Royal blooded, p.31
Royal Blooded, page 31
part #1 of Royal Blooded Series
“Absolutely. I’m still interested in getting to know you better Zee.”
Zee’s black high heels pressed down on the accelerator of their rented SUV as a smile crossed her face. The two of them sped along the freeway towards Innovacorp’s headquarters, the sun setting in the background. It would be dark soon, meaning that it was finally time to get some answers.
After much protesting, they had decided that a two-person team was the right size for this sort of an operation. It would be too difficult for one person to do it alone, but any more than two people would attract unwanted attention. Aria, Lilly, and Naz finally relented when Eli argued that the building had been under surveillance for weeks, and they were pretty sure this would be a quick ‘in-and-out’ job.
“On to business.” Zee said. “Let’s go over the plan one more time.”
“We’re two coworkers who went out for a drink after work. You left your laptop at the office, as well as your key card. I’m helping you get into the office to get it.” Eli said, recalling the script they had rehearsed as he held up the key card she had given him.
Pausing for a second, he tilted his head. “How did you get this key card by the way?”
“I work for the CIA, remember?” Zee said with a giggle. “What’s the layout of the building? Once we’re in where are we going?”
“Building has six floors, no basement. We’re going to the second floor near the elevators. The director of IT has an office there, and has already left for the day.”
“Good.” She said. “Once we get in there, I’ll use the USB key I brought to load the program which will hack into his computer. It’ll give us admin access to every file and program on the server. From there, we dump as much information as we can back onto the USB key, and we get the hell out.”
“How long will it take?” Eli asked.
“We should be in and out in twenty minutes, maximum. Then we’ll head to the hotel and spend the rest of the night looking through the files.” She responded before grinning. “If we finish early, I can think of a few more interesting ways we can use the hotel room.”
Eli laughed. “Business first. Pleasure later.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
They pulled up outside of the building, parking at the back of the employee parking lot. Eli made sure to grab the key card and the USB key before hopping out and starting to walk towards the entrance. Zee grabbed him by the arm though, turning him and unbuttoning his dress shirt by one more button. “Eli, I need you to relax. We’re supposed to be two coworkers after a few drinks together.”
“I am relaxed.”
“You look like you’re marching to war. Slouch your shoulders a little more, and smile.” She said, running her hands along the shoulders of his suit jacket.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Her hands felt nice on him – warm and soothing. He opened his eyes as she straightened his jacket a little, a genuine smile creeping across her face. “There. That’s better.” She said.
He couldn’t help but smile back. As much as the situation they were in was difficult, he was excited to see the beautiful spy again. She was exotic and sexy to him, and as she turned to walk in front of him his eyes followed the way her ass swayed back and forth in the pencil skirt. Even though him and Aria were having sex several times per day, he was still horny. Shit. I guess that mana really does increase my sex drive. Eli thought to himself.
They stepped inside of the building and saw a bored-looking security guard at the front. He didn’t even look up as Eli pressed the key card against the reader, opening the door and letting him in. When he held it open for Zee he finally looked up as if he was about to protest, but whatever he was about to say fizzled away as his mouth hung open, obviously entranced by how beautiful Zee was.
“Careful now bud.” Eli said, leaning close. “That’s an HR violation waiting to happen.”
He looked back at Eli, then shook his head and determinedly looked downwards at his computer screen, face going red. Eli grinned and the two of them walked towards the elevator, swiping the key card on a second reader before hitting the button to take them up to the second floor.
“HR violation?” Zee asked.
Eli shrugged, walking towards the row of offices on the second floor near the elevator. They were all empty, and finding the right one was a simple case of looking at the nameplates on the doors. They quickly found it and Eli pushed on the handle, only to find that it was locked.
“You keep watch.” Zee said. “I’ll get us in.”
Zee reached into her hair and pulled out a hairpin before kneeling. Eli glanced around the office, trying to ignore the fact that Zee was kneeling next to his crotch. He glanced downwards and immediately regretted it, quickly becoming hard. His eyes returned to scanning the empty rows of cubicles, trying to distract himself from his thoughts.
Zee inserted the hair pin and fiddled with it for several long moments before there was a distinct ‘click’. She turned and saw Eli’s hardening manhood before looking up at him and smirking. “So you like the sight of me on my knees. Good to know. Now help me up.” She said, offering him her hand.
He pulled her to her feet and tried to stop blushing as they stepped inside. Handing her the USB, she loaded it into the laptop sitting on the desk and immediately started running it. “Is it working?” Eli said, watching the blank screen.
“Give it a few moments. Sometimes it needs a bit to crack in- Ah, there we go.” She said, as the computer logged into the right account.
Eli glanced out the door before closing it as she worked. They were whispering the whole time, but they didn’t have to – the office was completely deserted. He closed the door softly and walked around the office, examining the random objects displayed on the IT director’s desk and shelves. There was the standard knick-knacks: a coffee mug, a picture frame, a water bottle. He had left a red key card on his desk, similar to the one that Eli had used to get in. The key card had something written across the front.
“Huh. That’s weird.” Eli said, squinting at it.
“What’s weird?”
“The key card. It has Elvish writing on it.”
Zee stopped what she was doing, picking up the key card to confirm. “You’re right. That’s definitely Elvish. It says-”
“Basement, I know.” Eli said, cutting her off.
Zee smiled. “I’m impressed. You really worked on your Elvish.”
“Yeah, well – living in Irandell for the last several months will do that.” He said, shrugging. “The bigger question is: why does the IT director have a key card with Elvish writing on it? Also, we looked at the building plans before this – this building isn’t supposed to have a basement.”
Zee held the card out to him. “I don’t know. You hold onto this, I have to finish copying these files.”
Eli took the card from her outstretched hand. To his surprise, he felt the now-familiar tingle of mana flowing through it. Cutting his mana absorption off quickly, his eyes went wide. “Zee, this thing is enchanted.”
“What?”
“We have to check this out.” Eli said, pocketing the card.
“What are you thinking?” Zee replied.
“There’s a key card reader in the elevator. Finish what you’re doing, and then we can try it there on our way out.”
“Agreed.” Zee said.
After a few more minutes of work, the transfer was complete. Zee made sure to turn off the laptop and put it back exactly the way she found it before standing. They left the office, closing the door softly behind them before walking back to the elevators and hitting the call button. Stepping inside, Eli swiped the mysterious red key card.
The elevator immediately started descending. “I didn’t select a floor.” Eli said, furrowing his brow as he looked at Zee.
The descent continued. After about thirty seconds they looked at each other, concerned. “This is some basement we’re going to.” Zee said. “We must be deep underground.”
“Good place to hide something.” Eli said, nodding.
Finally after almost a full minute of descending the elevator doors opened. In front of them was a marbled hallway with dim lights overhead. There were lights and noises coming from beyond the closed door at the end of the hallway, along with a surprised-looking high elf guard. Before he could fully comprehend what he was seeing, Eli was already casting.
“Trahere!”
The guard was pulled through the air, sailing the twenty feet towards Eli’s outstretched hand in milliseconds. As he got closer he looked like he was about to scream, but Zee stepped forward with a knife in her hand and shoved it through his throat, silencing him permanently. She pulled it out before wiping it against his shirt.
“Where did you get a knife?” Eli said, looking at her.
Without looking back at him, she pulled up her pencil skirt to reveal the hidden knife holster strapped between her legs. “Never leave home without it.” She said, turning towards Eli. “Your magic has been getting a lot-woah!”
“Woah what?” Eli said, suddenly self conscious.
“Your ears. You look…elvish!” She said, pulling out her phone and using the forward-facing camera for him to see.
His face had completely changed. His eyes were now the same electric blue as Aria’s, and his ears had elongated to match elven ears. His facial features had become distinctly more angular as well, and looking down at his body he realized he was significantly slimmer and taller than in his human form.
“Well that’s…interesting.” He said, shaking his head.
“I take it this has never happened before?” Zee asked.
“No.” Eli responded. “But now’s not the time to figure this out. Come on, let’s find out what he was guarding.”
They walked as quietly as they could towards the door, but it didn’t matter – the noises from beyond were loud enough to overpower any sounds they made. Cautiously, they opened the door and slipped beyond before closing the door behind them.
They were standing on a catwalk above a large, open room. Below them, thousands of people stood in ordered lines. Squinting, Eli realized there were humans as well as elves, and several other magical races. They were all facing a raised dais with a portal which was being held open by an elf. Another elf paced back and forth, raising his voice and ranting about something.
“Zee, there are humans down there.” Eli whispered.
“This is weird. What the fuck is going on?” She whispered back.
They quietly crept closer, leaning over the edge of the catwalk. Zee pulled out her phone again and began recording, and Eli focused on listening to the speakers words. “This is the day we regain our birthright! This is the day a new civilization dawns – one that no longer fears the humans, but takes our rightful place as lords over them!”
“What a self-righteous prick.” Eli muttered.
“Eli, that’s Anar.” Zee said, horrified.
He looked over at her, then looked at her phone screen. She had zoomed in all the way on the figure giving the speech. It was unmistakeably Anar – pacing back and forth as he whipped the elves and other magical races into a fury with his rhetoric. The humans stood by rigidly, never moving throughout the whole thing.
Looking closer, Eli saw that on Anar’s slicked back hair was a crown. It had six golden arms extending from a wide golden band, each of which were covered in diamonds and other jewels. The arms came together at a point at the top of the crown, where a fleur-de-lis made of diamond sat on top. Eli instantly knew what it was.
“Shit. Zee, that’s the crown of Louis XV.”
Zee’s eyes went wide. “That’s why there are humans here. They’re being mind controlled. Eli, there are thousands of them. It looks like they’re armed too – it’s a fucking army.”
Suddenly, the humans began marching towards the portal. They entered it in groups of four, a seemingly endless stream. Zee and Eli crouched there in the darkness, transfixed as they watched them march into the portal for several minutes before Eli started to stand.
“What are you doing?” Zee hissed.
“We have to do something.” Eli responded. “This is an invading force, and we’re watching the start of an invasion.”
Zee stood and pushed Eli back towards the door. Eli resisted at first, but the way she grabbed his lapel and the look on her face brokered no argument. Finally, once they were through the door she locked eyes with him. “Eli. Use your head. There are two of us against an army of them – we wouldn’t even make a dent in their forces before they’d kill us.”
“Can’t we use our magic? Between the two of us, we should be able to take out a chunk of them.”
Zee shook her head. “Desert elf magic isn’t good for large-scale combat like that. As much as you’re getting stronger, you’re not ready for that either. Warning people will save a lot more lives than killing a few humans.”
“How do you know they’re not marching to Irandell now?” He asked, frustrated.
“I don’t. If that’s the case, we’ll go somewhere else to raise an army and we’ll take the city back by force.” Zee responded.
“Fine.” Eli said. “Let’s not waste any time then. We need to move now.”
Eli began walking to the elevator, but Zee grabbed his arm. “Wait.” She said. “Close your eyes. Take a few breaths. Cut off your mana supply.”
“Why?”
“You still look like a high elf, that’s why.” She said.
Eli shook his head, frustrated. Seeing she wasn’t going to let go, he closed his eyes and started breathing. He twitched when he felt her warm hands on his body, but didn’t open his eyes. One hand snaked around his back and pulled him close, and the other one went to the back of his neck and pulled his head onto her shoulder. She held him like that for thirty seconds before she tapped his back.
He opened his eyes and pulled away. “Better?” He asked.
“Better. You look like a human again. That transformation power seems useful, you should learn to control it.”
“Let’s go.” Eli said, already moving towards the elevator. She followed closely behind, and they were quickly in the elevator riding back up to the main floor. Eli didn’t wait for the doors to fully open before he was marching out past the security guard and walking to the car. Zee was hot on his heels, jumping into the drivers seat and standing on the accelerator as they peeled out of the parking lot.
They were back on the freeway in record time. Zee dodged between the few cars which were still on the road, desperately trying to coax more speed out of the engine. She seemed completely comfortable doing it though, obviously having gone through some special CIA drivers training.
“What I don’t get is why.” Eli said, finally breaking the silence. “Why did Anar do this?”
“Which part?” Zee responded.
“Mind-controlling humans to attack Irandell and Coldwater. He’s anti-human – why use humans for that?”
“He’s not just anti-human. He’s an anti-human politician. He’s been trying to sway public opinion against humans for years. What better way to do it than to make them into a threat?”
Eli furrowed his brow. “Okay, but why? What’s his end game here? And was he behind the assassination attempt on Aria as well?”
“I don’t know.” Zee said, frustrated. “But I intend to ask him the next time we see him. You should call Aria though – we need to know if Irandell is being invaded.”
Chapter 29
“No.” Faelor said simply.
Eli stood in front of Faelor. Queens Selendis, Morathi, and Aurora stood off to the side wearing matching looks of horror on their faces. Aria stood beside Eli with Lilly and Naz close at hand, listening to the whole conversation.
“No what?” Eli responded.
To Eli’s great relief, the combined human and elven army hadn’t attacked Irandell. As soon as they returned through the portal he marched directly into the royal court room, begging the Hightower family for a private audience while Zee asked for a portal to be opened to Avallonè. Faelor had called a court recess to hear Eli, and he had just finished recounting what they had seen – from breaking into Innovacorp to the revelation that Anar was the one controlling humans to the apparent invasion force. The family had stayed quiet throughout all of it. Faelor obviously was having trouble accepting the truth.
“No. Anar is misguided, certainly. But he wouldn’t do something like this. He’s my son.”
Eli shook his head, pulling out Zee’s phone and showing the family the video she had taken. They leaned closer to the little screen, seeing the figure that was obviously Anar wearing the missing crown. His tinny voice came through the speakers and the looks on their faces were a mix of revulsion and sadness. There was no mistaking him.
Eli paused the recording after a few minutes, locking eyes with Faelor before breaking the silence. “It fits the facts. Anar missed that dinner with us because he was tracking down those elven extremists – the ones who claimed they had found the crown. Then they mysteriously ended up dead, and he goes missing at the same time as the crown is stolen. He’s behind this.”
Faelor locked eyes with Eli. “That’s a very serious accusation.”
Aria spoke up quietly for the first time. “You’re also leaving out a key part. Innovacorp was also tied to the assassination attempt on me. Are you suggesting he was behind it?”
The room went silent as everyone looked at Eli. He opened his mouth to answer when Zee burst into the room, a look of terror on her face. “They can’t establish a portal to Avallonè. Something is blocking it on the other side.”
Eli turned to look at her, then back to Faelor. “Has that ever happened before?”
“No. Something is very wrong.” He responded.
Zee jogged to Eli, pulling her phone from his hands. “I need to see what’s going on in Avallonè.”
“How?”
“Remember when I told you I had cameras set up in my room? That was only partially true – I have hidden cameras set up all over the castle.” She said, impatiently waiting for an app to load.
