A Cat's Chance in Hell (39 page)

A chuckle erupted from Lance. “Well, we weren’t gathered at HQ to watch you,” he drawled, “but once Melinda saw you heading for the hall she came to call us. She’d heard about you being staked from Harry and didn’t put much stock in his story of your miraculous healing. They wouldn’t believe me either, so we came to check that you weren’t overdoing things.” He had an enigmatic smirk on his face which Gabi was sure had something to do with Athena, if the sidelong glance Lance gave her was anything to go by.

Gabi bowed dramatically. “It’s good to know I have so many people watching out for my best interests,” she pretended to smile sweetly at them. Then her smile disappeared and a long-suffering look took its place. “Now, if you will all just go back to what you were doing and leave me to my exercise for the day, I’ll be a happy person.”

Lance and Doug took the hint and left with mock salutes. Athena stubbornly stayed where she was, arms crossed and staring haughtily down at her, until Byron cleared his throat. She finally broke eye contact with Gabi, pursed her lips and flounced off the platform. Gabi turned back to Byron. “I was coming to see you once I finished here,” she said.

“
Yes, Hazel told me you’d stopped by at my office,” he replied. “I was in a meeting with Irene.”

The mention of the Senior Magus’ name snapped Gabi to attention. The members of the Council didn’t often meet outside of Council sessions, unless it was a matter of extreme delicacy or dire emergency.

Byron nodded, seeing the dawning comprehension on Gabi’s face. “She had some urgent news for us. Athena, Doug and Lance were already here to discuss going in to clean out the Ghoul Hole later. Kyle and Matthew are on their way here so I can tell you all together. Get finished here and join us in the small conference room, okay?”

Gabi nodded; she knew Byron’s moods, so she knew he wouldn’t discuss this with her until everyone was together. She leant forward putting a hand on his shoulder and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

“
Ok, see you in fifteen,” she said and headed for the showers.

Chapter 20

She poured herself a cup of coffee and took the empty seat next to Kyle at the large oval conference table.

He gave her a quick, assessing grin. “I hear you tore up the obstacle course today,” he whispered. “Fastest time on record.” He nudged her with his elbow teasingly.

“
I didn’t know anyone was watching or timing it,” she hissed back in annoyance.

Byron cleared his throat, preventing further discussion. “As you all know, Irene came to us with some urgent information from the Magi Council this morning,” he said without preamble. He steepled his hands in front of him on the mahogany table.

Gabi thought he looked troubled but determined; whatever was coming was bad but not unsurmountable. Athena was watching the rest of them rather than Byron, so apparently she knew what the news was already. Gabi supposed that, as one of the High Councillors for the Magi Council, she’d been privy to the information before Byron was. She wondered why Athena hadn’t been the one to bring them the news. It seemed odd that the older Magus had come into the offices to tell Byron.

Byron continued, “One of the Oracles had a vision this morning, and it seems to relate directly to our current situation.”

There was a collective intake of surprised breathes. The Oracles were two of the Magi Council’s most powerful Clairvoyants. Their true identities were a closely guarded secret, more closely guarded than Byron’s was. When they had a clairvoyant vision, it was invariably accurate, as long as it had been interpreted correctly. They also had an uncanny knack of knowing what to do in order to alter the outcome of a vision. Of course, it was frequently impossible to interpret their visions; many of them were hopelessly obscure and often, by the time the meaning of the visions became clear, it was too late to do anything about them. To the Oracles credit, they did manage to help prevent dozens of catastrophes, both minor and major, each year. Neither of them had any control over what they saw and couldn’t be asked to look for something specific. It was theorised that if they meditated over a particular subject they would get some kind of insight on the subject, but there was no way to ensure it was the insight they wanted. Many of their visions were not about bad or dangerous events; many were not warnings at all, just glimpses of the future, sometimes happy and bright. There was a team of Magi who spent their days trying to work out what the visions actually meant and if they required any action to be taken.

“
They have ‘seen’ what Danté and Mariska are planning, and when they plan to do it,” Byron continued. “Athena, you can probably explain this better than I can, why don’t you continue?”

She nodded curtly and stood up to address the rest of them. “The visions were unusually clear, so we have been able to decipher them relatively easily. From what the visions have shown us, Mariska has been declared Maleficus.”

Gabi felt her eyebrows shoot up in astonishment and saw confusion on the faces of the others; it seemed she was the only one of the Hunters who knew what this meant.

Athena seemed to realise she’d lost most of them, so she impatiently explained, “Maleficus essentially means criminal Magus. It is extremely rare for one of us to be so labelled, it is not done lightly. Even those who are Dark Magi are not often branded as such. It means instant death on capture; the trial has already been held, and the Magus has already been found guilty of evil deeds. It is now only a matter of catching up with her to mete out the punishment.” She paused to allow this news to sink in and for the murmurs of surprise to die down.

“
Summer solstice is almost upon us,” she continued, “and this year it will be a particularly powerful day and night as it coincides with a full lunar eclipse. The ley lines will be overflowing with power, almost any magic would be possible on a night like this. Mariska and Danté are going to be harnessing this unusually potent force to try to open a permanent gateway through the Void, allowing Demons an unobstructed pathway into our City.” Athena’s eyes were brimming with suppressed fury, she jabbed a finger into the table. “The Oracles say they will get it right, that Mariska has enough ability and has found the right spells to do it. Unless we can find a way to stop them.” She almost growled the last sentence, then her voice dropped to a whisper. “We
have
to find a way to stop them.” She dropped back into her chair, seeming exhausted by the prospect.

Gabi found she had no patience with the annoying woman; they had work to do, things to plan out, information to find, sitting in a sorry-for-yourself heap wasn’t going to get them anywhere. “So when exactly is the summer solstice this year?” she asked the Magus irritably. “And did the Oracles have any idea where to find Mariska or Danté, or how we can stop them?”

At Gabi’s sharp words, Athena tried to pull herself together, sitting up straighter and flicking back her hair. “Four days time, and no they didn’t get any clues as to where the Vampire and the Maleficus are hiding out,” Athena answered tonelessly. “The best way to stop them is to capture Mariska or kill the Demon Master. Mariska cannot control Demons, so she wouldn’t open the gateway if he wasn’t there to control them.”

“
I’m assuming the Demon Master is Danté?”

Athena nodded curtly.

“
So the long and the short of it is that we have less than a hundred hours to find them and put a stop to all this,” Gabi summarized when no one else seemed capable of speech.

“
Where do we even start?” Matt asked in a voice that spoke of the sheer enormity of the task.

“
We start with the only direct link we have to them,” Lance spoke up, steely determination in his tone. “The warehouse and the humans left behind in the Ghoul Hole. There has to be a clue somewhere in that place.”

“
You’re right,” Doug spoke up now, “it’s the only lead we have.”

“
I agree,” Byron said, nodding. “We need to get everyone we can spare out there.” He turned to Athena. “Magi would be particularly helpful there, especially Diviners or Clairvoyants, anyone who can pick up on psychic energy or life-force. Maybe we can pick up some idea of where they’ve set up base.”

Athena’s natural business-like attitude kicked in. “Yes, of course,” she replied. “I will contact Irene and coordinate to have everyone we have available join us at the warehouse. I’ll be there myself as well, as soon as I’ve made arrangements.” She stood up and briskly left the room.

“
Doug, will you collect one of the trainees and head to the warehouse as well?’ Byron asked. “We may need your expertise in case any of the humans have turned. Take a couple of flame throwers with you.” Though he sounded brisk and detached, Gabi could see how much the thought of having to take human lives was affecting Byron. He took a deep breath to steady himself. “I’ll contact the Weres and ask if they can spare us some additional muscle.”

Doug nodded agreement and left to round up a trainee.

“
Lance, Matt, I need you two to go home and get some rest.” Byron put up a hand at their immediate protests. “We’ll need you tonight. We’ve seen what can come at us in the dark, we’ll use the daylight to do our investigations, gather information, and at night we need to have as many as possible fresh and ready to take down whatever is sent our way. So go home, rest, recharge and report back here before sunset.”

They reluctantly agreed and headed home, after Byron assured them he’d call if anything happened during the day.

“
Are we going to head out there, too?” Kyle asked when just the three of them remained in the room.

Byron ignored the question. “I would prefer you two also went home to rest, but I know better,” Byron said with a rueful attempt at a smile. “You can go and help for a while at the warehouse if you both promise me that you’ll take time off for a few hours this afternoon. I need you both at your best tonight.”

As it turned out, Gabi found it easier than she’d anticipated to go home for a catnap after lunch. She’d felt relatively useless at the warehouse, the Magi were doing the most good; Healers trying to help the humans, Mediums trying to reach the spirits of the dead, Clairvoyants trying to pick up traces of energy and Athena concentrating on tracing the source of the impressive wards that had hidden the place from psychic sight. Another two humans had turned into Ghouls, and Gabi was secretly relieved that they had already been dispatched by Doug when they arrived. It looked as though the rest of the humans would pull through without turning, as least that’s what they were telling themselves.

Byron had arranged secure and far more humane facilities for the remainder of them, and the first task of the evening would be for Gabi, Kyle and whatever Vampires Julius could spare, to transport the pitiful bunch to the new facilities where they could be monitored and cared for. After that, they would be splitting into three Patrol groups with a mix of MV staff and Vampires for a patrol through areas where strong ley line convergences occurred. As there was still a fairly large cloud of suspicion and enmity surrounding the inclusion of the Vampires in the Patrols, it was decided that a ‘referee’ would be needed in each group. Kyle would go with one group and Gabi with another. Lance had worked with the Vampires the previous night and didn’t seem to have any problems with them, so he was their natural choice to lead up the third, Matt could take his pick of groups to join.

Gabi knew this would be her time to make a contribution, not wandering around the warehouse during daylight hours pretending to know what she was looking for. So she and Kyle drove back to her house for a nap until sunset.

Gabi had texted Julius before going to sleep, asking him to meet her at the warehouse with as many of his guard as he could spare. His reply woke her just before dusk. He and his guard would meet them at the warehouse at 8 pm. She rose, stretching, and still enjoying the lack of pain, and went to kick the guest bedroom door, rousing Kyle. As she changed into fighting gear, she wondered how long her new speed and strength would last, if it would disappear in slow increments or vanish abruptly. She sincerely hoped it wouldn’t vanish in the middle of a battle. That could prove disastrous.

The two of them stopped at a burger place to fuel up on the way. Gabi caught the nervous stares that were being directed their way and had to suppress a grimace. She glared at the diners, thinking they were lucky she’d decided to remove the knives and swords before she walked in. Still, at least they weren’t going to be harassed by anyone. The heart rate (which Gabi could hear quite clearly) of the freckle-faced teen who was serving them ramped up to dangerous speeds as he stammeringly confirmed their order and took the cash Gabi held out to him. He dropped the change onto the counter and looked up with nervous eyes as he stuttered his apology. Gabi rolled her eyes as Kyle tried not to snicker.

“
I told you we should’ve used the drive-thru,” she grumbled, briskly scooping up the scattered money and going to sit at a vacant table in a dimly-lit corner, leaving Kyle to collect the tray of food and drinks. When the food arrived, Gabi found she was hungry, though still not starving as she would normally be; she actually had to make an effort to finish the three burgers and extra large fries.

Kyle found himself contemplating her lack of appetite a few hours later while sitting holed up in one of three secure vans transporting the wretched looking humans. Facilities had been set up for them in an abandoned mental asylum on the outskirts of the city. It had been earmarked for demolition in a few months time but was still mostly functional at the moment. Byron never ceased to amaze Kyle in his ability to source absolutely anything. Between Byron, Irene, and Ian they’d set up everything in less than twenty-four hours.