Fate's Edge (26 page)

In the clearing, Gaston bent over, guffawing like an idiot.

“It’s not funny!”

“He knows you’re there, you dimwit. He just chooses not to care.”

The wyvern lowered his head.

George straightened and sheathed his rapier. “Kaldar and Audrey are back.”

Jack climbed down from the tree before anyone asked him any uncomfortable questions. That’s all he needed. Especially since Audrey would be there. Audrey was . . . pretty. Really, really pretty.

Ten minutes later, when Kaldar and Audrey came up the path, he was sitting on the wyvern again. That way, nobody would think that he was scared. Not that he was. He was just cautious.

“We have a job,” Kaldar called out. “Come here.”

Jack slid down the wing and came over to sit by George. It took Kaldar about fifteen minutes to explain about Magdalene and Ed Yonker.

“I may be overstepping myself,” George said, “but why don’t we just steal the invitation?”

“It won’t work,” Audrey told him. “First, we don’t know where it is.”

“Second,” Kaldar continued, “if we steal it, she would let Morell know we have it. We’d walk straight into a trap.”

“I thought she hated him,” George said.

“Hate doesn’t mean ‘doesn’t do business,’ ” Kaldar told him.

“He’s right. It’s a very costly mistake to make,” Audrey said.

Kaldar turned to his nephew. “Gaston, did you get anything on Yonker?”

Gaston flipped open his notebook. “Ed’s a local. Born and bred in the Edge. His parents still live about six miles east of here. The Edge here looks like Swiss cheese—you know, the one with holes. Bubbles of the Edge pop up all over in the Weird and in the Broken. The boundary is very thin, and the Edge itself isn’t that wide, but there are a lot of people living here, and there are several powerful merchant families. The families keep the peace.”

“Makes sense,” Kaldar said. “Conflict is bad for business.”

“Ed’s not too well liked. The expectation was that when he made it big, he’d hire his buddies, but he brought in outside talent instead. The locals aren’t getting any crumbs of his pie. Magdalene isn’t that well liked, either. She isn’t exactly trustworthy. Here’s an interesting tidbit: Magdalene and Yonker almost had themselves a feud a couple of times, and they were seriously warned that if they started any sort of fighting, the families would squash them. All their fun and games would be over.”

“So they have to play nice,” Audrey said. “And Magdalene is using us to walk around the rules.”

“Pretty much. Yonker’s got a compound in the Edge, about twenty acres, fenced in, and guarded like there are state secrets inside. There are a lot of guards, and they’re well trained. That’s where his Wooden Cathedral is.”

Audrey rolled her eyes.

“The scam works like this.” Gaston checked his notes again. “He invites wealthy people into his church, flirts with them for a while, and if they’ve got the dough, he invites them to his private retreat, to the Wooden Cathedral. They go in normal, and they come out thinking he’s a prophet. Whatever gadget he’s got in there, it works.”

Kaldar looked at George.

George frowned. “Crowd-control devices are illegal except in Gardens of Bliss, and there you have to sign a liability form.”

“Is a Garden of Bliss as bad as it sounds?” Audrey asked.

“No, but when I first heard the name, I thought it was a brothel,” Kaldar said. “It’s a last resort for people who are depressed and suicidal. You sign a consent form and splash around in a garden with pretty flowers and ponds of warm water while good feelings are being pumped into you by magic.”

Audrey blinked. “Oh.”

“It could be a Vilad Lantern,” George said. “Or some sort of emotional emitter. I’d have to see it to say for sure.”

“Anything more about Ed?” Kaldar glanced at Gaston.

“Not much. Ed’s greedy, and he likes nice things: expensive cars, good clothes, bling—that’s apparently something to do with flashy jewelry. He likes women too, but all those are collateral vices. Ed ultimately gets off on crowds worshipping his every footstep. He wants to be a big shot. He actually gives money to the San Diego Children’s Center, and he attends the charity dinners and all that.”

Kaldar and Audrey glanced at each other.

“Explains the kids,” Audrey said.

“The Blessed Youth Witness,” Gaston said. “He gets street kids to work for him. They give out flyers, and he gives them a place to stay in his Witness Camp during the summer at his compound. Middle-aged women with money love it.”

“Do we know where the camp is?” Kaldar asked.

Gaston shook his head. “No. But we do know he’s got people with rifles and live ammo guarding it. Also, it’s protected by enough defensive spells to hold off an army. It used to be his old family place. The Yonkers were a really strong Edge family a few years back, but now only Ed and his parents are left. The wards on that puppy are a century old.”

“Nice.” Audrey sighed. “So breaking in and stealing the magical brain-cooking device is out of the question.”

Kaldar glanced at George. “How complicated are these devices usually?”

George shrugged. “Well, the inside is complicated, but most of the time they’re designed to look like normal objects. When you want to manipulate someone’s emotions, it’s better that people don’t know they’re being manipulated. They tend to take that sort of thing badly.”

“So what are we talking about?” Gaston asked. “Like a vase or something?”

“Not exactly.” George got up. “Usually it’s jewelry. For the emitter to work, I’d need to position it between me and the person I wanted to influence. So let’s say I want to manipulate Kaldar.” He turned to Kaldar. “I could probably have a bracelet emitter and lean on my fist or something, so the bracelet faces him.” George bent his arm so his wrist faced Kaldar.

“You look stupid,” Jack told him.

“Exactly,” George agreed. “The object has to be something inconspicuous. And usually the object will be inert until the user focuses their magic into it.”

“So wait,” Gaston said. “It won’t work for just anyone?”

“No,” George said. “You have to have some magic talent in emotional manipulation already. These devices just make that kind of magic stronger. Since Yonker manipulates a crowd, you’re looking for something with range, so the magic goes out at a wide angle. Like a crown or some sort of device he holds between himself and them.”

“He wouldn’t wear a crown,” Audrey said. “This is an American congregation we’re talking about. They wouldn’t stand for that.

“So first we have to find out what the device looks like,” Kaldar said. “Then we make a copy.”

“Out of what?” Audrey stared at him.

“Memory plaster,” Kaldar said. “The Mirror gave me a tub of it. If you expose it to the right magic, it will mimic glass, metal, or wood. Gaston is very good with it.”

Audrey frowned. “And again, to get that close to Yonker very fast, we’ll need money. Lots and lots of money.”

“I am confused,” Jack said.

“So am I,” George said.

“Yeah, can we be in on the plan?” Gaston asked.

“Let me explain,” Kaldar said. “Yonker has a magic gadget that manipulates people’s emotions. He is probably keeping it in the camp in the woods. We need to steal that gadget.”

“I got that part,” Jack said. “But how do we steal it?”

“There are two ways,” Kaldar continued. “First, we must find out where and how the gadget is guarded. To find that out, we’ll need to infiltrate Yonker’s camp, which is why we’re going with this plan.”

“You’re getting them more confused,” Audrey said. “Can I step in here for a second?”

“Sure.” Kaldar invited her with a sweep of his hand.

“This heist is called Night and Day,” Audrey said. “There are two teams: Day team and Night team. The two teams pretend not to know each other. Jack and George will be the Night team.

Jack exhaled.
Finally. Something to do besides sitting on the wyvern. Yes!

Audrey continued. “Yonker’s church takes in runaway children. You boys will pretend to be runaways, get Yonker church people to let you work for the church, and try to get into the camp. Once in the camp, George, you can use your necromancy to find the gadget and figure out how heavily it’s protected. You have to be sneaky and avoid attracting attention.”

“Meanwhile,” Kaldar added, “Audrey and I will be the Day team. We will approach Yonker out in the open and draw a lot of attention to ourselves. Yonker will concentrate on us.”

“Here comes the fun part.” Audrey smiled. “If the gadget isn’t well protected, then the Night team will either steal it or tell us, and we’ll sneak in and steal it together.”

Kaldar nodded. “If the gadget is too well protected, then the Day team will swap the real gadget for the fake one in broad daylight, pocket the real item, and walk right out of there.”

Gaston raised his hand. “Question: what happens when Yonker figures out that the gadget is a fake?”

“All hell will break loose,” Kaldar said. “But the gadget switch should buy us enough time to get out.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Gaston asked.

“Then we go to Plan C and cut our way out,” Kaldar said.

“I like that plan,” Gaston said.

“Let’s hope it won’t come to that.” Audrey looked at George, then at Jack. “This heist usually takes a lot of time. We don’t have time because that blond bitch is on our trail. We’ll be very rushed. There can be no mistakes, guys. No room for error. Do you understand?”

Jack nodded.
No mistakes, got it.

“And if we tell you to get out, you run,” Audrey said. “You run, and you don’t look back.”

“Listen to her,” Kaldar said. “If we pull the plug in the middle of the heist, you two walk away. Clear?”

Jack nodded again.

“Can the two of you handle pretending to be runaways for a couple of days?” Kaldar asked.

George nodded. “We can do it.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Audrey said. “These are unscrupulous people. We don’t know what they will do, but we may not be there to help you. It’s real, and it’s dangerous.”

And they were not babies. “We’ll be fine,” Jack said. “I’ll take care of George.”

“I’m not worried about George.” Kaldar stared at him. It was a dominant, hard stare. Jack felt invisible hackles rise on his back. To the right, Gaston rose, his jaw set, and moved to stand by Kaldar’s side. Gaston’s silvery eyes glared at Jack. Ready to fight.

“Why would you worry about me?”

“You’re a whiny baby,” Gaston said.

What?

“You like to feel sorry for yourself, Jack,” Kaldar said. “It’s all about Jack, all the time.”

Inside him, the Wild gathered itself into a tight ball, all fur and teeth.

“Poor, poor Jack,” Audrey said. Her voice was sweet, but her eyes mocked him. “Everyone’s mean to you. What will you do? There is no room to run away to this time, and Rose won’t help you.”

How does she know about my sister?

The Wild snarled. They had all ganged up on him. Jack’s heart hammered in his chest. His claws prickled the inside of his hands. He glanced at George. His brother stood there, his face calm, like he was a complete stranger.

“Selfish and stupid,” Kaldar said. “That’s you.”

“Good for nothing,” Gaston added.

The Wild screamed and scratched inside Jack, straining to break free. He wanted to grow teeth and claws and dash into the forest. No, he had to stand his ground. Changing in the Edge wasn’t like changing in the Weird. It hurt, and it lasted half a minute. They would kill him before he was done.

The world distilled itself to painful clarity. He had to defend himself. He couldn’t let them take him.

Why? They were friends—why would they do this? Why didn’t George do anything?

“You’re on your own,” George said. “Don’t ask me for help, crybaby.”

Traitor.
Jack looked into his brother’s eyes. They were blue and calm, almost peaceful. George always helped him. Always. Even when everyone else turned away.

This was wrong. George would never turn on him.

It’s a test,
he suddenly realized. They were testing him to see if he would snap and give himself away. They were watching him carefully, trying to gauge what he would do.

Jack’s instincts told him to bite back as hard as he could. But that was what they expected of him, then he’d be stuck in that clearing by himself, while George went out to spy and probably fight. George was good with his rapier but not that good.

Jack pushed the Wild back into its hole. It clawed him, refusing to go, and he had to force it, step by step. It hurt. His mouth tasted bitter. Finally, he shoved it deep inside, into its usual place. It must’ve taken only a couple of moments, but to him it felt like forever.

The colors lost some of their sharpness, the scents faded just a fraction. He stepped away from the edge of the cliff.

Jack took a deep breath and forced himself to smile. “That’s okay. If I get in trouble, I’ll just mop up my tears with George’s hair.”

It was a lame joke, but that was all he could manage.

Audrey was looking at him, and her eyes were kind again.

“Good man,” Kaldar said. “There is hope for you yet.”

Gaston walked over and punched his shoulder.

Jack breathed. He was terribly tired all of a sudden.

“Okay, now we’ll need money,” Audrey said. “And a lot of it. Preferably owned by some ass, so I won’t feel bad stealing from him. Gaston, any candidates?”

Gaston raised his black eyebrows. “How do you feel about a slaver? Rumor says he doesn’t believe in banks. He keeps all his money in his mansion in the Edge.”

Kaldar raised his hand. “Sold!”

“Oh, really?” Audrey crossed her arms. “So I guess you’ll be breaking into this mansion all on your own without my help.”