The map in her head didn't show anything weird. Even the servants were perfectly still, sleeping standing up in their bare quarters. She didn't know what they were, they sure as heck weren't people, but darn if they couldn't fix a mighty fine sandwich. Then at the very edge of her map, something twitched. She checked the spot in the living room, clear, and Traveled.
Her bare feet appeared an inch off the carpet, and she landed with the lightest thump. In the dark ahead of her was a shape, dressed entirely in black, crouched low, doing something to the magic carvings on the wood around the big glass windows. There was a scratching noise as the visitor flicked a knife back and forth.
Her first inclination was to just take Mr. Browning's.45 and shoot the stranger in the back of the head, but she'd promised Lance that she'd try extra hard not to kill anybody else by accident, and she was afraid that this might just be another Grimnoir that she didn't know. Lance had said that there were hundreds of them. "Can I help you?" Faye asked politely.
The person's head whipped around. He was wearing a black mask under a hood. A pair of grey eyes seemed to glow in the dark, then they just disappeared.
Traveler!
Faye felt the air behind her move and she reacted on instinct, Traveling. She could almost feel the knife drive through the space she'd just occupied. She landed on the other side of the couch. The stranger's hand snapped through the air and Faye jerked to the side just as something metal passed her face. A four sided metal razor embedded into the wall with a thunk. "Hey!" Faye shouted, then she disappeared just as the stranger threw another razor at her.
She landed on the second floor. She'd never been in Lance's room before and almost managed to impale herself on the antlers from a stuffed elk. "Lance! Lance! Wake up!"
"Huh?" Lance immediately sat up in bed, his hand flying to a holstered revolver hanging from the bed post. "Faye?"
"There's a Traveler and he's trying to kill-" Her instincts warned her that something was coming and she threw herself back just as the stranger appeared, swinging a knife for her throat.
There was a terrible bloom of fire and the man crashed back into the wall. "Damn ninjas!" Lance bellowed as he fired five more rounds in rapid succession. Faye covered her ears. The stranger was still sliding down, leaving a trail of blood on the wallpaper as Lance sprang out of bed and turned on the electric lamp.
"You hurt?" he shouted as he dropped the empty revolver and picked up a lever-action rifle from the bedside. "I hate damn ninjas." He worked the action. Faye realized that he was as hairy as the animals he controlled and buck naked to boot. She shrieked, pointing. Lance looked down, swore again, and covered himself with the rifle butt. "I sleep like this. Old camping habit… Never mind. Hell. Go get Browning," he ordered.
Faye Traveled to Browning's room and froze as the old man sat up in bed, aimed a shotgun right at her face, and pumped a round into the chamber. Faye screamed and Traveled off to the side. "It's me!"
"I near blasted you, young lady." Browning admonished as he lowered the shotgun. "Who's shooting? What's going on?"
The Grimnoir sure did wake up fast. At least he was wearing pajamas. "There was a Traveler, and he tried to stab me, but Lance shot him a bunch, and said he was a damn ninja!"
Browning just nodded, placed the shotgun on the bed beside him, did something with his Grimnoir ring, made a fist with his ring hand, and slammed it jarringly hard into his palm. "We are under attack," he said.
WE ARE UNDER ATTACK.
He was already waking up from the sudden banging, but Sullivan rolled out of bed even faster as someone bellowed the words directly into his ears. "What?" he shouted.
Delilah was already up and moving, throwing her clothes on. "Gunfire."
"Who was yelling?"
"What?"
Sullivan's sleep-filled head realized that it had been Browning's voice, but of course, Delilah didn't have a Grimnoir ring, so she wouldn't have heard. He had put Pershing's ring on his pinky, the only one of his massive digits it would fit. "Never mind." He grabbed the thick.45 from the nightstand.
There was enough light coming through the window that Sullivan could see her throwing her dress over her head in a terrible hurry. It reminded him of when he'd had to flee New Orleans just ahead of the law. Delilah looked at him, eyes wide. "Just like old times, huh?"
He drew back the slide of the automatic and let the oiled steel fly forward under spring pressure, chambering a round. "Yeah, just like old times." Only I ain't running this time.
Madi's improved hearing easily picked up the gunshots. Three hundred yards away lights started coming on inside the house. The scout he'd sent to disable their alarm spells had failed, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice. He'd been surprised that his men had made it this close to the property before alerting the Grimmys, and he was thankful for the fog coming off the ocean. The Imperium men around him tensed, ready for action.
He'd gathered nearly thirty men for this operation, most of them were new recruits from San Francisco or Los Angeles, desperate suckers willing to risk their lives in exchange for gold or a touch of magic. He'd given them a big pep talk, a gun, and promises of the Chairman's eternal gratitude. He figured they'd take terrible casualties, but they were expendable. He planned on letting the Grimnoir use up their Power on the chumps first so he wouldn't endanger any of his more valuable assets. If any lived, that would prove they were strong, and therefore worthy of further training.
"Get 'em, boys," he whispered.
To their credit, most of them didn't hesitate. They rose from the bushes, some screaming as they charged the house, in a terrible impersonation of a proper Imperium battle cry, naively believing that the single kanji of vitality he and Yutaka had carved on them would make them bulletproof. It would make them tougher, but that wasn't near the same thing. The smarter ones actually took the time to use cover and aim their guns at the lighted windows as they approached.
He turned to his second wave. He'd kept two Shadow Guards, both Travelers, for himself and sent the rest with Toshiko for the raid on the Peace Ray. He didn't like splitting his forces, but he'd promised the Chairman something epic, and he always kept his promises. Now it looked like he was down to just one. He glared at the little Jap Traveler.
"Get in there. Find Pershing. I want him alive. Then report back."
"Hai!" His black hood dipped in a quick bow and he disappeared.
Madi turned to Yutaka. "Send your scouts. I want that Tesla device." His companion was already working, channeling his Power to Summon creatures. If it wasn't for the possibility that Pershing had that device, he'd just use the Peace Ray to melt this whole peninsula into molten lava and save the men. If it wasn't there, he'd pull back and then blast them. If he killed all the Grimmys first, he'd burn the place down the old-fashioned way, then have Toshiko use the Peace Ray on the Presidio and San Francisco. She had both sets of coordinates, just in case.
Another pair of Iron Guards had arrived that morning. He'd kept Hiroyasu, figuring that his particular scary-ass Power might come in handy, but he'd decided to send his partner along with the larger group attacking the Peace Ray. He didn't trust that Shadow Guard dame to not fuck up his mission. Everyone knew the Iron Guard were the best of the best. Hell, he could probably take all of these Grimnoir by himself.
Except for Jake, he's strong, like me… he caught himself thinking, and then quickly dismissed that as a weak thought. He still hadn't decided what he was gonna do with him yet, but Madi found that he was kinda looking forward to the challenge. It had been awhile since he'd squared off against anyone he'd considered a challenge. They'd never been real tight. Jake had always been the know-it-all, always telling him that they weren't no better than regular folks. He'd put up with Jake always defending the normals, and all he'd gotten for it was a mangled face.