23. Jaiyana

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

JAIYANA

A n array of computer screens filled the longest wall in the British Museum’s security room. Dead center, a metal desk with three more monitors cast an eerie light into the otherwise dark space. Seated on a wheeled office chair, a single poor soul shook with fear. His social media refreshed for the second time on the left-most screen. The middle held an empty video player, and the third waited patiently to have a password typed into it. Much like me, calmly hovering, ready for his fear to change into acquiescence.

The man’s official-looking dark uniform was sharp. He even had a little star on the breast for night shift employee of the month. I almost felt bad for the guy.

Og crowded his other side while Rehan watched the door. I’d left Tyson and Lux manning the side entrance we’d used to secure our exit.

“How did you even get in here?” Employee of the Month asked. His thin shoulder trembled harder under my fingers.

My reflection in the dark center screen smiled. “Magic. Now.” I whipped up a little whirlpool of air at my side. It blew the straps of my backpack and made my hair frizz as it created just enough electricity to give a little shock.

Employee of the Month yelped and thrashed back so hard his chair rolled back an inch. Og pushed him forward.

“I need to watch one video,” I explained again. “You type in the password, show it to me, and then I leave. Easy, simple, fast.” I started to stir up the air again before pausing. “Actually.” I reached for his mouse and moved it to the social media page. “I bet your address and family information is listed right on this screen. I could maybe ask your...” I clicked on his profile. “How cute, twins. I could ask one of them for a better idea?”

Og sucked in a sharp breath, but I didn’t look at him. This was a fucking bluff, but if I let Og know, I’d lose my hand.

Does he really think you're that heartless?

You even specified no human sacrifices when listing your power gains.

I know. I would have been neutral good if this was a Dungeons & Dragons game.

Oh, what class? I mean, wizard is pretty obvious, but we’re pretty versatile.

Have you ever actually played D&D?

I saw the movie…but no. I would need friends to do that.

Five is a good number for D&D, and you’ve suddenly found yourself in a quintet.

“Jay,” Og’s voice cut through my thoughts. “He said no, twice, very dramatically, and has typed in the password.” Og let out a little grunt. “If you’re going to scare the piss out of him, at least pay attention.”

I scowled at Og. “I wouldn’t touch his kids. And you need to learn to play along. I could have been plotting or something, not spacing out.”

“But you weren’t.” Og tapped Employee of the Month’s shoulder. “You were talking to yourself about something you’re never going to share with your mates.”

I pursed my lips. “Because you talk to me about everything.”

“I do,” Og stated.

I raised an eyebrow. “Nothing to tell me about Lux?”

Pink flushed Og’s cheeks.

Yeah. It’s not just kissing. They’re banging.

My heart unexpectedly fell. When I first saw the two hovering over me and opening up to each other, I rooted for their kiss. But I’d kind of been involved in that one. This time, not only was I not involved, but they were keeping it from me.

It hurt, especially after last night.

This is good. It means Og’s okay with casual sex. You were worried about that.

It also means last night wasn’t as emotional for Og as it was for me.

On the upside, Lux and Og found each other. It will make the end bittersweet. You love a bittersweet ending.

Did I?

I took a deep breath and realized both Employee of the Month and Og had been staring at me for at least a minute, probably watching the expression on my face change like a crazy person.

I smiled softly. “Someday, I’ll share, Og. That I promise.”

Og brightened. “Oh, someday, is that commitment to our future coming out of your mouth?”

I bit my lips shut. It was, but more as friends after I walked the two of them down the aisle.

Og smirked, and I gave him the victory.

Employee of the Month cleared his throat, no longer shaking with fear. I focused on what we were supposed to be doing. In two minutes, we had the video of my break-in.

Rehan stepped forward as we put it on the largest monitor in the middle of the wall.

Once again, my unmistakable forest green magic created a portal into the museum.

“Are portals blockable?” Rehan asked.

“It’s a complicated rare spell, but yes.” The portal vanished, making the reflection of the screen dim in all our eyes. “But the British Museum that they know of doesn’t have magical relics worth anything, so they have no magical security. The three of us just walked in here under a simple invisibility spell and didn’t set off a single alarm.”

Employee of the Month leaned forward. “Is that you?”

It was. Like the last video, I walked in first. The man followed me almost nervously. He wore the same baggy clothing and ball cap.

“Why am I on full display, yet the guy I’m with isn’t?” I mumbled. “That seems very thoughtless of me.”

I studied his walk as ‘we’ wandered the displays, looking for the same confidence I’d seen out of my ex. The gait was similar, but it was just a walk. If anything, it lacked confidence.

‘We’ found another piece of Gorm’s Casket, and once again, I moved my hand like a fucking Jedi Knight, and the piece appeared in my palm. If I weren’t the bad guy in this, I would think it looked pretty cool. This time, however, two security guards were on us instantly. Two electrified tasers streaked towards us. One hit my arm, only to bounce off like armor covered my skin. Which, with my magical shields in place, might as well be or should have been.

Where were those shields during my car accident?

Depleted, probably from this.

The other taser hit the man with me, who instantly went down, seizing in pain. Somehow, his ball cap still covered his face. The me on the video reached down, pulled the taser wires off Ball Cap Guy, and shoved the piece of the box into his gut before picking him up like he weighed nothing. A portal bloomed to life at my back. I stepped into it, not even turning around, and vanished.

We are so badass.

Employee of the Month started shaking again. “Bloody hell. Bloody fucking hell.”

I patted his shoulder. “Good luck processing all that, mate.”

Employee of the Month’s radio crackled. “Archie, come in. We have movement on the south entrance.”

I nudged Employee of the Month, who quickly changed to that camera. A block of walking stone took lumbering steps toward the building. A golem, just like the one we saw at Club V, possibly even the same one.

“You’re taking the piss,” Employee of the Month laughed nervously. “That’s a walking rock. What kind of a costume is that at two am?”

I narrowed my eyes as little flits of movement, which looked nothing like the golem, peppered the edges of the screen before the entire thing turned to static. Employee of the Month tried to change to a different camera, but one by one, they dropped.

“Is that the same golem?” Og asked, echoing my thoughts.

“Possibly,” I patted Employee of the Month.

The final camera went blank. I had no idea if Lux and Tyson were still hidden in the shadows guarding our exit or already fighting. My heart thudded. It hadn’t crossed my mind someone from Club V would come after us. But even the partial shift the pixie dust brought out of Tyson showed he wasn’t your typical shifter. With everything else going on, I hadn’t been as careful. Anyone could have followed us.

The radio clicked on again. “Archie, bloody respond.”

I handed Employee of the Month his radio. “Thanks, Arch. Good luck!”

Grabbing Og, I pushed Rehan toward the door and started running.

We’d barely made it down the hall before the alarms for the entire building went off. With the camera down, instead of hiding our speed, we leaned into it, sliding through closing doors and vaulting over the turnstiles at the exits. The outer door was already locked down, and Rehan took point, covering himself in scales and running through it. The new human-shaped hole would be challenging to explain, but the supernational community had people for that. Hopefully, a lot of people.

A flash of fire bloomed on my left just as Lux’s white hair caught the moonlight. Between one heartbeat and the next, I took in the scene. The golem stood stoic and still in the center of a mass of demons. Unlike the fluorescent-green power bringing the demons on the dragon’s island to life, soft threads of silvery blue flowed through the rotting and chard flesh of this group.

I knew that color too well. If the mage who made them was the same person I remembered, then he wasn’t anywhere near this fight. I let out a roar, nothing near as impressive as my dragons, and dove into battle.

Without my enhanced strength, my kicks to rotting kneecaps were more annoying than fruitful. I changed tactics. Grabbing a demon right in front of me by the ears, I called on Lux’s wind, sending it into his ear canals and popping his eardrum. Black blood oozed between my fingers. The demon hissed with pain, and I flipped backward as he flailed, clipping the two demons at its back.

A demon on my left suddenly burst into flame, though the thing was smart enough to drop and roll. Or maybe he wasn’t smart enough, as he took a fellow demon down with him. Pain blossomed along my shoulder, and I went flying before hitting the pavement and sliding to a wheezing stop against the golem.

Stone grated against stone as it rotated its humanoid head down.

Golem’s could be as detailed or simple as the mage making them wanted. This one was simple. Too simple. It had no eyes. No mouth. A closer look at the leg that stopped my roll showed squares of paving and bits of sidewalk. Marble stuck out of its thigh at an odd angle. Someone made this golem in a hurry.

I rolled again, my body already aching, and regained my feet, favoring my left side. The golem didn’t move. It probably couldn’t do much more than watch. What was left of my left pant leg dangled in tatters, and road rash burned from my hip to my knees. I brought my hands into a guard position and shifted my weight to my uninjured side.

For a moment, I waited for it to talk. It was the perfect opportunity for dialogue.

The moment passed without a word.

“I told you they be dragons!” The guttural yell cut through the sounds of swirling magic and pounding fists.

The woman from the front desk of our hotel flashed me a smile and pointed one long finger directly at me. A pod of Orcs, still dressed in their tracksuits and bling from Club V, charged down the street.

I made a mental note to make sure my accountant did not follow through on his bribe money and looked for my mates. We were scattered across the street. Og’s glowed, every rune on his skin activated. The sidewalk around him lay chewed up. Chunks of debris flew toward a circle of three demons surrounding him.

Fire bloomed from my left again, and a gust of unnaturally fast air blew the smell of extra crispy flesh in my direction. Rehan’s head stuck out of the biggest pod of demons battling between me and the charging Orcs. London wasn’t known for its water in summer. His magic was the weakest here. I stretched out my hand to cast a shield at my water dragon’s back, but nothing happened.

How the fuck do we keep forgetting?

With a crash, the first Orcs joined the fray.

A demon went flying into the air and landed directly onto a streetlight, which impaled it, leaving it hanging limply, before the magic keeping it in one piece drained. Body parts fell to the ground, rotting into piles of dry dirt.

I turned to the golem. “I guess Orcs aren’t your friends either, Marduk.”

The golem didn’t respond. I didn’t expect it to. Marduk was a mage from my past. At one point, we hated each other. Over the years, our relationship turned into a mutual begrudging respect, including an unspoken agreement to stay out of each other’s way.

Consider the agreement broken, old not-friend.

The largest Orc I’d seen skirted the main fight before charging directly at me. I shifted all my weight to my uninjured leg and threw myself behind the golem. The Orc didn’t stop its charge, and the hastily made minion toppled like the collection of stone it was.

Lights sprang to life. The sound of a helicopter cut through the grunts and yells of battle. “Stop what you’re doing and put down your weapons.” A smooth London accent came over a megaphone.

I cringed, already feeling worse for the supernatural PR team. That sounded like human police. More of Tyson’s flashy fire bloomed in the night. The Orc recovered from its surprise victory over the golem and sized me up. I needed to find a goddamn weapon if I planned to battle supernaturals with only my rudimentary grasp of elemental magic.

The Orc narrowed his eyes and tossed his head toward the night sky. A howl split the air. The fighting around me stilled. Through a crack, I saw a line of police in riot gear slowly advancing. Tyson burst out of the fighting and placed himself between me and the roaring Orc. Black blood covered his scaled body, which also dripped off his sharp claws but didn’t burn him. Not that I doubted, but these were definitely not the same demons who attacked us on the island.

The Orc punched the air. “We find you if Beef Eaters don’t get you first, eyes everywhere.” He howled again before yelling, “Scatter!” The Orcs barreled toward the British Museum.

Tyson took one step to follow, and I grabbed his arm. “We need to leave, too. Scatter is the best tactic.” I looked at the line of police slowly closing in on us. “We should all run in a different direction.”

“No.” Ogden appeared behind me, Lux at his heels. “We stay together.”

I bit my lower lip. If we scattered, we were more likely to get out of here. But if we stayed here and argued, the riot police would literally pin us down. The decision was taken out of my hands as Rehan ran towards us, four demons hot on his heels: either running from the police or herding my mate on Marduk’s behalf.

There wasn’t time to figure out which.

The world turned into shades of grey.

“Down,” Og said before muttering to extend his invisibility spell to Rehan.

Invisibility was traceable by other mages. I didn’t know if Og knew that, but he was already confidently leading us back toward the museum. I fell into step, my heart easing as Rehan slipped his dumb as fuck demons and joined our side.

You don’t really want to get separated, do you?

No. We are stronger together.

So sweet.

So tactical. Don’t split the party.

The four demons stopped the moment Rehan’s body vanished from view. We’d made it another twenty feet before the human riot line hit them. Their silver-blue magic drained out of their flesh. They fell to pieces and decomposed like a time elapse on a nature documentary.

The police line halted, bewildered by a battleground void of anything but retreating Orcs, giving us the few seconds we needed to escape. Instead of running, our little group came to a halt. I couldn’t see over my mate's tall fucking heads, but the sound of a metal manhole cover hitting cobblestones made my heart skip.

Og dropped into the hole.

“No-“ I started to say, but Lux was already on Og's heels. “Shit.” I clenched my fist. At least anyone tracking our invisibility spell would be useless now.

Rehan and Tyson stilled, waiting for me to go next. The colors of the world started to bleed back as our distance from Og destroyed his invisibility spell. I thought I’d fucked up taking them to Club V. This was a hundred times worse.

And, if I was right, exactly where Marduk wanted us.

What the fuck did he have to do with any of this?

Several police officers shouted and pointed towards us.

I swallowed hard. “There’s a second London under London. Scales on, claws out. Trust no one but find a mage.”

It wasn’t enough. I could have spent the last year preparing them for Under London, and they’d still be in the dark.

Don’t split the party.

My dragons needed to stay together - even without me.

I didn’t say another word and dropped into the unknown.