armor of magic 02 - rising light (7 page)

“I know all about Diamond’s escort service. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. But your money laundering angle is nice. Didn’t know about that one. And vampires are incredibly vain. He’ll want to protect his reputation. You think we can really break him?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“This ain’t just about finding your friend?”

I took a deep breath and thought about that before answering. Part of me wanted to find Charlotte and run for the hills. But the Protector part of me—which was growing stronger and stronger—wanted to destroy Lucius Diamond for his evil acts against innocent humans. I wanted to annihilate him and not just in the physical world with a news story that would expose him and his fraudulent investment firm, but in the supernatural one as well. No evil supernatural being should have that much power.

Julian poked my shoulder, bringing me back to the diner. “Hello, Fiona?”

“Sorry. It’s not just about Charlotte. It’s about taking down that bastard for what he’s doing. Murder, prostitution and defrauding innocent people who work hard for their retirement. He’s a real asshole. I might hate him more than I hate Cagliostro.”

Rocco studied me carefully, rolling that stupid matchstick around between his pursed lips. “You’re forgettin’ something, Farrow.”

“What’s that?”

“The Scroll. While all of that horseshit Lucius is doing ain’t right, the Scroll has to be your priority. As long as he has that, he has the power to keep doing what he’s doing and more. You understand?”

“Well, yeah. Of course the Scroll. That goes without saying.”

He shook his head. “Nope. That never goes without sayin’. Got it?”

I nodded. How could I argue with that logic? After all, it’s what I was born to protect. The Light.

twelve

The three of us cloaked ourselves to get past the security guard in the lobby of IP Montgomery. But we’d de-cloak when we got to Diamond’s office. He’d be able to see us anyway. We weren’t afraid to soldier into his office because we were stronger together.

But when we got midway through the lobby, a shrill sound raked across our ears. The vibrations rattled our Armor, immediately malfunctioning our cloaking mechanisms and leaving us exposed to everyone. So when we headed for the elevators, the good old security guard halted us in our tracks.

“I know you’re not Miss Hoffman and I know you don’t have an appointment,” the guard said, glaring at me.

“She’s with me.” Rocco held up his badge. “We’re here to ask Lucius Diamond a few questions.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you go up without an appointment.”

“Why make this harder than it has to be? You know I’ll just go get a warrant. Don’t make me go out of my way.”

“Sorry, but looks like you’ll have to get that warrant. I have strict instructions. And I’m not about to lose my job.”

The guard called over his buddy and the two of them escorted us out of the building.

“We could use our speed to run past them,” Julian suggested, always looking for an opportunity to use his extraordinary speed. He was faster than either of us. Rocco and I shrugged.

“Sure, why not? But try not to lose us,” I said.

We stood back and waited. A group of sharply dressed bankers strutted up to the entrance and once the doors were open, we jetted past them and into the building. But the moment we touched the lobby floor, our boots stopped working. Lucius Diamond had some sort of intense protection spell over the entire lobby.

The guards came at us with their hands on their guns. I didn’t want to test out whether or not our Armor was completely shut down and wouldn’t be able to withstand a bullet, so I pulled the guys back outside.

“Got any suggestions?” I asked.

Rocco closed his eyes and concentrated, his brows wrinkling and eyelids twitching. He looked like he was about to have a seizure.

“Um, you okay, Detective?” I asked.

“Oh, dude, he’s got some badass radar and homing skills. Like a whale or some shit,” Julian explained.

Rocco returned to the living. “We could go in through the roof.”

“How do we get up there?” I stared at Rocco. Though he was strong, he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who could scale a building. For the first time in a while, I thought about my faerie friend, Laila, back in San Francisco. Her magical faerie dust would’ve come in handy getting us to the roof.

Julian pointed to a neighboring high-rise. “We go through that building right there, get to the roof and make a running leap across to Diamond’s building.”

“Let’s give it a go,” I said.

After two failed attempts at getting through the other building’s lobby, we stood on the sidewalk feeling defeated. Turned out Lucius Diamond had the entire block under his incredible influence. This only made me want to get to him more. His supernatural powers were way too ostentatious, and I could just see him in his fancy top-floor office laughing to himself with satisfaction. He had made it impossible for us to get to him.

“Dude, how about a helicopter?” Julian said, refusing to let the circumstances bum him out. Mr. Freaking Positivity.

“It ain’t that easy, kid. But I’ll try to pull some strings.”

And so we drove across town in Rocco’s beat-up sedan and rolled up to the precinct to make a request. He told us to wait in the lobby, so I’m not entirely clear on how the detective scored a helicopter, but whatever he did worked. We got in the car and drove to another location where there was a helipad.

“Someone’s coming down from the State Police Aviation in Albany,” Rocco explained. “His name’s Drake. Let’s just say he has a bone to pick with all things evil. And don’t ask him about his face.”

***

By the time the copter arrived, it was almost 5 o’clock and twilight had seeped over the city. New York City looked like an electric organism sparkling to life. Millions of lights filled the streets and buildings, creating a truly spectacular sight. We got into the large copter and buckled up. Rocco put on a headset, explaining to Drake what needed to happen. I noticed a shimmer glowing under his pilot’s helmet and jacket. He was definitely supernatural. I closed my eyes and inhaled his essence to discern which breed. Drake had a slight hint of lemon combined with something like pine. He was some sort of a mage.

We soared across the city, over the towering buildings of light. The city grid below was a luminescent patchwork of radiant colors. Drake steered us toward Wall Street and swooped the copter between the narrow buildings. A few pedestrians looked up to the sky, checking out the enormous machine cutting between the maze of towers. We soared up and over to the building for IP Montgomery, then hovered over the roof.

“You ready?” Rocco shouted over the noisy propellers.

“For what?” I yelled back, hoping against hope that he wasn’t going to say jump.

He didn’t say it, he just did it, leaping from the helicopter and using a combination of his shield and boots to surf his way down.

Julian gawked. “Dude! That’s badass!” Without another word, he jumped out, following Rocco as though he were riding waves in the Pacific.

I couldn’t move. Not that I was afraid of heights, though it was a pretty far drop. No, I was afraid of splatting into a puddle on the rooftop. The guys had made it look so easy, surfing through the air to a safe landing. And now they stood on the roof waving me down, but fear gripped my heart.

“You joining them or what? I ain’t got all night, lady!” Drake yelled.

I had gone surfing once and failed utterly. Keeping balance and control was something I could do in life, but not in the water. Or in the air! Surely, I’d meet my death.

Drake started to pull away, rising higher.

“No! Wait!” I shouted.

“You got five seconds, otherwise you’re coming back to Albany with me. I gotta get this bird back to her nest.”

“Okay. Fine.”

He gave me a wry grin. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I could die?”

He laughed, lifting his helmet to reveal the right side of his face that looked as though it had been burned by acid. “Eh, there are worse things that can happen. You’re a friggin’ Protector of Light. Act like one.”

And with that, I leapt from the helicopter, holding my shield above my head like Mary freaking Poppins floating from the sky with her black umbrella. I didn’t care if I looked ridiculous, it worked. I landed with a thump next to Rocco, who lifted me to my feet.

“Let’s go!” he yelled, running toward the only door on the roof.

He used his sword to cut through the thick metal. Such precision and control. It must’ve taken years to get that good. The three of us made it into the stairwell and down the flight of stairs to Diamond’s floor. Again, Rocco pulled out his sword to cut through the door, but this time it wasn’t working.

“Help,” he ordered.

Julian and I called on our swords and joined Rocco at the door, our three blades creating a hail of glittering white light. Sweat trickled down my forehead, my wrists felt like they’d break in half and my legs burned. Rocco grunted, moving in closer.

“The Logos,” I said. “Let’s see if that helps.”

The three of us began to recite the ancient words, over and over until at last the door blasted from its hinges. We tore down the hallway toward Lucius’ office. I expected another painful barricade, but instead the door was wide open, and Lucius sat behind his desk, motioning for us to enter. The whole suite had a potent scent of anise and licorice. Lucius was operating on a higher level of magic.

“Was all that necessary?” Rocco growled.

“Just some fun and games.” Lucius adjusted one of his various monitors on his desk.

“You sonofa—”

I tugged on Rocco’s arm, reminding him to remain calm. We’d need to keep cool heads going into these negotiations. I didn’t want a single chink in our Armor. Otherwise the head vampire would dominate the conversation and bind us up in one of his spells.

Lucius gestured for us to sit, then addressed Rocco. “Your superiors aren’t going to be too happy about this unwarranted visit.”

“You don’t got any pull with my
real
boss, so fuck off.”

“Language, Detective,” Lucius said casually.

“I’ll use whateva language I want, you no good, snaggletoothed sonofabitch!”

“Come now, Detective. We’re all civilized.”

Clearly, the two New Yorkers had been going at it over the years. I was afraid the vitriol would turn into an all-out boxing match, and while that would’ve been a sight to see, I wanted to find out where my best friend was hiding and hopefully get to the missing Scroll. “Gentlemen, let’s get down to business, okay?”

Both men, completely different in nature and appearance, nodded cordially.

“First, what was with the tornado of demon-bats?” I asked.

“What are you talking about?” Lucius stared at me, his pale green eyes doing their best to pull me in. He was a gorgeous creature. No doubt.

I brushed away his charm as it curled around my shoulders, then activated my shield. “You’re wasting your time trying to allure me, Diamond.”

“She already has a beau,” Julian added. “And he kicks some serious ass.”

I couldn’t help but grin just a little bit thinking about Asher. I missed him.

“Miss Farrow?” Lucius interrupted my musings.

“I’m talking about the mini-vampire throng you sent to attack me right after I left your office this morning. Little demon-bats with fangs and scorpion tails? Ring any bells?”

Lucius kept a steady gaze, unfettered by my accusation. “I did no such thing.”

“Like hell you didn’t.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Farrow. But this is the second time you’ve come into my office accusing me of something I had no involvement with. First the Southwest murders and now this attack. This isn’t my style.” He looked over at Rocco, who was gnawing on a matchstick. “Tell her, Detective. I’m much more …
refined
with my
influence
.”

Rocco shook his head, his cheeks red with frustration. “I’d have to agree with the smug bastard on that one.”

Just then the smarmy vampire-hybrid from earlier that day entered the office. Cosby was his name. I’d recognize that sharp stink of bologna anywhere. He apologized for interrupting and set a briefcase next to Diamond’s desk, then scurried out of the office. I glanced down at the case, noticing it bore the same pentagram symbol as the Diamond Escorts business card.

I stood up. “Can you guys hold that thought? I have to run to the ladies’ room. Female emergency.”

All three of them looked away. Worked every single time.

I ran out of the office and chased Cosby down the hall and stepped into the elevator with him. Catching him off guard, I cornered him, pressing my forearm up against his throat. “You might’ve heard of me. Fiona Farrow—Protector of Light. Investigative journalist.”

He twitched his head to the right, squinting his eyes. “Maybe.”

“I’m here on business and you’re going to tell me where that case came from. I want the exact address of that escort service. And if you don’t give it to me, I’ll vanquish you right in this elevator. From what I’m guessing, nobody would care, hybrid.”

He furrowed his sweaty brow and eyeballed the camera looming overhead, then whispered, “Not here. Meet me at The Graveyard at 10 p.m. Alone.”

“The
graveyard
? Isn’t that a bit cliché?”

“It’s a club in the Meatpacking District. If you’re not alone, you can forget about getting any info. And don’t even think about using your Armor there, they’re not too fond of Protectors.”

The elevator doors opened, and Cosby disappeared into the crowd of bankers bustling about, yelling and shouting. I rode back up to the top floor and rejoined the conversation. Judging from the way Rocco was pacing around the office, knocking things over, things weren’t going so well. But I had an idea.

I sat down across from Diamond and smiled politely. “You know that we know about the escort service being a front for your pension fraud. So, we’re giving you a choice: give us the Scroll by 6 a.m., or I run the story. You’ve done pretty well for yourself here, and I’m guessing you don’t want to lose your credibility. You might be able to shroud your supernatural powers from the natural world, but you won’t be able to conceal this level of fraud you’ve committed. You saw what I did to Emmett Stone and his human trafficking operation, right?”