“I will not authorize Loriann Ethier to work with our people,” FireWind said, “though I will allow her to be on-site in case we have need for hostage negotiation. The wound in her chest was bloody, but the round just nicked a small artery, in and out. She’s patched up and is currently in the null room, repenting of her ways.” He raised his brows slightly and asked T. Laine, “Do you have the restraints ready?”
“Yeah. The level-five null cuffs are painful enough to fall under the Eighth Amendment’s ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ clause, but since the U.S. witch council approved of them, no one seems to give a rat’s ass. They’ll hurt like hell, but they’ll keep her power docile.”
“Level five?” I asked.
“Brand-new,” T. Laine said, her face grim. “They work by sliding minuscule silver needles under the skin and directly into the nervous system. I happen to have two pairs. Lucky me.”
FireWind’s cell chimed and he lifted it to see the screen. A look of satisfaction crossed his face. “If they get here in time, we’ll have additional reinforcements in the form of the National Guard and a big brass observer from the DOD.”
Relief pulsed through the room, but FireWind doused it with the words, “If. Moonset and sunset are awfully close today, about ninety minutes apart. If we are right about the timing of the curse, Jason will have to drop hishedge of thornsjust after seven, and he’ll begin his blood sacrifices. We’ll need to take him before he’s finished. Gear up.” He added softly, “Every weapon at your disposal even if they grate against your morality. We will be joined by SWAT led by Gonzales, Special Agent Margot Racer leading a small FBI team, a team from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and TBI.” TBI was the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. “I assume Ming’s and Shaddock’s former-military humans will show up prior to sunset and her former-military Mithrans just after dark. I’d like this operation in the bag when they show. Jones, you will handle communications from here. Dyson, you will be with me throughout the op. LaFleur—” He stopped. “Where is Soul? With the null room so easy to break out of, Soul is the only one strong enough to contain LaFleur.”
I said, “She disappeared when Jane Yellowrock never called us back about the Mercy Blade to try and cure Margot.”
FireWind cursed and studied Rick before shifting his yellow eyes to me. “Ingram, are you willing to drive your truck?”
I nodded.
“Is the truck bed empty?”
“Yes,” I said, confused.
“Any extra gear that won’t fit in the unit’s van will be transported in Ingram’s vehicle, along with the silver cage.”
I blinked.The silver cage?Rick’scage?
“Kent,” he continued, “shackle Loriann Ethier. Since Soul is AWOL, she and Rick will ride with me.”
“You’re going to let Rick be there?” T. Laine said, frowning, her eyes narrowed in disagreement. “Close to Jason and the demon?”
“Loriann broke out of the null room. Do you really think it will hold a were-leopard?” FireWind asked.”If he’s with us and in a silver cage, Occam can shoot him in the leg withsilver to stop a shape-change.” FireWind looked at Occam. “Do not let him free of the cage. No matter what.” Occam dropped his chin in agreement.
Feeling numb, I went to my cubicle and gathered my weapons. In my gobag I secreted extra magazines, some marked silver-lead, the others loaded with standard ammo. In a plastic zippered bag I placed the bits of bloody tissue. My secrets. In my truck was a shotgun and a plant in a clay pot—the sprig of the vampire tree.
Occam stopped at my cubicle. “Nell, sugar,” he said softly, “okay if I ride with you?”
“Fine by me, but you need to know that I’ll likely be doing some B and E this afternoon.” B and E meant breaking and entering and that statement made Occam pause.
After an uncomfortable length of time, he said, “You can take care of yourself, I know that. But... I’m thinking you might need backup if you’re breaking the law.”
I met his eyes, glowing a soft golden brown with his cat. “Oh. Well. In that case, I’d like you to ride with me, very much.”
•••
We detoured to Rick’s house and found the new, hidden key. I didn’t have to resort to the threatened B and E and shatter a windowpane to get in. Unfortunately, I knew my actions were going straight to JoJo at HQ from Rick’s security cameras. All I could hope was that my illegal entry and theft would be forgiven. Or maybe the footage would disappear.
Later than we wanted, we cruised in to a prearranged address on Roseberry Road, at a small sign that said,FOR SALE. BANK OWNED.I motored down the drive, winding in until my C10 was deep in the scrub, well hidden from the street. At the back, there was a house, overgrown, ramshackle, windows and doorway boarded over. I got out, into the stifling heat, to overhear FireWind say to T. Laine, “We have the bank’s permission to use the property. Were you able to getanyof the local witches to assist us with a working here?”
“No. They haven’t responded to texts, e-mails, voice mails, police stopping by with requests for help, or notes tacked to their front doors. They’ve gone to ground. I’m the only witchywoman on-site unless Loriann becomes suddenly trustworthy. And that’s not going to happen, so why don’t you tell me why she’sreallyhere, and not some silly hostage-negotiation tale.”
FireWind glanced at the van. The side sliding door was open and Loriann was sitting on the bench seat, her legs dangling in the sunlight. Loriann was wearing a green dress with bright blotches of purple and red on it. Her hands were bound in front of her with dozens of thin twisted strands of silver wire. Among the strands were traces blood.
“The reason,” FireWind said crisply, “is that I was hoping to turn her over to the local coven until Jason is taken down. Loriann broke the lock on the null room. Jason destroyed the outer door. We can’t secure her in HQ. Jones will be alone handling comms and I don’t want her to have to step away from comms to shoot a prisoner during an interagency op.”
T. Laine blew out a breath. “Yeah. There is that. And we can’t leave Rick there for the same reason. Here you can shoot his legs full of silver if he starts to shift.”
“Precisely.”
I got out my gear. Per FireWind’s orders, I was going on a short hike, close to the house where Jason Ethier and a group of invading vampires laired. In the back of the C10, Occam snapped a blue tarp over Rick’s empty silvered cage. I made sure the shade covered my little vampire plant. It was cute, and if the tree didn’t eat puppies and try to take over the world, I’d market it.
