Collision: The Alliance Series Book Three (14 page)

“Jeth blew up his computer,” said Ada, who was as restless as me. She hovered near the window. “It has some sort of magi-tech in it—well, it did. It’s in pieces now.”

“Offworld tech?” There’d been a few similar reports in, I remembered, and wondered if it was a matter of time before something blew up
here.
“Which world?”

“He can’t remember,” she said. “Not helpful, I know.”

“I was under the impression,” said Markos, looking up from a mountain of papers at his standing desk, “that it was illegal to use non-Earth tech here without Alliance permission.”

“Uh,” said Ada. “He works here.” She shot me a guilty look.

“The Alliance have bigger problems right now,” I said. “At least it wasn’t a flying car.”

Markos snorted. “What is it with you humans and flying? I prefer to keep four feet on the ground, thank you very much.”

“Huh.” Good thing I hadn’t bought the supersonic speed-enhancement a Valerian merchant had tried to sell me last time I’d been in Neo Greyle, which he promised would work on Earth motorcycles. I’d rather save that
for a world where it wouldn’t get me arrested
or
inconveniently explode.

Right now, the main Passage was locked down in case any other magic-creatures showed up, and only patrols were allowed in. Apparently, the lockdown had caused no end of contention for offworlders wanting to use it, judging by the number of people crowded around the Complaints Division downstairs. It looked like London’s entire offworld community had come here, and Ms Weston wasn’t happy about it. She had no patience for complainers.

“I don’t see how they think Earth’s Alliance can help,” said Ada. “Most people don’t even understand how offworld tech works. Even my brother doesn’t, and he built a computer out of it.”

“We’re a convenient target,” I said. “Any idea where Raj and Iriel are?” The other Ambassadors normally worked in different offices. They might have been called in to deal with some of the chaos. If not for Vey-Xanetha, Ada and I would be chasing griffins around Westminster Abbey.

I’d rather be doing that than staying here, but judging by Earth’s surging magic levels, offworld must be having a worse time of it than we were. I’d kept my communicator newsfeed on all night and every minute brought more chaotic reports. Now I regretted sacrificing sleep to keep up to date, though the constantly fluctuating magic level didn’t help, waking me every few minutes like a mild electric shock. It was as persistent as magic burn, but less painful. Judging by the dark circles under Ada’s eyes, she’d been tuned into it, too.

Magic was starting to really piss me off.

“No clue.” Ada yawned. “I didn’t see where Evan went, either.”

“Hope something ate him,” said Markos. “The dragon’s supposed to be keeping an eye on him.”

“Yeah, well,” I said. “You’re supposed to be setting an example. Not getting into fights with the staff.”

“Don’t you lecture me, human,” said Markos. “The two of you have a history, don’t you?”

Great.
“He was one of Aric’s henchmen at the Academy.” And like hell would I let on that he and his buddy had beaten the crap out of me in the Passages two years ago. Before I’d accidentally blasted Aric with magic.

Iriel came into the office, looking frazzled. “Raj has been arrested,” she said.

“What?” I turned to stare at her. “On Earth?”

“Yeah, he had to deal with an issue somewhere near Trafalgar Square. The regular police got involved, and wound up arresting him as well as the culprits.”

“Damn,” I said. “Don’t tell me the idiot lost his Alliance ID again.”

“Right in one,” said Iriel. “He left it in the office. Has the dragon given you any instructions?”

“I can’t believe everyone’s calling her that now.” Ada stifled a laugh.

Behind her, Ms Weston’s raised voice came through her office, but too muffled to make out the words.

“Who’s she yelling at, anyway?” asked Iriel.

“No clue,” I said. “What exactly happened? Isn’t Trafalgar Square in West Office’s territory?”

“They’re preoccupied with complaints,” said Iriel. “Same as here. All their senior staff are dealing with offworlders coming in and kicking up a fuss about not being able to use the Passages.”

What a total clusterfuck.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll come down and–”

Crash.

Everyone jumped as the floor shook underneath our feet. And the ceiling and walls.

“The hell?” I ran out the office, looking up and down the corridor. People were coming out of the other offices, too.

“That was downstairs,” said Ada, from behind me. “You don’t think we’re being attacked?”

“Considering we’re unarmed, I hope not.” But I made for the balcony outside Office Fourteen which overlooked the entrance hall.

A gigantic, feathery lion-bird hybrid flew past, colliding with the balcony in a rattling
crash.
Broken metal restraints hung from its wings and eagle-like feet, scraping against the walls.

“You have
got
to be shitting me,” I said. “That’s a full-grown Alvienne griffin.”

“Who in the Multiverse brought it in here?” Iriel gaped at it.

“How unfortunate.” Markos came out the office, looking amused. “Except for those of you hoping for a little action.”

“Yeah, thanks, Markos,” I said, already heading for the stairs, and the guard office. Not that a weapon would help if no one could catch the damn thing.

“Hang on.” Iriel moved back as a curved beak hit the balcony, leaving a huge dent. Griffins tended to hate enclosed spaces and make for the nearest exit, if there was one. Except there wasn’t. The griffin made high-pitched noises, its heavy body smacking into the walls.

“Screw it,” I muttered, and ran downstairs, my steps punctuated by more crashing sounds from above.

“Wait.” Ada caught up to me in the entrance hall. “You’re not serious? Or do I even need to ask?”

“Someone has to do it,” I said, and above, the huge feathered form of the griffin crashed into another balcony. People gathered on all five floors to see what the fuss was about. In the entrance hall, full-blown panic had erupted. People ran every which way, shouting at anyone who looked vaguely authoritarian or wore guard uniform. I made for the guard office before anyone waylaid me.

The office was locked. No sign of Carl. He’d have had this situation under control, but he must be out dealing with something else. Most of the guards were probably in the Passages or trying to stop complainers from overrunning the building.

Crash.
Broken glass rained down on the shrieking crowd, and I kicked at the office door. I swore again when it didn’t give. The weapons were stored in here, so they’d made the bloody door out of adamantine. Lucky I wore my guard boots, otherwise that’d have really hurt.
I don’t have time for this.

Magic sparked against my skin as Ada stepped forward. “Wait,” I said, realising what she was about to do. “It’s magicproof.” Plus using magic in here broke a dozen rules.

Crash.
More glass fell from above, along with red droplets. Blood. The griffin must have crashed into one of the glass lifts.

A red bolt hit the wall to our right, rebounding with another crash.
Someone used magic.

“Shit,” I said, and like everyone else, threw myself to the ground to avoid a waterfall of sparks. A claw-footed man shouted something in another language and hurled a handful of sparks up at the flailing griffin, which clawed at the ceiling high above. The reflective surface had probably confused the beast into thinking it was a way out.

Swearing, I got to my feet and said to Ada, “Back me up if this goes wrong.”

“What’re you–?”

This was stupidly risky and I’d never have done it under normal circumstances, but there wasn’t a weapon in sight and a hundred-odd people were shielding themselves from the falling glass and rebounding magic sparks. If the magic level surged again, we’d be in a crapload of trouble.

The griffin let go of the ceiling and dived, and I made up my mind.

“Everyone move out of the way!” I shouted.

Most people had cleared aside already, and more than a few had left the building. Ada gaped at me. “You’re not seriously going to–?”

As the griffin swooped down, and jumped. My arms locked around its feathered leg, propelling both of us into the air. The only weapon I had was the magic in my blood, and right now, it was the only way I could think of to stun the griffin before it hit anyone with those clawed talons.

Magic waited under the surface, enough for a first-level zap. It had no effect, and I cursed as the griffin’s talons kicked at the crowd. Second level it was, then. I clambered higher, onto the griffin’s feathered back, and released the magic through my fingertips.

The griffin screamed, legs jerking. I threw myself over its back as its heavy body hit the ground with a
thud.
It lay in the centre of the entrance hall, shuddering all over. I jumped and rolled on the ground, avoiding the broken glass.

Everyone stared, Ada included.

“Who’s in charge of this thing?” I demanded of the shell-shocked crowd. “It’ll recover in a few minutes, and I’m not catching it again. Someone could get hurt.”

If I hadn’t been sure of my aim, I’d never have used magic in the middle of Central. More than a few people were staring at me in open astonishment, though the majority were more scared of the griffin than the fact that I’d used magic.

The front doors slid open and several guards ran in, led by Carl.

“Good timing,” I said, removing slivers of broken glass from my jacket sleeves.

“What the devil happened here?” He marched past the griffin, to the guard office, and unlocked it while I explained. Though how the damn creature had got loose in the first place was a mystery to me.

“You did
what?”
he said, from inside the office, where he’d opened a black-doored cabinet in which some of the weapons were held. “Used magic? In here?”

“We didn’t exactly have a lot of options,” I said, as he pulled out an Alliance-issued tranquiliser gun from beside a set of cuffs. “It smashed the lifts, there was broken glass everywhere. It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt. And other people were using magic, too,” I added, shooting a glare at the claw-footed man. He froze, glancing shiftily towards the exit.

“Please tell me you at least asked a senior member of staff,” said Carl.

“It was an emergency,” Ada jumped in. “Our boss is… uh. Busy.”

“That’s no excuse–” He cut himself off, striding past us with the tranquiliser gun in hand. Ada jumped as he fired at the struggling griffin. The beast promptly collapsed, unconscious, its beak hitting the ground with a final trembling crash. “Absolutely no excuse. Kay, this is
Central.
I appreciate what you were trying to do, but–”

“You left the guard office locked,” said Ada. “Nobody here was armed. That thing could have killed people. And there were others using magic, too.”

“Who even let someone bring it in?” I added. “That’s the part I don’t get.” I scanned the remaining complainers, who’d crowded the edges of the entrance hall.

“All right,” said Carl, loudly. “Own up. Who owns the griffin?”

A pause. Most of the crowd looked like they weren’t sure who to be more scared of, the griffin or the scarred, imposing head guard.

A couple of teenage girls wearing feathered hats, who’d been looking nervously towards the door, stepped forward. “It’s ours,” one of them said.

Carl muttered a curse. “I’ll deal with this. Kay, I’m putting you in charge of telling the council
what
exactly happened here.”

Great. I made for the stairs, seeing as the elevators were now reduced to a mess of broken glass. Good job no one had been in them at the time, I thought with a slight chill at the memory of my own narrow escape from a similar situation.

“Ada, you don’t have to come,” I said, as she hurried behind me.

“Like hell,” she said. “They
can’t
blame you for this. What else were you supposed to do?”

“Call the council? God knows.” I could have put out a call on my communicator, of course, but apparently someone already had. I picked up the pace, irritated beyond belief, both with myself and the morons who’d brought a freaking
griffin
into Central. And the morons who’d
let
them.

“Who the bloody hell thought domesticating that thing was a good idea?” said Ada. “It can’t be a house pet.”

“Might be,” I said. “You’d think most people would think twice before buying a two-ton griffin as a birthday present.”

Ada laughed, then shot me a guilty look. “They’re not going to yell at you, are they?”

“Ms Weston will,” I said. “I’d stay away from her for the next century or so.”

Mercifully, the council were in a meeting. Must have been an important one, because even with the racket outside, no one had even come out of their third-floor office. Then again, I remembered belatedly, the meeting room was soundproofed.