The demon disappeared, seeming to vanish into the top of the artist’s co-op, Omega’s big drone hovering over the spot, thrumming with heavy pulses of power as it shot bolts of searing light straight down at the roof—where absolutely nothing seemed to happen.
“She has opened a portal to Fairie and escaped through it. I am leaving them with a message. How is Father?” The AI asked, speaking through a much smaller orb that hovered right over the wounded Declan.
Chris, who had sliced his right palm open with a clean knife provided by Mack, took a second to glance at Nika. If Omega was asking, despite having his ultrasophisticated drones hovering scant feet above the wounded boy, then the AI was worried. Chris wouldn’t have thought a computer, no matter how advanced, could get worried. On some level, he realized that that worried him.
“He is completely unconscious, not feeling any pain,” Nika said aloud as Chris bent down to the injured boy held in Stacia’s arms. Blood from the sliced palm dripped first into each gaping shoulder hole and then into the kid witch’s open mouth.
“His heartbeat is steady,” Omega observed.
“Very,” Stacia agreed. “He’s strong, Omega, and these wounds are not really life-threatening. Plus wait till you see how Chris’s blood helps him heal up.”
The big drone was now hovering directly overhead, the four surviving mini-drones spaced out around them. Sirens approached from almost every direction. Chris turned to a limping Awasos, dripping some blood from his rapidly healing cut into the nine-inch gash in the big bear’s side. It too started to heal, the bleeding slowing to a stop.
“Tanya is inbound from the airport. I have also cleared all traffic lights for the responding ambulance. I will block all traffic to speed Father’s arrival at the hospital.”
“Please tell Tanya that the action is over,” Chris requested.
“I have provided them with a sit rep as well as camera feeds of the both the fight and current real time. Be advised that the local authorities are planning on taking charge at the direction of the mayor. I will disabuse them of that notion.”
“Easy, Omega. Let’s not burn bridges,” Nika said.
“Nothing will impede my father from getting to the hospital.” His tone had a definite note of finality to it.
“Let’s prep for police arrival,” Chris said to the rest of the team. Immediately both Holly, who had been rubbing her mouth with her paws to remove demon blood, and Devaney began to Change back. Mack, fully used to werewolves, headed to an older model green Toyota Land Cruiser, parked on the outside edge of the Arcane lot. The tailgate automatically opened itself at his approach. Moments later, he was back with sets of clean sweats for the naked weres.
Sirens screaming, three police vehicles came slamming down Pine Street and into the co-op lot.
A big black rental car raced in behind them, the passenger door opening to disgorge Tanya, who hit the ground running before the car even slowed down.
“How is he?” she asked, appearing by Stacia’s side.
“Big bleeding holes, broken clavicles, torn up to hell,” the wolf girl said. “But I think he’s stable.”
Tanya reached down and patted the girl’s hand before smoothing Declan’s hair. Then she stood up and looked at her husband. Lydia, Galina, and Elder Senka were suddenly standing around Chris, watching.
“Father’s heartbeat has steadied, as has his breathing in the fifteen seconds since Chris applied his blood. I believe he remains unconscious. Nika?” Omega asked, speaking from the giant orb.
The eyebrows of all four newly arrived vampires shot upward. Nika nodded at them even as she answered. “Yes, Omega, he’s out. No pain,” she said.
“What’s the status?” a uniformed police officer asked. Detective Schulz was approaching from ten or so yards behind him.
“He’s stable. An ambulance is inbound; I suggest no one get in its way,” Chris said, glancing up at the silver drone.
Both Schulz and the other cop followed his eyes, realization flooding both faces at the same time.
“Yeah, I’m on it!” the patrol officer said, turning and pulling a light from his utility belt to guide in the ambulance.
“The demon?” Schulz asked, lowering his voice as he got close to Chris.
“She has affected an escape to Fairie. But she is severely injured, perhaps permanently disfigured, and I have expressed a small measure of my anger with Queen Zinnia. When Father is better, I’ll have him open a portal and I will settle things with the Summer Court.”
“Your new drone is impressive,” Lydia said.
“But despite its advances, it was unable to get here in time to protect Father. The next ten units will come online within seven days’ time. We won’t have that issue again.”
Lydia exchanged looks with her Elder, sisters, and Chris. “Ten? That seems like a formidable number?”
“Each unit has greater firepower than a US Navy guided missile cruiser. I have successfully reverse engineered the Vorsook technology on Nika’s recovered craft. Once these are fully beta tested, we’ll build bigger ones. The very largest units will take up station at strategic points in space, including each of the five Lagrange points.”
“Are they a match for Vorsook weapons?” Chris asked.
“My time spent fighting the enemy’s AI system gave me more insight into their operations than they got from me. It also helped me to understand the craft that Nika found. Each of these medium units is an improvement on the initial design.”
“That’s awesome, Omega, but how were you able to improve them so easily?” Mack asked, which earned him points with Tanya, as she had wanted to ask that very question but had been oddly reluctant to do so. Mack obviously felt very comfortable with the super AI.
“They have had no need to look for improvements on their designs in several centuries. Therefore, they haven’t. With my own research, their databanks, and more than a few ideas from Father, we have made advances.”
“Declan understands alien technology?” Lydia asked, frowning.
“Father has an intuitive, almost instinctual understanding of magic which is, at its core, quantum manipulation. He gives me broad ideas and I work out the math and science. Father is very, very crafty.”
Just then, the ambulance zipped up close to the little group, a pair of EMTs exiting the back with full med packs. Chris had to admire their stellar professionalism as they stoically ignored a still very naked Stacia, along with multiple vampires, weres, himself, his famous wife, and a giant Kodiak brown bear.
“Ah, if you all will back up, we can get him transported to the trauma center,” one of the EMTs bravely offered.
“I’m coming with you,” Stacia said, setting her mate down very, very gently and unabashedly pulling on the sweats that Mack held out for her. It wasn’t a request, and the two ambulance men wisely just nodded and focused on the patient.
The big orb that Omega had called medium-sized stayed directly over Declan as they first loaded him onto a gurney, then into the ambulance. Stacia was right on their heels. Meanwhile, the driver was looking up at the orb and talking with the patrol officer who had guided them in. That officer turned to Chris.
“Ah, sir, what’s it going to do?” he asked, nodding at the drone.
“The correct answer, Officer, is whatever it wants. And it wants that patient in the hospital yesterday. Don’t be surprised if it follows him into the building and for the sake of God, don’t try to stop it. You can’t,” Chris said. “Also, drive like you stole that thing, because not a single car is going to be anywhere in your path, I guarantee it.”
“Yes sir,” the cop said, turning to the driver who nodded once, kicked on the siren and lights, and peeled rubber out of the parking lot. The four mini orbs shot out and surrounded the ambulance while the big one seemed almost glued directly overhead.
The remaining group all stood silent for a moment, then Devaney awkwardly broke the silence. “Anyone hungry?”
“I am,” Lydia said with a toothy smile. He went a little pale at her words but she only left him hanging for a second or two. “Or thirsty… for some tea?”
He gave a short, sharp nod and led the way toward Arcane. Most of the group followed him, but Chris felt Detective Schulz move up near him and so just waved his wife, mother-in-law, and Elder-in-law toward the building. “Go see the twins. Toni could probably use a break,” he said. “I’ll be in in a minute.”
Galina, Tanya, and Senka all looked at him with expressionless faces. Then Tanya smiled and all three disappeared in a rush of air.
“You have some problems, Detective?” Chris asked.
“Ah, I’m not sure where to begin,” Schulz said, scratching the back of his head.
“Let me guess. Your bosses want some form of control over this situation. There is concern on a political level,” Chris guessed.
“Well, a local dentist and his assistant lost their lives, along with two students, all because that boy was here, in our city. Yeah, they have concerns.”
“And you were volunteered to broach the topic? They’re worried about the messenger getting shot, so to speak.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Probably. It seems like his presence puts everyone around him at risk.”
Chris felt his face flush, the cage in the depths of his mind rattling. “That kid risked himself daily for the last week to flush out the most dangerous extra-dimensional assassin since the incident in Washington, which was aimed at the president. You should tell them to tread very, very carefully.”
Schulz frowned, swallowed, and forced himself to speak. “Is that a threat?”
“No, you fool. That’s a friendly warning. You did just see those hyperadvanced drones escort that kid to the hospital, didn’t you? The super AI that essentially controls Earth thinks of that kid as his only parent. And I guarantee he’s listening right this very moment, so think very carefully about the words you use.”
“It would kill us?” Schulz asked, aghast.
“It wouldn’t need to. It could simply ruin all your lives, completely and utterly. It could bankrupt the city, destroy the economy, find, support, and get a new mayor elected. You realize the whole world runs on computers, and Omega owns them all.”
“You would let it do that?” Schulz asked.
“I don’t let it do anything. It might, possibly, listen to me. But why would I lift a finger to intercede on behalf of people looking to make a pariah out of that boy?”
“They don’t dislike the kid, they’re just scared. A bunch of demons descended on this city for the express purpose of getting that boy. And every citizen around him was completely expendable.”
“Now you’re pissing me off, Detective. I’m going in now. Please don’t say another word to me, and I advise you to advise them to avoid even considering any reprisal, ban, or action against Declan O’Carroll,” Chris said, turning and moving decisively toward the school.
Detective Sergeant Schulz scratched his head as he watched the God Hammer walk away. Then with a sigh, he turned and headed back to his car.