Page 97 of Demon's Bluff
Bob hit the floor as a soft buzz from a hidden speaker began sounding.
“Elyse!” I cried out, annoyed as the alarm was joined by a request from the com for information. Bob, though, was down, his motions muffled as a purple and red haze coated him. He struggled, a choking gasp of air sounding dangerous. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Of course,” she said, but I didn’t like how he suddenly went silent. “How come your spell didn’t trigger the building’s security?”
“Because it’s not a spell, it’s a curse,” I said, annoyed. My magic had slid right under the radar, but that’s what a good curse did. My back to her, I faced the screen and tapped my way through the building’s security system as a terse “Gatehouse? Please respond” became more insistent.
“Why didn’t you tell me there was an alarm associated with magic?” she said, brow furrowed as she tried to rationalize her mistake.
“I did. Why did you lead me to believe your synapses were still too raw to spell?” I snapped, and she flushed.
Yeah, you made two mistakes, Madam Coven Leader.Grimacing, I wove through the system. The voice on the radio lost its concern as my actions showed up on their end, and I began to relax. Elyse, though…
“We are done. We gotta go,” she said, the first worry wrinkle showing.
“Give me a sec,” I said as I typed in the silence code and the alarm went still. “Can you be quiet for a moment and not touch anything?”
I glanced at Bob to make sure he was still breathing. Madison was out cold. Elyse nodded, and I thumbed open the communication.
“We’re good, estate,” I said, voice pitched in a comfortable, annoyed drawl. “We have two potential gate crashers in custody. Sorry about the delay. I’ll keep them in holding here for Quen.”
I took my thumb off the button, and the speaker crackled to life. “Do you need any assistance?” the voice asked.
Relieved, I looked at Elyse.Gotta go, my ass…“No, but can you spare someone to help Bob secure the gate? I want to do a quick walk-through of the lab facilities. We think that’s where they were headed.”
The speaker crackled again. “We’ll have someone there immediately to relieve you.”
“Rachel…” Elyse whispered as the connection ended, and I followed her gaze up the road to see two cars coming from the estate.
My pulse hammered. They weren’t the expected security golf carts but Trent’s seldom-used limos, one for him, one for Ellasbeth, full of the wedding party, no doubt. I lurched to hit the button to raise the gate. “Where’s my bag? My bag!” I held my hand out as Elyse yanked it from the counter and vaulted over it to duck down below the level of the desk with Bob and Madison.
Fingers fumbling, I found the transposition stone and peered at Madison through it.“A priori,”I intoned, feeling the energy spill from the demon collective to me.“A posteriori,”I added, and the tingling increased.“Omnia mutantur.”I whispered the words through the stone and walked into the haze of the waiting charm. Ice shivered over me as my image shifted, and Elyse chuckled.
“That’s a good look for you,” she said as I flipped the low trash bin over and stood on it to put myself at a more correct height.
“You’d make a good partner if you weren’t so me, me, me,” I said, grip white-knuckled on the stone as the first of the cars passed through. Quen’s head came up as if sensing my alarm. The dark man was sharp in his tux, and I bobbed my head in respect when our eyes met. He would have been told about the attempted incursion, but if Madison was at the desk, he’d assume everything was fine.
Trent was beside him, and my breath sort of caught. As usual, he was preoccupied, with his head down over his phone. His hair was slicked back and his tie was perfect. There was nothing like an elf in a tux, and I felt a pull of attraction.
I hardly noticed the second car full of white silk and lace as Ellasbeth and her bridesmaids followed, and my hands shook when I hit the button to lower the bar and lock the gate.You’d better be there to stop him, Rachel.
Giving Elyse a gesture to be quiet, I thumbed the radio open again. “Mr. Kalamack has left the facility. We are at code green with two fish in the freezer.”
“Code green,” the voice echoed. “Confirm.”
I stifled my sigh of relief. I hadn’t been sure if the code words were in use at this time. “I’m heading up,” I added into the mic. “Bob will be here.”
“Hey!” Elyse whispered, angry, and I waved at her to be quiet.
“You’re coming,” I mouthed, though I was tempted to leave her behind, then louder to the estate security, “Ah, could you have someone meet me to take me through the labs?”
The speaker cracked again. “I’ll see who I can find. We’re at minimal staff. Out.”
“Out,” I echoed, then thumbed the connection closed. Shoulders slumping, I allowed myself three seconds to gather my thoughts. We were halfway there.
“I thought you were leaving me behind.” Elyse straightened from her hunch over Madison and handed me his ID.
Surprised, I fastened it to my lapel. “The gate is not supposed to be left unattended, but it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission. If we take a cart and meet them halfway, they’ll be in a hurry to get someone up here and won’t ask questions.”