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When Cora nodded, I told everyone, “No suitcases go back. Whatever you can fit in a backpack that won’t slow you down, and nothing more.” I turned to Cora. “Have you talked to Kirsten?”
“I’m about to call her.”
I sensed Etta and Bran telepathing, and then Etta told me, “There’s a spot not far away that should theoretically be fine for Kirsten to teleport into, but I’d feel better if we left the grounds.”
“Etta, Venom, and I can fly everyone out.” I looked to Bran. “Kirsten will bring a sofa big enough for us to all sit on. Cora and Etta end up in our laps. I’m fine with adding the three of you, but that has to be cleared with Kirsten.”
“If you can get us outside the walls, I’ll negotiate with Kirsten for her to flash us to the airport, and we’ll fly home the old-fashioned way. I have a permanent residence on the grounds, so it’s fine for me to leave my things. If you put everything into your suitcases and leave a paper on top with a shipping address, the staff will ship them home to you. It’s routinely done and won’t seem odd to whoever cleans your room.”
“Let’s send them all to Drake Security,” Cora said. “Bran is correct that sticking to routine will make less waves than abandoning our things so something must be done with them. I’ll alert Nathan to fully scan everything for technological devices as well as magical traps. There’s a hefty fee, but I can’t imagine any of us are going to balk at it.”
In less than ten minutes, we’d reassembled, everyone wearing a backpack, and I could easily scent the weapons on our shapeshifters.
Chapter 17
Cora
I figured Bran would offer his blood to heal someone at a future date in exchange for Kirsten flashing him near the airport, and I was right.
She took us home first, everyone got off the sofa but me, and she took us back to Bran.
Bran had given Madeline his blood while the rest of us made sure we had all of our things. None of us had fully unpacked, but there are always a few stray things that need to be packed when it’s time to leave.
He was still holding her like an infant when we returned, but her eyes were open and she was conscious.
“Please thank everyone for coming to my rescue,” she told me when she saw us. “Leonardo terrifies me.”
“I’m glad you’re okay. We need to get ya’ll to the airport.” I looked towards Bran. “I assume your pilot is either already there, or on his way?”
“He’s less than five minutes out, and Kirsten is going to deposit us into the hangar behind my plane.”
He closed his eyes and I knew he was envisioning where he wanted her to take us. A few seconds later, the scenery around us changed, and we were, indeed, behind an airplane in a hangar.
I looked around for cameras, and Bran said, “No windows or doors back here. All the cameras are near the front of the building, and none of them can see this particular spot.”
“Safe travels,” Kirsten told him.
“Thank you, and as agreed, I’ll provide blood for healing you three times, or someone you request I save, in exchange for you transporting the three of us.”
She hugged him, walked back and sat on the sofa with me, and then we were back in the underground of Chattanooga.
Marco’s look told me he wasn’t pleased I’d gone back with Kirsten, so I looked beyond him to Nathan. “Our bags will be shipped to Drake Security, or at least that’s what’s supposed to happen. No idea of a time frame. You’ll want to go even deeper than normal on the tests — technology and magic. I warned everyone it’ll cost us.”
“Skip the tests on my things and just send it all to the landfill,” Etta said. “I put everything I wanted to keep in my backpack.”
“Same for me,” Furio said.
“I think it’s important we know what, if anything, the Concilio did,” Marco said. “I’ll pay to have the entire shipment scanned.”
“A wise decision,” Nathan said. “If I’m in town, I’ll handle the scanning myself, which means I can offer a fifty percent discount. Cora and Ranger’s bags will already be seventy percent off, and that won’t change.”
“Thank you,” Marco told him. “We have much to discuss, and I feel it’s best we do so right away.”
“I can flash Ryan to us, if he’s available,” Kirsten said.
“I’m not sure we’re ready for that right off the bat. We had…” I switched to telepathy. Two orgies, basically. We needed to build power, but there was another reason, which you’ll hear when we explain everything. I think we need to strategize with just us before we bring Ryan in, and it’s possible Etta will need time alone with him before we hit him with the whole story.
Etta took a step forward. “I assume Cora’s telling you I might need to talk to Ryan privately before we tell him the story, and she’s probably right, but the thing is, I want to tell Ryan everything that happened.” She looked at Marco. “He already knows what the Concilio is attempting, so we’ll only be confirming what he’s previously figured out.”
