Chapter Thirty-Nine

"The checkpoint is ahead," Graves told her, finally slowing several blocks later. She could hear voices coming from the end of the tunnel. "Through there, you'll get into Third Floor to the monster market and gain access to Louis's residence through Track 61."

Kierse and Graves stopped together when the checkpoint came into view, staying just out of sight. She'd seen a picture of it, and it was still disappointing. She'd wanted a filigreed archway with a glittering blue light inside or some kind of substance that would give way beneath her hand. But it was just a tunnel with monsters milling about, guards patrolling, and some kind of machine. If the goblin guards hadn't been there, she never would have known it was a checkpoint into the monsters' lair.

"How does it work?"

"Walter carved wards into the walls," he said. Kierse craned her neck and saw markings on the wall that she'd have easily missed under normal circumstances.

"So, they're pretty powerful."

He nodded. "Carved is always a more permanent marking. With what he's using to hold up all these wards all over the city, I'd imagine he has to carve them or else he couldn't sustain them all."

"Or he's more powerful than you give him credit for."

Graves shot her a look. "Doubtful."

"Always so sure of yourself."

He smirked. "For good reason." He pointed to the machine she'd seen before. "The computer is what controls the wards."

She furrowed her brows. She understood technology enough to break it when she needed to. But she didn't understand how to build it, let alone what kind of power Walter would need to channel his magic into an electrical device. She couldn't even ward her wooden box. "How does it control the wards?"

"I have no idea," he begrudgingly admitted, his jaw set. "Walter designed the computer system as well. He had to have a way for people to enter the underworld while his wards were up and still keep people like me out."

"He hates you so much that he warded it so you couldn't get inside?"

"That's one way to look at it," Graves said dryly.

"What's the other way? You threw him out and abandoned him in the middle of his training," she told him. "It's not surprising he'd want to keep you out."

"Yes, well, I always assumed it was because I was powerful."

She laughed. "That probably doesn't help."

"Anyway, at first, Walter left open a few key points to funnel people in. They were frisked. People didn't like it. They complained."

"Customer service at its finest," she muttered.

"His solution was the machine. People are screened, pay a fine, and are given an access card. They just have to swipe it, and it works with the wards to let them pass. Like a MetroCard."

"No one complained about that?"

"They like the exclusivity."

"Of course they do. Do I need to steal a card?" she asked, watching the growing crowd.

He held up a card. "That was the final business I was working on the day of the museum. I had one made for you."

She snatched it out of his hand triumphantly. "This will get me through?"

"My contact told me that it would make the system recognize you, but he couldn't do anything about the wards. That only Walter could code them properly. Each person has their own card, but ultimately, it's the warding that let them pass."

"So we can trick the machine but not the magic," she mused.

"Correct. And the reason I need a wardbreaker is because the wards are carved and written specifically to keep me out."

"You really messed it up with Walter," she said.

Graves crossed his arms and said nothing. He couldn't even deny it.

She watched the checkpoint for a few minutes as monsters scanned cards and were let through. Did the wards deactivate every time the card was swiped and approved? Or did the particular monster just get to pass through them with the card as their means of protection? Either way would probably be a simple function if he ran it like code. She knew how to break code but not create it. A programmer who also had magical powers could probably do it with ease.

"Wren?" Graves asked.

She blinked and met his gaze. "I was analyzing the situation. I need to get closer to look at the machine and test the wards. Do you think the card brings the wards down momentarily or just lets the person pass through them?"

He relaxed slightly as her expertise took over. As if he trusted that she knew what she was doing.

"The latter," he assured her. "Bringing wards up and down that are carved like that is nearly impossible, especially with how much he's sustaining. The machine is the work-around to let people go through them."

"But he doesn't know about me."

"He does not."

Her smile was dangerous as she scanned the crowd. "Got it. Where is everyone coming from?"

There were two bulky goblins carrying M16s. A woman swaying on her feet in a slip of a dress with a vampire in a gown from the nineteenth century who held her by the back of her neck. A couple clinging to each other that everyone else gave a wide berth. She shuddered a little when she recognized them as a succubus and incubus. Even most monsters didn't like the sexual predators, who almost always worked in pairs. Finally, a group of douchebag-looking bros all laughing and cajoling. They were the type that had more money than sense.

She didn't know what perverted appetites they had that brought them down here when they could have their fun above ground. There were no other human women waiting in line. None but the vampire's female companion.

"The main entrance is through a private tunnel in Grand Central, but there are hundreds of tunnels that empty here. I think it's why Walter chose this for one of his checkpoints."

Kierse chewed on her lip and then dug through her pockets to find a hair tie. She needed to look a little less feminine. She tugged out the bobby pins and slipped them up her sleeves. She brushed her hair forward into her eyes, giving her a shaggy look, then tied the rest back into a ponytail. She used a few of the bobby pins she frequently broke into residences with and tucked the hair up underneath itself. Then she flipped up the hood on her jacket.

The biggest problem was her height. She was about average height for a woman, short for a man. But perhaps an adventurous boy.

"How do I look?"

"Like you're going to get in trouble."

She winked at him. "Give me some credit."

Then fell into step with a figure that passed her.

"Keep your phone on," Graves insisted.

She tapped her pocket to let him know she'd heard, but otherwise he was completely out of her mind. He'd given her the plan. She now knew how to execute it. Kierse integrated herself with the frat boys. She stepped forward, bumping into the nearest guy. "Oh, sorry."

"Hey, man, no problem," the guy said with a laugh.

She put her hand on his shoulder, careful to keep her gaze down as she slipped her hand into his back pocket. "Always running into people."

But the dude-bro had already stopped paying attention. He hadn't even felt her slip out his wallet. He'd been too focused on her running into him, the hand on his shoulder. Diversion. Slip of the hand. She stepped in front of him, making sure she was clear of the frat boys before rifling through his wallet and finding the access card. Didn't hurt to have a second card to look into later. Plus, it would cause a distraction at her back when he realized his was missing.

The vampire went in ahead of her, paying extra for the girl at her side. Kierse watched the machine with curious eyes as it let the pair pass. No indication from the machine or the wards other than a picture of the people then a green light to indicate it was okay to go through. And then it was Kierse's turn.

She held her breath as she came up to the machine. If it didn't take the card or she couldn't go through the wards, then she'd be found out. Walter and King Louis might even discover they were trying to access the underworld. But if she didn't test it, they'd never know if she could get through.

Finally, she tapped the card onto the touchscreen. With her heart in her throat, she watched a picture of herself appear, and then the green light flicked on.

"Pass," the goblin who manned the checkpoint grumbled.

Kierse grinned to herself, but the real test was next. Graves's contact had gotten the machine to work for her. Now her magic had to do the rest.

She took a step into the checkpoint. She could almost read the language carved into the wall now that she knew what she was looking for, but it always stayed out of reach. Walter's wards were unique, as Graves's was threaded with holly and Imani's were with sankofa. She could make out what appeared to be a sun symbol at its core. She wondered how that reflected in Walter.

With a deep breath, she waited to see if she could feel the magic absorbing into her skin, but it felt much the same as it always had. Walter's wards felt like nothing at all as she absorbed the magic and stepped through to the other side. First test passed.

She looked back only once to see Graves watching her. He looked hungry. This was a victory for them. A big one.

Now on to Third Floor.