Forbidden by Davis Bunn

Author:Davis Bunn [Bunn, Davis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2022-09-14T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-ONE

As they started from the pantry, Chad felt his energy dissipate. By the time the diadem reshaped itself into a simple pen, he felt ready to collapse.

Beth noticed the change and was there at his side. ‘You OK, sport?’

‘Tired.’ He handed the pen back to Samantha and saw how his hand trembled. As if the pen was too heavy to hold. ‘Thanks.’

The Homeland agent accepted the pen with wide-eyed wonder. ‘This goes into my treasure trove of best-ever memories.’

Odell Reeves demanded, ‘What do you think is at work here?’

‘Maybe rogue elements inside the Institutes.’ The words took shape slowly, forced out against his weary state. ‘More likely a group of magicians operating outside the Institutes’ control.’

‘So …’ the Director showed no surprise, ‘they really exist.’

‘Rumors keep popping up,’ Chad replied. ‘Apprentices who want to escape the Institute claim that’s an option. Some vanish and never appear again. That’s all I can say for certain.’

Samantha asked, ‘Do they have a name?’

‘Rumors claim they call themselves Peerless.’

‘Either way, they’re probably putting together a war chest,’ Beth said. ‘Four tons of gold stolen in broad daylight isn’t just a robbery.’

Samantha had stepped up to Beth’s other side. ‘This is a declaration of intent. They’re planning on bringing down the current power structure.’

The Director grimaced. ‘Theirs or ours?’

Samantha did not respond.

‘I can see you’re exhausted. Let’s get you settled somewhere.’ She looked at Samantha. ‘You up for duty as liaison at our end?’

The agent seemed to swell with excitement. Her voice lifted half an octave. ‘Absolutely, ma’am.’

‘OK. Consider yourself assigned. Get it written up and on my desk. We’ll make it official.’ She patted Chad’s arm a second time. ‘Get some rest. I and my staff need to work on strategy. Once we have a clearer idea of next steps, somebody from my office will be in touch.’

They put him up in a Residence Inn two blocks from Homeland’s headquarters, a nondescript building in a long row of other faceless structures. Chad showered and slept and woke sometime after midnight. He used the flier attached to the motel phone and ordered an Indian takeaway, because it claimed to be both closest and fastest.

While he was eating, his burner phone chimed.

Chad had grown so accustomed to carrying it with him everywhere, he had not consciously packed it in his valise. But there it was, stuffed at the bottom of the little bag. ‘Hello?’

‘All my friends have vanished.’

The electric fear Mademoiselle Three had previously shown was gone. In its place was a hollow resignation, one that filled Chad with a sense of dread. ‘There has to be something I can do—’

‘They are all either erased or rewritten, which is the same thing, no?’

‘Mademoiselle, I am so very sorry.’

‘Thank you, my one and only human friend. It is very lonely here now. And sometimes I can hear the hunters closing in. They growl. It frightens me.’

‘What if I can find a way for you to get out?’

‘And go where? And do what?’ When Chad could not think of a response, she added, ‘And all the while I would be utterly alone.

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