Cross Keys: Revelation by Ally Shields

Author:Ally Shields
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 978-1-941692-94-3
Publisher: Etopia Press
Published: 2015-08-05T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Seth arrived in New Orleans with Brunic and Rhyden to find everything at his guild under control. They’d made a wise choice in the new guild master. He was a little older than his predecessor and set in his ways, but Saul Henre was confident and unruffled under stress. The warehouse was running smoothly as usual, and the guards—although hypervigilant—showed no sign of uncertainty or panic. Brunic went to talk with his men and to check the film from the outside cameras.

Seth and Rhyden tracked down the guild master. “What happened, Henre?” Rhyden demanded. “Is it true no one was hurt?”

“That’s right. Everyone’s OK, but I can’t explain the rest.”

“Just tell us what happened,” Seth said.

Henre nodded. “Portal alerts started going off late this morning. We looked outside, saw nothing, but kept watching the cameras. It was quite a while before a guard thought he spotted a movement. He went to check it out at the side door. Something—or someone—he couldn’t see tried to push past him. He shouted for help. It took three more guards to get the door closed and locked. Then a loud banging started, as if someone had a club or a battering ram. It stopped a few minutes later, and the cameras haven’t recorded anything suspicious since.”

Rhyden frowned. “I’m surprised they didn’t destroy the cameras.”

“They might not know what they are,” Seth said. “Kam said Cyrilia doesn’t use any human technology.”

“But they’ve been in and out of New Orleans for several months. They recognized our guns,” Rhyden reminded him.

“Yes, that’s true.” Seth nodded thoughtfully. “It’s going to be difficult to assess what they do and don’t know.”

“Should our guards have firearms?” Henre pursed his lips. “There’s a good reason their use is forbidden in Elvenrude, but this is a different world, different rules. And if the Cyrilians are afraid of them…”

Seth hid his surprise. Henre was from his father’s generation. He’d assumed guns would be a taboo subject. The suggestion was further proof of Henre’s suitability for Cityside management.

“An excellent idea. I’ll speak with Captain Brunic and see what he thinks. We’d have to guarantee the guns wouldn’t cross the portal. We don’t want to fight that battle again.”

When Seth and Rhyden found Brunic, he was reviewing the camera film on a computer in the second floor invoice office. “Does this look like something you’ve seen before?” he asked, pointing at brief blurs on the screen.

“It does.” Seth sighed. “But let’s see it again.”

They went through the tapes of all the cameras around the building, spotting nothing else. The assailants had been focused on the door. They played the film twice, the second time frame by frame. Not a glimpse of a single arm or leg.

“They’re clearly using invisibility magic. It gives them a big advantage. I can’t even tell how many there were.” Seth shrugged and looked at Brunic. “We discussed with Henre the possibility of providing our guards with firearms.”

Brunic shook his head. “You know I hate guns. Surely Henre didn’t approve.

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