Leaning back in his chair, his wineglass on the table, EJ said, “Or maybe we’re looking at it backward. If Nyoka used her magic to force Gertrude to fall in love with her back then, maybe Nyoka was using Gertrude’s great-great-granddaughter to track the witch hunter. We need to know who Londyn was allied with and who she double-crossed before she died. Other than me.” His words fell away. Sleet peppered against the windows, blowing for a moment from a different direction.
“We should be winnowing down a timeline and possible bad guys. Instead we’re expanding everything and it’s getting more confusing.” EJ leaned forward, elbows on knees, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes as he considered all the connections and possibilities.
“There are always multiple, layered plans and goals in motion,” Walter said. “Someoneinterrupted those plans.” His head tilted slightly from side to side.
EJ sat straight up and tapped the virtual keyboard. “Ojos. Connect me to Alex Younger or the person manning comms at the queen’s residence.”
“Of course,”Ojossaid. “One moment.”
A face appeared at the lower left of the wall screen. He went by the moniker Goliath, because he was about five feet tall and nearly six feet wide. “Hey, kid. What can I help you with?”
“Eli Younger was collating security video from Karson Marrazzo’s clan home for Walter. I realize I’m asking for the impossible, but do you have an update?” EJ asked.
“Affirmative. The queen has access to five cameras on one node, though there’s one cam we’re having problems with. You want what we have so far?”
“Yes. Thank you,” Walter said.
“Sending them on. We’ve timestamped each appearance of the currently identified particulars in this case. You should be able to zip right to the appearance of any party using the legend on the screen’s bottom.”
“Our thanks to Alex, Eli, and the queen’s security,” Walter said.
“Anytime. As long as the queen’s banner flies over your building, you can have most anything. I have an update on the arrival time for the vamp who’s part of your protection unit. Basically it’s ‘Not soon.’ ”
As long as the queen’s banner flies…
There had been no formal royal announcement yet, laying claim to the building and the people within it. There was still time to change this back. EJ kept his face expressionless.
The connection ended, and EJ didn’t look at Walter as he pulled up the footage. “They’re sending a vamp,” EJ said. “Do you know who?”
“No.”
EJ returned to the video, flashing through the index and loading the videos on his screen in neat little blocks. Fortunately, Marrazzo’s entry area and lakeside balcony and entrance camswere included with the four views of video feed Goliath had sent them.
“You still do not wish to be claimed by the queen,” Walter said.
“No. Same as you. You don’t want the queen’s help here either, though our reasons are not likely the same.”
Walter chuckled darkly. “No, our reasons will not be the same.”
EJ kept his eyes on the screen, familiarizing the names with the legend and pulling up all references to Nyoka, but not hitting play. When he finished, he sat back and met Walter’s eyes. “We’ve done a bad job of including you in our lives. We don’t visit. We don’t have wine or coffee or tea together. We don’t do jack. You’ve become more than our bodyguard. You’ve become personally important to us and our business. So, we should talk more. You should know stuff. If you choose to tell things about yourself, that’s fine. For now, I’ll talk.
“After the war I didn’t want to be with a coven again. What we did in Section Seven was intense. Too personal. I talked to my dad. Told him a very little bit, things I could say without breaching classified info. He understood.
“After Asshat, Angie had PTSD about being around vampires who might succeed in rolling her. That meant not being in the queen’s court. We and the queen reached an accord. As long as we can handle our security well enough, and we’re not put under attack, we can stay in Chattanooga, mostly anonymous and autonomous.”
“Your freedom, as it had been, ended when Londyn placed a ????? ? ???????, at your door,” Walter said.
“And the moment a Rus witch was identified in town.” EJ’s tone was bitter. He hit play at the first appearance of Nyoka. Three days ago, she entered Karson’s house from the balcony entrance. There was no audio, but the video was unmistakableevidence of an invasion, not visitation. Nyoka was wearing armor and dozens of amulets tied to her gear belt and in bandoliers that crisscrossed her chest and back. She didn’t bother to hide behind hershadowworking.
Moments later, Konstantin and Karson appeared and attacked her. They used swords. She fought back with magic. Magic didn’t video well, but as she threw amulets, the vampires were hit with fire, with ice, with smoke bombs. She attacked with anantifriction/antiproximityworking that made swords and hands slide off her. It was something far and away better than anything Section Seven had been working on in the war.
But even with her magic, Konstantin was better. He gathered a ball of something that photographed fuzzy and hot. Raw magic. He threw out his hand. The ball of magic hit the witch. It was similar to what Angie had once been able to do.
Nyoka dropped like a stone. A half-dozen humans and vamps lay at her feet as well, ignored by Karson and Konstantin. Nyoka was dragged away by Konstantin himself.
“The Rus witch Konstantin was with Karson, when Nyoka entered,” Walter said. “She was not possessed when she entered the clan home.”
“Before Londyn was killed. Before our client was killed,” EJ said.
