Chapter 21

"Why are you, an MPD agent, breaking me out of lockup?"

Kit inserted a key into the door's bolt. "Why are you, doomed prisoner of the MPD, complaining?"

"I'm not complaining. I just want to know why."

He opened the cell door, careful to make as little noise as possible, and whispered, "Does a man need a reason to undertake his very own Mission Impossible heist? If there were an overhead vent in your cell, I'd be rappelling down from the ceiling right n—"

"Are we rescuing Aaron and Kai too?" I interrupted in a hiss.

Winking casually, he ambled over to Aaron's cell. The pyromage, sitting on his bunk with his shoulders hunched, looked up—and his jaw dropped. I shushed him before he could make any noise, and he silently rushed over as Kit unlocked the door.

"Agent Morris," he introduced himself in a whisper. "Professional film analyst and jailbreak consultant, at your service."

Stepping into the corridor, Aaron shot me a "who the hell is this guy and what the hell is going on?" look. All I could do was shake my head.

Kai, like Aaron, was sitting miserably on his bunk, and reacted with similar shock when we appeared in front of his cell. We repeated the shushing and door unlocking process, and in moments, Kai was free too.

I grabbed both mages' hands, squeezing hard and unreasonably moved by the feel of their warm, strong fingers gripping mine. Kai wore a jumpsuit too, and I was sad to see that not even the super-stud electramage could make prison garb look good.

"Okay," I whispered. "Now we need to find Ezra and Darius."

"My partner is taking care of them." Kit scowled like he'd been cheated out of his life savings. "My first chance to actually see the containment floor, but noooo, Lienna has to do it."

"The containment floor?" I repeated. "What's that?"

"No idea, but it's where they locked up your demon mage friend. Which, by the way, is both cool and terrifying. You're really friends with a demon mage?"

"He isn't a demon mage."

Eyebrows quirking skeptically, he faced the security doors. We'd have to pass three occupied cells to get to the exit, and if another prisoner saw us, they could ruin our escape.

"Let's see…" Kit murmured. He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Ah, I know."

I blinked at his back. A moment later, a frightened gasp echoed from one of the cells. Someone else squealed like a kid.

Waving at us to follow, Kit strolled down the corridor toward the doors. I followed him, glancing nervously at the nearest cell. Inside, a dimly lit man with thick arms and a greasy beard was halfway through scrambling up the side of his bunk bed like a scared monkey. He didn't notice us pass.

The next cell's inmate was staring at the floor with wide eyes, utterly fixated on the plain concrete. The third prisoner was hiding under his blanket, quivering.

What. The. Hell.

Kit tapped his security pass against the panel, then led us through the doors and up the stairs to the main level. He stopped on the landing and turned, surveying us critically.

"We're heading for the back door," he revealed. "All you have to do is follow me and I'll handle the rest."

Instant suspicion stiffened my back. "You want us to just walk out there?"

"Is this a stupid scheme to pin extra charges on us?" Aaron growled.

"Damn, you guessed it. The entire precinct got together and decided you three needed even more charges, even though you already have enough for several life sentences each." He sighed at our blank expressions. "That was a joke. Follow me."

Without waiting for us to argue, he opened the stairwell door and entered a hallway. Casual as could be, he ambled to the end, where he had two options: continue into the bullpen—visible through the door's small window—or turn left, which would lead us back to the comparatively safe lobby.

Kit put his hand on the bullpen door. "Oh, and if you see anything strange, just ignore it and stick with me."

"What do you mean by—"

He swung the door open and walked into the bullpen full of agents.

Gulping, I pushed my shoulders back and strode out after him. There was a slight chance I could slip through unnoticed since I was dressed more or less normally, but Aaron and Kai were wearing jumpsuits. No way the agents would ignore them.

We were three steps into the bullpen, its two dozen occupants beginning to glance our way, when a loud popping sound erupted.

A computer burst into flame.

Agents shouted and leaped to their feet as the guy sitting at the desk shoved back so hard his chair toppled over. Flames writhed, crackling merrily, and smoke billowed toward the ceiling.

Kit kept walking, circling wide around the desks. Every agent was focused on the fire—except for a nearby woman whose head spun toward us.

The burning computer exploded, grabbing her attention. Bits of flaming debris flew into the air, and people screamed. A man ran up with a fire extinguisher.

"Wait, no—" the owner of the desk exclaimed.

Wannabe Fireman blasted the extinguisher's white spray all over the desk. The monitor flipped over backward, papers flying everywhere. The flames rippled wildly but didn't go out.

"No!" the desk's owner bellowed. "Stop! Stop, damn it!"

Kit cackled under his breath as he opened the bullpen's back door. "After you."

I rushed through, Aaron and Kai right behind me, and as Kit stepped through last, the desk's owner shouted furiously, "It isn't real fire, you idiots! Where's Kit? Kiiiit!"

Snorting back laughter, Kit gestured at us to keep going. I shot him a wide-eyed look, then hastened down the hall. An emergency exit waited at the end, and I shoved through it.

We exited onto a quiet street illuminated by the orange glow of streetlamps, a few cars parked along the curb. I immediately understood why Kit had taken us out this way. If we'd fled through the lobby, we would've come out in the enclosed parking lot, which had no escape except the covered tunnel thing. Here, we could run in any direction.

"Thatta way," Kit instructed, pointing at an alley across the street.

Painfully aware of Aaron and Kai's prison garb, I trotted out into the road. The guys followed me, Kit bringing up the rear.

Just inside the alley, a black sedan idled with its taillights glowing. For a second, I thought it was a Miura vehicle and Makiko was here to provide another getaway car. But the person leaning against the driver's door was not the petite aeromage.

Zak looked over at the sound of our footsteps, his hood pulled up but his face illuminated by the cell phone he held. He slid it into his pocket and pushed off the vehicle.

I had about two seconds to panic over the fact that Zak was standing right there in plain view while an MPD agent walked down the alley toward him, then the druid spoke.

"Any trouble?"

"Who do you take me for?" Kit replied. "I might not be a wanted rogue with a million-dollar bounty, but I can handle one little felony."

Well, there went my hope that Kit wouldn't recognize Zak as the Ghost. My apprehension calmed as I realized Kit must be a criminal pal of Zak's and he wasn't a real agent after all. Talk about your smooth breakouts, seriously.

I opened my mouth to speak—then lunged to grab Aaron's arm as he surged toward the druid, his teeth bared furiously.

Right. Aaron and Kai didn't know Zak was back on our non-shit list.

"You bastard," Aaron snarled.

Zak shot the pyromage a cutting look, then asked Kit, "Did you get them out without anyone noticing?"

"More or less." Watching me yank on Aaron's arm, Kit canted his head curiously. "Is this a ‘Captain America and Iron Man' thing or a ‘Captain America and Red Skull' thing?"

Zak ignored that. "Let's get moving."

"Wait." I pinched Aaron's arm so he'd stop trying to shake me off. "Wait, wait, wait. What's going on? Why are you here? How do you know this skeevy agent guy? Where—"

"Skeevy?" Kit muttered in a hurt tone.

"—are Ezra and Darius?"

"I'll explain in the car. Get in."

Fuming with anxious irritation, I jerked the door open. We all climbed in—Kai, Aaron, and me in the backseat, Kit in the passenger seat, and Zak driving. He shifted into gear and peeled away aggressively.

"Where'd you get the car?" Kit asked conversationally.

"Stole it."

"Nice."

I leaned over the center console. "Explain. Now."

Kit twisted in his seat to peer at me. "Have you seen The Untouchables?"

"No."

He huffed with disappointment. "Fine, I'll explain the long way. It all started when Zak called me up and was like, ‘Kit, I know I'm an unlovable jackass who claims not to care about anyone, but there's this girl—'"

The druid took a hand off the wheel and mashed his palm into Kit's face, shoving him sideways.

"Try again, Shakespeare."

Kit straightened, completely unruffled. "He called me up and was like, ‘Kit, there's some weird shit going on in your precinct. Can you find out what's happening?'"

"Wait." Aaron leaned forward beside me. "You're actually an MPD agent?"

"No, I'm Batman."

"I called him when you didn't contact me after a few hours," Zak added grimly. "Clearly, your plan hadn't gone well."

Kit propped his arm on the console, and the teasing humor faded from his eyes. "My partner and I already knew something was off in our precinct, so Zak's call wasn't a surprise—except for the part where he actually called me. S?ze is a real piece of work. He's usurped the entire precinct from Captain Blythe, and there's nothing she can do about it. Officially," he added under his breath.

"What does S?ze want?" Kai asked. "How does he benefit from executing Ezra and disbanding the Crow and Hammer?"

"Everyone in our precinct hates your guild," Kit replied airily, "so that last part is a no-brainer. As for the rest, we're not sure yet, but you have bigger problems than S?ze's private agenda."

That silenced my next question, and I pressed my lips together. He was right. Just because we were out of the precinct didn't erase all the charges against us—to which Agent S?ze could now add "escaping custody."

Which begged the question of what we were supposed to do and/or where we should go. I was about to ask when I glanced out the window and recognized the street we were zooming along. This couldn't possibly be a smart idea, but I wasn't willing to suggest Zak change destinations.

He parked in front of the Crow and Hammer. The guild's windows glowed brightly despite the late hour, beckoning me inside. An illusion of safety, I knew, but I wanted it anyway. I wanted it really badly.

Right after Zak cut the engine, headlights glared through the car's rear window as another vehicle pulled up. I twisted around to look.

Darius's gunmetal-gray SUV had just parked behind us.

Aaron and Kai threw their doors open, and I scrambled out after them. The SUV's doors had opened too, and Ezra slid out and straightened, part of his face still covered in white bandages.

An instant later, Aaron and Kai reached him. Aaron grabbed Ezra's arm, and Kai stood unusually close, his gaze trained on Ezra's face. They bent their heads together, Ezra's lips moving as he spoke quietly. He grinned, then Kai gave up on composure entirely and clamped Ezra in a hug. Aaron's laugh rang out.

Despite everything else, happiness bubbled up inside me. This moment. This was what we'd all worked for. This was what we'd struggled and suffered for.

"How was the containment floor?"

At Kit's question, I tore my stare away from the guys. The young MPD agent had joined an unfamiliar young woman, slim and average height, who'd exited Darius's SUV. Her stern expression was at complete odds with her appearance—namely, the eclectic assortment of beads and charms hanging from her ponytail of thick black hair, the jumbled collection of necklaces resting on her slim chest, the mismatched bracelets jangling on her wrists, and the brown satchel slung casually over her shoulder, its strap decorated with even more random baubles.

"As expected," she replied in a voice that was soft but with a hint of exasperation. "How much chaos did you cause getting those three out?"

"Henry was very concerned when he saw a horde of adorable kittens stampeding through the archives. He really shouldn't have left the security hub unattended to investigate the kittens, though, don't you think? As for the rest"—he shrugged—"Vincent is used to my pranks."

She sighed. "Always Vincent. You're giving the poor guy a complex, Kit."

"He can take it." Kit peered at her. "How about your jailbreak attempt?"

"Remarkably easy once I freed Mr. King. He can actually make people invisible."

Kit's face scrunched into a sulk. "I can—"

"No way!"

Aaron's loud exclamation snapped my attention back to him, Kai, and Ezra. The pyromage was holding Sharpie, safely nestled in its sheath, with a look of utter shock.

"You guys got it back?" he asked disbelievingly, despite the fact he was literally holding the sword.

Darius shut the hatch on his SUV with a thunk. "Agent Shen was kind enough to make a short detour to recover it while collecting my car keys." He cast an amused look at the young woman beside Kit, then added, "Lingering in the open isn't wise right now. Agent Shen, Agent Morris, would you join us inside?"

"Of course," Agent Shen replied.

Zak, who stood a step behind me with his hood drawn up, shifted backward.

I grabbed his wrist before he could slip away. "Where're you going?"

"That invitation wasn't for me, Tori," he rumbled.

"You're coming in too."

"I'm not welcome, for obvious reasons."

Darius pivoted to face the druid. I tightened my grip on Zak's wrist, standing between him and the guild master but not tall enough to break their eye contact.

An unspoken challenge sizzled in the air between the rogue druid and the former assassin.

"People will close doors on you everywhere you turn," Darius said quietly. "Don't close them on yourself."

Zak blinked, but before he could respond, Darius was sweeping toward the guild. With Kit, Lienna, and the three mages following, he pushed the door open.

"Come on," I told Zak. When he started to protest again, I gave his wrist a hard tug. "If he didn't want you here, he would've said so."

He resisted for a moment longer, then gave in and let me drag him forward.

Noise rolled out of the guild—a swell of excited voices. Sounded like a decent portion of the membership was in there. Eagerness rushed through me, and I zoomed for the door.

I reached it just as Ezra stepped through, holding the door for me. I followed him in. Warmth, light, and sound engulfed me—and the overwhelming presence of people. There wasn't a mere portion of the guild present.

From our mini coven of witches, to our sorcerers and scholars, to our alchemists and healers, to our assorted psychics, to the wise and worldly officers, almost every guild member I knew and loved—or tolerated, in the case of a few—was crammed into the pub. The only faces missing were Robin and Amalia, their absence weighing on my mind.

A disorienting wave of voices—speaking, calling, shouting, exclaiming—left me reeling. Still gripping Zak's sleeve, I hooked my arm through Ezra's and braced my feet, trying to get my bearings.

"Everyone," Darius called, raising his voice over the competing conversations. "I'd hoped to return with good news, but I'm afraid our lockdown continues."

Somberness swept over the gathered mythics.

"We aren't giving up, and we've recruited new allies. Allow me to introduce Agent Shen and Agent Morris, who helped with our… exit from custody this evening."

Cautious gazes assessed the two agents.

"As well, a guest you may recognize—Zak, also known as the Crystal Druid and the Ghost."

The sober quiet turned downright icy. Hostility spread like an invisible miasma, every face turning to Zak and every gaze rejecting his presence.

He lifted his chin a little higher, defying their silent condemnation, his expression controlled and green eyes colder than anyone else's. I sighed. He'd apologized to me, but admitting fault to anyone else wasn't happening.

Darius stepped to the druid's side—and to everyone's shock, put his hand on Zak's shoulder.

"Many of you," the guild master said, "are only here today because someone gave you a second chance. This is a guild of second chances, lessons learned, and renewal." He leveled his steely gray gaze on the druid. "Trust is earned. You have a long way to go if you want it, but we'll give you that chance."

Zak returned the GM's stare, saying nothing.

Darius turned to Agent Shen. "Now. As we discussed on the way here, let's begin by proving Ezra's innocence."