Page 5

5

VANESSA

I dabbed at my forehead, commanding myself to calm down before I drew attention.

After two weeks and two days of planning, I’d thought I would be a bit more assured in our plan. I’d learned a lot since I first looked up Chadwicke on the internet to see how I could help Leo, but I was still very much a novice.

Even though I wasn’t a spy, I kind of felt like one. We’d reached out to America, who hooked me up with a mindwalker who helped magical people running from bad situations get somewhere safe.

Mindwalker was basically a catch-all term for anyone who had magical abilities that manipulated the mind or came from the mind. So, telepaths, telekinetics, mesmers, oracles, mediums, psychics… all that stuff. It was crazy to me that on top of shifters there was an entirely different class of magical people who were basically akin to the omega-level mutants from X - Men . Considering how powerful they were, I didn’t understand why they weren’t ruling the world.

I’d waited until we were in private before asking Leo that very same thing, and he’d explained there were far too few of them. Apparently, magic users like witches, warlocks, wizards, and the like were very adamant about holding the majority of what little social power there was amongst different sects.

I really didn’t understand the world I had stumbled into. Maybe I was na?ve, but shouldn’t all magical folk want to be a united front against the ever-present encroachment of humans and our technology?

“Hey, Glenda. You mind grabbing that box of glasses and hauling them back to the kitchen?” My team lead’s voice jerked me out of my contemplation. I hastily tucked my hanky back into the pocket of my server uniform.

“Not at all. I’ll get right on that.”

I was, once again, employed by the enemy for our shenanigans. Naturally, Leo had been against it. He was worried we were risking my life for no reason, and while I wasn’t ignorant of the danger, there was something I had that no one else in our network did.

I was human.

The same thing that put me at such incredible risk also gave me the ability to fly under the radar. The brothers hadn’t hired a fancy shifter-only catering business for their little gala event—the cover for the auction. I didn’t quite understand why what should have been a secret event amongst only magical folk needed such a cover until America’s brother, Alejandro, had explained that there wouldn’t only be magic users at this event.

Apparently, some humans also had knowledge of the magical underbelly of the world and profited from it. Alejandro had chuckled at my look of shock and horror, gently patting my shoulder before telling me it was just as bad as I was thinking.

Gross. So gross. Humans were bad for Leo and everyone like him—we were really bad for the environment—but I’d been relieved that we weren’t the main bad guys for once. Now that I knew at least a handful of humans were involved in shifter trafficking? Well, it was like a punch to the gut.

That had motivated me to swallow down any fear and agree to be in for pretty much the rest of the plan. I got hired by the catering company and put on the team thanks to the mindwalker who set up the fake identity. She’d sat outside the hiring office while I was interviewed and worked her magic. We didn’t know her name, which I guessed was on purpose. She was powerful and in the business of helping people in trouble. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had a lot of equally powerful enemies.

Still, I’d have liked to get to know her and for her to feel safe enough to join our rapidly growing ramshackle community.

“You said the kitchen, right?” I asked.

“Yeah, right by the pile of other boxes.”

“Got it.”

Although I didn’t have the ability to sense magic, it was hard not to feel as if the very walls of the place were leaking evil. I tried not to think of what horrific things went on underneath all the finery.

The estate we were on was even grander than Chadwicke’s, except it had more of an old Hollywood charm. Everything was glamour, prestige, and opulence. The grounds were all English gardens and sprawling in nature, but meticulously maintained in a way that a layperson wouldn’t recognize. The valet area was behind the mansion and yet it was more decorated than some quinceaneras were, with beautiful floating lights leading the way in. When I’d first arrived, I’d tried to figure out what kind of gadget would allow them to do that before I remembered that we were entering the territory of warlocks and witches. I was sure floating lights weren’t exactly all that demanding for their magical ability.

As usual, I made mental notes of any useful information: the position of the guards, points of interest, possible areas to hide. I tried to make sure I didn’t forget anything, because if something slipped my mind and got one of our friends killed, I would never forgive myself.

So, yeah, no pressure.

It wasn’t like I had a lot of time, either. We’d tried to get the mindwalker to help us with actual plan, but she told us that was a step too far and it could endanger her entire network of contacts. I was intrigued at some underground magical brotherhood, but the woman had gone tightlipped after that. Although it was frustrating, I had to appreciate how much she valued the safety of the people who relied on her. Maybe with several years of consistent contact, we would be able to win her trust. If only that could have happened before the auction.

This was only the second day I’d had access to the site since the caterer had done a rehearsal the day before hiring me. I’d never known there were actual rehearsals for something as simple as serving food, but apparently the level of grandiosity the brothers required meant every detail had to be gone over once, twice, thrice.

Rich people were absolutely wild.

Still, I was grateful for the extra time, and once I set the box down, I headed off toward one of the doors on my list, gripping the can of air cleaner in my apron pocket.

One of my jobs was to break locks on certain doors. It wasn’t like we had a hard and fast list of which ones would be useful, but we had found records from when the mansion first was codified, and we were going off those to eliminate choke points or places we could get cornered.

So, yeah, it was a pretty damn important job for someone who worked in a grocery store.

Just stay cool , I thought to myself as I walked toward my target. I intended to simply pass the door, since there had been a guard right by it every other time I’d checked, but it seemed he’d either moved to another position or gone to the bathroom, because the coast was clear.

I pulled both my phone and the can of air cleaner out of my pocket. Hopefully, if someone did stumble across me, I could play it off that I’d found a quiet corner where I could text while on the clock. Still risky considering our client could possibly turn me into a frog, but better than being caught in act of subterfuge.

With my cover established, I turned the air can upside down and pulled on the trigger. Not everyone knew it, but when you did that, it let out a freezing spray that could do a lot of damage to anything with tiny mechanical parts. Like a lock. I emptied the whole bottle as quickly as I could, then turned the knob back and forth until I heard a slight cracking sound.

Perfect. Maybe it wouldn’t be enough for a human to open it, but a shifter? It definitely weakened it enough that they could break it with a hard jerk.

Pleased with myself, I slid the air can back in my pocket, only to hear footsteps rapidly approaching me.

Shit!

“What are you doing? You’re not supposed to be in this area.”

I whirled around to see one of the staff. Thankfully not a guard, but not exactly great, either. I opened my mouth to say I was texting my friend, when they kept right on speaking.

“What’s that you’re holding in your pocket?”

Jeez. Observant, weren’t they? Time to go with Plan B.

“I was just trying to find the bathroom,” I said, trying to force a blush to my cheeks as I subtly let go of the can and pulled out one of the tampons I’d shoved into my apron. “I’m kind of in a hurry.”

The woman’s expression changed entirely, and I cringed at using the girl code like this, but I had to do what I had to do to make sure the mission went off correctly. Besides, if abusing girl code meant that a lot of shifters and magic users didn’t end up trafficked to who knew where, I considered it worth it.

“I warned them that not having any menstrual disposal in the staff restroom by the kitchen would bite them in the ass. Don’t tell anyone, but I’ll show you my favorite bathroom to use when I know I’m going to be a while.”

Yep, definitely abusing girl code, but I wasn’t going to stop her. I nodded eagerly, and she took me down another hall, then through a mini library, before we reached a dead end.

“If you go gabbing about this, I will make sure you are removed immediately,” the woman said sternly before gripping the frame of giant painting hanging on the flat wall. She pulled it, and it opened to reveal a polished, cherry-wood door. I couldn’t do anything but gape at it. It was like something out of a movie.

“There you are. Make sure to close it when you’re done. And if you leave a mark, I’ll know who it was.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it. Us girls gotta stick together. And I wouldn’t want you to have to try to move through some of the party areas to get to one of the other bathrooms.”

Although she said it politely, I couldn’t help but wonder why she wouldn’t want that. Certainly it couldn’t have anything to do with the awful caliber of guests that were going to be there.

Thankfully, the woman left quickly after that, and I went into the bathroom so I wouldn’t ruin my cover. I lingered there for a moment, catching my breath and staying out of sight. I was in a situation that was far more high stakes than one would ever expect of me, a college dropout with social anxiety, but I felt like I was doing really great. Who knew, maybe I’d missed my calling in life. It was too bad no one had ever mentioned being a spy on career day.

Hopefully, the woman wouldn’t check the wastebin after I left. Otherwise, she would probably be curious as to why there was no dirty tampon in there. Maybe I could convince her I was starting my period a day early, but still, I had to cross my fingers and hope she wouldn’t be that meticulous.

When an appropriate amount of time had passed, I slipped out of the bathroom and went back to work. I was fortunate enough that no one seemed to have noticed I was gone, and I got back to the little tasks I needed to do until it was time for the grand event.

Normally, people were usually either set up back of house or front of house, and that was that, but the mindwalker had worked her magic to make sure I would be able to help with setup on both, which gave me time to scout and work back of house during the event so I could be in the proper position once things happened.

As scary as it was to be the only human on our side, I wasn’t completely alone. I had two allies who were on the campus with me. One being the young eagle shifter who was hiding somewhere in the trees toward the edge of her field of vision. Although America was furious that her adopted teenage niece had gone off on her own, she had allowed her to play an auxiliary role. Her only task was to fly off and sound the alarm if something went south early, but it was still a comfort to have her there.

My other ally was a guy named Chris, who Miranda had contacted. I didn’t know whether they were family, but they obviously had a connection. I had been surprised when I heard he was a wolf shifter and would be helping out with the setup, but then Leo explained what a latent shifter was and how it made the man a perfect teammate to help set up with me.

Apparently, some shifters never got their animal form. I didn’t really understand it—how could one be a shifter if they couldn’t shift?—but essentially he smelled so much like a human and had no shifter tells that he was the perfect addition to our forward team. I was grateful to have him, but it was yet another thing that reminded me I had so much to learn about the world I had fallen into.

I wished I could say that the rest of the afternoon passed quickly, but it didn’t. While there was relatively little downtime, having the constant threat of being caught along with the ever-present worry that our plan wouldn’t work made the minutes stretch out pretty painfully. I believed in our plan, I really did. Leo, Ricky, and I had put it together with America, all of her connections, Jason, Miranda, and pretty much everyone else in our little ragtag community. Surely with all of our skills and experience combined we had come up with something that would work.

Then again, the biggest reason we were getting away with it was because we were so completely under the radar, but that could only last for so long. Maybe Chadwicke could be considered an unfortunate and unpredictable tragedy, but once we killed another brother, it would be far more obvious that someone was taking direct action against their family. I didn’t know what we were going to do once that happened, but we’d cross that bridge if we survived the gala and the auction. And I sincerely hoped we did. Not just for us, but also for all of the magical folks who were currently depending on us.

Finally, after what truly seemed like an eon, the music began to gently play from the main area of the party, and guests started to arrive. I wasn’t in a position where I could see them, but that was okay. That wasn’t my job. My job was to begin phase one of the active part of our plan.

First, I switched out a couple of the normal mounted heaters with the special ones I’d stashed underneath a counter. Those were filled with a scent suppressing oil that would diffuse as it heated. I didn’t quite understand what scent blockers, scent spray, or scent-suppressing oil were, but I understood enough to know they would help prevent the enthralled shifters or even turncoats on staff to smell the rest of my team as they came ever closer. And I knew my other feet on the ground were lighting the scent-blocking candles we’d peppered throughout the decorations.

It wasn’t like the candles and oils would magically make all my friends odorless, but according to Leo, some shifters could scent an enemy at a truly mind-boggling distance. Far enough that they’d never be able to get close to the manor without everyone already being on high alert. Obviously, we didn’t want that, so hopefully our little trick would allow us to set up for the attack.

Needless to say, I was nervous about that. I’d thought we’d strike during the auction, but during the planning phase, America’s father and several other people had pointed out that it would put the enthralled captives at risk of getting hurt. So, we would strike at the party before the auction could even happen. The less battle-hardened of our group would get the prisoners out, hopefully without encountering any direct danger. It was unlikely that everything would go according to plan, so we were all ready to improvise if necessary, but still, I had faith. I had to.

When the music nearly doubled in volume and I heard an egotistical voice boom over the speakers, I knew it was time for step number two: opening a couple very specific doors to let my friends in. These were doors that were traversed so often I wasn’t able to do any noticeable sabotage on them earlier, so it required an in-person visit. My counterpart, Chris, had the eastern wing while I had the western. Unfortunately, we had no way to keep in contact with each other, so all I could do was hope he was doing his part.

Moving like I belonged there, I hurried to the first of my targets and inched it open. Six pairs of eyes glowed in the dark, all rapidly approaching. There should have been guards around here, but the text I’d sent on my break must have been informative enough, because I couldn’t see any opposition between me and the luminescent gazes rushing toward me.

I wished I had time to greet them, but I didn’t. Instead, I rushed to the other servants’ entrance toward the back of the house. It faced a hedge maze, which was really ill-advised considering how much of a security risk it was.

When I opened the door, I instantly recognized one of the dark forms racing toward me. I stood to the side, not sure if he would take the time to greet me, but as soon as he was close enough, Leo shifted into his human form.

“Are you all right?” he asked, worry lacing his tone. I didn’t blame him for being concerned—this was a dangerous situation—and I certainly didn’t take it as him commenting on my ability to do what was needed. I looped my arms around his shoulders and risked giving him a quick peck.

“I’m fine.” I was being as honest as I could in the moment. Would I rather be in my garden, growing food and feeding my friends? Of course. But seeing as we were in the middle of enemy territory, about to perform one hell of an ambush against possibly the evilest people I would ever meet, I was doing far better than I’d expected. If only my aunt could see how I was doing now. It turned out the useless little girl who had killed her mother had some skills going for her.

“All right, you and Chris head out now. Esperanza is waiting in the weeping willow on the southern edge of the estate. She’ll show you a safe path home.”

I nodded. I wanted to linger, to stay, but there was far too much to do. So, after giving him one last kiss on the cheek, I hurried to the last door. This time, once all the shifters were in, I hurried out into the darkness. While I couldn’t see as well as they could in the dark, I had already memorized the exit path I was supposed to take. I had done my part. Now it was time to get out of the way and let the shifters do theirs—even though I really wanted to stay.

I sighed. That had been part of the compromise. Leo was so against putting me in any danger that the only way he, and Ricky, would agree to the plan was if I promised to leave before the fighting started. Part of me had wanted to argue, but another part knew I would be useless and only get in the way. One of the brothers might find me and use me against Leo. It was an unnecessary risk, albeit one my heart and pride most certainly wanted me to take. After all, I’d been the linchpin when we’d dealt with Chadwicke. Ricky wouldn’t have been rescued, and Leo wouldn’t have won his fight if I hadn’t run the asshole over. Granted, that situation was a lot different than this one. The people at that party hadn’t been there to buy magical folks. Those in attendance had also been mostly human. This, though? These were magical beings taking advantage of their own kind. Sure, there were humans in attendance, but it didn’t sound like they were going to be majority.

Chris caught up with me, and we followed the path I’d memorized to the weeping willow. The night was so dark I could barely make out a thing, especially after being inside under the bright lights all day, so I was super grateful for my companion’s slightly better night vision.

But as we crept to safety, a deep, sinking feeling formed in my chest, constricting my lungs. A nagging voice at the back of my head insisted I was doing the wrong thing. I told myself it was only my ego, that it would be best for everyone if I was far away from the danger, but that feeling in my chest, in my gut, wouldn’t dissipate. Something in me knew there were people who needed protection, and it was hell-bent on making sure they remained unhurt.

I ignored it until we reached the tree, and the eagle shifter who had crashed in my yard stepped out from beneath it. Even with my limited vision in the dark, I could see she wasn’t a happy camper.

“There you are! I can’t believe they’re exiling us from all of this. We could be useful. I’m the only eagle shifter on our team. Surely that’s gotta count for something.”

I felt for the young woman, I really did. Esperanza was incredibly brave and determined. She’d infiltrated this estate completely on her own without getting caught. The unfortunate run-in she’d had with the enthralled wolf walking the perimeter was what had gotten her in trouble and injured. Thankfully, most of the bespelled shifters weren’t great at communication. They followed orders well, but they didn’t have the wherewithal to inform their masters of an intruder.

“You’re still a kid.” I had to be responsible even though I really, really didn’t want to be. I wasn’t exactly a fan of battle, nor was I really that good of a fighter, yet the call to return to the manor was as irresistible and persistent as a siren song.

Maybe it was because I’d lost Leo not so long ago and was terrified of that happening again. That made sense. Yet no matter how much I tried to dismiss it, it stayed right there, beating alongside my own heartbeat.

“Yeah, I’m young, but I’m not an idiot. I wouldn’t get directly involved, but there’s no reason I couldn’t provide some auxiliary support. After all, some of the shifters they’re selling are probably younger than me.”

Ugh, what an awful but very true point.

“It’s too bad we don’t have any smoke bombs,” Chris said. Our attack team had a whole bunch of the handy gadgets Jason, with his somewhat arsonist tendencies, had made out of household items. I’d added a few herbs to them that would hopefully sedate any non-shifter who breathed in a steady dose of it. The few in our crew who weren’t shifter had gas masks to keep them safe.

Esperanza’s eyes glinted mischievously. “Speak for yourself.”

She grabbed a bag from one of the branches and unzipped it, proudly showing us about two dozen smoke bombs, along with a bunch of bang snaps.

“Where did you get all that?” Since I had helped make them, I knew they had all been carefully stored and accounted for.

Esperanza’s grin turned surprisingly wolfish for an eagle shifter. She’d definitely fit in with the rest of the pack, that was for sure. “I made them. Jason said he didn’t care what I did with the extra supplies. He also said there was no way he could use them all before he ran out of time. As for the bang snaps, well, it’s amazing what you can find on the internet.”

Her drive and ambition impressed me. I didn’t know if I would have been so resourceful if I was her age and in such a position. Hell, I didn’t even know if I was that resourceful now.

“You’re too young to be going into battle,” Chris said with about as much conviction as I had, which was not exactly a lot.

“I won’t be in the battle; I’ll fly over it. I’ll drop some of these, then get out. Maybe also let a few loose around the exits so our people will have some cover when they get out. You two would be the only ones actually going inside. That is”—I didn’t think it was possible, but her grin grew even toothier—“if you guys are up for it.”

Chris and I exchanged glances. We knew what was, technically, the right thing to do. What we’d promised to do. But it was so, so difficult to ignore the temptation of going to help our friends. Jeez, were we really being swayed by someone who had graduated two weeks earlier?

It seemed so, because when Chris and I looked back at Esperanza, I spoke first.

“You have to swear you will only stay above the battle and won’t touch the ground at all, and that you’ll get away at the first sign of danger pointed toward you.”

“I swear,” she said. “Scout’s honor.”

I tried not to think of how recently the girl would’ve been in the scouts as I grabbed a few smoke bombs from the bag. Leo would be so pissed at me, but it would be worth it if I could ensure we would have a future where he could be unhappy with me. We had an impressive number considering all the allies we’d called—about thirty of us in total—but I didn’t see how three auxiliary helpers would hurt anything. In fact, I was hoping we would be a pretty big boon.

“All right, then,” I said. “Let’s do this.”