Adamant (29 page)

The door didn’t have any handle. Sliding door, maybe? I dug my fingers into the edges and only got a broken fingernail for my trouble. Hell. I was going to have to call Kay. Like a freaking damsel in distress.

“Kay,” I whispered.

There was a sharp intake of breath. Not me. Then a pause. Seconds passed, more seconds—at least a minute. Then: “Ada?”

“Listen, Kay. You have to get away from the Alliance. There’s a spy, I think they’re going to try to kill you.”

“Already did,” said Kay, in a low voice. “We’ve taken care of it. Turns out my colleague was the killer. Her real name’s Skyla—you know her.”

“I thought I did,” I said. “Delta told me. Skyla was sent there as a spy.”

“For who?”

“Delta’s family, the Campbell lot,” I said. If he knew the Alliance as well as it seemed he did, he’d know that name.

“From Valeria,” he said. “Was this your offworld contact?”

“Yes.” I swallowed. “He betrayed me. For his family. He brought me here.”

“Where are you?”

I drew in a ragged breath, claustrophobia kicking in despite the size of the room. “I’m trapped in a warehouse. It might be on Valeria—I’m not sure. I tried to get away, but his family surrounded me and took me prisoner. They’re planning to use me as a weapon against the Alliance. Because of my blood. They want to—to blow up Central or something. Assassinate the council.”

I could hear Kay swearing in an undertone, in several languages I didn’t recognise. “Shit, Ada. Do you have no idea where you are?”

“No windows. I was in–” I paused, trying to remember the name; Delta had told me enough times—“Neo Greyle. Capital of Valeria.”

“I know where that is. Let me get to the Passages.”

“Yeah, but it’s a whole
city,”
I said. “This is a warehouse. Hang on.” I turned on the spot. “About twenty feet by twenty. Like a giant cube? Sorry, that’s not much help. The door’s sealed, of course. Looks like it’s a sliding door, Passages-style.”

“Got it. You have nothing on you?”

“Only this headset. It’s not much use on its own. You have your communicator, right?”

“Yeah—tell you what, I’ll put out a couple of calls. Alert everyone. Though the council are giving me the evil eye right now.”

“Huh?”

“I’m in the entrance hall. Ellen, Skyla or whoever she is, tried to kill me. She’s knocked out and in cuffs.”

“Well, that’s something,” I said. My heart beat unnaturally fast.
Tried to kill me.
We could both die. “You know what, you tell the council to get out of Central, out of London, even. Don’t come for me. When they do whatever they’re going to do with me, I’ll fight them with everything I have.”

“Dammit, Ada. You think I’m going to stay here when you’re…” He cut himself off, cursing. “Right. I’m coming. I can locate the Campbell family’s residence. If you’re not there, then I’ll get the information out of them one way or another.”

A thrill of nervous horror went through me. I was still trapped for the meantime. But I had one weapon in my arsenal: magic.

“Okay,” I said. “I’m going to try to break out, but if not, well, I’m trusting you to kick the shit out of Delta’s family for me. Just don’t kill him. I want to deal with him myself.”

“Got it,” said Kay. “I’ll see you later.” Was I imagining it, or was there something in his tone that suggested he wasn’t only coming to save me for the sake of the Multiverse?

Time to get the hell out. If I could. The lighting was dim, but it was enough that I could see the faint shimmer of magic beneath the surface. I had to be able to break down the door.

I stepped back, getting into position so the backlash wouldn’t hit me.

“Interesting,” said a voice from right in front of me. “Sorry to interrupt. I’ve never seen someone have such an intense conversation with herself before.”

KAY

The council member regarded me with a distinct sense of disapproval in his expression. I read his name badge: Wilson Sanders.

“Kay Walker,” he said. “I’m glad to see you’ve decided to rejoin us.”

I ignored the sarcasm. “I have a contact,” I said, “who has just informed me of a terrorist threat to the Alliance. We need to evacuate. In fact, the council needs to get out of the city altogether.”

Mr Sanders’s expression changed to incredulity. “Is that so? Danica, I believe Kay Walker is your charge.”

“Yes, and he speaks the truth,” said Ms Weston, to my surprise. “If Kay says there’s a threat, there is one. Tell us.”

I summed up what Ada had told me as succinctly as I could, well aware I was confessing to keeping contact with a prisoner, and using probably illegal technology besides. But I was far, far past caring by now. If they fired me, on their own heads be it. No matter what happened, I was getting the hell out of here and going to save Ada. Even if it meant breaking Alliance code.

“I see,” said Mr Sanders. “The Campbell family has connections, strong connections, within Alliances both on Valeria and Earth—they provide much of our technology. There will be repercussions if this turns out to be true.”

“We haven’t time for speculation,” said Ms Weston. “A Royal from Enzar is being used against her will. That’s a violation of the Alliance’s basic code. Add in the magical misuse and we have a threat to the Balance itself. One step below declaring a war.”

Damn.
“Listen,” I said. “I think I can find Ada. She’s a magic-wielder, and so am I. I’ll get her away from that madman before he turns her into a suicide weapon.”

Mr Sanders shook his head. “That goes against our policy—more than one of them. You know our rules.”

“Backwards,” I said. “All this–” I gestured at the room in general—“is far off Alliance policy. I can stop them.” There was no alternative. I was damned if I was going to stay on Earth.

“This isn’t the time to play the hero, Kay Walker,” said Mr Sanders. “This is not the Academy. Magic-wielder or not.”

“I know that,” I said. And looked him directly in the eyes. Unblinking. Knowing that he would have faced the same stare before, from someone nobody dared disobey.

Something in his expression changed, and he looked away. “We will prepare to evacuate.” He gave orders to the others, while I stood stock-still, instinctive revulsion warring with disbelief that it had actually worked.

“Earth to Kay,” said Markos, tapping a hoof on the floor. “Time to go and be a hero.”

“Don’t say that,” I said. “I know what it looks like. If I die…”

“I’ll keep your secret, magic-wielder.”

I nodded to him, suddenly conscious of the dozens of eyes on me. They knew who I was. This was no surprise to them. And yet…

“Wait,” said Carl, from behind. “You’re not armed, are you?”

Right. This, I could deal with. I had to. “I’ve only one shot left in this stunner,” I said.

Carl handed me a knife. “You don’t need that stunner when you have your own magic,” he said. “Just remember the three rules. Valeria’s two levels above Earth—but I’m sure you know that already. This situation is urgent enough that you’re allowed to use it.”

Magic. Guess there was no avoiding it now. Not that avoidance had done me much good lately. “Okay,” I said. “Thanks.”

I didn’t look back. Once outside, I broke into a run.

The back road was cordoned off, but I vaulted the metal fence they’d hastily put up and headed towards the still-open Passage entrance. The message had gone out to all the guards, and those watching the Passage nodded to me and let me pass. Not speaking. Magic crackled around me like lightning as I entered the between-world.
Two doors down,
I thought—but the door to Valeria’s major city was already open. Good job I paused first, because it appeared to open into the sky, a hundred-odd feet in the air. Opposite, I could see a platform on the side of a skyscraper, impossible to reach by jumping.

Hell. Most of their Passages opened high in the air—something to do with the ocean levels—but it was pretty effective in making sure no one could get in, while the Valerians, with their hover transport, could still get out. I didn’t have the time to get to the other door and go through security, and I didn’t have a centaur to ride this time. But I did have magic.

Maybe it was the high magic level making me crazy. I knew the three rules. And it sure as hell couldn’t make me fly—but I could use the backlash rule.

This was far and away the most dangerous thing I’d ever done, and that was saying a lot. But I tapped into the magic and fired an experimental shot at the ground. It carried me to the ceiling, and I dropped to the ground, landing on my feet. Before I could lose my nerve, I shot a second blast of magic directly at the back wall. This time, icy air slammed into me, and I barely reacted in time to grab for the edge of the platform and hang there, cursing whoever in the Multiverse had thought this was a good idea for offworld security. Hauling myself up with shaking hands, I surveyed the city below, heart drumming and the cold breeze cutting through my jacket.

That was a damn close call.
I wondered how many people had fallen to their deaths from here. I could see the city below, the rows of hover cars clogging the streets and skyways in gleaming lines that reflected the sky, the maze of grey metal buildings. Ada was there somewhere. And I had to get down there, too.

The wind roared in my ears, but along with that, the buzz of magic surrounded me. I spun around, thinking hard. A hundred feet to the ground, and no way into the building from here. A few hover cars were parked below at different levels, by parking signs affixed to the building’s side. This place was probably an offworld transition point. I scanned the hover cars and spotted one that I could jump for, parked beside a balcony open over the street. Valerian hover cars were smaller than Earth cars, made for one or two people, with transparent covers over the roofs. The one below was open, the driver having just climbed out onto the balcony. Perfect.

I had no idea how to operate one of those things, but I couldn’t worry about that now. I jumped, dropping onto the back of the car at a crouch, grabbing onto the back of the headrest to keep from sliding off. Heads turned in my direction from inside the room. I leaped into the front, through the open roof, slamming my foot on what looked like the accelerator.

The hover car dropped so fast, it was all I could do to hang onto the disc-shaped steering wheel. The world rushed past, buildings blurring to grey, the wind striking like a physical force, cold and sharp. I fell back in the seat, lifting my foot from the pedal. The car slowed enough for me to hit the actual accelerator button. Nothing happened.

“Shit,” I said, voice muffled by the raging wind. I was starting to go deaf, and the ground was only a short drop away. The hover car was already drawing attention from the people on the street below. I guessed I was violating some traffic law.

I don’t have time for this.
I left the car parked in midair and jumped, hitting the ground running.

“What the hell are you doing?” a guy yelled at me from a floating, wheelless motorcycle-type thing–a hover bike. Damn, I wanted one of those. Except there were two enforcement-type figures on the opposite side of the road, and they’d seen me.

Goddammit.
I ran around the corner of the nearest office block and went for my communicator, navigating my way to offworld maps and opening one of the city. I needed to find the Campbell family’s place. They owned a large business, in one of the biggest skyscrapers in the city, shaped like a double helix. First, I had to lose the officers. I made for a main road, weaving in and out of the crowd, and veering into a side street alongside a hover-car transit point. Once I was sure I’d lost them, I stopped at a street corner to check the map again.

There. The Campbell family’s business. Just west of here.

The towering, twisting grey building was unremarkable by Valerian standards, but there was no mistaking it from the map. And nearby, two warehouse-style buildings.
Ada.
I had a fifty-fifty chance of getting the right one on the first try. Neither had a door at the front, so I aimed for the narrow gap between them.

They came out of nowhere. Two black-clad figures, hulking, and wielding knives. One at either end of the alley.

Stupid
mistake! I cursed myself for it. No time to draw a weapon. I had to use magic.

A knife stabbed at me, and the second guy closed in behind. I went for the stunner while grabbing the wrist that held the knife with my other hand and pushing it back, driving the weapon away from my face. The second guy dived for me, but I kicked the knife out of his hand and shot magic at him. He fell down. At the same time, I tightened my grip on the other guy’s wrist and drove a knee into his ribs. The magical backlash hit me at that instant, knocking both of us into the wall. The back of his head slammed against brick and he crumpled. I spun around and kicked the second guy again, before he could get me from behind with the knife. I stamped on his knife hand, hard, and felt bones break. He screamed, going for my ankle with the other hand, but I punched him in the face and he flailed, still screaming. Blood spurted from his broken nose. I kicked him again, crouched beside him and pressed the stunner to his outstretched hand.