call upsies!”
“Too late.” I hid my smile as his face fell. “I’m flying AirDad this time.”
The reminder I couldn’t summon wings for myself was enough to wipe away my amusement too.
This whole magicless thing really and truly sucked.
CHAPTER THREE
Dividing me from the Hunk had never been a priority. Too many other emergencies had crowded it out. I wasn’t surprised that what bumped it from I really should get around to this to mayday, mayday was the loss of my magic. The vulnerable didn’t survive in our world, and I was now as helpless as any human on the street. Except I had the added bonus of powerful enemies to match my former black witch status.
Clutching the crimson bunny against my chest as Dad flew, I asked, “Where are we going?”
And yes, Blay had suckered me into carrying him on four legs using his newfound weapons. Liquid bunny eyes and a fluffy cotton tail. Derry and Marita weren’t thrilled to miss out—on the transmogrification or on the flight—but I didn’t trust the gold in their eyes when they looked at Blay’s silky fur.
“I have an acquaintance worth visiting. He might have an idea how to nullify the Hunk.”
Hope I might access my magic soon buoyed me, and I cuddled Blay closer for the duration of the flight.
An hour after leaving ground zero, we set down on a dirt road leading onto a rickety covered truss bridge painted in shades of red that curled from its weather-beaten planks.
“Your acquaintance lives there?” I scanned the area, but there was only the one structure, and the erosion of the road convinced me no one had driven this way in years. “Bridge troll?”
“He’s half black witch and half bridge troll, yes.”
“Maybe transform Blay?” Not that it would do me any good in my current state, but the urge to reach for my wand while in the presence of another black witch was overwhelming. I would feel safer when Blay was less vulnerable. “I don’t want him thinking we brought him a snack.”
“Hiram, old friend.”
A man, sort of, climbed up from the riverbank. He had the right shape for a witch, but his skin was gray as stone and cut through with cracks. Lichen speckled his cheeks like an acne outbreak, or maybe freckles. His eyes were the dark green of growing things, clear and bright, and they crinkled as they swept over Dad.
“Horatio Proctor.” Dad curved his lips, but his gaze remained distant. “It’s been too long.”
Proctor.
The name clanged through my memory like a wrung bell.
“I thought you were dead.” Horatio chortled then crested the rise and spotted me. “Hello, child.”
The sweep of his tongue across his lips confirmed I still read as a witch to others of my kind. He must be ravenous to size me up as a potential meal with Dad right beside me. Yet more proof he didn’t get many visitors out this far.
“This is my daughter, Rue.” Dad’s expression darkened, hardened into pure menace. “Put your tongue back in your mouth, or I will rip it out of your head and strangle you with it.”
“Daughter?” Horatio wiped the back of his wrist across his mouth. “That would explain how she created a dark artifact on accident.” His assessment turned curious but no less hungry. “The rest of us should be so lucky.” He noticed the bunny and placed a hand over his heart. “You did bring me a gift.” He reached for Blay, his fingernails as hard as flint. “How kind.”
“Touch the bunny and die.” I tightened my grip on Blay, caught Dad’s warning expression, then cleared my throat. “And thanks for offering to help.”
“Dark artifacts aren’t born every day.” Proctor’s ravenous gaze lingered on the bunny, who flashed his…fangs? “Rarer still are those who can create them.” He lost their staring contest. “We didn’t know your father was such a one either.” His envy flushed his cheeks. “Not until he gave birth to the Maudit Grimoire.”
