Naming Day (Jake Underwood Book 1) (15 page)

“Your father’s influence might save you from the headman’s axe, but I don’t think he would have any reason to extend it to me.” She started to interrupt, but I shook my head.

“I am sure he would do all he could on my behalf if you asked him, but he has no influence at the Court of Dawn and that is where some of these troubles are coming from. As far as I know, the Twilight Order has no interest in me other than this absurd linkage or my name with Count Trellsor, but something dangerous is going on at the Court of Dawn and that is where it will have to be dealt with.”

“Besides, I have far more contacts at the Court of Dawn than that of Twilight.” I didn’t bother to tell her that by ‘far more’, I meant ‘some’. I didn’t really have any at the Court of Twilight.

She nodded. “I suppose I knew that I can not go home just yet. I never thought I would miss it so, but I feel adrift here.” She composed her face and continued “How will go there? Through the Silver Tree?”

“No. I’m pretty sure that all the regular routes will be watched. We will have to find an alternate way.” Most of the ways I used were too obvious. If I had been full blood or better trained I could probably open a temporary gate and just step through, but that was an option denied me as I never bothered to learn if I could or how to do it. “Give me some time to think about it. After I deal with Marty we’ll get under way.  I can think of a couple of ways to go, but none of them are particularly pleasant.”

“I am in your hands cousin.” She smiled. “I will trust you to make everything right.”

I sometimes I wish I had dissuaded her from having such trust in me. It was unwarranted. I was much of a pawn as she was, even if I didn’t know it at the time. Still, considering what was to come, that blind faith may have saved her life at the moment of crisis.

They came in the small hours of the morning. I guess I should have expected it, but I thought we could remain hidden for a while longer, at least one more night. Unfortunately, I had underestimated my unknown foes. Not only were they ruthless, they were clever as well.

After a dinner of hot dogs, liberally season with Louisiana Hot Sauce, with a side of chips and after Dalia had departed for the night, Marty and I sat around the table and washed the unfortunate events of the day away with a strong cocktail mixed from a good bourbon and club soda. Sergeant Bermuda tried to call me several times, but I didn’t want to talk to him so I let it all go straight into voicemail. In hindsight, I should have taken the calls, it might have saved a lot of trouble, but I was sure that he was calling about the mess at McNeely’s office and I was sure that he would demand to know where I was. I didn’t want to tell him and I thought it would be easier to avoid lying if I didn’t talk to him.

Marty and I agreed to keep shifts to keep on eye on things. Looking back, it felt like the calm before the storm. That last meal, that last moment, before everything changes forever, that last instant before the call comes that tells you to turn on the TV and see what is happening in New York or that your best friend is dead. You desperately want to go back to that moment when the world was safe and happy, but you can’t. At the time, it just feels like another moment in your life. You just never realize the significant moments when you are living them. It is only in hindsight that they stand out.

I had drawn the shift before morning, so I got to sleep first. I would be awakened at 2:00 AM and would keep watch until dawn. When Marty’s hand hovered over my shoulder I woke. I’m a light sleeper anyway and as soon as my eyes opened I knew that something was wrong.

“What time is it?” I asked, throwing off the sheet that had covered me. I asked the important question, ‘What’s wrong?’

“It’s a little after one. There’s a van down the street. It wasn’t there a few minutes ago. It cruised by the house and parked up the street. A few minutes later, the door opened and a couple of guys slipped out.” His voice sounded calm, but I could hear the nervousness and excitement gliding below the surface.

“Are you sure?” I looked at Marty and his faced got that ‘give me a break’ look. “Check that. Of course you’re sure. How many total?”

“Well, I used a starlight scope and counted at least four. A driver and three others. Two slipped out and are making their way quietly and slowly up the street, using the cover of the neighbor’s yards.”

“Show me.” I went downstairs and looked through the laptop cameras and picked out the infrared images moving through the hedges. The van was sitting down the street, a brilliant red blob of infrared. It’s motor idling. It was hard to tell, but there could have been two bodies inside there. It was then that I felt it.

From the van came a magical probe. This wasn’t a passive scan like I used, but an active quest, to barter down any wards that might be placed on the house. It was waiting for a reaction and if it found one, smash it tell it fell.

The probe made my eyes water and I fought hard to resist the urge to fling up some kind of warding shields. It would have been hopeless in any case. It was too strong. My best bet was to wait it out. A probe like this was difficult to maintain and requires a lot of effort to keep up. If he didn’t sense anything, maybe he would drop it and try something more conventional.

Marty was looking at me stare at the monitor with growing impatience. I held up my hand as I felt the probe draw back and fade from my senses. Nothing else came from the van. The guys moving up the sides of the streets were still working their way through the yards that led up the street. I blessed Marty for his foresight in setting up the surveillance system.

“I don’t have to time to explain, but you’ll just have to trust me a little longer. If you don’t do as I say, we are going to die here.” I looked at Marty and could see that he longed to ask questions, but didn’t. It was a real effort of will that he reined in his curiosity and nodded once.

‘How do you want to handle it?’ I noticed the he had an silenced Uzi slung on his shoulder, starlight goggles hung from his neck. He was dressed in dark clothing and wearing a black ski cap. It was one of the kinds that you can wear as cap or pull down and use as a mask. It would be hot, but it would help him hide. I was pretty sure he knew what I was going to say, but waited for me to say it, bless ‘im.

“We have to flank them. If they catch us both in here we’re dead. I don’t think they know that we are aware of them and that gives us a tactical advantage. If these are the guys I think they are, then they will be overconfident. The bad news is that they have reason to be.”

I walked over to my bag tore open the compartment on the side of the bag, the Velcro making a ripping sound. I reached inside and pulled out a pair of discs on a chain. I put one over my neck and felt the weight of it. It felt like ten pounds of lead around my neck. Of course it wasn’t lead, it was iron and it only weighed a few ounces. Inscribed on the front was a cross. It was crude, after all, I had made it myself. That wouldn’t hurt its effectiveness. I was half Fey, the iron didn’t really hurt me the way it would a full blood, but it was uncomfortable. I slipped its twin over Marty’s head.

“Keep that on. No matter what, don’t take it off. I can’t explain why right now, but it will protect you.” I moved to the door with Marty following.

Marty held up the black disk and glared unhappily at the symbol. He might have been a cynic, but deep inside he held on to his old faith. It seemed to make him uncomfortable to wearing a Christian symbol. Nothing to be done about that. The Catholic Church had been the mortal signatory to the Compact and their symbol would lend the medallion strength from the Compact.

“I don’t understand any of this and I’m taking a lot on faith because I trust you Jake.”

“But?”

“But, that account is near empty. I deserve to know what the hell is going on.” He moved quietly but quickly up the stairs. “I’ll send Dalia down. Whatever you going to do, better make it quick. At the rate they are closing I figure you have about five minutes maybe ten at the outside before they come knocking.” He vanished into the darkness of the upstairs hall. I looked at the laptop and saw that he was outside of Dalia’s door and if I strained I could hear a gentle tapping.

I turned back to the laptop and could see that our intruders were making progress. I flipped the table over and moved into cover the sliding patio door. This room was just too exposed. All the doors were locked but that wouldn’t keep them out for long.

A few minutes passed and I could see a shadow moving away from the house and I knew that Marty had slipped out of the upstairs window at the back of the house. A moment or two later another shadowy shape crossed his path. It paused for a moment and then continued on towards the house.

Dalia moved silently up beside me. By her side was an overnight bag, lumpy from being quickly packed. She was dressed in jeans and a dark tee shirt. She was nervous, not that I blamed her, I was nervous too.

“What’s happening?” she whispered and I put a finger to my lips and shook my head. I pulled her down to the ground.

“No time for explanations. Stay low to the ground and behind the sofa. When I say ‘go’ run for the front door. Marty should meet you there. If he doesn’t, then just do your best to get away. Here, take this;“ I handed her Sargent Bermuda’s card. If you don’t find me or Marty get someone to help you call that number.”

She nodded, shakily. “Is he an ally?”
“No, but he isn’t an enemy and I think that he will do as well by you as anyone can.”

They were closer now and I could see them better on the laptop. They were really good. I thought they had to be either Black Watch or Twilight Order. They weren’t wearing the black masks that typified the Black Watch, but I didn’t know enough about the Twilight Order to identify them. They might have been wearing glamours, I couldn’t tell through the camera. They weren’t bothering to conceal what they were. That was bad. I could see an elf and someone bigger, ogre maybe. There was another elf and from the way he was moving he would move right into Marty’s field of fire.

The elf was creeping up stealthily towards the back of the house while the ogre was opting for a frontal assault. Until I got a look at them in the flesh I wouldn’t be able to see if they were being protected by spells that would fend off Marty’s firepower.

I saw a shadow flit across the curtained window that looked out to the bay. It stopped at the patio door and waited. I risked a glance at the monitor and saw that the van, with its lights out had started to creep up the street.

The hair on my arms and neck stood up and I could see a bright speck of light starting to grow on the porch. I caught a whiff of ozone as the sliding glass door exploded into a storm of glass shards that flew across the room and an electrical storm scoured the doorway and blew the table I had propped against it backwards. A huge crash of thunder arrived a split second later.

The bright flash or light ruined my night vision and I flung myself away from the door. My ringing ears heard the muted report of a submachine gun. It was interesting, because even though I knew we were probably going to die here, part of mind tried to identify the gun. But I didn’t hear enough of it before it stopped.

I heard the crunch of glass beneath a boot and I saw the arrogant face of an elf looking down at me. I tried to reach the Uzi that was laying by my side and as my hand shot forward to take hold of it, the booted foot stamped down on it, grinding the safety glass of the shattered door into the palm of my hand. The elf quickly shook his head and smiled.

“This can go pretty quickly and painlessly. Just tell me where the girl is and I’ll make it quick.” I could barely hear noise coming from the front of the house and I wasn’t sure what was going on there. I didn’t have time to find out. The elf reached down and drug me to my feet, using only one hand and pushed me up against the wall. His other hand held a wicked looking Lugar. Even in a moment like this I found it humorous that a Fey would use an antique gun like that for a commando raid.

I saw the barrel of the gun whip up and felt the sting of the barrel on my temple. The pain was sharp enough to make it though the dazed senses. It was then that Dalia moved. I thought to myself in a moment of sublime stupidity that I hadn’t told her to go yet.

Dalia sprang up from the floor and ran towards the elf, flinging a pillow before her. The elf, startled by the sound partially turned and instinctively lined Dalia up for a shot and squeezed a few rounds off. I saw the bullet catch her high and throw her backwards and towards the ground. I heard the elf curse and stare at the still heap of woman on the ground.

I knew that this was the only chance I would get. The Glock was in my holster and I didn’t think I would have time to reach it. I could only hope that he was a full blood and not a half blood like me. I grabbed the iron medallion around my pressed it as hard as I could into the cheek of the elf still holding me.

I was satisfied to hear a sizzling and crackling sound as the skin on the elf’s head charred and sloughed off his face, leaving a bit of his prominent cheekbone showing the half lit room.

He screamed and dropped me clutching his ruined face. I didn’t know if he had gotten enough iron in his system to kill him or whether he would just be disfigured. Frankly, I didn’t care. If I had more time I would have made sure by using the Glock loaded with my Fey specials. He lay on the floor, screaming and rolling in the broken glass among the small fires started by the super heated debris of his lightning attack.

I staggered towards Dalia and the sounds of gunfire were coming more clearly through the door. Marty must still be up, I thought as I reached Dalia. She was laying face down on the floor, unmoving. I could see the exit wound and although her shirt was masking the wound, I could see it was still bleeding profusely. I turned her over and I could only see one wound and it looked like she was still breathing, if raggedly. If I could get her out of here, I thought I could save her. I put her over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry and rushed towards the front door and she moaned incoherently.

I put her down on an antique hall tree that had a bench and gingerly opened the front door and poked my head out. It wasn’t a pleasant sight that met my eyes. There was gunfire coming from the darkness and striking the front porch. That wasn’t the worse thing. I was pretty sure that the gunfire was coming from Marty and wasn’t actually aimed at us. It was aimed at the Ogre.

He was tall and broad and had an almost bestial look that was so common among his kind. I got nothing against Ogres as a group, but in general they seem to be mostly composed of assholes. This guy didn’t seem any different.

I could see that Marty’s bullets weren’t having much effect. He was obviously shielded against that kind of thing. The bullets would hit his black leather and after a moment of trying to burrow through the thick leather, they would give it up as a bad plan and fall harmlessly to the ground. The only evidence of the hit was the kinetic energy that was transferred to the ogre, but he was too bulky to be knocked off his feet. He was firing some kind of assault rifle at the muzzle flashes from Marty’s Uzi and I couldn’t tell if his aim was on target or not.

The neighborhood was starting to stir. I saw a few lights coming on and I was pretty sure that the cops would be on the way soon. I also suspected some of the sound was being suppressed. Probably the only thing that they heard was crash of lightning that had blown out the glass.. Just as well, I wouldn’t have wanted to try explaining to the HPD what was going on and who all these mutants were.