Gray Dawn, page 9
“Goddess bless,” I muttered, hating to be proven right. “Have they started production yet?”
“No.” A coldness spread across Dad’s features. “I interrogated them myself.”
No one spoke for a moment, convincing me I was lucky to have missed out on the festivities.
“Do they have any idea when Luca is set to arrive?” I homed in on Dad. “If she’s flying in?”
The hub idea was a solid one. It made the most sense, given the pattern of poisonings. But our best-case scenario was that we were playing follow the leader. Assuming Luca was tracking the director, and we were tracking Clay, who was with the director, that still left a lot of room for error.
“They’re expecting her tomorrow night.” He raised his gaze to mine, searching my face for, I think, condemnation of his methods. “She didn’t share her travel arrangements.”
This late in the game, she couldn’t afford to trust sensitive information to anyone outside her original circle. These new witches were too motivated by their own desires—rather than hers—and she was smart enough to know any one of them would kill her and step into her shoes given half a chance.
“Okay.” I hated I was relieved by the timetable. “Then we get a room and see what shakes out at dusk.”
“Any survivors might warn her away.” Asa stared at the bodies of the witches, tallying the dead. “If Nan, Luca’s pet hacker,” he clarified for the others’ sakes, “retained access to the original Black Hat database, enough to force her way into the newest iteration, she can track our movements again.”
“She would see if the cleaners were dispatched to the distillery,” I muttered, “and cancel Luca’s plans.”
“That’s the danger, yes.”
“The old database.” I had been receiving fewer tech updates in Clay’s absence. Either the others thought I was more proficient than I was, or they lacked the patience to dumb down details for me. Probably the latter. “They’re reviving it?”
Unsure what a database was, exactly, I had come too far to admit my total and complete ignorance now.
“Only as a temporary measure. They’re going to copy all the files, do a data cleanse,” Asa said, “then move servers. All agents will be required to set up new accounts and passwords to access it. Then the old database will be erased.”
“I’m all for more security.” Too bad it wouldn’t do us any good any time soon. “What’s next?”
“I’ll dowse for Clay,” Dad offered, stepping away, “try to figure out where he went from here.”
“Makes sense to case the joint first.” I turned my thoughts back to Clay. “See what he’s up against.”
“Hmm.” Marita tilted her head. “You think there’s a chance he missed the fireworks?”
“Maybe he got an eyeful of the Hertzog witches and decided to bide his time before making his move.”
“From what Colby said, it sounds like the director is done hiding.” Derry frowned. “Now that he knows Luca is responsible for his present circumstances, he won’t stop until he eliminates her.”
“I believe that’s the point Rue is trying to make,” Asa mused. “That, with the level of opposition, Clay would have left rather than engage if Luca wasn’t present.”
“Which he only could have known,” I cut in, “if the director had means of tracking her.”
The hope we had just missed him was a blow and a boon. As much as I wanted to set eyes on him, we had better odds of intercepting Luca if he hadn’t witnessed our explosive encounter with the witches.
“Once he takes out Luca,” Dad said, his words frosting over, “he’ll eliminate Rue next.”
“Try,” Marita corrected him. “He’ll try to eliminate her next.”
“Then we’ll kick his ass.” Derry rolled a shoulder. “It’s what friends do.”
“Thanks, guys.”
Hard as I fought to stay present, to bask in the glow of their affection, I couldn’t fight the force dragging my lids down.
“Clay is here.”
I groaned and turned away from the bright voice in my ear.
“Rue.”
A familiar weight began trouncing me until my kidneys waved a white flag. Make that two white flags.
“I’m up,” I wheezed, capturing Colby in a hug then dragging the sheet over our heads. “Have mercy.”
“No mercy.” She shoved against my chest. “Clay’s here, Rue.”
“Here?” Her earlier words replayed in my head, and I shot upright, earning a yelp from her. “Here?”
“Not here here, not the hotel.” She yanked the cover down. “At the distillery.”
The hotel we chose was three miles away, maybe four. We grabbed the nearest one after getting an all-clear from the cleaners, who agreed to keep their findings mum for twenty-four hours to give us time to intercept Clay. And the director. And, hopefully, Luca too.
“Why didn’t anyone wake me?” I swung my legs over the side of the bed. “We need to go.”
“I did wake you,” she pointed out, zooming away. “Now, hurry up.”
The door opened while I tugged on fresh clothes, and Asa passed me a glass of orange juice.
“Thanks.” I gulped it down without tasting it. “Clay is really there?”
“According to your father, yes.” He traded with me, forcing a breakfast sandwich into my hand. “He arrived ten minutes ago but hasn’t moved since. He’s either waiting for Luca in the car again or watching for her from a stationary position.”
“Okay.” I did a quick turn, making sure I had my wand, and decided I had everything I needed. “Let’s go.”
Asa and I rode the elevator down with Colby in my hair and found Marita and Derry waiting in the lobby.
Their eyes were bloodshot and their clothes filthy, an indication they had spent the day on patrol, but they vibrated with energy that prickled my skin.
Probably had something to do with how they both held a sixty-four-ounce cup of coffee in each hand.
“I can taste the color purple.” Marita wet her lips. “It smells like chocolate.”
“Um.” I flicked a glance at Derry. “I see.”
“She picked up someone else’s coffee order. Turns out they put a little something in it along with cream and sugar. She’s been high as a kite for the last ten minutes. If she wasn’t sloshing with caffeine, it would have worn off by now.” He smiled at her, love in his eyes. “She can also talk to bumblebees.”
“Bzz-bzz,” she confirmed, spinning away with her arms held out straight to her sides like a plane.
“What can we do to fix that?” I winced when she began using a broken tree limb as a stinger. She would be in a world of hurt if she fell with that stick down the back of her jeans. “How do we sober her up?”
“Here.” Dad walked up behind me, scaring ten years off my life. “Get her to drink this.”
“What is that?” Derry pushed off the wall. “A hangover cure?”
“Something like that.” He passed off a small vial to Derry. “You can mix it in with her coffee, if you like.”
“More coffee?” I worried my bottom lip with my teeth. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
“Your mother formulated it.” He watched Marita for a moment. “She’s very familiar with warg biology.”
For Dad to be carrying it around, Mom must have figured he would find a use for it. Probably after she discovered he had flown Marita and Derry in to help.
“That sounds like she made a lot of hangover cures for Meg back in the day.” Derry snorted. “Here goes.”
Without ceremony, he dumped the liquid into one of his cups then swirled it with his straw.
Gotta say, I was impressed when he required no further proof of Dad’s intentions before going for it.
“Oh no. They gave me a caramel crunch Frappuccino by mistake,” he called to Marita. “Do you want it?”
Still buzzing, she swooped in and took the cup, downing its contents in four large gulps.
“Send them ahead,” Dad advised. “The shift will help burn off the lingering effects.”
“Come on, Bumble.” Derry led her toward the alley. “You heard the man.”
Ticking off a mental roll call, I hit the next one. “Fergal?”
“Already in the SUV.” Asa gestured toward the parking deck. “Arden has volunteered to protect Colby, so they will both remain with Fergal.”
“Have we heard from Moran?”
“The centuria is holding their ground, but if Calixta decides to involve her military, it will get ugly.”
“Okay.” I pushed out an exhale. “We need to start brainstorming on how to fix that.”
“Already ahead of you.” Asa risked a smile. “I’ve enlisted Isiforos to help.”
Since Isiforos’s dad was our propaganda machine in Hael, thanks to his crafty side and ruthless merchandising streak, I didn’t mind giving him more responsibility.
“Good.” I checked my list twice, but there wasn’t anything else actionable. “Let’s go see what we see.”
For the second day in a row, I found myself stationed at the SUV while the others secured the distillery.
There was no sign of Clay when we arrived, a repeat of yesterday, and I didn’t know what to make of it. Every time Dad dowsed, his crystal indicated Clay was here, but the wargs hadn’t scented a hint of him.
Had the director cloaked him in magic to conceal him, they would have picked up on that instantly.
Unless…
Did the director have any pieces of the dark artifact Trinity and Markus Amherst had used to hide their black witch signatures? We suspected Luca used a shard from it to conceal her fae nature, which meant there was a chance the director had access to the pottery at some point as well.
“A black car is coming down the drive.” Dad swooped over me. “There are two motorcycles behind it.”
“This could be it.” I relished the jump in my pulse. “Where can I get the best view?”
“Come with me.” Dad hooked his hands under my armpits. “I’ll take you to the storage building.”
The roof he chose had a perfect view of the distillery, but it wasn’t Luca who stepped out of the sleek car after it parked. It was Nan. Her hacker. She was joined by two other women I could tell were black witches thanks to them being upwind of us. They positively reeked of dark magic.
With a twist of his wrist, Dad cast a sound amplification spell that allowed us to listen in on their conversation, making me wish I could cast long distance. Or at all.
Pity party, table for one.
You know what? No. I was done with moping.
I was more than my magic. I had a brain. It was time I put it to use. Starting with how to get my hands on Nan and put her to good use.
“This place is a dump and a half,” the escort on the right of Nan said. “How are they not killing people through poor hygiene alone?”
“Does hygiene apply to buildings?” the one on the left asked. “I thought that was a people thing.”
“Botulism then.” Righty tossed out the suggestion. “How about that?”
“The acidification during fermentation—”
“Enough,” Nan snapped with a growl. “We’re not health inspectors.”
“How many people do you think she’ll kill this time?” Righty was at it again. “Like fifty?”
“A hundred is a nice round number,” Lefty countered. “The least she could do for my OCD is—”
The door leading into the front of the distillery swung open, and two men exited with their wands out.
Not good. Their unexpected appearance changed things. For the worse.
The main building had a ward spell. Crap. It had concealed these new witches’ presence and who knows what else. It must have been old. Otherwise, the wargs would have mentioned it. As it was, I suspected they had mistaken the faint magic signature as foot traffic from yesterday’s skirmish.
“You’re not Luca,” the taller one said in lieu of a greeting. “Who are you?”
“I’m Nan.” She shouldered past her escorts. “I speak for Luca.”
“The deal is off,” the shorter man declared with a slice of his hand. “We deal with Luca or no one.”
Bold stance, considering he hadn’t confessed his coven was down half a dozen witches.
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Lefty wet her lips. “Nan?”
“Hold.” She stared at the taller man. “Where is Lakesha?”
“Dead.” He rolled a shoulder, finally coming clean. “We were attacked last night.”
“Why didn’t you lead with that?” Nan growled, her hands balling into fists. “This operation has been compromised.” She backed up, gaze darting to her surroundings. “We have no business here.”
Temper getting the better of him, the shorter man stepped into her space. “Luca promised us—”
“Now?” Righty pleaded with a pout in her voice. “I’m hungry.”
“Hungry?” The tall one bared his teeth. “We’re not food.”
Eerie cackles poured from the women flanking Nan as they lengthened their fingernails into talons.
“Make it quick.” Nan heaved a sigh as they sprung. “I’ll wait in the car.”
Palming her phone, she fell into conversation as she marched back to her ride.
The update I suspected she was giving Luca fell outside the range of Dad’s spell. All we got was surround sound for the carnage of the women feasting on the men’s hearts. Their joy in the viciousness of it made my stomach twist to recall I had once been just like them.
“Do we follow Nan to listen in, or do we take the three of them out now?”
“The Mayhews are closing in on the women.” He cut his eyes toward Nan. “Let her finish her update. That will buy us time before Luca realizes Nan has been taken.” He frowned. “Can Colby trace the call?”
“You’re picking up on the lingo fast.” I wondered how much of that was a result of osmosis from spending time around Colby. “She can do anything she sets her mind to and then some.”
“She’s lucky to have you.” His eyes softened when they shifted onto me. “She loves you very much.”
“Not half as much as I love her.” I trawled my brain for the right words to make up for their introduction. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
It felt like the right thing to say, even if I wasn’t convinced it was true.
“She’s your daughter.” His lips twitched over the words. “I understand why you kept her a secret.”
“It’s a habit.” I heard it for the cop-out it was. “And, okay, I didn’t want you to eat her.”
Before Mom factored into the equation, he had been dead set on fulfilling his animus vow. There hadn’t been a reason to entrust him with Colby. Now that he planned on sticking around, I didn’t have a choice.
If I wanted to reach a point where I had no secrets from the ones I loved, I had to start trusting them.
“You were right to protect her.” His gaze went distant. “I wasn’t myself when we first met.”
Before we could dig into that, snarls rent the air, and the witches hissed, hunched over their kills.
“Wait here.” Dad flexed his wings. “I’ll intercept Nan.”
Unsure what had tipped the Mayhews into motion before Dad gave the signal, I didn’t hold him up when Nan was our best hope of finding Luca. But I didn’t wait either. I hit the fire escape hanging over the side of the building and climbed down as fast as I dared, bumping into Blay when my feet hit the ground.
“Rue’s dad told Blay to watch Rue.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Rue not fight witches.”
Now that I had accepted I had value, with or without magic, they had to get onboard with letting me take risks too. “Did you find Clay?”
Regret pinched his features as he presented me with a ball of hair that I shook out into a familiar wig.
“The director must have sensed the spell.” I crumpled it in my fist. “This might prove Clay reported seeing us. As paranoid as the director is, he would have examined Clay.” He would have noticed Colby’s brightness countering his dark magic and known we were onto him. “Where did you find it?”
“Old car.” He gestured toward the road. “Driver dead.”
Chances were good the Hertzog coven had upped their security in response to last night’s attack. Had they wondered at their good luck when the cleaners didn’t record the mess they wiped away, allowing them to hope Luca wouldn’t catch wind of it and pull out?
The witches must have spotted the driver, determined Luca wasn’t with him, and killed him to avoid any potential interruptions. They hadn’t had time to dump the body before Nan arrived, which was good for us. It explained why there had been no hint of Clay then or now and gave us a window for time of death.
“Could you tell if the driver was a black witch?”
“Blay found ID.” He handed over a wallet. “Driver with Bureau.”
Talk about the right hand of an organization not knowing what the left was doing. I had known, of course, that the director had his loyalists. How could he not? He knew his agents’ secrets and was more than willing to wield them like blades against his people. But just how deep did this fissure run in the Bureau? That was what I had to figure out if I wanted control of the dangerous creatures in my employ.
“How did he die?”
“No heart.” Blay shrugged. “Witch ate him.”
Screams pierced the air as the wargs took down the witches, which meant Nan would have heard.
The crunching was hard to miss.
We had to close in on her or lose her, and she wouldn’t be fool enough to get caught out in the open a second time.
“We should go help Dad.” I begged with my eyes. “There are more witches waiting at the car.”
How many more, I couldn’t say, but someone had driven her.
“Rue stick with Blay?” His eyes held a wealth of doubt. “Rue be good?”
