Durance by Lyn Gala Page 0,72

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.”

Kavon gave a quick nod as he gripped the wheel. “Can the durance see us?”

“I have no idea,” Julie said, “not for sure. But the one in back is the only one vivid enough to stand out, and even that mark is fading, so probably not. But don’t quote me.”

“Oh shit,” Kavon said. “That’s why the docent have been avoiding us. They hoped to hide us from the enemy.”

“Do you think?” Darren asked. He hoped it was true, but that hope felt like ridiculous optimism.

“We’ll know soon enough,” Kavon said. “If our guides are staying away to hide us, they should show up the second we confront the durance.”

“But... why?” Darren felt a weird sense of betrayal at the idea that Bennu had abandoned him to hunt the durance alone, leaving him behind. That was exactly the sort of shit Darren expected from Kavon, not Bennu.

Les nudged him. “Didn’t you tell me that you and Kavon told the docent to give you time to find a solution? It seems like they backed off and gave you that time.”

From the front seat,