Page 35 of Concluded (The Bureau #13)

“Not now. You can owe me for later.” Because while Achilles was also sort of desperate to get off, he thought a little bit of waiting would do him good. He needed to work on his patience.

Tenrael and Charles were waiting in the living room, Charles with a long-suffering expression.

There was no sign of Marek and Clay, who were presumably still frolicking in the sunshine.

Achilles couldn’t help smiling at the thought of Clay White frolicking.

Did magicked vampires have to worry about sunburns?

“Not sorry,” Achilles announced, knowing that he and Dee had been perfectly audible even to human ears, let alone demonic or angelic ones. He didn’t feel remotely apologetic.

“Is this… usual?” Charles asked. Despite his long-time career and hardboiled nature, he still had the vestiges of a person born during the Victorian era. Which was sort of charming, really.

“Kind of,” Dee replied. “When I do my thing, it always feels sort of, uh, tingly. If it’s a really big thing, like when we left the black hole, it’s tingly while I’m making the charm, but then I’m so drained that I collapse afterward.

Also….” He glanced at Achilles, seemed to consider for a moment, and then shrugged.

“It’s all a lot more when Achilles is near. ”

So was Achilles sort of his booster battery? Whether the effect was magical, physical, or psychological, Achilles liked it. He was a pretty ordinary guy, but if he could help make Dee even stronger, that was awfully damn special.

Charles looked intrigued too. “I’d love for you to have some discussions with my science people. Once we have the time… and I have science people again.”

“Sure,” said Dee. “As long as those discussions don’t involve scalpels or probes.”

“Perhaps we can….” Charles stopped and frowned in thought. “This just gave me a thought about where we might find refuge for Ish. Ten, what about Gunderson?”

Achilles recognized the name. “Art Gunderson? The guy who ran the lab?” Achilles had never met him in person because the lab was located in northern California, almost at the Oregon border.

But they’d talked on the phone a few times before Gunderson retired.

He’d seemed like a calm, steady sort of man.

But he had to be close to eighty years old and was, as far as Achilles knew, entirely human.

“Why him?” Achilles asked, maybe somewhat too bluntly.

“His home is extremely remote. It’s not approachable by land vehicle and is a strenuous hike on foot. Airplanes can’t get there, and helicopters can’t land.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “Crespo can get in. I think he visits sometimes. Also, Gunderson’s partner remains formidable.”

“Not human?” Achilles guessed.

“Half Sasquatch. Dee, do you think there’s some way you could get Ish to them? I can give you the coordinates of their cabin. Unfortunately, I have no way to contact them.”

“So… you want me to just zap him there? Like, ‘Hi guys, I’m a genie and this guy’s a traumatized angel. Can you please babysit him while what’s left of the Bureau tries to avert the end of the world?’”

Charles sighed. “Something like that.”

Achilles wasn’t sure what he thought about Dee acting as a transporter beam.

Moving between dimensions, or whatever the black hole travel entailed, was one thing.

But moving across physical space? He’d been taught that magic was simply stuff that science didn’t understand yet—nothing more than unexpected bends in physics, chemistry, and biology—but this seemed like an especially big leap.

“I’ll give it a shot,” Dee said.

“What about what you said the other day?” Achilles asked. “The part where we didn’t want to end up like The Fly ?”

“I’m stronger now.”

Achilles believed him.

They all tromped upstairs. Ish looked marginally less gaunt, and his eyes tracked them even though he didn’t respond to their greetings.

Charles knelt at the bedside like a penitent and spoke softly.

“We’re going to send you to a quiet place to rest. With friends.

I will come back for you soon. I promise. ”

Ish lifted a hand and set it on Charles’s. Although his voice was tissue-thin, the words were clear. “Your shadows are so deep and your lightness so bright. You exceed my hopes.”

Charles covered his face and his shoulders shook.

Achilles tried hard not to think about his own parents. That was his personal baggage and not relevant now. Maybe when all of this was over, though, he might track down his sister and drop her a letter. Just to wish her well.

After a moment, Tenrael plucked one of his feathers and ceremoniously handed it to Dee with a small bow.

“I very much hope that someday we have more time to speak,” Tenrael said quietly.

“You are an intriguing person.” Before Achilles could decide whether he felt jealous, Tenrael turned to him.

“When a person endures great hardship and deprivation yet goes on to care for others, as you have, that person is a hero.”

“I haven’t?—”

Tenrael set a clawed hand on Achilles’ shoulder and, smiling slightly, shook his head.

It really was time to move on; everyone knew it. Nobody bothered to try to talk Achilles out of joining this particular adventure, which saved a lot of wasted words. He was gratified to know they all trusted him to volunteer.

“I think Achilles should make the wish,” Dee said. “If you don’t mind, Charles.”

Charles stood and backed away from the bed, then gestured them forward.

“Any special instructions?” Achilles asked him.

“If all goes well and you can make your way to civilization, call Henry on the emergency line. Con has made sure it’s secure. But if you’d prefer to remain in sanctuary yourself?—”

“No.”

And that was that. This is gonna be weird , Achilles thought.

Out loud, he said, “I wish that Dee and Ish and I can go to Art Gunderson’s cabin.

Safely.” He intentionally left the means of transport vague, in case teleportation really was beyond Dee’s skills.

He didn’t want to stretch the magic beyond its capabilities.

Hopefully, the magic would come up with an alternative.

Did magic itself have some kind of data-processing abilities, like AI?

Maybe best not to think about that right now.

Dee did… whatever he did to grant wishes. He stared at Achilles the entire time, smile wide and cheeks flushed, and damned if Achilles’ jeans didn’t suddenly feel too tight. It appeared that he’d acquired a new kink.

He winked when Dee handed over the feather, then spoke to Ish. “I’m not sure exactly what’s going to happen now. It might be really strange. But Dee came through for us before, and I know he will this time.”

Ish said something in ancient Greek. Although Achilles had to struggle to understand him, he got the gist of it.

“I’m… cruel? I don’t care about my comrades?”

With a ghost of a smile that made him momentarily beautiful, Ish shook his head. “The blind poet was mistaken,” he said in English. “You care very much.” Then he closed his eyes again.

Cryptic as all of that was, Achilles decided it constituted consent to be magicked. He gestured Dee to take one of Ish’s thin hands, and he took the other. He gave a final nod to Charles and Tenrael—they both looked tense—and made his wish.