CHAPTER 18
Melaina’s tiny face was still red and blotchy from crying. "What do you mean, Jean-Marc? What did you find?"
I settled into the rocking chair with Melaina to nurse her and Nyssa before they started screaming. Her weight was warm and solid against my chest. She latched on immediately, and I felt her tiny hand knead against my skin. Mom positioned Nyssa at my other breast, and Nyssa began nursing eagerly. They were hungrier than I anticipated.
Through the earbud, I heard rapid typing and my son's exhausted voice. "I've been monitoring the Corvus server since you infiltrated their offices. When Parker opened those portals to pull Taverner out, they created a massive magical signature that was routed through their system."
Aidon moved closer with Thaniel cradled in one arm. Nyssa's shadows danced up to his and twined with them. Both glowed a bit brighter as if they’d downed a Five-Hour energy shot.
"Which means?" I prompted, running a finger over Nyssa's downy hair.
"They were using Corvus equipment to stabilize the dimensional magic," Stella's voice cut in as she joined us in the nursery.
"Yes,” Jean-Marc agreed. “They're still using active Corvus resources."
I had to will my heartbeat to calm. It might be the answer we needed, but I couldn’t believe they would be dumb enough to keep using them. "Are they at a Corvus facility?"
"From the spikes in their network, I would say they are," Jean-Marc confirmed. "And I believe I know which one."
"This will be easier to discuss if we’re all on a video call and I don’t have to fill Gammy and Nina in. I’ll call from the kitchen in five minutes," I told Jean-Marc as Stella took Melaina.
“I’ll be waiting for your call,” Jean-Marc promised.
Mom took Nyssa as I got to my feet. Thaniel seemed content, but I would need to feed him soon. Aidon carried Thaniel, and we headed down. "What's he found?" Aidon asked quietly.
"A location." I chuckled when Nyssa let out a loud burp on Mom's shoulder. "Which means we're about to do something incredibly stupid."
Each step down to the kitchen sent fresh pain through my chest. Clio's healing magic could only do so much when your magical core was close to burning out from destroying the Scythe. The acrid smell of burned magic and spent ammunition still hung in the air. It was a poignant reminder of the battle that had been on our doorstep. At least this time the house wasn’t destroyed. I couldn’t handle more construction. The triplets didn’t sleep enough as it was.
Stella propped the tablet on its stand and opened the conferencing app. Her blonde hair was still matted with ash and blood. Nana stood beside her, methodically cleaning her shotgun. They’d both been invaluable during the fight. I didn’tlike Nana being in the thick of things, but it was easier to have her with us than to worry about her sneaking out tohelp.
Tarja jumped onto the counter and sat nearby. Her tail began lashing. "Call him," my familiar prodded as Thaniel began fussing.
“Don’t worry. I wasn’t gonna skip you, buddy,” I told Thaniel as I took him from Aidon.
Stella pressed Jean-Marc's contact as Thaniel latched on. It was a good thing my body had gotten used to producing a lot of milk. My oldest son’s face filled the screen a second later. The dark circles under his eyes made him look years older than twenty.
“I tracked several locations, but only one of them has a massive energy expenditure,” he explained as if we were continuing the conversation.
He pulled up a map before I could ask. There were seven red dots pulsing across the country. Then he typed something on the keyboard, and one of the dots flared brilliant orange. The exact color of the corrupted magic.
"That one lit up with active dimensional magic half an hour ago," he said. "Massive power usage. Someone's running serious spellwork at those coordinates."
"Where is it?" Aidon appeared behind me. His presence was solid at my back.
Jean-Marc zoomed in. "Upstate New York. In the middle of nowhere." He paused, and I saw the hesitation in his face. "It's the original research facility. Where Taverner's lab fire happened."
The breath left my lungs. "Her daughters died there."
"The building was supposedly torn down forty-eight years ago." Jean-Marc pulled up thermal imaging. Heat signatures bloomed beneath what should have been empty ground. "Itseems they rebuilt it. Underground. It’s hidden beneath the ruins."
Stella's fingers flew across her keyboard. "Look at this power consumption. That's industrial-scale magical usage. More than most supernatural communities use in a year."
"That's the idea I'm not going to like?" I asked, though dread was already pooling in my gut. "Following the power signature?"
"That's part of it." Jean-Marc's expression shifted. "The part you won't like is that this is obviously a trap. She wants you to come. She's probably been waiting for us to find this."
"He's right," Tarja said into my mind. "She has a nasty plan in place for you and Aidon."
