When we reached the ground floor of what turned out to be the Administration Building, I set my friend down next to a wall and pulled out my phone. The ley lines were still churning unnaturally, so I called Jolene instead of Bailey or any of the other mages.
“I’ve got her,” I said when she answered. “Clear everyone out of the area.”
“Easier said than done. Every mage in the area is near catatonic except for those Knights. But they seem to be more worried about the guy you stabbed, and they’re in the process of carrying him away. Cindy called Captain Blair for reinforcements.”
“Okay. We’re in the admin building. I’m going to take her to my car. It’s parked behind the library.”
“I can’t leave Josh,” she said. “Take her to Rosie’s, and I’ll see you there later.”
Some people gave me strange looks as we made our way out of the building. Whether that was because I was carrying Lizzy slung over my shoulder, or because I was carrying a big-ass sword in my other hand, I didn’t know. I hurried to get out before they called the campus cops.
I dumped Lizzy into the front seat of my car, buckled her in, took the parking ticket off my windshield, and drove her to Rosie’s. I half expected a fireball or some other magical attack, but nothing materialized. I didn’t feel any earthquakes, for which I was profoundly grateful. The ley lines settled down about the time we left the campus.
The scene inside Rosie’s was another story. Witches and some supernaturals were tending to the mages in the bar. It reminded me of a hospital emergency room. Half of the people were in bad shape, and the other half were running around trying to make them feel better. Puke and other bodily fluids turned the whole scene into a stinking mess. The new ward Sam cast hadn’t worked.
I checked in Sam’s office and found one of the waitresses taking care of him. He was in no shape to talk to, so I carried Lizzy to the upstairs apartment and put her in one of the bedrooms.
Chapter 10
It was difficult to understand the chaos reported on the TV news, but if one knew about the ley line problems, a coherent picture could be pieced together.
The disruption had occurred at three o’clock in the afternoon West Coast time. Automobile accidents had snarled rush hour traffic in most of the big cities on the east coast and central U.S., but only minor traffic issues were reported on the west coast. A terrorist attack—the TV news called it a bombing—that happened in London shortly after the disruption caught my attention. The building was the Illuminati’s international business headquarters, and I had been there many times.
Over the next couple of days, Trevor ferreted out reports of kidnappings and murders that happened in the hour after the disruption. Even more troubling was the ‘terrorist attack’ in Rome. The international headquarters of one of the Universal Church’s evangelical monastic orders—the Society of the Messiah—was bombed. As with the bombing in London, the devastation was almost complete, the loss of life staggering. Local authorities struggled to determine what kind of explosive was used, since buildings next to it were completely spared.
Sounded like magic to me.
The day after the attack on the Society of the Messiah, the Church elected the Archbishop of Venice to the office of Prelate. When he led his first mass, he was surrounded by men in the uniforms of the Knights Magica. One of the things he announced was, “…because of the unprecedented terror campaign against the Universal Church, I have commanded the Order of Knights Magica to assume responsibility for the security of Universal institutions around the world.”
The other momentous occurrence went unnoticed by most people. The Fae withdrew from the world and closed their mounds.
Lizzy and her father dropped by the bar so she could say goodbye.
“Is this a temporary thing?” I asked.
She squirmed. “I don’t know. I mean, we won’t withdraw from the world forever, but time passes differently in the underworld. It could be a couple of months, or a year, or two hundred years. It depends on what the elders decide.” With a shrug, she added, “Mom wants me safe, and when she decides something, there’s no arguing with her.”
Her dad said, “I’ll be staying in Killarney Village. I hope they won’t be gone very long. Drop by any time you wish. I would enjoy the company.” He looked completely miserable. “Roisin said to give you these.”
He held out his hand, and I saw it was full of star rubies. He poured them into my hands.
“There are twenty of them,” he said. “She said for you to distribute them where they’ll do the most good. Tell Sam to cast his wards again and leave the stones in place. She’s pretty sure that will work.”
Lizzy and I hugged, and then they left. My first and best friend, and I didn’t know if I would ever see her again. I tried not to cry, but when I saw a tear leak out of her eye, I couldn’t hold back.
I didn’t ask about Oriel. He still hadn’t called me back, and I was deeply disappointed. The least he could have done was call to say goodbye. Just like Lucas. I decided that my luck with men completely sucked. Definitely, my judgement did.
Later that evening, a man came in and sat at the bar. He moved like an athlete, or a trained warrior, with white hair, a short white beard, and startling blue eyes. His face was unlined, and he appeared to be in his late thirties, so I assumed his hair had turned white prematurely.
I handed him a menu, and asked, “What can I get you to drink?”
“A Celtic Stout. Are you Tian?” He had an Irish-tinged English accent.
I froze and immediately shielded. Only the Illuminati and my birth mother called me Tian.
“I’m Erin,” I said.
“Yes, Erin Tian McLane. Am I right?”
“What do you want?”
“An ally, and a glass of Celtic Stout,” he said with a kindly smile. The benevolence he projected didn’t cause me to lower my guard. The Illuminati wanted my head.
“Who are you?”
“Ian McGregor, and I’m not here to harm you. I’m on the run just as you are.”
“How did you find me?”
“Rudolf Heine reported your presence here in Westport. I was stationed in England at the time but was lucky enough to miss the recent festivities in London. Since the Knights seem to have taken the upper hand in England, I decided to find a more hospitable place to live.”
“You know that Master Rudolf is dead.”
“Yes, and glad of it. I never liked the man. May I have that beer?”
I drew him his beer and took his food order, though I was shaken by what he had told me. Members of the Hunters’ Guild were a small fraction of the Illuminati, but the way McGregor moved made me think he was a Hunter and not simply one of the administrators or spies that made up the vast majority of Illuminati field agents.
He ate his meal and ordered another beer and a shot of whiskey afterward, showing no sign of leaving. I went about my business, keeping an eye on him. He ordered a couple of more beers, spending his time sipping his drink and staring off into space.
Around midnight, he said, “I just got into town today. I booked a room across the way but would like to find a flat. Any recommendations?”
I stayed at the Huntsman Hotel on my first night in Westport. Not terrible, but not a place I would want to stay long term.
“Not off the top of my head. I can ask around.”
“I would appreciate that.”
Someone came through the front door with an unusual magical signature that drew my attention. My heart rate bumped up as I saw Oriel coming toward the bar. He sat down next to McGregor, who gave him a startled look.
I stood rooted in place, feeling a little light-headed. “I thought you’d left with the others,” I managed to say.
“Changed my mind. Decided that I have unfinished business here.” He winked at me and ran the tip of his tongue over his upper lip. “A shot of aquavit, if you please.”
My face must have showed the flash of heat I felt, and my heart pounded in my chest.
“Well, thank you for your service,” McGregor said, sliding off his stool and laying some bills on the bar. “I’ll stop in tomorrow.”
We watched him leave, then I turned back to Oriel. “Did you get my messages?”
To my surprise, he blushed. “Yes. I’ve been trying to convince myself that you’d be better off without me, but…” He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a cad. I’ve always considered altruism and honor rather quaint concepts. I want what I want, and I don’t care if I ruin a young girl’s life as long as I get it. Take me home with you and let me ruin your life?”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or slap him. Either way, I knew I was going to take him home.
“Aren’t you afraid of the ley lines?” I asked.
He held out his hand to show me a heavy silver ring set with a star ruby. “I kept one of the rubies.”
“How many did the Fae have?”
“Forty here in Westport, a lot more in other places. Six of us who stayed behind have one, you have twenty-one of them, the rest went into the mound.” Forty rubies wouldn’t stretch very far. Lizzy had told me that Killarney Village was as old as Westport, and almost twelve thousand people lived in the Village. Most of them were Fae or half-Fae.
That shook me. I had seen twelve Knights, including Bonato, at the university. How many Knights were in Westport?
“Why did they give me so many?”
“Roisin said you would know how to distribute them. She also said to tell you that you should make collecting more of the rubies a priority.”
Before I left that night, I set four of the rubies on Sam’s desk in his office with a note. I also gave one to Steve Dworkin, the head cook on my shift and a pyromancer. Steve had risked his life for me a couple of times, and besides, he fed me regularly. Oriel followed me back to my place in his fancy red sports car, and I allowed myself to hope he would be staying for more than the night.
I had never felt that way about a man. Oriel scared the hell out of me, in no small part because I desperately wanted him. I craved his touch, his lips, like a drug. It frightened me to think that he was just using me, and it frightened me that I didn’t care if he was.