Page 64 of Up in Smoke

“The start of the storm season has subdued them. They understand their good fortune right now.”

The woman snorted. “I suppose being tornado bait is better than being on the surface. How is the rehabilitation program working?”

Both men shrugged, and the older of the pair pointed at one of the buildings along the wall. “We’ve moved two of the better behaving guests there to demonstrate what cooperation wins them. I think we’ll have made good progress by the end of this season. Better this than the alternative. They just need to learn that truth. Some are stubborn.”

“Any who survive here have to be stubborn. A forgivable enough sin, I suppose,” the woman replied, turning to where a set of broad steps descended to the ground layer of the canyon. “And our expansion goals?”

“We’re still surveying the best spot, but we should be able to begin construction as soon as the storm season is over.”

“Excellent. Let’s go meet the smarter of our guests, shall we?”

Saturday, June 27, 2043.

Shady Grove, Oklahoma.

The Alley.

My vision inducedfrom the chunk of wood would drive me insane. No matter how long I searched, taking care to touch every piece of debris I could get my hands on, my magic refused to offer me any additional glimpses of Shady Grove or the fate of the scryers imprisoned within the place.

Within an hour, I chittered my annoyance, vocalizing my discomfort in a way that appeased my fox.

Sandro wisely sifted through the pockets of debris we found along the westbound road, which no longer counted as a road thanks to the number of twisters that had passed over the area and ripped the asphalt right out of the ground.

I stared at the ruins, marveling over the level of destruction that had befallen the area. “This is crazy.”

“This level of damage is disturbing. And the further west we go, the worse it looks to get. No more imprints?”

I shook my head. “Just that glimpse of an underground complex. It was like a miniature Asylum.”

“Quite possibly Mansfield’s proof of concept. He’d mentioned experimenting with the idea once before, but I hadn’t checked into it. He just said it could be done on a smaller scale. I’d just assumed he’d used an established cavern for his tests. I’ve learned I need to ask more questions and be less trusting.” Sandro growled a few curses, targeted a chunk of asphalt, and punted it westward. “The more we learn, the angrier I get over this whole damned thing. When I get enough evidence to sink that bastard, I’ll enjoy bringing him down and leveling his ambitions.”

Every few feet, I bent over and picked up a piece of debris, which ranged from twisted scraps of metal to shattered wood and chunks of asphalt. Like everything else since the one fateful piece of wood, I found nothing with my magic. “One fucking piece of wood. That’s it. One piece of wood. Why did only that one piece of wood have something I could scry?”

I eyed a piece of asphalt, took aim, and punted it down the broken road.

“That’s a good question, Jade.” Sandro sighed. “We’ll walk for another thirty minutes to an hour and call it a day before heading back. Let’s not test our luck with the storms, even if they’re milder than normal. We just don’t know how long that’ll last.”

If it would last. I scowled. “You know what we’ve found out, right?”

“You mean that there’s more than one choir working with Mansfield, which means this is a far larger scheme than I’d initially thought? The Voodoo queens have eliminated at least three choirs, and the storms are still happening. That tells me Mansfield has a lot of allies outside of the Alley. What I don’t know is what his main goal is. It can’t just be to take over the Alley. That wouldn’t leave him in a good enough position elsewhere—and why would choirs in the South help someone destroy the Alley unless they’re getting something out of it? I’ve been putting a lot of thought into this, and I can’t come up with a single theory that’s sound across the board. And don’t get me wrong. However much I dislike Mansfield’s practices, his ambitions, and general beliefs, he is just smart enough to be dangerous. If he has allies in the South, he probably has allies in the East and West, too.”

That worried me as well. “But what is his goal?”

“Perhaps a government takeover by putting people he approves of in positions of power? If he controls the Alley, that gives him a hefty sway in the Federal government. The Alley still does hold a share of the electoral votes. If he controls the entirety of the Alley and the remaining electoral votes there, he might be able to sway the entirety of the country. That’s a possibility I dislike, but he’d also have to get enough sway in the other quadrants to make a difference. That’s something I don’t think he has at this point in time.”

“The ‘at this point in time’ concerns me,” I replied, flattening my ears, targeting another piece of asphalt, and punting it down the ruins of the road. “Where is Shady Grove, anyway?”

“I’m guessing somewhere near here, probably over the hill over there.” Sandro narrowed his eyes. “Or the wreckage pile, judging from the looks of it.” He pointed where the road led to a hill. “It looks like the road continues under the wreckage. Maybe that’ll be the clue we need—or you can see something else with your magic. It’s not giving you any problems, is it?”

“No. I’m a little tired, but beyond that, I’m all right. Nothing some sleep can’t cure.” Until I found out something else about the scryers and where they were being held prisoner, I doubted I’d be able to sleep anyway. “I’m just so angry. He was putting them in a concentration camp.”

“Unfortunately, we have no solid proof it was him, although what you’ve seen through your magic is doing a pretty good job of convincing me. And the scryers are being psychologically manipulated into cooperation; if they play the game his way, they get better treatment and safety from the storms.”

No matter how many claimed they’d sacrifice their lives to maintain their liberties, I knew better. People would lose their liberties in silence if it meant they had a better life in their opinion. Worse, if their lives improved, they didn’t care if others lost their liberties. I took several deep breaths to calm myself. “Let’s go see what is in the road ahead of us and then head back if we don’t find anything.”

Sandro nodded. “That’s a good plan. No matter how angry we get, we need to keep a cool head. We can’t help anyone if we’re dead.”