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"All right," I said, drawing in a breath. "Here's what we're going to do. "
Chapter 28
An hour later, just after eight o'clock, I slipped onto the Dubois estate.
The mansion was situated on a high bluff, and a set of stone steps led from it down to a large boathouse along the Aneirin River. I'd had Finn drop me off at a nearby bridge, then I'd hiked along the riverbank until I came to the steps. After that, it was just a matter of climbing up them, keeping an eye out for any wandering guards, and slipping into the woods at the top of the bluff. There weren't even any security cameras for me to avoid. No motion sensors. No explosive runes hidden in the steps. No magical trip-wires strung in between the trees in the woods. Lax security all the way around. Then again, Salina wanted people to come to her estate - she just didn't plan on them ever leaving again.
Now I was hidden in the trees, dressed in my usual black clothes, and looking at the landscape through a pair of high-powered binoculars.
The woods bordered the north lawn, and I scanned the spectacle before me. I had to hand it to Salina - she'd gone all out. Tables covered with blue-green linens had been set up on the lawn, and I could see the glitter of crystal and silver on them, along with the faint flickers of lit candles. She'd even sprung for a couple of bars made of elemental Ice. Sharp peaks had been carved into the surface of the Ice, representing water, waves, and the ocean, along with Salina's mermaid rune. I eyed one of the grinning mermaids through my binoculars. Deadly beauty, indeed.
According to the information Finn had gathered, the dinner wasn't supposed to officially start until eight thirty, but a crowd had already gathered on the smooth grass. The men wore tuxes, while the women were dressed in evening gowns. Even from here, I could hear whispers from the gemstones the partygoers wore, as the jewels vainly murmured of their own faceted beauty.
I'd been right when I'd told Finn that all the power players would bring their bodyguards. Men and women wearing suits that obviously concealed guns could be seen among the glitterati. Most of them were giants, but there were a few dwarves, vamps, elementals, and humans in the mix too. All of them stayed close to their bosses and eyed the other guards with cold, hostile intent. Everyone was on their best behavior, and it was obvious they didn't like it one bit.
Waiters moved through the crowd, bearing trays of bite-size food, while several men and women worked the bars, pouring drinks as fast as they could. A couple of them were Ice elementals whose job was to keep the curved monstrosities from melting in the May heat. Their eyes flashed blue and white in the twilight as they held on to their magic.
But the fountains were what caught and held my attention.
There were seven of them, all featuring different shapes, all with a water theme. One fountain was relatively flat, with metal water lilies spiraling out from the edge, as if the flowers were really floating on the surface instead of being anchored in place. Another fountain featured metal koi half in and half out of the water, spewing steady streams of it up into the air. The other sculptures featured more fish and flowers, along with a few abstract designs. They were all beautiful, and I could tell that Cooper had crafted them with the same care he did everything else he made.
I focused on the largest fountain, the centerpiece of the lawn. It was another fucking mermaid sitting on a pile of rocks and grinning. Only her long, flowing, metal hair covered the mermaid's lush body, and she had her finger crooked out, inviting folks to come and take a closer look at her, not realizing that she was really luring them to their deaths with her shy, sweet, beguiling smile. Just like Salina had duped her guests into coming here tonight.
Finn had been right about what Salina wanted the fountains for. They were arranged in a wide circle, with all the tables and people situated in between them and the Ice bars filling in some of the wider gaps between the fountains. A kill zone if I ever saw one. Given Salina's magic, she could easily flood the whole area with water from the fountains, then let loose with her elemental power. No one would get out unless she wanted them to - and I doubted she'd offer anyone that mercy.
Eyeing the fountains, I wondered how long Salina would let the water just bubble, foam, and froth away before reaching for it and transforming the rippling surfaces into something deadly. Before finally taking the revenge she'd waited so long for.
On the ground beside me, my walkie-talkie crackled, and I heard a loud sigh.
"Do we have to do it this way?" Finn asked through the walkie-talkie for the fifth time since I'd gotten into position.
I didn't know how he'd done it on such short notice, but my foster brother had scrounged up a set that would work despite Salina's cell phone jammers. He'd even brought along a few tiny spy cams, which I'd hidden in the trees and pointed at the lawn so Finn could see what was happening there through a feed to his laptop.
"Yes," I replied. "We have to do it this way. Unless you have another idea for getting past that gate on such short notice?"
I looked off to my left. A ten-foot-high stone wall ringed the Dubois estate, typical for this part of Northtown. Several limos and town cars sat on the street outside the gate, the drivers waiting to take their bosses home later that night. It seemed like all of Salina's guests had already arrived, and the wide iron gate in the middle of the wall had been shut to keep any party crashers out - and everyone else in, even if they didn't realize it yet.
The plan was simple. I'd sneak into the mansion, find Owen and get him out of here, grab Kincaid on my way out, then go back and deal with Salina. If she made a move before then, Finn was going to crank the engine on his Escalade, zoom toward the gate from his position across the street, crash through the iron bars, and drive across the lawn to where the dinner was being held. Hopefully, the crowd would scatter in confusion and give my foster brother a clean shot at the water elemental with one of his omnipresent guns. If not, I'd take her down with my knives. Win-win, either way.
"But my car," Finn muttered. "Why do we always have to wreck my car?"
"It's not like you don't have another Escalade in your fleet. You'll barely notice the scratches on this one," I said, attempting to soothe his ruffled feathers.
"Hmph," he harrumphed in my ear. "Believe me, I'll notice. I just think you like destroying my cars on purpose. First, you get my new Aston Martin all scratched up and beat to hell, and now you want me to ram my Escalade through an iron gate. It's unseemly, I tell you. Unseemly. "
I rolled my eyes. "Oh yes. You've caught me. I confess. My sole purpose in life is to gleefully, willfully, maniacally destroy all of your precious chrome babies. "
"I knew it!"
"What about Bria?" I asked, distracting him.
"She's on her way, along with Xavier and some other members of the po-po. Are you sure you don't want to wait for her?"
"Yes, I'm sure. If Salina sees the cops, she might decide to start the show early. I doubt she'd have any qualms about killing the fine boys in blue along with everyone else. I at least need to get Owen and Kincaid away from her first before anyone goes in guns blazing. Just keep watch, and be ready if it looks like I'm in trouble. "
"Roger that. "
"Eva? How are you holding up?" I asked.
