Allie Beckstrom 09 - Magic for a Price

  We had probably just sealed our deaths. Might have sealed the deaths of hundreds.

  I couldn’t think about that now. All that mattered was curing magic, stopping Seattle, and killing Leander and Isabelle.

  It was certainly what I was aiming for.

  Right now we’d be lucky to pull off two out of the three things.

  No, we’d be lucky if we managed to do even one of those things.

  The crowd quieted.

  “Seattle is coming to Close us and lock down Portland,” I said. “We’re not going to let them do that.”

  That got their attention.

  “We know they’re going to use magic to shut the city down. We know they’re going to use magic to Close us, hold us, and whatever else their orders might be. We know using magic will make us ill—and it will make them ill too.

  “So we are going to take magic off the playing field. We are going to shut down the networks so that no one can use magic.”

  Silence filled the room.

  “The hell,” Shame’s gleeful voice called out. “We can do that?”

  Can we, Dad? I asked.

  There is a way.

  “Yes,” I said, “we can. And we are going to. What I need from everyone are two things. One—do not draw upon the magic from the wells. Magic is too damn dangerous for anyone to be using right now, and that includes the people who are going to defend the city—us.

  “The Seattle crew knows about the wells, so the sooner we can cleanse the wells and close them, the less we’ll have to worry about them pulling on the tainted magic and us needing to do the same to fight them.”

  “Then how are we going to fight them?” a voice in the crowd asked.

  “Once we shut down the wells and there is no magic to draw from, it shouldn’t be that difficult. Detective Stotts? Is there some way we can legally keep them contained until we deal with the Overseer?”

  All eyes turned to Detective Paul Stotts.

  “There is,” he said. “I will expect that the people in this room, and all other members of the Authority, will leave their detention to the police. We will, of course, also expect that everyone here will work closely with us if problems or concerns arise.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “Any questions about apprehending the Seattle members after magic has been closed, when, hopefully, they and we will not be using magic, check in with Detective Stotts. Any questions about apprehending the Seattle members before magic has been closed, when I am sure they will be trying to use magic against us, contact me, Victor, Maeve, or Zayvion and Kevin. We will keep everyone up to date on any and all information we receive.

  “Second thing,” I continued. “I want all the hospitals, emergency services, communications, ports, and plants to be contacted to make sure they are ready for the switchover to straight electricity, natural gas, and oil.”

  A roll of conversation swelled and silenced. It had been years since Portland had gone traditional power only for any length of time. Years since a spell hadn’t been used to bolster a piece of equipment, or a person’s medical recovery.

  But humankind had lived without easy access to magic for centuries. I figured we could handle a few days—maybe weeks at the most without it.

  From the sound of the crowd, they were not as sure about that.

  The Hounds were still in the crowd. No surprise. Life as a Hound meant you didn’t turn down a job if one was offered. Actually, it was more than that. The Hounds had thrown in their lot with me. They’d stood beside me when there was no reason for them to believe any of us would walk out of the fight alive.

  They were loyal friends. And furious, dirty fighters.

  My people.

  They didn’t appear to be at all concerned about shutting magic down.

  “You expect us to convince everyone in the entire city to run on electricity alone?” a sallow-faced man somewhere in the middle of the crowd called out. “We haven’t been nonmagic for nearly thirty years. No one will do it. There will be riots in the street.”

  I didn’t know who he was. Didn’t much care, really.

  “You have a good point,” I said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter. The city has all the backup systems to go magic-free. We’ve done it for short stints during wild magic storms. It’s in all the emergency plans. It can be done. And it’s going to be done. Get ready, and spread the word. Because whether or not anyone likes it, I am shutting this city down in exactly one hour.”

  I picked up the mic, switched it off, then strode across the stage.

  Chapter Five

  “Nicely done,” Zay murmured as we stepped off the stage.

  “Do not talk to me, Jones.” I tromped down the stairs.

  The only problem with my plan of storming off was the hundreds of people standing in my way. Well, that, and a feet-freezing rush of claustrophobia. I got three steps down the side of the stage before I could go no farther.

  Zay was on my heels. He didn’t have to be touching me for me to know what he was thinking. I was confusing the hell out of him.

  “What’s wrong?” His hand landed on my shoulder, and he hissed as the full force of my phobia stomped through our bond.

  He pulled his hand away and exhaled, then was down the stairs, next to me. His arm looped around my back, propelling me through the crowd that parted like magic in front of us, with nothing more than his glare clearing the path.

  We crossed the room and were out the double doors to the wide-open hallway, and through that so fast, I couldn’t keep track of which doors we had passed. Then we were walking up the steps to the main doors—beveled glass and lead caught with rainbows from a century ago—and on the wide columned front porch of the estate.

  Air. Real air.

  Zay let go of me and walked across the porch as if shaking off a pain, then paced back toward me, but keeping his distance.

  I just stood there, alone, with an armload of space, a world full of air and roominess. The wind was warm, even though evening was setting in, but it left me shaking and cold. Barging our way through that many people had made me break out in a sweat.

  Zay leaned one shoulder against a column and watched me.

  “Why?” I finally said, when my heart was slow enough not to make my words stutter. “Why did you tell them I would lead?”

  “Because there isn’t anyone else I would follow.”

  “Bull. You’ve followed the Authority all your life. Followed Victor. Followed Maeve.”

  He gave me a smoldering look, his arms crossed over his wide chest. “I don’t follow them anymore, Allie. I follow you. Better than that—I stand with you. You are the only one who kept us alive on that battlefield. You are the only one the Hounds trust and follow, Stotts trusts and follows. You are the only one I trust.”

  “You trust Victor.”

  “As a teacher, yes.”

  “You’d follow him into battle.”

  He shrugged. “This isn’t just about a fight. It’s about magic. How we fix it. Who fixes it. What it will be when that is done. It would be too easy, too tempting for any other person in that room to make choices for magic I refuse to live by.”

  “Like what?”

  He paused, frowning as he realized I didn’t understand what he was getting at.

  “The Authority is an ancient organization. It is not a democracy. We are given our positions, appointed to them by our superiors. But there is always room to move up. And every person in that room has a reason to want to be the one person with the power and ability to decide what should be done with magic.”

  “Done with it?” I asked. “Heal it. Cleanse it. Fix it,” I said. “What the hell else would anyone want to do with it?”

  “Control it,” he said. “Use it. Rule it. Own it. Just like Bartholomew Wray. Just like Jingo Jingo.”

  I was going to tell him he was wrong. Magic was poisoned and killing people. Anyone in their right mind would want to fix it and let it go back to being what it has always been.

>   But not all magic users cared about the greater good. Certainly Leander and Isabelle didn’t care. There were others. My dead father still placed his desires above all others. He had once told me he suspected even Victor had done things to tip the balance of what was done with magic to what he thought was right.

  Which Victor had as much as admitted to when he’d told us he’d taken away more of Eli Collins’ memories than was required by the Authority.

  “I don’t want to control it,” I said, all the breath out of me.

  Zay waited a moment more. Then he unfolded his arms and started toward me. “I know.”

  “Other people don’t want to control it,” I said, though it came out more like a question. “They want it fixed.”

  “Those other people can’t lead like you can.”

  “Why didn’t you volunteer to do it? They would follow you.”

  “No. Too many people don’t like things I’ve done in the past as the Guardian of the gate. They won’t follow me.”

  I looked up at him. He had stopped about six inches away, his thumbs tucked into his front pockets. I could smell his familiar pine cologne and wished I were home, in bed with him, in some kind of world where magic didn’t make everything and everyone it touched hurt.

  “Tell me,” I said, “that you weren’t setting me up all along.”

  The corner of his mouth quirked up, then pressed back down into a serious line. “Hmm. Like this entire mess was some kind of master plan I put in place a year ago just so I could see if you’d try to purify magic and save the world from two psychotic dead people?”

  “Not that,” I said. “Expecting me to jump in and lead just because you said I should. Did you have that planned?”

  He shook his head. “It just seemed right at the time. I overstepped a bit, didn’t I?”

  I nodded. “More than a bit. Tell me first.”

  “I will. If there’s a next time.”

  “Good.” I placed my hands on either side of his hips, and felt his muscles contract. I rubbed my palms up his back, gently since I knew how damn much he was still hurting despite painkillers and a good doctor.

  Then I kissed him.

  His faint surprise was quickly washed away in a rush of passion as his arms surrounded me, one hand dragging warm fingers across the bare back of my neck, then stroking up through my hair.

  If I surrendered myself to this, to my want of him, the thrumming electricity pricking to life beneath my skin, the amazing awareness of who I was, and how alive I was in Zayvion’s arms, I might not let go.

  I’d told Nola it wasn’t hard for us to remain in our own bodies. That he and I handled the draw of being Soul Complements just fine.

  But that was not the full truth. It wasn’t just when we were using magic that I wanted to be part of him, breathing his breath, feeling his heartbeat as if it were my own.

  It would be easy to let go of everything, to just slip into his mind, his soul, and never feel alone again.

  I love you, I thought, and felt it ripple through him.

  Then I pulled away, making sure I was soundly in my own mind, my own body. That I was just me, Allie, and he was just him, Zayvion.

  He inhaled, placing his forehead against mine. “Tell me that wasn’t good-bye.”

  “That was I love you. Weren’t you paying attention? You’d know if I said good-bye.”

  I stepped back, and he caught my fingertips with his own.

  “I’d better,” he said. “Because I’m pretty sure I’d have something to say about that.”

  “Allie?” Kevin strode out onto the porch. “Violet’s upstairs with the disks.”

  I gave Zay’s hand a squeeze. “I’ll be right there. Do we know how many people from Seattle are on the way yet?”

  Kevin shook his head.

  Zay let go of my hand. “I’ll see if I can find out.”

  We walked into the house, Zay right behind me. He jogged down the hall to the left while Kevin and I picked up the pace and made for a staircase at the right. We took the stairs two at a time, then walked a short distance down the hall.

  “She’s in this room.” He stopped outside a door that looked like the other dozen doors down the hall. This place really could be a hotel.

  Kevin was a man of economical movements and words. He wasn’t the sort of person to waste time. Still, he stopped a moment, adjusted his shirt, and brushed the sweat from his face. When his hand came down, he looked very placid: sad eyes calm, body language just carrying a hint of worry, but not the tension I had seen in him moments ago.

  I wondered if he even knew he was doing this. If he understood how much he cared about the way Violet saw him.

  “Have you told Violet you love her?”

  He paused, hand halfway to the doorknob. “She knows.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  He gave me a sideways look. “She must know,” he insisted. “All this time. I mean, I haven’t come out and said it…”

  “You should.”

  “She’s a very intelligent woman. I’m sure she’s aware of how much I care, and of…my other feelings.”

  He sounded uncomfortable and worried.

  It was kind of adorable.

  “I wouldn’t count on it,” I said. “She’s smart. But sometimes the smartest people are blind to what’s right in front of them.”

  “I don’t see how this is any of your concern,” he said.

  “She’s my friend, Kevin. And you know, the mother to my only sibling. I’d like to see her happy. I think you can make her happy. But she’s not a mind reader. Tell her. Tell her you have feelings for her, or that she’s important to you or…something, before it’s too late.”

  He blinked and waited to see if I was going to continue. Then, slowly, “We’re not going to lose this fight, Allie. After things settle down, really settle down, I’ll talk to her. I’ll have time to tell her and show her how I feel.”

  “Two undead magic users who are Soul Complements have the firepower of the entire Authority outside this city behind them and they’re coming our way. There’s no guarantee which of us will survive this, Cooper. No guarantee any of us will survive. Please. Tell her before the night is over. Or I might have to tell her myself.”

  “I’d appreciate it if you stayed out of my personal business. And my love life.”

  “I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t leave her in the dark. If it helps any, Dad doesn’t seem to hate you as much—”

  “I don’t give a damn what your father thinks about me.”

  Sore spot. Well, who could blame him? Even I wasn’t sure why Violet loved my dad. Although, from the wisps of memories I’d gotten from Dad, he very much loved her in his own emotionally stunted way.

  “Neither do I,” I said. “This isn’t about Dad. This is about Violet, and I’m guessing the baby. If you want to stay in her life and stay in his life, you’re going to have to let her know about it. Soon.” Then I added, “Please.”

  His expression didn’t change. I couldn’t tell if anything I’d said made a bit of difference to him. He just turned, shoulders stiff, and opened the door for me.

  I walked past him. I’d meant what I said. Violet was my friend, Daniel was my little brother, and Kevin was a decent man. Decent men didn’t hide their feelings from the people they loved.

  The room was a bedroom, not a meeting room, fine linens across the bed, a tasteful, almost feminine touch to the decor. Sheer curtains spilled at the corners of the window, letting in the evening light.

  A little happy-baby squeal and the sound of water splashing came from behind a second door. The bathroom. Violet’s voice carried out into the main room. “Be right there.”

  Kevin walked over to the window and gazed out it. Maybe thinking about what I had said. Maybe just looking for trouble like a good bodyguard should.

  Violet strolled out of the bathroom with little Daniel wrapped up in a white towel. The corner of the towel was tucked over Daniel’s head like a hat.
It had little black eyes and a pink nose stitched onto it and bunny ears that flopped at the top.

  He looked ridiculously cute.

  “Aw,” I said.

  Violet smiled. She wore a T-shirt and jeans, her auburn hair a little messy and damp as if someone had gotten his soggy little hands all over it. She didn’t have her glasses on.

  I felt a strange melancholy drift through my mind. For a moment, I didn’t know if it was my feelings or my dad’s. That baby brother of mine made me think about what it might be like to have kids of my own, to hold Zayvion’s child in my arms.

  Made me think about how wonderful that would be.

  I pushed that knot of unexpected desire away. No time for that now. Maybe…maybe if we survived.

  But the melancholy remained. Sadness. It wasn’t my emotion. It was Dad’s. He missed Violet. Deeply regretted that he’d died before she had given birth to their only child.

  His only son he would never know.

  “Hey,” I said, trying to distance myself from Dad’s feelings and not doing a very good job of it. “Any luck with the disks?”

  “Some. We have them set and ready for anyone to access.” She made a silly face at Daniel and he squirmed and made another happy noise, waving her glasses at her before stuffing them awkwardly in his mouth.

  “I don’t, however, have any clue about how to get the magic samples from each well out of Stone,” she said.

  “I think I know how.”

  “Good.” She was all business now, putting Daniel on the bed with a pillow on either side of him, though I had no idea why.

  Kevin moved away from the window to one of the chairs. He picked up a tote bag with little bears decorating the edges of it and gave it to Violet.

  “Thank you.” She proceeded to pull out the tiniest little shirt and pants and socks I’d ever seen. “Keep going, Allie. I’m listening.”

  Right. Stop being distracted by the cute.

  “I need to know how many disks you still have.”

  She gently pried her glasses out of Daniel’s hands and he set off crying. Kevin produced a little giraffe toy out of the bag and jingled it sweetly. Then he pressed it on Daniel’s chest and made duckie noises until the baby noticed it and started chewing on the thing’s nose.