Julie gave him a blank stare. “Right.” She turned back to face forward. “So, where do we have to look for these guys?”
Rima leaned forward. “I thought you were going to help us find them.”
“Child, I can see trickster gods. I can even see those touched by them.” She gave Darren a piercing stare that made it clear she had an issue with his choice of shamanic partners. “However, I am not a psychic. I can’t wave my hand and conjure up a trickster. You’re supposed to know which shaman has linked himself to the old one.”
“We have some theories,” Kavon said. “We can’t know for sure until you’ve had a look at our suspects.”
“So we’re fishing with an empty hook and hoping for stupid fish,” she said.
“Actually,” Les said, “we have a good idea it’s someone who works at a newspaper that’s been linked to every site where the durance has dropped power.”
“A newspaper that reports on the news. How novel.”
“This is a political paper,” Coretta said. “For them to be linked to so many shamanic sites is unusual. We have one reporter and two photographers who have gone to multiple scenes.”
“So,” Julie said, “it’s one of them or one of their bosses who is getting information secondhand through them or they know something is going on, but haven’t figured out what, or they’re just schmucks who have no idea what’s going on. Next time Angel asks for a favor, I’m charging more.”
“He’s paying you?” Darren blurted.
“With time. He gets to play personal driver on no fewer than three shopping trips,” Julie said. “I can’t get around like I used to, and I hate driving. So how far away is this newspaper office?”
“Not far,” Kavon said. “But we’re going down to Maryland.”
“Maryland?”
Coretta leaned forward. “Agent Boucher asked our prime suspect to meet us at an athletic field just north of the 495. It should give us some privacy.”
“And this suspect agreed to come?” She laughed.
“He thinks he’s manipulating us,” Kavon said.
“Or he’s setting a trap and you’re stupid enough to walk into it,” Julie said in a sing-song voice. Darren had a certain image of a Native shaman , and Julie was not fitting into the stereotype.
“We’re ready for that,” Ahtisham said. “There’s a casino just south of the highway and I plan to set up. Even if this guy uses magic to obscure my sight during the fight, I’m guessing I can get a shot when he tries to leave the area.”
“Ah.” Julie turned around. “You’re the sniper.”
“I am,” Ahtisham said in a cautious tone.
Julie nodded. “I can help with that. Sight is one of the few skills that is fairly universal for our holy people, and if I’m touching you, I can help you pierce any magical veils he might have thrown up. However, I don’t plan to be anywhere near a trickster.”
“We need you close enough to check for an ifrit guide,” Kavon said. He merged into freeway traffic a little more aggressively than normal. Darren had the feeling that his anger was close to boiling over.
“Ifrit? I’m going to assume that’s one more name for these tricksters. And if so, don’t worry about my ability to see one,” Julie said. “They have so much power that it’s like seeing a burning torch during twilight. For example, I can see that one in the back seat has a trickster partner, but he hasn’t been around much. Its touch is starting to fade.”
Darren’s gut soured. Although he knew Bennu was safe, he couldn’t stop the niggle of fear. If Bennu were dead or driven off Earth, the bond between them would break. Darren would either get dragged to the spirit plane with Bennu or the bond would be ripped loose, leaving Darren bleeding magic and suffering. But that knowledge didn’t stop the anxiety. He wanted Bennu, and while he was almost sure if they found the durance they would find Bennu, that word “almost” was giving him heartburn.
Maybe the others picked up on Darren’s mood because the SUV went awkwardly quiet. Darren sat squished between Ahtisham and Les and he stared out at the highway. He couldn’t escape the feeling that the world was changing, but he didn’t know what it was changing into.
They had just merged from the 295 south to the 495 when Julie’s head came up. “Oh yeah,” she said softly, a sort of horror in her voice. “There are too damn many tricksters here. What in the Sam Hill have you lot been doing? That’s...” She covered her mouth with a trembling hand.
“Ahtisham, call the hotel, make sure they still have roof access for you. Julie, we’re going to leave you with Ahtisham. Coretta—”
“I’ll call Director White. We are probably going to need more containment. Can we please make this the last fight so those of us who are magic users don’t have to keep cleaning these messes up?”
Rima laughed. “No joke. I used to worry about finding enough energy to fuel my incantations. Boy, those were the days.”
Coretta already had her phone out and she was texting. “Kavon, drop me and Rima at the treeline.”
