Page 40

CHAPTER 40

I had a snack and went back to bed. Nicola showed up about an hour before dawn, and Alex knocked on my door to wake me.

The Master closely watched as I wove a light-tight shield around Nicola and me. When I finished, he nodded.

She didn’t look as convinced, but when Alex flashed an electric torch at us and none of the light penetrated, I saw her relax.

We all got into one of the Enforcers’ personnel carriers and joined four other APCs in a convoy to the Müller mansion.

“This is the first sunrise I’ve seen in eighty-three years,” Nicola said. “I’d forgotten how beautiful it can be.”

“You can see the sunlight?” I asked, concerned that the light was penetrating her shield.

She shook her head. "I can see the colors."

I wasn’t sure what that meant, but since she wasn’t sizzling or steaming, and didn’t seem to be in any discomfort, I decided that the shield was performing its function.

Our convoy split up, taking positions around the estate out of sight. The APC carrying me and the insertion team parked about two blocks away, and we disembarked. Alex took the point position, with Nicola and me following him. Captain Le Pen, Gertrude, and Hans came behind, covering our backs.

We crept down the hill, and Alex disabled the ward at a gate in the wall behind the house.

“Nik will probably feel that,” he said, “especially if he’s home. But he’s modified the wards to allow all those Knights and Kantonspolizei to enter the place, so maybe he won’t think much about it.”

The next obstacle was the garage door. The ward there was much stronger. I could see Alex’s magic drawing from the ley line. The ward glowed green, then it fell.

“We must hurry now,” he said, punching a code into the electronic lock. The door retracted, revealing a long driveway under the house, wide enough for one of the APCs to comfortably navigate. A set of stairs leading upward was just inside the doorway.

We followed him past individual parking alcoves, most containing expensive Mercedes or fancy sports cars. Past them, there was a hallway that extended well under the house. Several closed doors lined one side.

“My bet is that they’re keeping Karlsson in one of these storage rooms,” Alex said.

I sidled past him and stopped at the third door.

“He’s in here.” The door was warded, and there was a heavy padlock on it.

Alex dissolved the ward, then grasped the padlock. Pulling energy from the ley line, he crushed the lock.

“We need everyone out, and you need to block any light from coming down the hallway,” I said.

He and the others backed out, and the hallway suddenly plunged into complete darkness. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

“Even if it’s booby-trapped,” I told Nicola, “our shields will cover us. Go in and get him, bring him out, and I’ll reweave your shield.”

She pushed the door open and entered the room. I heard some rustling and shuffling, and Nicola said something I couldn’t hear well, then I sensed her and Verner next to me.

“I have him, what’s next?” she asked.

“Just him? No coffin or whatever?”

“Just him. He senses it’s daytime, like I do, so he’s drowsy, not really awake.”

“Okay. I’m going to rebuild your shield. Position him so you can carry him and hold him in the car. Then I’ll reweave the shield around you both.”

I dissolved my shield. That was the easy part. Trying to weave a shield around a space I couldn’t see, and wasn’t sure of the dimensions of the object I was trying to enclose, was something I hadn’t anticipated.

I could sense the two of them and smell them. I reached out and ran my hands over them, feeling how Nicola was holding Verner in her arms. He was obviously cooperating, awake enough to have his arms around her neck and his legs wrapped around her waist.

I wove the shield around them, then recast my own shield.

“Okay, I think we’re ready to go.” I raised my voice and called out. “Alex, a little light, please!”

The darkness lightened, and I could see him standing at the end of the hall.

“Come on,” I said to Nicola. “Just follow me, and don’t get too far away from me.”

“Lead on, O fearless leader,” she said, a touch of laughter in her voice.

We were halfway to the garage entrance when Nikolas and Roland came down the stairs and stood in front of us. Nikolas held a large pistol, and Roland carried an assault rifle with a sling around his neck to help hold the gun level. I had been told they were having a difficult time designing a prosthetic for his missing arm.

“Alex, I think it’s time to call in some reinforcements,” Captain Le Pen said.

“I think you’re right,” Alex responded, raising his hands and pulling on the ley line. The wards crashed. “Call in the troops.”

I could see the effects of the wards coming down in the reactions of the other two Müller brothers. They staggered, then Roland sprayed the garage with bullets from the assault rifle. Since our party was shielded, the only damage was to some of the cars.

“I always knew you were stupid,” Gertrude said, striding ahead and drawing closer to Roland.

While weapons such as swords and axes could be used by a shielded mage, you had to drop your shield to fire a gun. I didn’t know whether Roland was stupid, or simply slow, but he fired another burst at her instead of shielding before Gertrude’s axe split his head all the way to his chest.

Nikolas took a couple of steps toward us, and I closed the distance between us. He raised his pistol and fired twice. I realized the gun was one issued to the Kantonspolizei for use against strigoi. The explosive-incendiary rounds hit my shield, and fire splashed around me. He shifted his aim and fired three times at Nicola and Verner with the same effect.

I stepped closer, brandishing my sword. His eyes followed it. I took advantage of his distraction and drew my wakizashi with my right hand. With one more step, I opened him from breastbone to groin. There was no resistance. He hadn’t shielded, either.

The pistol slowly slipped from his hand and dropped to the floor.

“I would have made you a queen,” he said, then fell to his knees. He turned his head down to stare at the red line on his body. It bulged, and he raised his hands to it as his entrails began to spill from the cut.

“Well, just look at what you missed,” Gertrude said with a twisted grin. “I don’t think I could have gotten used to calling you ‘Your Majesty.’”

“As if you needed any more proof he was demented,” I said. “You know what a queen is, right? A baby factory to expand and enhance the dynasty. What he wanted was my genes.”

The gunfire alerted the guards in the house, and five Kantonspolizei pounded down the stairs. Alex held up his hand, and a green missile shot from it. All five died. Note to self: stay on Alex’s good side.

We cautiously made our way out of the garage. Enforcers were assaulting the compound. Only a few Knights, and mostly police without magic, stood in their way. By the time we passed through the back gate to find our APC parked on the road above, the Guild forces had taken the mansion.

“Sorry about that,” I told Alex as we clambered into the vehicle.

“Sorry? For what?”

“You have a business decision to make,” I said.

“Oh, yeah. I guess I do. I’ll have to talk to Father.”

“Give him my regards,” Nicola said.

He gave a dry chuckle. “I think not. It’s going to be a tough enough conversation without throwing that in.”