While Raymond drove, I called Luke for an update, tense while listening to the phone ring.
“Hey, boss,” he answered.
I breathed a relieved sigh. “What’s your status?”
“We have entered hell, and it’s a mess.”
Hell didn’t sound like a place I wanted to go, but it was too late to tell Raymond to turn around and head home. “Define hell for me, and define mess. While you’re at it, tell me what you know about the new Hypnos situation.”
“Remember that speculation we were tossing around about San Francisco being held hostage?”
“With unfortunate clarity.”
“It’s happening, but we’re not sure if everyone’s being held hostage or just being subjected to the fish’s power.”
“Epicenter?”
“It looks like Euthal may have teleported Hypnos and took a walk down John F Kennedy Drive to Strawberry Hill. From there, he headed south.”
South could encompass a ridiculous amount of San Francisco. “How fast is it moving?”
“Fast enough we’re counting casualties in the thousands now. He’s not showing on any of the traffic cameras we’re monitoring, and he’s moving fast enough he’s probably on a motorcycle to get through the deadlocked traffic. Death toll is up to at least thirty now.”
“Car accidents?”
“So far. We expect the first fire to start up will make the fatality rate skyrocket. He’s already taken out several fire departments.”
Yep. San Francisco was in a lot of trouble unless we got a lock on Euthal and got rid of him—or neutralized Hypnos. The fish’s abilities terrified me.
But I only knew of one way to gain access to the fish: a strong linker.
“I need a favor, Luke.”
“What do you need?”
“Get on the horn with the boss. I need the strongest linker we’ve got. Get me several if possible. I’m going to need a vic, too.”
“You’re going to do what you did with Elizabeth again, aren’t you?”
“That’s the idea, but with a twist.”
“What’s the twist?”
“I’m going to have the linker tether me to my own damned body this time so I can get back without needing help. For starters. I’m fresh. I’ve taken the damned fish out once. I can do it again. And I’m ready to teach that fucking warlock a thing or two.”
Raymond grunted, and I opted to ignore him.
“All right. What can we do?”
“How’s Ethan doing?”
“Ethan? Boss wants a word,” Luke called.
“What can I do for you?” Ethan asked.
“I need you to do a check. You’re at the library?”
“Yes. We’re at the library. We’re holed up in the center of the library; that should keep us out of the field of influence unless he comes into the building.”
Damn. Luke’s quad had been doing some serious monitoring while I’d been taking a swim. “What’s the range?”
“Thirty foot radius.”
“That’s bigger than it was before.”
“And we think it’s growing as he’s taking a walk with his pet fish on a leash.”
“How the hell did he move so fast?”
Ethan snorted. “I’m going to guess the bastard can teleport.”
Fucking warlock. “You have my scanner?”
“Luke has it.”
“Tell him to get it set on both signatures and constant monitoring. He’ll need to plug it in to charge. If you see him coming, get the hell out of there. You hear me? You do me no good down and out for the count. I want all my quads out of San Francisco. Scatter to the surrounding areas. I’ve already sent Rachel and her team out of the city handling a matter for me.”
“The koppa oni?”
“Yes. There are dead koppa oni in the bay; I think Hypnos was recharging in the water and hit them first.”
“And now he’s strong enough to take on humans again,” the medium speculated.
“Just what sort of power can Euthal gain from Hypnos?” I muttered.
“That’s the question of the hour, boss. We’re researching everything we can in here, but we’re not finding anything yet.”
“Look into mythology first. Maybe an old fable will have the clue we need to figure it out. I’ll be at the library as soon as I can.” I hung up, and I spat curses.
“How bad is it?”
“He’s made his move, and he’s taking San Francisco by storm. He’s headed south from Strawberry Hill, and he’s hitting as many people as possible. It looks like he’s hitting every office building and apartment complex he can.”
“And the pier was quiet today. That’s probably why he didn’t start there.”
I nodded, and then I called my boss.
“What do you have for me?” my boss demanded.
“Nothing. I’m issuing an evacuation order for my quads still standing. He’s on the move, and we have nothing in our arsenal to stop him. Ethan and Luke will be contacting you for what I need, but I’ll tell you, too, so you can better coordinate with them. I need linkers, best you can get me, and I need someone to go in and get me some of the victims. If we can find a new haunter, I’ll make a run personally.”
My boss remained silent for an uncomfortably long time. “He’s already hit parts of Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Leandro.”
“He’s hopping and attacking in bursts?”
“And he’s taking out key targets.”
My father would make a good target. “My old man?”
“Along with the mayors of every town, FEMA offices, and several FBI resident agencies.”
“Oakland’s?”
“Out.”
“How’d you dodge it?”
“I was at lunch down the road.”
Luck. Pure, dumb luck. “I’m issuing that evacuation for you, too, and you stay out of populated areas. Donners out?”
“Donners is out. He was with your parents.”
“I’m just informing you, for the record, that this is personal. I don’t give a fuck about what the rules say about personal involvement at this point in time.”
“Olivia, we’re down to clusters of active personnel. It’s personal for everyone at this point. You have three active quads I know of right now, and that includes Luke. We have six probably out, and the others aren’t answering their phones, so I suspect they’re out, too.”
“Think Euthal hacked our scheduling network?”
“It’s probable. He wouldn’t have to work hard with his cloaking abilities. In good news, we did get Euthal’s blood sample to a lab, and we got the DNA run. You hit a gold mine.”
“I had? It seems to me I should’ve hit that lance straight through that bastard’s heart. I fucked up, sir.”
“Well, your fuck up solved a lot of chain cases we couldn’t pin on anyone, now we have a direct DNA link to Euthal for it. Once he’s taken care of, we’ll be able to solve a lot of cases and get a lot of closure for people. The wire’s hot on this guy, so once this incident is resolved, you’ll have a lot of work on your desk closing old cases.”
Something about his tone made me think he had low hopes of the cases being solved despite the new DNA evidence. “And it’s my desk because Donners is out?”
“That’s from Washington. You’re filling in for Donners.” My boss sighed. “And may Heaven help me for passing this on, but it’s an order. You’re to go into this with your eyes wide open, and you’re being offered an out.”
“What order, sir? What out?”
“A nuclear strike authorization has been granted by the UN. You may opt to evacuate without consequence.”
I went cold. “Could you repeat that, sir?”
“On order of the President and with confirmation of the UN, should it look like Euthal is about to move on and target another city, a nuclear warhead will be detonated over Euthal’s current location.”
My hell had come, and I wanted nothing more than to throw myself into the bay until even I drowned. “Rating?”
“It’ll be another New York but worse. I’m sorry, Olivia. They can’t afford to let a warlock loose, not with the type of power he’s wielding. I tried to argue. They feel that the loss of hundreds of thousands to a million lives is a far cheaper price than allowing a warlock trying to harness the powers of a god run loose.”
“We’re fucked, aren’t we?”
“With a stick that’s been dipped in acid. Your parents should be out of the blast radius. But that’s where the good news ends. I’m sorry, Olivia. I tried. I truly did. But then Euthal took a walk down San Francisco. The President made it clear that the United States will not negotiate, and it will use lethal force to protect the interests of its citizens and the rest of the world. Even if it means losing an entire city in the process. You’re the only person I’ve got in the area who might stand a chance in hell of stopping him.”
“And Eddy?”
“She’s out. He caught her in the Oakland hit.”
I flexed my hands. “I need you to do me a favor, boss.”
“What?”
“How many can you carry as a dragon?”
“Two or three. I’ve a rig I can use. Why?”
“Take Eddy, my parents, Donners, and however many others you can to Las Trampas. That should be safe enough from the blast. At least give me that much while I handle things here.”
“Some peace of mind is better than no peace of mind?”
“And if you can find a linker, have them do what they can. Even if it’s a light in the dark for them to cross over when this is done.”
“Understood. I’ll ferry over a generator and medical supplies, too. Despite appearances, I’m certified.”
“As what? A lunatic?”
“Ironically, a nurse.”
“You’re a nurse?” I blurted.
“We were all something before World War III, Olivia. I just happened to be a nurse. But then the magic happened, so I brush up on my skills in evening and refresher courses, and I volunteer in a pinch. I can take care of your family, so you worry about Euthal. At least I can do something useful. I’m a dragon, but that doesn’t mean I’m any good in a firefight.”
“Some dragons are peacekeepers and guardians. Some are fire. You can’t be both.”
“Right you are. Anything else?”
“Yeah. Mind feeding my ducks?”
“Sure, Olivia. I’ll go feed your ducks. And if things go south, well, they’ll be taken care of.”
It was the small things that mattered when everything else went wrong. “Thanks, sir.”
I hung up and set my phone aside.
“That didn’t sound good.”
“We’re fucked.”
“I’d gathered that much. How fucked are we?”
“San Francisco is about to become the next New York if we don’t neutralize Euthal’s threat immediately if not sooner. It’s UN sanctioned.”
“They’re going to nuke him?”
“With the kind of bomb no one walks away from.”
“That’s what they said about New York,” he reminded me.
I didn’t want to remember. It hurt to breathe, but I pushed back my terror, anguish, and grief so I could focus on hunting Euthal. “He hit law enforcement before heading to Strawberry Hill. Most of the FBI is out. He’s taking out the fire departments. He’s targeting large groups of people.”
“He doesn’t want anyone stopping his plans, and after you lanced him, he must have decided he needed to start now before you had a chance to strike again?”
I shrugged. “I guess so.”
“Ever stolen a motorcycle before?” Raymond asked.
“No, I can’t say I have.”
“There’s a dealership right down the block. Get your badge ready. It’s time to confiscate some motorcycles. This cruiser is about to be too slow, and unlike Euthal, we can’t just teleport where we need to go.”
“You’re not going to leave?”
Raymond snorted. “Where would I go? We win, or we die. Shit happens, and so does life—and death. Way I see it, I may as well go out doing something worthwhile.”
In that, we were birds of a feather. “Then let’s go steal some motorcycles. But is it really stealing them if we confiscate them during an emergency?”
“For some reason, I don’t think we’ll be giving them back.”
“Good point.”
It was easy to steal motorcycles when everyone in the dealership was out like a light. I hadn’t thought the area had been hit yet, but I’d seen their condition before at the Oakland City Center. I clenched my teeth at the evidence of Euthal’s move, walking into the building and being careful not to step on the few people sprawled on the floor.
“I’ll leave a note,” Raymond announced, and he wasted no time digging through the pockets of the employees until he found a set of keys that got him into the storage case for the motorcycles on the lot.
“You’ve been here before, I see.”
“It’s a cop favorite. I haven’t bought a motorcycle from here, but I know plenty who have, and I drove some of them here and paid attention.” The cabinet they kept the keys in could be spotted from the lobby, and the thick steel would make it a challenge for someone without the keys to access.
Within five minutes, we were armed with keys for two motorcycles, and Raymond checked the tags for where they were parked. I thought they looked like motorized death traps, but all things considered, all riding the bike would do was bump my death up the schedule somewhat.
“Today, for the record, sucks, and I’m going to be pretty pissed if I miss our scheduled seduction.” I took the keys for my ride, started the engine, and mounted. “I don’t have a helmet, I haven’t ridden one of these damned things in years, and I’ll probably wipe out.”
“You’ll be fine. Just be easy on the throttle. This model will go when you tell it.”
“Great. Sounds good. How much go does this baby have?”
“Enough go you’ll want to take it home with you, give it some cutesy name, and pet it in your garage.”
“What counts as a cutesy name for a motorcycle?”
“Good question. I wasn’t planning on naming mine if I get one.”
“All right. Let’s get this show on the road. I have one rule for this, Raymond.”
“I’m not going to like it, am I?”
“No. You won’t.”
“All right. What is it?”
“Once it’s show time, get the hell out of here to a safe zone. It’s not because you can’t handle yourself with that gun of yours or anything like that. But if I start tossing my magic around, I don’t want to worry about extra fatalities. It’s entirely possible I could kill you by accident. When we hit the end of the road, the best place for you is out of the danger zone. We can even have a spectacular fight over it later, if you want. But unless you’re bringing the magical equivalent of a nuke to the table to take this asshole out, I need you to get to safety.”
“This isn’t self-sacrificing bullshit?”
“No. It’s not. I really don’t feel like dying today, but I might not get a choice in the matter. Ideally, we’ll get to the library, and you’ll get the hell out with Luke and his quad.”
“If they’re not being hit next.”
I nodded. “They’ll be strong targets, and they’re being tracked. If—” I blinked, grabbed my phone, and chucked it across the parking lot. My second phone joined it a moment later. “Yours, too.”
“You think he’s tracking the phones?”
“He systematically took out most of the FBI. You tell me.”
Raymond sighed, grabbed his phone, and joined me in tossing it across the lot. “I needed a new one anyway.”
“Let’s bail before he decides to teleport here, too.”
Raymond led the way, and it didn’t take me long to remember how to drive a motorcycle without feeling like I’d tip over at any moment. Despite the warning Euthal was taking a stroll through San Francisco, when we hit the first large group of victims, I needed to swallow to keep from throwing up.
The Oakland City Center hit had tested city resources. Unlike those victims, the ones littering the streets were living on borrowed time without someone to make certain they wouldn’t die while suffering through Hypnos’s powers. I had no idea what would happen without someone like Elizabeth to help guide the lost back to their bodies.
Damn it, I needed a miracle, and the only god I knew of in the city was the reason I needed a miracle.
Euthal had beaten us to the library, and I found Luke and his quad on the upper floors in the mythology section. The quad leader held a book in his hands, and I took it, careful to leave the page open to what he’d been reading. I skimmed the words, which referenced Hypnos as a gentle god who’d lived in Hades surrounded by hypnotic flowers.
According to myth, Hypnos had the power to defeat even Zeus and send him to sleep, but nothing in the reference painted him to be a malevolent, hungry power.
Nothing inside indicated if anything could defeat the god.
“What does he want?” I clacked my teeth together, fought against the urge to fling the book across the library, and placed it on the table beside Luke’s head. I drew in a long, slow breath. “We’ve been completely and utterly outwitted.”
“He obviously planned this meticulously. We’re just dancing to his tune.”
“But what is his goal?”
“I think Donners was right about wanting power.”
“Just how much power can he get from an entire city?”
“Another good question I don’t have an answer to. Hell, you’d be better able to answer that than me. I’m as ignorant as it gets when it comes to the serious magic.”
“I’m running out of options, and I hate being out of options.”
“You and me both.”
I could think of one way to catch the warlock’s attention, and it involved heading for the water and doing what I did best. I wasn’t really a dragon like Eddy, but I could shape water to be a dragon, which was almost as good.
And through my water, I could see all. I’d push my limits scouring the city for Euthal, but once I found him, I wouldn’t lose him again, not as long as my water touched him.
Without a linker, I wasn’t even sure if I could find my way back to Hypnos’s dark sea.
All I could do was try. “You know that saying about desperate times and desperate measures?”
“Unfortunately.”
“I hate that saying.”
“Me, too.”
I sighed, and if things soured much more, I wouldn’t have long to stew on what might have been had I just killed Euthal at the dealership. “It’s time for you to go. Head for the hills where few people go. Hide out until this blows over or they drop the bomb.”
“Are you sure?”
That he’d stay meant more than I cared to admit. “There’s no point in both of us kicking the bucket. I’ll do my best not to kick the bucket, but I’ve lived through that miracle once, and I doubt I’ll survive another bomb of the type they’re planning to drop.”
I already had too much magic. Any more, and I’d bet everything I loved I’d become one with the water and never again remember I’d once been human. History repeated itself, and that’s what happened to survivors like me.
I’d live, but I’d live in a new way, I supposed.
“All right, but if you miss our scheduled seduction, I’m going to be very cross with you, Olivia. We’ll have a spectacular argument.”
For him, it’d be one sided, but I’d accept the promise for what it was. “I’ll deserve a solid scolding.”
“Is there anything I can do beyond run with my tail between my legs?”
“If you see Euthal, shoot him.”
Raymond narrowed his eyes. “I’d have to stay in the city to do that, but I know my way around a sniper rifle if you can lure him out somewhere. It’ll be trivial to find good high ground here.”
I scowled. “You want to snipe Euthal?”
“I could write ‘fuck you’ across his face.”
I liked that idea a little too much. “Think ‘asshole’ would fit, too?”
“I could make it fit with some work, but he wouldn’t have much of a face left after I was done with him.”
“Tragic.” I thought through the options, but I couldn’t come up with a single realistic scenario that included Raymond shooting Euthal in the face with any hope of survival. “If you stay here, chances are, you’ll join me as a nice pile of radioactive dust by the time this is over.”
“Everyone keeps telling me it’s good to go out with a bang.”
I groaned. “I’d say this is not the time for god-awful jokes, but it really is the best time for them. But that was awful.”
“Truly. The odds you can lure him out?”
“Microscopic, really. And even if I do, I’ll try to lure him out to the water anyway. That way, if they do drop a nuke on my head, it might not kill as many people.”
“That is the definition of suicidal.”
“I don’t have a lot of options, and I’m hoping I pissed him off enough to lure him out. If you can get out of the area and get a hold of Washington, you could always tell them to drop the nuke out over the ocean if I can lure the bastard out.”
“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to give anyone an order to drop a nuke on your head.”
“It’s not my idea of a good time, either.”
“But you’re considering it.”
“If I have to make a choice between me and millions, I’m going to go out with a bang. And I can’t take you out on the water with me while I do this. I really might accidentally kill you.”
“Is the best place for me outside of the city?”
“Probably,” I admitted. “I appreciate your willingness to stay.”
“I’m still going to shoot him if I see the bastard.”
“Good. It’s a part of your job description right now. I’m also expecting you to take care of my ducks.”
“I’ll make sure they’re taken care of.”
I grabbed a slip of paper and wrote my boss’s number on it. “Once you’re somewhere safe, call my boss, make sure he has all tracking off his device if you can get a hold of him. If not, well, you heard my directions. Do what you can.”
“You got it. Be careful, Olivia.”
It was a little too late for caution, but I humored him with a nod. “I’ll be as careful as I can.”
I didn’t lie to him. I’d be as careful as I could in the face of disaster.