Take an advantage, hold on to it, and let Conquest be just a little bit less of a conqueror.
The next step was a simple one. I needed to keep from slipping in anyone’s standing.
I pushed up my sleeve and touched the Stonehenge bracelet.
The Behaims, as far as the connections suggested, weren’t close. The last Behaim owner of the bracelet, Duncan, was a good distance away.
That was a very good thing to know, considering that we were on our way to the police station.
“You’re sure about this?” Fell asked, as we approached the block.
“No,” I said. “But I don’t know how much they know. This could be the last place they think to look for us, or it could be the first.”
“Be wary,” he said.
I nodded. “Evan? You know who to look out for, I hope.”
“Yep!” Evan took flight. But he circled, fluttering for a moment in a haphazard attempt at staying in one place, difficult with the strong wind. “Ty?”
“Yeah?”
“Batman would totally kick her ass.”
That said, Evan was gone.
“Brat,” Ty said.
“Let’s hurry,” Fell said. “I can’t tell how, but they’re actively looking for us.”
“The Astrologer?” Maggie asked.
“More like a thousand tiny eyes than one big one,” Fell said, “If it were her, it would be one big one.”
I picked up the pace, quickly falling into step beside Maggie. I heard Ty grumble, the contents of his bag jostling as he hurried after, metal clinking against glass.
“I could do something with the sword,” Maggie said.
“I see it as Evan’s more than anyone’s,” I said.
“I’ve only got two gremlins, and it’s a rip-and-tear summoning with no control, and I’ve got some Faerie tricks I bargained for, but I’d really rather not use those.”
“We’ll manage,” I said. “This is an in-and-out job.”
She frowned.
“We’ll see what Rose can dig out of the books after,” I said.
“We should be doing that now, put this off.”
I shook my head.
I heaved the double doors open. Letting us into the police station. Before they could shut, I stuck one hand out, stopping it from closing. “Ty, stay out here? Keep an eye out? Run if there’s trouble?”
“What happens to you if there’s trouble?”
“We’ll see the connection changing as you run. I’m getting to know this place like the back of my hand, we can find another exit.”
He rolled his eyes. “If you’re sure.”
Fell moved my hand. “Less talking, more walking. They’re on their way.”
I nodded.
No Behaims lying in wait.
No destruction. No sign of an all-out practitioner skirmish.
It was eerie, disconcerting.
I approached the desk on the third floor.
“I want to talk to the police chief,” I said.
She arched an eyebrow.
“What?” I asked.
“Third visit in as many days,” she commented.
Third visit?
I frowned. “I was here earlier?”
“Yes. You and two officers. One wasn’t local?”
Hm? Me and the Behaims?
“What happened?” I asked. “Got a little bruised up earlier, my memory isn’t all there.”
She narrowed her eyes.
Suspecting me of being an addict?
“It’s true,” Maggie cut in.
“It’s part of why we’re here,” Fell said. “Helping him out.”
That seemed to be the qualifier the woman at the desk needed. The joys of having buddies with good karma. I gave people the wrong impression, led people to expect the worst. The goblin queen in training gave off a better vibe, and the hitman in service to the secret lord of the city was the pleasant, convincing one.
“You came in, the two other officers stepped forward to offer their help. You -rather loudly– called out to the police chief, calling him to you.”
The fucking memory erasure.
“That was the last I saw of you,” she added.
I frowned. “There are back stairs, aren’t there? Over that way?”
“Yes.”
I’d tried to duck out, to evade Duncan and Laird, and something had gone wrong.
“Thanks,” I said.
I turned on my heel.
Down the stairs.
Fell stopped me before I could round the bend and head for the basement. “They’re coming.”
“Who?”
“Don’t know.”
“I’ll deal,” I told him. “Two minutes, then you can drag me out.”
He opened his mouth, then shut it. “Go. I’ll be outside.”
I nodded.
Down to the basement, end of the hall, near the morgue.
A cop stood behind a chain-link mesh, leaning over a free paper with a sudoku puzzle. The crossword was already filled out.
“I’m here to reclaim something of mine,” I said.
“Name and ID.”
“Blake Thorburn,” I said. I fished for my wallet and driver’s license.
I noticed the response. A dozen connections responding to the name.
Were there ears out there too, searching for any hint of my name?
Something to watch out for.
“Yep, I remember the captain calling, but you were supposed to show up this morning.”
“Something came up,” Maggie said. “Can we go?”
“Can’t let you walk around swinging this thing around,” the police officer said.
“I’ll put it in my bag,” she said. “Promise.”
The power that a small oath had. Just a little more oomph.
The officer handed over the hatchet, and Maggie stuffed it into her bag. We made our exit as fast as we could without running. Maggie stuck her hand into the bag and handed me the hatchet as soon as we were out of sight.
We made our way outside. Ty had taken off the backpack filled with supplies, and it rested at his feet. Fell stood beside him, holding a scrap of paper.
When he saw me, Fell raised the paper to show me.
A flier, nondescript, something about an impromptu concert.
But an eye was drawn on it, stylized.
I could feel the eye looking.
“They probably made a few thousand of these, then tossed them out to be carried into the wind,” Fell said.
“They’re stepping up their game,” I said.
“Worse,” he said, “I think they’re sharing tricks. This is the Astrologer and the Sisters, I’d bet.”
I clenched my teeth.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Evan landed on my shoulder, fluttering in my ear in an attempt to compensate for the wind.
“Trouble,” he said, sounding as if he were panting for breath. It was eerie, jarring with his tiny bird form.
“Trouble?” Maggie asked.
“People. They’re not really there but they’re there. On the other side. Women. They’re almost flying.”
“More tricks shared,” Fell said.
“They’re just around the corner.”
I glanced at Evan.
“Really,” Evan said. “Waiting. They’re doing this thing with their eyes closed, and fingers pressed together…”
“They’re looking,” Fell said. “And I’m not sure I can stop them, if they’re doing this. Too many eyes.”