Zero Sum (16 page)

“You need to stop staring at the fangy object, captain. Subterfuge isn’t Rei’s thing. If she wanted us dead, she’d sink a blade straight into our chest. I’m pretty sure there would be bugles and a cavalry charge first.”

For an instant, Susan’s calm veneer faltered. “You can’t be…”

“Sure I can. Rei might be a killer, but she’s not a sneak. She’d probably call you out in the middle of the quad, slap you with a glove, and demand to see your second. And don’t start acting all high and mighty about killing. You can’t tell me your hands are still clean. I’m pretty sure Talmax didn’t give you a day pass out of detention.”

“Talmax?” Susan raised an eyebrow.

I tried to ignore the beads of sweat running down my back.

“What is your squad doing in Central’s basement?”

“Ours is not to reason what, captain.”

Susan rolled her eyes. “Resnick, no one’s spelling it out, but we all know that there is a war on. Iota, Kappa, and Mu are on the football field training every single day. Even some of the students from the non-combat squads were drawn up. What I want to know is why your squad was excluded. You’ve got a few good people. They should be getting ready too.”

Because your dad said so?
 

Because we’ve been tasked with a secret mission?
 

Because our enemy was a master of glamour?

“You’ll have to ask Captain Rice or Dean Albright about that.“

“As if those two hacks…“ Susan shook her head. “What’s going on, Resnick? What are you up to?”

I slid out of the booth. This was a bridge too far.

“Excuse me, captain, but I’ve gotta take a dump.”

“Wait,” Susan said.

“What now?” I groaned.

“You should join my squad.”
 

“Excuse me?”
 

“Albright is a walking disaster. That man…there’s a reason they locked him up out here. And I’ve got plans, Resnick. When I graduate, I’m going to work for Cerberus. They actually get it over there. They know what we’re up against. And they can get you out of that DEA contract. They can buy you right out of it. Switch squads, Resnick. You don’t have to live under that man’s thumb.”

I might have been new to this magic stuff, but the smell of rotten fish was universal.

“Lady, a few months ago I was scrapping leftover hamburgers into my lunchbox. Now I’ve got room, board, a free education, and money to send home to my father. Dean Albright’s been treating me just fine. Now if you’ll excuse me, the porcelain goddess awaits.”

“Resnick!”

I dashed out of the cafeteria and across the lawn. The suspicion of Rei was nothing new. I’d discovered that the day I got here. But that stuff about Albright…I’d never heard that before.

“You handled that pretty well,” Dante said from behind me. “No explosions. No floods of juice. Not even a bloody knuckle.”

“Jerk. You were there the whole time?” I punched him in the arm.

“Yea, I use a shroud whenever I go in there solo, but I totally had your back, bud.”

“Gee, thanks, Dante,” I grumbled. “What do you make of that last thing Susan said? Albright’s locked up here?”

“Never heard of anything like that before—but what would I know? I’ve only been here a semester longer than you.”

“And how about what Susan said about Rei?”

Dante shrugged.

I stopped walking towards Central and crossed my arms.
 

“No, Dante. Out with it.”

Dante scratched his head and sighed.

“Listen, Rei’s cool and all, but…it’s just, well, Susan’s got a point.”

“Dante, you were there!”

“Easy, bud. I’m not talking about the attack. Rei save our butt, no doubt. But I’m thinking more long term. You see, this whole Talmax thing could put us at odds with the Fiefs.”

“With the Fiefs?” I frowned. “What do the Fiefs have to do with Talmax?”
 

“Borders, bud. The Department signed a treaty with the Nostophoros back in the 1850’s. We protect their borders. They stay out of our jugulars.” He gave a meek smile. “It’s a pretty good deal.”

In my head, a scenario shifted into place.

“If the Department of Mana Affairs were to surrender the West Coast…”

“Right. We wouldn’t be defending their borders anymore. Then the vamps might decide to…renegotiate.”
 

I hadn’t considered how the Nostophoros might respond to Talmax’s attack…which was sloppy now that I thought about it.

“Dante, are Rei’s people strong enough to push the Department around?”
 

“Normally, no. But, bud, you heard the same casualty figures I did. The DEA is running short on manpower. And we don’t just have to worry about the Nostophoros taking advantage. There are other players that would love to fill a vacuum. The Weres for one. The Department is in a serious bind, man. That’s why our mission is so important.” Dante let out a sigh. “And speaking of binds…”

“What?”

“I could really use an escort.” He handed me a large manila envelope. It was addressed to one Rei Acerba Bathory.

I flipped threw the pages and frowned. “You need my help to deliver battle plans?”

“And I need to get Rei’s photo.” He pulled a beat-up camera out of his Elliot robe.

“Why?”

“For her new papers. I need a photo of you too, actually. We’re going in under fake names.”

“And you need me to hold your hand?” I rolled my eyes. “Come on, Dante. I want to go take a nap.”
 

It occurred to me that we were already crunching through the thin sheet of snow leading to Rei’s cabin.

The sneaky bastard…

Dante thumbed his camera. Digitals weren’t allowed on campus. It was one of the old ones that used film.

“It’s just that she doesn’t like to have her photo taken.”
 

“Yea, Susan mentioned that.”

Dante cleared his throat.
 

“We could…trade.”

I raised an eyebrow. So Dante was in on it too.

“Was she wearing a one piece or a two?”

Dante gave me a nervous smile.
 

“That’s kinda what’s so interesting about it…”

I facepalmed.

“They’re nudes? You idiots tried to take nude pictures of a vampire?”

“We didn’t just try, bud.” He nudged me in the side. “We got the goods.”

“Stars above, Dante. How many copies are left?”
 

“Well, Susan confiscated Roger’s last week. That just leaves Roster’s and mine. But Jasper totally owes me. I was the one who shrouded his sorry butt out of there. I can get you a fresh print from his negative.”

I put my arm around Dante.
 

“Naw, bud, here’s the deal. You’re gonna make yourself another shroud, you’re gonna collect every last copy plus the negative, and then you’re gonna put them all into another one of these nice manila envelopes.”

“Come on,” Dante groaned. “Bros before—“

“Or I can tell Rei who has them. I’m sure she’d be more than happy to do the footwork herself.”

Dante blanched.
 

“Good. I’m glad we could do business together.”

+

Dante poked at the sign hanging from Rei’s door.
 

“Out to lunch?”

“Sheila has been encouraging her to immerse herself in our culture.”

“But you could see how I might interpret this as a threat, right?”

“Definitely. But don’t tell Rei that. She gets really frustrated when she makes one of those faux pas.”

“Frustrated?” Dante shivered. “Good to know. So she’s not here?”

“I doubt Rei would put that sign out if she was.”

“Well then where is she?”

“Class?”

“Na, second year classes are done for the night. It’s open time for their apprenticing.”

I nodded. Most Elliot students apprenticed with an upperclassmen until their third year. Then it was their turn to teach. It was a pretty good system. Teaching underclassmen helped cement the basics.

“Maybe she really is out to lunch. Let’s check out back. That’s were she keeps the sheep.”
 

“Na, it’s cool.” Dante took a step towards the road. “I’ll try later. Like midday.”

Which meant he wouldn’t have to get the photos…

“Not so fast. We had a deal. I’m not letting you skirt this.”
 

“Jesus, bud, give me a break.”

“Speaking of breaks…“

“Okay!” Dante stammered. “You win. Fine. Whatever.”

I started to laugh but thought better of it. There was real sweat running down Dante’s brow.

Leading Dante around back, I managed to find the enclosure. Rei’s sheep weren’t around, and there was no sign of Cumo. That left me with absolutely no clue where to look next. Rei wasn’t exactly open and honest about her nightly activities.
 

“Bud, she isn’t here. I promise I’ll take care of the photos. Just…just leave my name out of it, okay?”
 

I ignored Dante’s knocking knees. I focused on the cool breeze churning through the blanket of November leaves.

“I didn’t even take the photos.”

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise in unison. It was there if I focused. Lavender. I could smell lavender.

“I guess it was stupid. No, it was stupid. But, I mean, Dieter, they were nudes, and none of Theodus’ daughters have ever been photo…why are you staring at the trees like that?”

There was another scent. It was dry and smoky. Something in it made my eyes burn. It reminded me of my father’s coat when he came back from shooting rifles…

“Do we have a gun range?”

“Of course. There’s one east of campus near the equestrian park.”

“That’s where Rei is.”

Dante hustled after me.
 

“Then why’d we walk over here?”

“I forgot.” I shook off a shiver. The weft-link was acting up again. Why, I had no idea.
 

“But the range is outside of the wards. All students have to stay on campus. We can’t go past the gates.”

“All of them?” I smiled. “I read that bulletin too, Lieutenant Dante. I do believe student officers on official business were exempted. And we’re on official business, aren’t we?”

“Did you just pull my rank?” Dante shook his head. “I want a new roommate. I’m trading you in for Roster.”

Elliot College was divided up into four sections with Central Hall at the center of the bullseye. The main gate and the adjacent train station marked the west side of campus. To the north of Central were the dorms, the woods where Jules liked to train, and—in the far distance—a town called Charity. To the south were the faculty lodge and a number of private homes. The east side of campus featured various buildings dedicated to specific magical specialties. Jules had occupied so much of my time with studying and practice that I’d never even considered going on a grand tour. But now that I had a captive, I began peppering him with questions.

“Those are Gamma and Delta’s research facilities,” he said pointing to the south side of Elliot pond.

“Delta mages do the herbal stuff and Gamma mages make potions, right?”

“Yea, but you can hardly tell the two squads apart—except during their annual lager competition.” He gave me a smile. “The rest of the students get to judge.”

As we walked past the east edge of the great lawn, I spotted a white marble box of a building tucked behind a grove of evergreens. The building had no windows or doors. Heck, it wasn’t even lit.

“That’s the Epsilon’s building,” Dante explained.
 

I knew of Epsilon mages by reputation only. They were considered the most exclusive study group on campus.
 

“I’m guessing the enchanters don’t do tours?”

“Fat chance. Did you hear those jerks raised their prices again? Hole-proof socks cost a month’s stipend now.”

“Dang, I really wanted a pair of those.”
 

Enchanting is both complicated and time intensive. The craft requires years of tedious groundwork to learn, and only a few of the initial crop of enchanters will demonstrate enough promise to earn an apprenticeship. But while their training is a painful struggle, their goods are coveted by the Conscious. A talented enchanter can compress years of spellwork into a single item, and little-to-no skill is required to wield it. Imagine: Weapons that never dull. Rings that can shelter you from storms. Clothing that’ll make you look like Elvis. But that’s not the end of it. Enchanting isn’t the same as charming. Charms wear off. Enchantments never do. Enchantments aren’t temporary coatings. They change the fundamental nature of the object. Of course, that kind of awesome ain’t free. The cost of enchanted bling is astronomical. Even our well-designed Elliot robes are only charmed. We change them out each year.

After passing a few more buildings dedicated to graduate level research, we reached Elliot’s eastern gate. The perimeter of Elliot College isn’t much to the eye. Only a short, two-foot wall of rock surrounds the campus. You need to think in terms of magical circles to understand what you’re actually dealing with. Dante handed our IDs to the lone DEA man guarding the gate. He was bundled up in giant parka.

“We need to pick up some more extension cords from the field shed,” Dante explained.

The guy readjusted his glasses and let out a sneeze. His spittle stream caught me right in the face.

“Sorry,” he said through his stuffy nose. “Can’t seem to shake this flu.”

“Don’t worry about it. Immune system strong like bull.”

“How nice.” He let out another sneeze. “Sign here.”

“Anybody else come through here?” Dante asked.

“Just Albright’s pet.” The agent shook his head in disgust. “I’m more than happy to let her out. It’s the letting her in part that bugs me.”

“Don’t be too long,” the old guy grumbled. “I don’t want to have to go hunting after you two.”

The wind in our faces, we cinched up the toggles on our robes. The crack of a rifle shot echoed past us. Dante gave me a surprised look but didn’t say anything.

“How far?” I asked.

“About a half-mile.”

So we trudged. It was cold, it was dark, and I couldn’t see for shit.