Mark Del Franco - Uncertain Allies

“So, Thekk is the one that controlled the business, not Nar.”

Meryl sorted through more documents. “This might mean something. Nar helped set up the shield dome.”

“Looks like Thekk was cut out of the security contract. I think you found the falling-out between the two brothers,” I said.

Meryl peered up at me. “I must have been in the bathroom during that scene, but I’ll take your word for it.”

“I thought Eagan created the dome,” I said.

“He did. Apparently, Nar provided some kind of”—she gave me a triumphant smile—“essence booster.”

Cold realization swept over me. “It’s here, Meryl. The faith stone is in the Guildhouse.”

She looked doubtful. “If it is, no one ever told me about it.”

I stepped into the hall. The stone corridor stretched in either direction, leading to room after room of artifacts. “It makes sense—the falling-out between Thekk and Nar, Vize looking for dwarves who were here a century ago, Eagan’s alert for Veinseeker. It’s here somewhere. I can feel it.”

Meryl came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. “Do you mean feel it like sense it or feel it like gut instinct?”

I turned in her arms. “Instinct. We have to search.”

“There are a lot rooms down here and a lot of stone wards in them,” she said.

“Brokke described it to me. We can narrow the search,” I said.

Behind us, the computer rang with an e-mail tone, then another and another until the beeping sounded like a coded message itself. Meryl’s body shield fuzzed around her as she turned off the sound. “Holy shit, Grey. Agents arrested Vize. They’re bringing him in.”

I went around her desk to see the alerts. “Bull. If Keeva and I couldn’t catch him, no one else could. He let himself be arrested. He wants to get inside. The stone’s here. We have to find it,” I said.

“The holding cells are down here, too,” she said.

I went back into the hall. “I have to convince macGoren not to let Vize down here.”

“The moment you step off the elevator, you’ll be arrested for being in the building unauthorized,” she said.

“I’ll go back around to the front door. Call Briallen. Tell her to meet me outside,” I said.

“Done,” she said.

I grabbed her by the shoulders. “Lock this place down, Meryl. Don’t let anyone in.”

She inhaled and screamed, a bloodcurdling shriek that started high and swept down into a low note. The air became electric with essence, barriers running down the hall. The grind of stone against stone echoed, and the heavy thunk of wood doors slamming. She grinned. “Sonic cantrips. Better than keys.”

I kissed the top of her head and dashed through the wall and into the escape tunnel.

Outside the Guildhouse, I ignored the blank silver stares of Guild agents while I waited for Briallen. The Danann fairies were on high alert, flying a low-altitude surveillance around the building and backing up the brownie guards on the street. The Guildhouse was in lockdown, the primary shield dome over the building hardened and public access forbidden. By luck, I had been inside the perimeter when the barrier came down.

No one walked the sidewalks unless they were wearing a Guild or law-enforcement uniform. Unmarked vans idled on various corners, men and women with no identification moving between them, their telltale black uniforms an obvious sign of federal authorities. Vize had destroyed a nuclear power plant, so it was no surprise the human government was on the scene.

I caught sight of Murdock parked next to a fire hydrant up the street. I found him slouched in his seat, reading a paperback. He placed a bookmark and closed the book. “Don’t tell me you’re working a detail for the Guild,” I said.

He shook his head. “I heard the news about Vize. I wanted to watch a little karma in action.”

One of the reasons Moira Cashel had returned to Boston was to capture Vize. If it hadn’t been for him, she might have stayed away, maybe waited until Scott Murdock died before she reconnected with her children. Instead, she’d come back, caused the commissioner’s death, and was killed by one of her sons. Vize’s getting arrested didn’t begin to cover the karma due. “I think he let himself get captured.”

“I’ll buy that. Maybe I should have shot him the other night,” he said.

I gave him a sharp glance at the out-of-character comment. “Are you going to shoot him now?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Are you going to stop me if I say ‘yes’?”

I folded my arms and leaned against the car. “You know, I think I would. I don’t give a damn about Vize, but I do about you, Murdock.”

He gave me a pleasant smile. “I’m here for the karma. I’ve shot people in the line of duty, Connor. I didn’t like it. I’m not about to choose to do it, no matter how much I’d like to.”

I squeezed his shoulder. I understood how he felt. I was ready to kill Vize. I would if I had the chance. Murdock’s doing it would make me sad. I had failed at times in my life when it came to being a better person, but I counted on people like Murdock to balance out the damage I had done.

Briallen appeared by my side, a whiff of hot essence around her. She had used essence to travel, coasting faster than the eye could see. Dananns did it all the time, but druids used the ability only in a pinch because it was draining. “Hello, Leonard. I hope you’re not here to do anything foolish.”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am. I’m going to wait here while you folks do the foolishness. You know Connor doesn’t have cab fare home.”

She gave a tight smile as she pulled me away from the car. “Good. Don’t irritate the brownies. They’re on edge.”

She glanced around the square. “They’ve cordoned off the neighborhood for two blocks around, so they’re taking this seriously.”

“I don’t believe for one second macGoren’s men captured Vize. Something’s wrong, Briallen,” I said.

She flashed identification at the Guild agent blocking the sidewalk, and we passed. “I agree. The important thing is that he’s in custody. Let’s see what our Acting Guildmaster is going to do about it.”

As we approached the main entrance, Brokke waited under the vaulted portico.

“I’m surprised they’re letting any Consortium agents through security, but for some reason I’m not at all surprised to see you here” I said.

“I asserted my right to enter the Guildhouse as a board director,” he said.

That was news. “Since when?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Eorla made me her second.”

“You needn’t bother. She’s on her way,” said Briallen.

Brokke narrowed his eyes. “You called her. Why?”

“Because she raised Vize. I don’t trust whatever’s happening here, but I trust her to keep him from doing something stupid if she can,” said Briallen.

Brokke lifted his gaze to the ceiling. Empty spaces spread from end to end, where the riot of gargoyles had once adorned the ceiling and columns. The huge dragon’s head over the main door remained. “The gargoyles have all gone to the Common. The essence of the standing stone down there attracts them,” I said.

Brokke closed one eye as he stared. “It’s not that. It’s the dragon.”

Briallen strode through the door “I’m not here for an architectural tour.”

Brokke hesitated. “Have you ever wondered, Grey, why no dwarf enters this place?”

In all the years I had been associated with the Guild, I had never seen a dwarf on the premises. The dwarven representative on the board of directors refused to enter the building. If the reason was known, no one talked about it anymore. “What about it?”