Good Intentions 3: Personal Demons (26 page)

“We’re kinda busy with something here,” Taylor objected. She held Natsuo’s wand. Blood trailed down into the injured man on the floor between her and Jason. “Can we at least hang on ‘til this is finished?”

“Others will take over,” said Jin, stepping forward to make good on his offer.

Taylor looked up to Natsuo, who focused on his work, but nodded. “He will live. We can take it from here.” Only then did he glance up to meet her eyes. “Thank you.”

Jason could only shrug before letting Jin take hold of the improvised bandage on the wounded man’s leg. He and Taylor joined the rest on the way out of the room.

“Wait, we can’t walk right out of here,” Taylor said at the door. “Half of us are covered in blood. Someone’s gonna stop us or something. Maybe not security, but still. What if the cops are out there already? There’s gotta be firefighters by now at least.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said one of a pair of Native American men in dark suits near the door. “If you’ll come with us, we’ll show you out the back.”

Lorelei gave the two men a wary glance before looking to the witches. Molly answered her unspoken question. “We can make sure nobody notices us,” she said. “As long as we don’t shout or try to draw attention, it’ll be fine.”

“What about Alex?” asked Wade.

“He’s not here,” answered Lorelei. “Staying here to look for him will do no good, or I would not agree to leave. We must go.”

“So much for neutral zones and a peaceful place to talk,” grunted Molly.

Onyx said nothing. She slipped her hand into Molly’s.

The hallways laid deserted as they walked. Neither of the suited security guards spoke aside from a curt, “This way, please.” Not far away, they could hear the voices and thumping boots of firefighters and other emergency responders. Tellingly, none came near their path, nor did any of it head toward the ballroom.

Drew looked back as they walked through the halls. He saw Sierra trail them at a watchful distance, making no effort to hide herself. Ordinarily, he would have waved. They hadn’t hung out after class, but in the studio they laughed together and got along well. Now he wondered how well he actually knew her at all. He realized she must be thinking the same thing.

Their escorts brought them to an emergency exit, holding the door open for them. Wade raised one hand to the others, stepping out first for a quick look before gesturing for the rest to follow. The move brought raised eyebrows from most of his friends save Lorelei and Drew. “Dude’s been through a war, remember?” Drew noted when he saw their surprise. “He knows what he’s doing.”

Lorelei stepped out into the night without a word. The others followed, quickly drawing into a tight cluster. Only Jason mumbled out an awkward “Thanks” to their escorts.

Drew offered his arm to help Lorelei walk. Now that they were outside and farther from hostile eyes, she accepted it.

They walked a short distance to the corner of the casino, where they soon found all the chaos and activity that went with evacuating a large, busy building. Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars crowded the front driveways. People swarmed all around. The group plunged into the mess, slipping around vehicles, busy emergency workers, and bewildered and upset guests. Most people seemed fine, though paramedics saw to a handful of patients hurt in the initial rush. Near a news van, a reporter delivered an on-scene update.

Thankfully, the initial lines of activity were fairly thin. Many of the evacuees stood near or sat in their parked cars, allowing the crowds to spread out. Only once free of the tangle and well into the open parking lot did anyone speak.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Jason. “What the hell happened to Alex?”

“He vanished after being hit with a spell,” Lorelei explained. “We don’t know where he went, but he’s surely alive. Rachel went after him. My friends, most of us have only half of this story at best. We are surely being watched, perhaps by more than one faction. This is not the time or place to talk. We should regroup at my home, unless you know of somewhere safer and more private?” she added, looking to Molly and Onyx.

The pair shook their heads. “Not really,” said Onyx. “Our apartment is about as good, but you have more space.”

“Yes. We have magical wards in place,” Lorelei said to the others. “Between that and the mundane security, we should have some measure of seclusion. I think it would be wise for all of you to stay the night. Molly and Onyx are in the most danger of another attack, but it is possible that any of you might be at risk. Between the couches and the guest bedrooms, we have plenty of space. Once we’re there, we can determine what to do next.”

“We can’t ask you guys to get any deeper in this mess,” said Onyx, glancing only once to Molly to confirm her agreement. “It’s bad enough you came this close already. If you’d gotten hurt—”

“Hey, y’all came to our rescue not too long ago,” Wade countered. “Wasn’t just Alex an’ Lorelei in trouble that time. ‘sides, we like you. An’ we’re already in this. Ain’t none of us bailin’ on you now.”

Onyx winced, at once grateful and still apologetic as she looked at the guys. Then her eyes settled on Taylor.

“Nope,” the other young woman objected, holding up her hands. “Doesn’t matter if I don’t owe you one. I’m not going anywhere.” She shrugged. “I like you, too.”

“That means a lot,” said Molly. “Guys, I’m—we’re so sorry. If we knew things would get this crazy, we’d never have asked.”

“Don’t trip,” Drew replied. “We all came
because
shit could get crazy, remember? You don’t have to apologize. It’s cool. We all know who to blame here.”

* * *

Though Evelyn rarely felt such emotions as gratitude anymore, the silence during the journey back to the compound brought something close to it. Her apprentices and their friends engaged in a few minutes of urgent cell phone calls as they fled the casino to confirm losses and make sure no one had been left behind.

Evelyn made only one call of her own. After that, she didn’t want to hear any further mortal yapping.

The two-hour drive took them through lowlands and small towns along the highway until they reached the mountains. Light rain began before long, turning to snow as the elevation rose. Evelyn stared off into the darkened sky and then the shadows of tall, snow-dusted trees, mostly to avoid further conversation. She didn’t need to talk to Leon or the pair of sorcerer-thugs sitting in the back of his SUV. She needed to talk to his son.

That discussion drew near as the vehicle rolled off the mountain highway. Leon brought the SUV through a few bends in the woods, where the snow grew thicker but the roads were still clear. He turned onto a small access trail originally blazed for Coot’s Towing and Junkyard. A lone, scruffy man in brown overalls and a winter coat stepped out to unlatch the gate toward the true spread of the property beyond the corrugated metal fence.

Two more rugged men waited at the main gate, armed with rifles and accompanied by a large guard dog. Evelyn noted the faint red glow of the dog’s eyes as Leon and the others pulled into his customary parking spot outside the largest of the compound’s wooden buildings. Though most of those left behind at the compound had no magical skill, Evelyn had assured they would not be left blind and unaware in the night.

“Okay, I want to get everyone together in a huddle,” Leon said to Roger and Bill in the back seats. “Let’s debrief right now before anybody runs off to do bathroom breaks or any of that bullshit. I don’t wanna go chasin’ everyone around all night.” He stepped out of the SUV too quickly to allow for argument.

Roger let out a sigh. “You got it, boss,” he grumbled.

Bill patted him on the shoulder. “Gotta teach that bladder some discipline,” he joked.

“It ain’t the can I need. It’s a shower.”

Only then did Evelyn glance back. “Bloodshed gets easier over time,” she assured him with an encouraging smile. “Your third transgression will hardly bother you at all.” Like Leon, she slipped away before either man could retort.

Leon’s boyhood friends, now middle-aged men like their leader, shared an uncomfortable glance. “Bill, you ever get the feeling—?”

“No,” Bill interrupted. “No, I don’t. And I wouldn’t talk about it here if I did.”

Evelyn heard the exchange. She almost smiled. After tonight, their souls were already secured for her liege, no matter what ignorant delusions of hope they might entertain.

The other pickups and SUVs emptied out. Everyone gathered near the flag pole at the center of the compound, including those who hadn’t been along for the raid. One such member of the Light skirted the crowd to find Evelyn before Leon got talking.

“Miss Evelyn?” asked Tammy. The brunette kept her arms wrapped around her belly, giving an impression that she might be cold under her ski jacket and wool cap. Evelyn knew her body language for the fear it betrayed. “I checked the cell a few times after you called. Nothing ever turned up. I didn’t see the circle disturbed, either, and the door was still locked.”

“I expected as much, Tammy,” said Evelyn. “Don’t be worried. None of these mishaps were your fault, and I would not be angry regardless. Things go wrong, even in sorcery.” She favored the young woman with a tight smile. “You’re sure nothing unusual happened elsewhere in the compound? No strange noises in the woods?”

Tammy shook her head. “Nothing, Miss Evelyn.”

“Very well. Thank you.” Evelyn watched Tammy hustle off to throw her arms around another of the returning Practitioners. Her smile turned to a dark scowl. “Obsequious lickspittle,” Evelyn muttered. She’d had half a mind to have Leon bring Tammy along, if only as fodder. The girl’s magical talents didn’t lend themselves to fighting, but she could surely soak up a bullet as well as anyone else.

“Alright everybody, listen up,” Leon called out. At his word, the semicircle of followers fell silent, putting off further reunion banter until later. “We did real good tonight. Damn good. We’ll have more of a debrief in the morning. Right now I wanted to tell you how proud I am of this whole crew. I’m proud of every one of you, whether you went out with us tonight or if you stayed on guard as ordered. Everyone’s pulling their weight and more.

“We didn’t take ‘em all down, but that’s fine. They put up a better fight than we expected. Gotta give ‘em that. What’s important is that our enemies are weaker while we’re stronger. When the end comes—and it will come—
we’re
gonna be the last ones standing. The bombs might fall and the city might slide off into the ocean, but in the end it’s gonna be the strongest who survive. After
that
, it’ll be the strongest who rule. We can’t only prepare for the Reckoning. We gotta prepare for what comes on the next day. That’s what tonight was about. That’s what this whole war is gonna be about.

“And make no mistake: we’re at war. There might not be much of a war left in the other circles after the lickin’ we gave ‘em tonight, though,” he said with a broad smile. Following the cue, most of his people smiled or even laughed in response. “The next fights will be easier and shorter. We made sure of that tonight.”

Leon pulled off his ball cap, revealing his steadily balding scalp. “That’s all I had to say. But I think before we go, we ought to have a moment of silence in memory of Joe, Carl, and Mac.”

Most of his followers bowed their heads. A few sniffled. One leaned her head into the shoulder of the man beside her.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. No one heard her move around the edges of the crowd, not that any of the assembled would have dared challenge her for ignoring their memorial. She slipped behind the one mortal she needed to see, silently beckoning him away from the gathering. Aaron only paused to get his father’s consent with a nod before following his mentor around the corner of his cabin.

“I imagine you have contemplated tonight’s events on your way home?” she began.

“Yeah. Mostly the spell and what happened before and after.” His brow furrowed under his Marine Corps ball cap. “I keep thinking about the incantation, the gestures, all of it. I focused on him. I had a clear image of the cell in my mind.” Aaron shook his head. “I don’t know what went wrong. The spell went off, the smoke rose, and he was gone, like he should’ve been. Then I took off. I thought it worked.”

“Do not feel defensive,” she said. Evelyn patted his arm. “I do not punish. No battle goes completely according to plan. You know this from experience. I only wish to determine what went wrong. Think back to that moment. Concentrate. What felt differently from the other times? Consider your senses. Did anything feel different? Did you hear something new?”

Aaron paused. “I thought I might’ve imagined it, but I got this metallic taste in my mouth. With all the gunfire, I ignored it, but it’s there on the tip of my tongue again.”

“Iron?” she asked.

“Maybe? What does that mean?”

“It means he carried defenses,” answered Evelyn. “The two witches brought him as their pet. It appears they prepared him well for the evening. I did not expect such things.”

“What kind of defense is that?”

She shook her head. Even her brightest apprentices needed to know only so much. Teaching defensive tricks made no sense if they might be turned against her. “A lesson for another time,” she said. “I will go check the ritual circle in the cell again, though I doubt I will find anything wrong with it. Rejoin the others. Remember, this was a lesser priority. You did well tonight.”