Deadly measures, p.5
Deadly Measures, page 5
“What if he wasn’t trying to control you though?” Bishop said. “What if he’s looking for something and figured you would have it? Maybe he was reading your mind to find out where something dangerous was. Think about it. You’ve had Council security clearance. You’ve tangled with the Fae and the Feudal Court. It explains why he didn’t try to kill you. You might be the key.”
The thought made Kasey sick to her stomach. The idea that Methuselah could well be trying to use her to get to something dangerous was a haunting prospect.
“Any idea what it might be?” Bishop asked.
Kasey wracked her brain. She’d been exposed to her fair share of secrets. She’d sat in on Council briefings, entertained discussions with both Titania and Oberon. She’d witnessed the fall of Akihiro, Rhaine and the Feudal Court, and even the Brotherhood itself.
Kasey shook her head. “I don’t know how to even begin narrowing it down. He did try to get in my head in the Terminus, so did Eternity. I don’t know what they know, and I don’t know who we are even dealing with. Is it Methuselah in the driver’s seat or Eternity?”
“If it’s Eternity,” Bishop replied, “was he also responsible for those creatures attacking the Congress? They seemed to be summoned by the Leanansidhe, but the fact they were both there seems like a coincidence I can’t ignore.”
Bishop was right. There certainly seemed to be similarities between the two. But the Leanansidhe seemed intent on destroying the King of the Winter Court, where Eternity and Methuselah were moving stealthily about the city. Were they working together? If so, where was the Leanansidhe now? Perhaps Kasey ought to reach out to Oberon to see if he’d had any success in tracking her down.
Kasey didn’t envy the Leanansidhe. To have the king of Winter hunting you would have to be harrowing. It made Kasey wonder how the Leanansidhe managed to stay ahead of him at all.
There were far too many questions, and not nearly enough answers.
“I don’t know what Methulselah wants,” Kasey replied. “I don’t trust my apartment enough to store my valuables there anyway. The vampires sacked it, now Methuselah has called in unannounced. I think it’s time to break my lease and find somewhere new to live.”
“Perhaps Kendra’s compound might help keep unwanted visitors at bay until things settle down,” Bishop said.
Kasey laughed. “That’s optimistic.”
These days, she considered it a slow morning if she hadn’t seen a body by breakfast. With a mind mage hosting some dark creature running around the city, that didn’t seem likely to change.
Why hadn’t the Arcane Congress destroyed Eternity in the first place? If the Congress had been studying Eternity for years, perhaps they might know something she didn’t. If anyone knew, it would be the Watchman, and while he wouldn’t confide in her in a million years, Strang was his protégé. Perhaps if Kasey could win her over, Strang might be the key to defeating Eternity.
If Methuselah had been rooting around looking for power, then she had to consider every artifact she’d ever touched.
Fortunately, that was a short list. There was the Libro Sanguis and the Spear of Odin.
The Libro Sanuis was always kept stashed in the cairn where Carys had once been buried. It was a crude solution but an effective one that ensured the priceless tome and her ancestor’s spirit could never be turned to nefarious purposes again.
New York had come dangerously close to disaster when the Feudal Court had acquired it. The Spear of Odin had been returned to Ernesto. Perhaps she needed to reach out and warn him.
If Methuselah was hunting for an artifact, Ernesto and his Emporium might well be somewhere he would look. Kasey made a mental note to check in with Ernesto and find out if he’d seen or heard anything unusual.
“So, Methuselah’s mischief aside, let me tell you about Marcy Avenue,” Kasey continued. “I only meant to catch a train in to the Council.”
She took Bishop through the call with Strang and her intention to cooperate rather than flee the inevitable investigation into the First Minister’s death.
“While I don’t share your optimism on Strang, that shows a lot of growth, Kasey,” Bishop said. “Last time, you and Sanders were in the wind for weeks. The Shinigami almost succeeded because you two were so busy trying to stay alive. Perhaps that’s why Methuselah made the Minister jump. Force you to run while he made his next move.”
“Certainly a possibility,” Kasey replied. “It was my first thought. But I’m not playing his game. Strang is going to hear me out and if she knows what’s good for her and humanity in general, she’s going to cooperate. The stakes are too high not to.”
Kasey took Bishop through the ambush in the train station with the cave spiders and their goblin riders. She explained what it meant to be Wyldfae, and the fact she had no way of knowing exactly who was behind the attack.
“I still think it’s the heir,” Bishop said. “The one you sprung from the brig. Now that she’s free, she has to be gathering support of her own. She won’t be content to hide behind her mother for ever.”
Bishop was right. The Sidhe lived in a perpetual battle of survival. The weak swore fealty to the strong, but that loyalty only lasted until they thought they could successfully orchestrate a coup.
“You’re right. If Marissa was once the Princess of Autumn and Spring, she’ll be trying to bring the Wyldfae back under her banner. If she can, surely that will tip the scales against Winter.”
Bishop hadn’t said it. In fact, she’d gone to great lengths to avoid bringing up the fact it was Kasey who had let Marissa out, but she could see it all over Bishop’s face. She’d started this problem. She needed to fix it, and fast.
Before Marissa could take her out of the equation.
The Earth Spirit’s voice echoed in her mind. She is right, but the Wyldfae are slow to submit to authority. Five centuries of freedom isn’t so easily surrendered.
“What do we do?” Bishop asked. “If those creatures can just attack our realm, how are we meant to move safely around the city?”
“The Arcane Council Chambers have countermeasures to prevent trespassers through the veil,” Kasey replied. “Marissa will take time to gather her forces. No one likes to bend the knee, but you’re right, the spiders and their masters might well serve her. The fact that it was Wyldfae, not Summer Court Sidhe, means whoever instructed them to come after me didn’t want to use Summer Court resources to do so.”
“Probably because Sanders is the Summer Ray,” Bishop replied. “And they don’t trust him not to warn you.”
Kasey’s heart fluttered. She didn’t want to think about him right now, but Bishop was probably right. However she’d left Sanders, she didn’t think he would stand by and watch her die. In her heart, she was confident that he loved her. There had been actual pain in his eyes. His loyalties had been conflicted. Unless he forsook his place as Titania’s Champion, he’d be compelled to follow her commands.
Which would put her on the opposite side, as she wasn’t about to allow the Summer court to annihilate Winter.
“You doing okay, Kasey?” Bishop asked. “You haven’t talked about him, at all.”
Kasey stared out the window. “Not really.”
“You can get through this,” Bishop said. “Life can be complicated. It doesn’t mean that what you had wasn’t real.”
“Complicated?” Kasey sighed. “That’s one word for it. My boyfriend seems to have manipulated me into freeing a being that can end the world as we know it. I’ve spent my life trying to help others, and if I fail here, my fingerprints are going to be all over this disaster.”
Bishop placed a hand on Kasey’s arm.
“I thought he loved me.” Kasey’s voice trembled. “I know I certainly loved him. Now I don’t know what to think, just that I’m definitely not okay.”
“And that’s fine, you know,” Bishop replied. “It’s okay to not be okay. You don’t always have to put on a brave face and stare down the world. You’re human. A witch, perhaps, but very human. And you hurt like everyone else. You don’t have to pretend with me.”
Kasey swallowed, trying to hold back tears. Anxious to distract herself from the thoughts of Sanders, she told Bishop of her flight from the subway and waking up in Fofo’s store.
“And you think that was Murdoch?” Bishop asked.
Kasey shrugged. “I know it sounds crazy, but I saw his face, clear as day as he pulled his hat on. It was him, and I’m sure he knew who I was. He certainly talked like he did, but he didn’t talk to me. He just vanished out the door.”
“Weird,” Bishop replied. “Have you tried talking to Seth?”
“I’ve been unconscious for most of the day,” Kasey replied, “but he’s due a phone call. If his driver is chilling with him in Weybridge Manor then I won’t know what to think. He’s got a doppelganger here in New York and the world is just that little bit crazier than I believed when I woke up this morning.”
“Here we are.” Bishop pulled over outside the bank that served as the ADI’s entrance to the Arcane Council’s Metroplex. It was perhaps the safest and most secure of them all, and would allow them access to the heart of Council’s chambers and Strang’s office without having to walk through the entire Underpass.
“Thanks for the ride, Bishop.” Kasey managed a weak smile. “I’ll let you know how I go.”
Bishop gripped Kasey’s wrist. “Oh, missy. If you think you’re walking in there alone, that poison might have affected your brain. You might no longer have any clout with the Arcane Council, but you’re still a proud member of the Fighting Ninth and we don’t leave ours alone.”
Kasey smiled, and not just because she wasn’t sure she would make it inside without a little help.
Gritting her teeth, she pulled herself up and out of the car.
She staggered towards the bank as Bishop and a half a dozen officers fell in around her. The Ninth’s Special Investigation Unit. She recognized Henley and Morales; the others were new.
Recent recruits, perhaps. Or maybe officers who would rather tangle with a Werewolf than work in traffic. Her kind of people.
The SIU was the NYPD’s bleeding-edge attempt to adapt to the supernatural world. Dangerous duty, but one could rest assured it was never going to be dull.
They trudged through the lobby of the bank, ignoring the clerks and heading for a back hallway. ADI agents in gunmetal gray suits flanked the entrance. Their suits bulged, and Kasey recognized the shape of the special ballistic vests the ADI favored.
These agents were ready for a fight.
“Kasey Chase to see Chancellor Strang.”
Even as the world’s rolled off her tongue, Kasey knew there was no going back now. She was turning herself in to the same woman who’d tried to have her executed as a warlock.
She had no idea what waited for her inside.
Chapter 5
The wary manner of the ADI agent and the fact his hand had strayed closer to his sidearm told Kasey he knew exactly who she was. Either he hadn’t been briefed by Strang, or more worryingly, they knew she was coming and were expecting a fight.
Kasey glanced down and took in her disheveled appearance and considered a third possibility. She looked like death, and the agent was worried he might catch it.
“I was poisoned,” Kasey said. “Wyldfae, but don’t worry. It’s not contagious. Let me through, please. The Chancellor is expecting me.”
“One moment, please, Miss Chase.” The agent stepped aside and called it in on his earpiece. Kasey couldn’t make out the faint chatter of the reply, but the agent waved his card over the reader and pushed open the door.
“Head on in, Miss Chase. The Chancellor is in her office. I take it you remember the way?”
“It hasn’t been that long, agent,” Kasey said, wanting to remind him that it hadn’t been more than a few weeks since she’d had unfettered access to the Council’s chambers. As Bishop and the rest of her escort tried to follow her, the ADI agent raised his hand.
“Council personnel only. I’m afraid your names aren’t on the list.”
“How do you know?” Bishop placed her hands on her hips. “You didn’t even check.”
“There’s only one name on it,” he replied, throwing a thumb over his shoulder at Kasey. “The building is in total lockdown. No one but Chase in or out. Chancellor’s orders.”
“Lockdown?” Kasey asked.
Had something happened here too?
“Look, I’ve already been attacked once today and I’m not going anywhere without them. Call it in or let us through. The Chancellor isn’t particularly a patient sort.”
“You lot wait right here.” The agent stepped out of the way, but his partner blocked the door while he discussed it over the earpiece.
“Miss Chase has arrived with a police escort. Says she won’t enter without them.”
Kasey could almost feel Strang’s irritation as the earpiece cackled.
“Very well. I’ll show them through.” He motioned for his partner to step out of the way. “Turns out, you’re all on the list. Head on down. The Chancellor is waiting for you.”
Bishop gave him a satisfied smile as she and the other officers marched past him. The entry chamber was a simple un-labeled lobby that could have belonged to any corporate office building in America. The building was above ground and it was conceivable that a normal might find their way in here by mistake. Although the world of magic was now no longer a closely guarded secret, the ADI remained of the opinion that discretion avoided resentment and conflict. People feared different and the notion of secret wizard police was one the public wasn’t particularly ready for.
The elevator bank chimed, and the doors of the rightmost elevator opened.
“Almost as if they’re expecting you.” Bishop elbowed Kasey. “Rolling out the red carpet and everything.”
Kasey grinned. “If they were, there is no chance that they would have had only two agents manning the door.”
Bishop laughed as they strode into the elevator. As the door closed, Kasey turned to the officers.
“Mind your stomachs.”
Even with the warning, they reached out to steady themselves on the rails as the elevator plummeted. The look of shock on the officers’ faces was priceless.
“How deep does it go?” Morales asked, looking a little green.
“About thirty floors,” Kasey said. “If you’re going to hide a society, you best do it where no one will come looking for it. Even as the city was developed above us, the Arcane Council has expanded its underground metroplex for blocks in every direction. We’re well beneath the subway tunnels and other city infrastructure.”
The elevator slowed as it reached the Arcane Council’s private chambers. This was one of the few banks of elevators that actually reached those floors, and another reason Kasey preferred the ADI entrance.
“Twenty-first floor, menswear.” Kasey gave her best impersonation of an elevator announcer as the doors parted. She stepped off the elevator into the private corridor.
Two agents were waiting at the elevators. Another two stood down the hall outside Strang’s office. Interestingly, she hadn’t taken to using the Chancellor’s office, despite how badly she seemed to have wanted Sanders’ job.
“Evening, boys,” Kasey called as she strode past them and down the hall. The faded carpet had been trodden down by successive generations of Arcane Counsellors coming and going. Until Sanders had gone off the reservation, she had made this trip every week.
It reminded her of better times.
“Kasey Chase to see the Chancellor,” she said to the agent manning the door leading to Strang’s office. It was ajar but not open.
“Show her in,” Strang called, not even waiting for her agents to respond.
Kasey pushed open the door. She’d been here once before when Sanders was the head of the ADI. It was a small, compact office with an antique wooden desk. The carpet had been recently replaced on account of the damage Sanders had done when he had been framed for murder by Akihiro who had been masquerading as Arthur Ainslie.
Kasey had been here when they’d tried to detain him. Sanders had not taken kindly to being arrested, and she’d almost been burned alive in the process.
That had been the first time she’d seen Sanders in action. He’d broken out of the building without breaking a sweat.
“There isn’t really room for a dinner party.” Strang rose to her feet and pointed to the two seats in front of her desk. “Why don’t you bring Bishop and let the rest of your detail take a load off?”
Kasey considered Strang’s weary tone, the deep shadows beneath her eyes, and the lack of her usually abrasive demeanor. The invitation was unlikely a ploy. Strang just wanted to get to it without an audience.
Still, there was too much history between them.
“If you give me your word that you’ll not make any effort to detain me or my friends, we will happily do so.”
Strang sighed and sank into her chair. “Sure, but first swear to me that you will cut the crap and tell me the truth. Every bit of it, no holding back, and you have a deal. Otherwise, you can walk your sorry ass out of my office and never set foot in this building again lest we prosecute you for your many and varied misdemeanors and outright criminal conduct.”
It was an effective counter. If Kasey complied, she would be confessing to crimes that could see her incarcerated by the Congress and tried as a warlock. Still, she hadn’t come here for half-measures.
“You got it,” Kasey said. “Nothing but the truth.”
“Swear it!” Strang’s voice was strained, her frayed nerves showing.
Kasey wasn’t sure she could stay on her feet long enough to maintain this standoff, so in the interest of expediency, she gave Strang what she wanted.
“I swear it,” Kasey said. “I swear on my power that I’ll tell you the truth, as far as I understand it.”
Strang nodded. “And I swear on mine that no harm will come to you, nor will anyone under my authority make any attempt to keep you here against your will.”
