Page 45 of Magpies & Mayhem
I fought with anger and anxiety the whole way to his office. He’d better not be ghosting me. Now that he’d firmly entrenched himself in my brain and my heart—had made mefeel things—I’d have a devil of a time getting him out. He’d given me astick, and now my silly crow-brain had decided that he’d made me apromiseand he wasmine. There was going to be hell to pay if he’d suddenly decided he didn’t want me just because my brothers were jackasses. I was amped up and ready to kick something by the time I made it into his office entryway. Staring hard at the security door, I was trying to decide if I wanted to try to kick it in or knock on it, except it opened before I’d made up my mind.
“He’s been taken,” Cyrus said as he stepped through and pulled the door shut behind him, backing me up against the main front door to make room for him. I blinked at the dark elf, trying to make sense of his words as he crammed the black helmet over his flowing white hair. “Jordan,” he clarified, his voice muffled by the helmet. “We think the Phantoms have him.” He reached over my shoulder to push the entryway open, and I stepped out to clear the way for him.
“How is that possible?” I asked, fear sending my heart sprinting in my chest. I was already making a mental catalog of the weapons on my body and regretting the lack of bombs. Jordan was the strongest, fastest person I knew, other than maybe Grim. For someone to capture him… I couldn’t even picture what we’d be up against.
Cyrus turned toward the side of the building to open a small hangar style door, answering me as he went. “Lucas found the location of the dragon hatchlings last night and asked Jordan to meet him there in the Old Town District.” I knew where that was. Jordan and I had been scouting there together this week. Cyrus ducked inside a large garage and approached a row of pricy looking Voyagers—smaller, single person conveyances similar to Voider motorcycles. Of course, Enforcement groups needed to get around town, but I’d always thought these were a ridiculously frivolous expense. Something this size couldn’t hold a conjuring stone large enough to power it over any worthwhile distance, like a train could, but at least he could transport my gear for me.
“Pop your storage compartment and keep talking,” I said, stripping out of my jacket. He lifted the seat to reveal a mostly empty storage space, and I piled my jacket inside, followed by my boots, my knives, my extra knives, my back up knives, and the rest of my clothing and hair ties.Can’t forget the hair ties. I deeply regretted that my handgun was at the shop—the Boundlands were sketchy about gun ownership in general, so I tried not to be in the habit of carrying it in—but I let it go.
“Lucas and Jordan decided to go in after the dragons themselves, but it was a trap, and the Phantoms were waiting for them. Lucas just now escaped and called for backup. That’s all I know right now. Why are you naked?”
What is it with these people and nudity?“Where in Old Town?” I asked, ignoring his question.
“The Obsidian Trust building,” he said, indicating an abandoned bank building. “But you should stay away from there. There’s going to be—”
“I’ll see you there,” I answered, seizing the magic that allowed me to shift forms and snapping my wings into the air with bone crunching speed. I was out of the garage and rocketing toward Old Town before he’d even managed to back his vehicle out. Like I was going to sit around waiting for them tohopefullyrescue Jordan?I don’t think so.
The bank building was one of the places we’d noted increased activity around, and my stomach clenched as I thought about how hard it would be to breach the exterior. If the Phantoms were using it, they’d chosen well. The sun was just beginning to set as I sped over the dusty city, fear driving me ever faster, all my senses on high alert. The building was three stories tall and probably had several layers of basements, built of stone and wood, with windows covered in metal security bars. It was clearly in disrepair after years of disuse, but still stood stalwart on the low skyline.
I turned sharply as I coasted over it, cataloging the surrounding blocks. In front of the bank was an abandoned construction site. Other nearby shops and buildings were either closed or empty. Several streets away, a team of orcs and ogres were suiting up in what looked like Enforcement riot gear, but none of them were Jordan’s crew members. Catching an updraft allowed me a wider view, and I spotted Cyrus speeding quietly along a parallel road toward the bank. He slowed and pulled into the loading bay of an old grocery warehouse down the block, and I took one last slow spin around the bank, taking careful note of the windows and what I could see inside. The front doors were heavily barricaded and most of the people I saw were trying to barricade the back entrance. What was their game plan here?
I was just turning to head for the grocery building when I heard a familiar coo from a nearby rooftop.Oh no,Pidgy!He fluttered his wings happily and launched into the air after me, following me all the way to the warehouse and landing on the street outside as I flew in the door that Cyrus had pulled his vehicle through.I don’t have time for your bullshit right now, little dude.He could go find someone else to flirt with.
Crates and boxes had been pushed to the sides of the storeroom to make room for a makeshift planning area and medical triage. Augustus stood in the middle of the room talking to Cyrus and a very large ogre in an Enforcement uniform. Lucas, the lorelei, was propped on a bench, sucking on a blood bag while a medic looked at some cuts on the side of his face.Shouldn’t all vampires have rapid healing?They were famous for it, after all. Tobias, the goofy giant guy, slept sprawled on the floor in the corner of the room with Alejandra next to him, both in full gear with helmets on.At least, I assumed they were sleeping.The sun was still setting, and Jordan had mentioned they were the next youngest compared to him, so they probably hadn’t been able to shake off the sleepiness yet.
Huck was hanging from the baby harness on Augustus’s chest, and when I flew into the room, he started flailing frantically, flapping his wings, and causing everyone to step back. The surge of affection I felt for that little monster made me breathe a little easier, but only slightly. I didn’t even have it in me to appreciate the humor of staid, old Augustus wearing a dragon in a baby harness. I shifted forms and landed next to Cyrus.
“Oh, thank heavens,” Augustus said by way of greeting, trying to corral Huck’s wings with his arms to keep from being clobbered in the face. “He was quite fractious outside of your presence.”
“Thanks for keeping him,” I answered, already starting the process of plaiting my hair out of my face again. Two tight Dutch braids were probably best if I were going to end up in a fight today. “Let me get dressed, and I’ll take him back from you. Cyrus?” I glanced at him, but he was already heading for his Voyager. The ogre just stared at me, confused. I gave him a grim smile. “Don’t let me interrupt.”
Cyrus brought me my stack of clothes and held them for me while I finished with my braids and dressed, his eyebrows drawing together as I replaced the knives in my boots, sleeves, multiple pockets and down my back. I zipped up my leather jacket and turned to Augustus, holding my hands out for Huck, and trying not to be too distracting while the ogre filled him in on where his Enforcement teams were planning to station themselves around the bank.
Augustus unstrapped Huck while I held his wings and the little dragon fought and flailed to get to me, finally launching himself onto me once he was free and clinging to my waist. I stroked his head between his horns, glad to have him back with me again.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to go in first?” the ogre asked. “If they’ve got vampire specific traps that slow you down and keep you from healing, wouldn’t we be a better fit to go in? They’re barricaded in and waiting for you.”
Augustus shook his head. “We’ll go in. He’s my crew and my responsibility. The ones with more experience will be able to fight through the blood-magic. I won’t have squishy mortals sacrificing themselves for us,” he explained as he continued to unhook Huck’s carrier and hand it to me. The thing was pretty much done for at this point, with split seams and soaked in flammable dragon drool.
“Why are you going in at all?” I asked Augustus. “Is there anyone else in there we want, other than Jordan and the two dragons? Just set the place on fire and wait them out. The three we want are all fireproof.”
The ogre stared at me like I had two heads, but it was a good plan. Augustus had his mouth open like he was going to protest and got stuck. “Hopefully it won’t come to that. Our superiors generally frown upon wholesale destruction and loss of life when we have the means to send a strike team in,” he finally explained.Lame. I wandered over to Lucas while they discussed boring stuff like logistics. The front was too heavily fortified, so they were going to go in the back, even though it meant an obvious fight. The ogre’s teams would be waiting to arrest anyone who came out of the building. Since Augustus wouldn’t let the Enforcement officers help, I knew he wouldn’t allow me to come in with him, which meant I was free to do whatever I wanted.
Chapter 32
“YouputJordanupto this?” I asked Lucas while the medic finished taping up his face. Huck was still clinging to the front of my jacket, so I pushed him down onto my leg where he’d be less in the way. I tossed his baby carrier in a nearby trash bin—he was way too big for it now anyway—and returned my glare to Lucas.
The big lorelei sighed. “We weren’t expecting the blood-magic runes, and he was too young to fight off both the enchantment and the daysleep, since it was so close to dawn. I thought we could slip in and out with the dragons without being noticed, but the Phantoms were ready for us. I promise I’ll get him out. And the dragons.” He looked a mess. His dark skin was crisscrossed with hastily taped, jagged cuts that made my stomach churn.
“You’re going back in?” I asked doubtfully. “Why aren’t you healing? I thought vampires healed nearly instantly. The blood magic runes stop your healing?”
He nodded and held up the empty blood bag. “The runes were strong, and I hadn’t fed in a while. This just needs time to absorb.”
“The sun is down,” Augustus called. I turned to find the ogre gone and Alejandra sitting up. “Cyrus, can you see yet?”
Cyrus crouched at the table, pivoting handfuls of calling chips from one pile to another as dozens of spectrals swirled in the air around him. “I’ve got them,” he confirmed, staring ahead at ghostly images of the bank building, the entrances, the orcs and ogres waiting on the surrounding streets to catch any runners.
“Splendid. Alejandra, I want you and Tobias in the back. Lucas, with me. They are going to know we’re coming and are funneling us into the only viable entrance, so it’s going to be an all-out brawl. I don’t want any slip-ups tonight. Let’s go get the new recruit.” I frowned at him as he muttered about new immortals always thinking they were invincible. They suited up and headed out as a single unit, clearly well practiced, with decades of training together. I didn’t want to get in their way or cause them problems, but I figured I could help in my own way. Counting down from thirty, I waited until they were gone before I started after them.
