Contractor (47 page)

watching with them.

"Ladies and gentlemen. People of the

United States. People of all nations on this

Earth. We are at war." The press room on the

TV bustled with whispers. Daniel clenched

his jaw. The president looked down at the

podium, then continued. "Our enemies are

not terrorists, or another nation, or even

other humans. This attack is from outside the

Earth. This is an attack upon humanity as a

whole, from another race entirely. They are

called the Vorid. We face the reality of an

alien invasion."

There was dead silence. No one moved.

Daniel crushed Rachel’s hand in his grip.

She crushed his right back.

"We have allies, and hope, in this fight,"

the president said. "We have the means to

combat them. We have been fighting them for

almost a year." The press burst into murmurs.

Cameras flashed. The president raised a

hand. "Let me be clear. The ongoing attacks

have been intentionally concealed. These

decisions were made by me, and others

amongst the highest levels of our

government, and other governments and

international organizations, to protect the

welfare and peace of the international

community. This latest strike has proven too

blatant to hide. I must urge you to remain

calm. We have stood against them

successfully, and we will continue to do so.

In fact, the black pillars are the remnants of

their last assault, which we have

successfully repelled.

"What you are about to learn may shock

or confuse you. It may frighten you. But it is

this administration’s decision—my decision

—to now disclose the truth in full. I believe

that the American people are strong enough

to stand against it with dignity, and courage.

To borrow the words of a great man: we

have nothing to fear but fear itself."

The president paused a moment and

shifted his notes. The rustle of paper was

clear over the speakers. Not a reporter

budged. Everyone was waiting.

"The Vorid are not another species from

our galaxy, or even our universe. They come

from another universe altogether. The

specifics are complex, and discussing them

isn’t the purpose of this conference, so I will

be brief. They use a special type of

technology to fight us which renders normal

weapons ineffective." The president cleared

his throat. "However, for many years,

throughout all our history, we have cultivated

our own version of this technology. It is

something that has been hidden not by me, the

government, or any government, but by the

ones who practice its use—men and women

who refer to themselves as magicians. As

extraordinary and unbelievable as it may

seem, it is magical folk who have defended

us in our time of need."

"You’ve got to be fucking shitting me!"

Mark shouted.

"You want proof?" Daniel asked.

Everyone looked at him. "Look outside. That

pillar isn’t natural. Why would the president

make this shit up on live television?"

Mark just turned back to the screen.

Everyone settled as the president started

speaking again. "To help explain the

situation, I have brought our ally and friend,

President Henry Astor, to this conference.

President Astor is the leader of an

organization of American magicians called

the Ivory Dawn. They have been

coordinating our defense efforts thus far, and

their actions have saved millions of lives at

a great cost they have borne in silence. They

have decided that the time has come to

reveal themselves. For the moment, I give

you to him."

Henry came in from the side and shook

hands with the president. Cameras blinked

like strobe lights. His grey-speckled beard,

combined with a long white cloak, made him

look like the head of the Illuminati. Which, in

a way, he was. He settled himself in front of

the podium and spent a moment looking over

the crowd.

The air in the dorm, though, had turned

to ice. Everyone had heard that last name.

Eleanor stood as if nothing had happened.

Daniel didn’t think he’d be able to

handle the looks everyone was giving her.

She was made of strong stuff. She glanced at

him out of the corner of her eye; they looked

at each other for a moment, then turned back

to the TV.

"I am a magician," Henry began, "and,

as incredible as it may seem, am capable of

magic. Not tricks, or slight of hand, but real

magic. A physical manipulation of the

universe." He gestured across the podium.

"Magic appears in our stories and legends in

many varieties and many forms. These are

mostly just that—stories, exaggerated by

time and retelling. They are based, however,

in fact, from a time when we did not conceal

ourselves.

"It was decided, long ago, that our

presence in the world created more

problems than it solved, and so we

withdrew. Our efforts to maintain

clandestine have wavered over the centuries,

but, beyond what we need to keep up

appearances, we never interfere with the

normal world. We have kept to ourselves.

That state of affairs must now change,

because if we do not cooperate, we may lose

everything."

Henry peered at the camera. "When I say

we, I do not mean magicians. I do not mean

America. By we, I’m referring to every

single human on this planet. The Vorid are a

terrible enemy. They are looters, raiders,

bandits come to take everything we have.

Their dark magic is powered by the very

force that keeps you alive—your soul. Your

life. They have little interest in our physical

resources, or our land. It is us ourselves they

are after.

"To that end, they will not stop until they

have destroyed us all. We cannot reason with

them. They do not share our moral scale.

From their perspective, we are crops to be

harvested. They cannot relate to the human

condition because they are not human at all.

"To all people, of all cultures, and all

religions, I say this: we can, and we will

prevail." President Astor smiled. It was the

kindly smile of a grandfather. For all that

Daniel was feeling, it made him feel better to

see that look on his face. "We have had our

difficulties. And our differences. But always,

forever, we have stood. And though we’ve

fallen many times, we’ve picked ourselves

up. And because I believe in our capacity to

survive, and to thrive, no matter what the

odds, I will not lie to you. Today, this very

moment, we face our greatest threat. This is a

war that will be fought on every continent,

and in every country. It is a war in which we

will all share." He took a breath. "But for every threat we’ve faced, we’ve succeeded.

We’ve united. We’ve stood shoulder-to-

shoulder. All we have to do is do it again.

"I realize that information on the current

situation is at a premium," Henry added.

"Rest assured, all your questions will be

answered. The national guard will assist in

guiding things on the ground. It is critical that

you follow their directions carefully and

quickly. For more on that, I will return you to

the good hands of our president."

The president came back on and began

to explain the plan in greater detail. The

national guard, and Homeland Security, was

mobilizing all over the United States. They

were activating a contingency to ferry

everyone to the major cities. Refugees would

pass through designated checkpoints to be

inspected by magicians for dark magic, and

then given food and temporary housing.

Suddenly, the FEMA camps that were only a

vapid conspiracy were all-too real.

Everyone was encouraged to remain

where they were and wait for instructions. If

the roads were congested, there would just

be more problems in the long run. Daniel

assumed they had something else to take care

of farms. Even if they had everyone in one

place, safe from spawn, they’d still need

food.

He wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of

gathering everyone together. It made a big

target for the Vorid. At the same time, the

magicians probably couldn’t afford to be

spread out over the entire breadth of the

country. They had to create a defensible

position. It was their only option.

Rachel and Eleanor exchanged a glance.

Rachel nodded to her, then led Daniel back

to his room, presumably to explain the

situation. They sat down and held each other.

Daniel called his father. He’d heard the

news. Police had already come by their

house; they were being shuttled to Cleveland

along with the rest of the neighborhood in

two days. Daniel promised to stay in touch.

James passed the phone to Felix. His

brother’s voice was light and tinny through

the speaker. "Hey Danny."

"Hey Felix. How’s it going?"

"I’m ok, but I guess things are kinda bad

now, right? At least we get to go to

Cleveland. Maybe we can see the Browns

while we’re there."

"Sounds fun. Get tickets. Maybe I’ll be

able to come by then."

"You’re not coming now?"

Daniel’s lips tightened. "They’re

probably going to want me to stay in Boston.

I’ll ask and see if I can go."

"Ok. Hey, I got an A on my last math

test!"

"Good job."

"Mostly because you helped me some

when we talked."

Daniel smiled. "Hey, you’re the one that

got the A."

"Yeah."

"Take care of dad, ok?"

"Ok. I’ll call when we get on the buses."

"Sounds good," Daniel said.

"I love you."

"Love you too, Felix. Bye."

"Bye-bye!"

Felix hung up. Daniel lowered his head.

Rachel rubbed his back. He leaned into her,

focusing on the warmth of her hands.

"There’s been a change," Rachel said.

"Several," Daniel mumbled. "Which one

is relevant to my life?"

"We’re getting recalled to New York

City. Henry wants to keep us close. I think he

was trying to give us a little normality with

the whole college thing." Rachel sighed. "He doesn’t want to risk it anymore. This was a

pretty big escalation."

"Where does that leave us?"

"I want you to stay here," Rachel said.

"Why?"

"Because you’ll try something if New

York is attacked, you stupid liar."

"Sorry." He hugged her. "I was scrying, and I was worried. Turned out it was a good

thing I broke my promise though, huh?"

Her hands clenched fistfuls of his shirt.

"…I don’t want you to get hurt. I wish I was

normal. I want to stay with you. I don’t want

—I -" Her voice caught. She coughed. "You

need to stay here where it’s safe."

Daniel brought his hand to her face. He

wiped the tears off her cheeks. He brushed

her long red hair behind her ears. "I want to

go with you, Rachel."

"New York is the headquarters of the

Ivory Dawn," Rachel said. "It’s too risky.

You’re strong. You’re really, really strong.

But if enough mages ganged up on you, it

wouldn’t make a difference. Eleanor and I

aren’t that experienced. We aren’t much

compared to some of the magicians that will

be there. And there’s other things."

"Like what?"

"I’m not supposed to talk about it."

Daniel gave her a look.

"Alright, alright," Rachel said. "We’ve had news from the Klide ambassador."

"Xik?" Rachel nodded. "Ok. So what’s

the news?"

"…a Vorid lord is going to land on

earth, probably just over a week from now.

He’s the one in charge of the entire invasion.

We’ve killed one too many overseers.

They’re giving us a second glance."

"…shit."

"The likeliest spot is New York City,"

Rachel said. "The cultural and economic

heart of the strongest country. Now that they

care, they want us to panic and scatter. That

makes for easier hunting."

"How strong is a lord?"

"Strong enough to be the reason we’re

concentrating our entire eastern force,"

Rachel said. "We’re leaving in five hours."

"You and Eleanor? Tonight?"

"Yeah."

Daniel ground his teeth in the back of his

jaw. "Stay with me. Until then."

Rachel’s smile was sad and beautiful

under her puffy eyes. "I’ve got a busy

schedule, but I might be able to pencil you

in."

"I’ll have my people call your people."

He drew her back onto his bed. He

breathed deep, feeling the weight of her head

on his chest, the way her hair smelled.

"Somehow, it all feels more real," she

said. "Seeing everyone acknowledge it

drives it home. It’s not some game I play on

weekends. It’s a war."