Chapter Six
CHAPTER SIX
David
“So there’s nothing here?” I double-check with the incubus leading the CSG strike team.
Caolan was able to track the portal used to get to the vault back to what we think is an advance staging base.
Unfortunately, at least one person on the other side knows what they’re doing, because even though we got the teams together fast, the base is abandoned—presumably they bugged out when their attack teams didn’t return.
“No personnel,” the team leader confirms. “They did leave fast enough that a lot of stuff got left behind, though. We haven’t found a step-by-step description of their plans or anything, but there’s a lot of other stuff.”
It doesn’t sound exciting, but it actually is. The everyday minutiae of life can give us an idea of how many people were there, what species they are, and some hints to where certain individuals are from. Any information is valuable. We just have to get an expert over here to begin the assessment.
I glance over at Caolan, who’s talking to the dragon who headed up the king’s strike team. Neither of them look particularly happy, so I’m guessing they won’t have anything extra to add.
Turning back to the team leader, I begin, “Okay, could you—”
My phone rings. That’s not new—it’s been ringing or chiming with messages pretty much nonstop for the last few hours. But Caolan’s phone is also ringing, and as our eyes meet, the memory of what that meant earlier has consternation crossing his face—and probably mine.
I answer. “Yeah?”
“Get back now.” It’s Sam, and his tone is grimmer than I’ve ever heard.
“What—”
“Now, David.” He hangs up.
Fuck.
“Wrap things up here,” I tell the strike team leader. “We’ll send a team to relieve you, but it might be a while.” Depending on what’s gone down. “Hold the base until then.”
“We’ve got it, sir.”
Almost before he’s finished speaking, I’m jogging toward Caolan. He says one more thing to the dragon, then turns and comes to meet me.
“Did they tell you…?” I trail off as he shakes his head.
“Just to go back. Ready?” He opens a portal, and I step through. I’m getting used to this form of travel.
Sam and Gideon’s house is chaos, even more so than earlier. There are people shouting from all directions.
“Do you know what’s going on?” I ask one of the enforcer guards in the entranceway.
“The lucifer’s in the living room,” he replies. I don’t wait for Caolan, just turn on my heel and stride into the living room.
It’s bad. Even if I couldn’t tell that from looking at Percy and the fact that there’s an enforcer in the room, I’d know because Dustin is sitting on the couch, hands over his mouth and tears tracking down his cheeks. I haven’t known him long, but I didn’t think anything could quell his attitude.
There’s an elf I don’t know here also, talking to Garin in fast elvish, and I’m guessing he’s the source of the drama.
Percy turns from where he and Sam are muttering to each other and sees me. “David,” he calls, attracting attention from everyone else. “And Caolan, good,” he adds as Caolan comes up beside me.
“What’s happened?” I demand. I want answers, dammit.
“The attacks here weren’t the only ones tonight,” Percy says. Caolan’s gaze goes to Garin and the elf, then to Dustin silently crying, and he pales.
“The king?” he asks hoarsely. “Brandt?”
Garin breaks off what he’s saying and motions for the other elf to join us. “The king is safe,” he says. “So is Brandt.” He nods to Percy. “Thank you, Lucifer, for allowing us to converse in our own language. Birgir’s translator spell is not well-tuned yet.”
“Of course,” Percy replies. “Could you repeat what you told us for David and Caolan’s benefit?” He glances toward the couch. “Just… excuse me a moment.” Turning to the guard, he asks, “Could you get Noah, please?”
The guard hesitates and looks at me, clearly not wanting to leave Percy unguarded. I nod, desperately impatient to find out what happened, and he ducks out of the room.
Percy smiles faintly at Garin. “Please proceed.”
Garin looks Caolan in the eye. “They got inside the shield—still unsure how. Two full teams at the king’s residence. Six dead, five elves and a dragon. And they got the spell.”
For a moment, I don’t understand what he means. They got the spell? What—
Oh. Oh fuck . The spell. The spell. The one needed to corporealize the magic. They got it? They stole it? Fuck.
“The seal,” I say to Percy, trying not to panic. They can’t get that too.
Sam answers, “I’ve already sent more enforcers to the vault. And I woke up some ward experts to beef those up too. I need you to check in on that, though, since I don’t know what they’re doing.”
I pull out my phone and make a note, although there’s no fucking way I’ll forget that. I just need to do something to organize my mind. “No problem. I’ll go there now.”
“Wait,” Garin says, and my gut drops to my feet. “There was another attack.” He draws in a breath. “On civilians.”
Noah comes in, interrupting the story yet again, and while I consider him a dear friend, right this second I would happily strangle him. Is this story ever going to get told?
“You wanted me?” he says to Percy, who inclines his head toward Dustin.
“Would you…?”
Noah nods. “Yes, of course. I should have thought.” He looks at me. “Gideon asked if you could join them in the kitchen when you’re done here.”
“Thank you.” I’ll check in quickly, and then borrow Gideon or another demon to take me to oversee the wards at the vault. It’ll be faster that way.
Noah goes to sit beside Dustin and puts an arm around him, and Caolan says to Garin, “They struck the dragons, didn’t they?”
Garin’s face says it all. “They stole a dragonet.”
Caolan actually staggers back, and I dart a hand out to steady him.
“What?” he gasps. I know the kidnapping of a child is horrendous, but given we’re dealing with people who literally destroyed a dimension and want to upset the balance of existence, his reaction seems a little excessive.
My confusion must show on my face, because Garin explains. “The dragon reproductive process is very difficult. Young dragons are rare—so rare that the idea of harming a child didn’t even exist in their consciousness until after they met elves. They didn’t have a word for kidnapping.”
Okay, so I really like dragons.
“How?” Caolan asks. “How did they get to a dragonet?”
“Numbers, the element of surprise, and some very dark spellcasting,” Garin says.
“One of the child’s mothers is dead, and the other is heavily wounded and so enraged that Brandt had to have her sedated.
The entire dragon community is screaming.
If there had ever been any chance that one of them would join éibhear, it’s gone. ”
“There has been no ransom demand?” Caolan checks, and Garin hesitates.
They both turn to the other elf—Birgir—who seems to be struggling to keep up with the conversation.
Caolan asks him something in elvish, and he shakes his head.
“They’ve definitely taken her for the spell, then,” Caolan concludes.
I don’t know why I didn’t put that together—maybe because so much has happened tonight—but éibhear and Tish need a dragon to enact the spell. And now they have one. A frightened child one.
“How old is the child?” I ask. Please don’t let them be very young.
“She is toddler,” the new elf says painstakingly. “Her name is Gytha.”
“Thank you,” I reply. “Has the king tried to retrieve her?”
The elf squints, nods, and looks at Garin. His translator spell must be struggling.
“The king and Brandt ordered a full assault on éibhear’s base as soon as they were told of the abduction, but it was empty,” Garin reports.
“We assume they were expecting a rescue-slash-retaliation mission. King Raeulfr was able to ascertain that there are no other energy shields on the planet, and given how ravaged and dangerous things have become, it would be impossible for anyone to survive there without one.” His voice wavers a bit at the end.
It can’t be easy to acknowledge your home is falling apart.
“So they must have all moved here to Earth,” Sam concludes.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Where they’ll join Tish on all the hidden bases we’re struggling to locate.”
“We need more soldiers over here,” Caolan tells Garin. “To start searching for the dragonet, if nothing else.”
They start discussing the logistics of that, and I excuse myself and head to the kitchen, pausing on the way to squeeze Dustin’s shoulder.
First, talk to my team, then go make sure the wards around the seal are titanium lined with reinforced concrete lined with something else that’s incredibly strong.
While I’m worried about the child and her well-being, I’m terrified that éibhear and Tish now have three of the four components needed to enact their evil scheme. All that’s missing is the seal.
We cannot let them get it.
I rub my burning eyes and fondly remember the pleasure of a full night’s sleep. I don’t think I’ve had more than a few snatched hours at a time since the coordinated attacks last week.
In the past eight days, we’ve stepped up plans for the migration.
The king sent a much larger contingent of soldiers over than we’d planned to have so early, partly to search for the stolen child, and partly to begin preparation for any confrontation.
That means they’re severely under-resourced in their enclave, so we’re going to bring civilians over faster too.
In fact, we’ve already started. Today’s the third day of transfers.