The Detective Inspectors (The Doorknob Society Saga Book 4) (19 page)

“Just remember what you need to do, and above all, bring your people home safely.”

“I intend too.”

“And yourself as well,” he added with a chuckle.

“I’ll do my best.”

Status: Time to kick some ass.

Gavin lifted two keys high into the air and then swung downward slamming them into the floor of the Map Room. The ground shuddered, beams of light arched through the air hitting into one another in an explosion of gold and crimson. The room itself fell away underneath the archway as a portal opened. A chill wind gusted into the room with such force that we had to fight to keep our footing. The other side of the portal was pitch black and the sound of rain crashing on metal echoed around the barren Map Room.

“I’ll keep the portal open and defended as long as I can. But if I’m forced to close it, you’ll be on your own.” Gavin kept shoving his hair out of his face, the wind blowing in his eyes as he spoke to me.

“Understood.” I glanced around at my friends and gave them a confident smile. As long as we were together, we had a chance of rescuing Edgar since there was no way in hell we’d leave without him. “Everyone ready?”

They all nodded and I pulled my hood over my head and stepped into the portal.

 The wind whipped around me and giant raindrops pelted me as thunder cracked in the distance. I gripped the edge of my hood and held it tight so it wouldn’t blow off and used it to shield my eyes from the rain.

The landscape was stark and jagged with broken rock and ground that was as hard as metal, the sound of rain hitting it sounding like machine gun fire that wouldn’t quit. I pushed toward a small outcropping of rock and turned my back into it as it offered a small amount of protection from the harsh conditions.

Everyone joined me as we formed a tight huddle so that we would be able to hear one another over the vicious storm. Nightshade dug into his bag pulling out a Map and began working on our exact location here at Storm Reach.

Slade gestured toward Declan. “Your people picked a hell of a dimension.”

“It is a prison,” Declan reminded with a smirk.

“It sure feels like one,” Jess said as she saddled up closer to Slade so they could share their body warmth.

“The weather is a pain but it helps to keep the prisoners in line. When you’re an HVO initiate you have to do a tour of duty as a guard here. I never liked this place, but it serves a necessary purpose.”

“Yeah, putting all the people that the First Kind wants to use in one convenient place.” Nightshade didn’t look up as he spoke. He was struggling to keep the map from blowing away as he attempted to configure his calculations.

I reached out and pushed one of the edges down, holding it for him. He glanced at me briefly, and then went back to working on the map.

“What else can you tell us about this place?” I asked Declan trying to keep my focus, and everyone else’s on the mission at hand.

“The main prison complex is vast. I have no idea how old it is but it’s easy to get lost in it. I recommend that we stay together as much as possible.”

“How many prisoners are housed here?” Slade asked.

“Last count I heard was fifteen hundred, plus two hundred HVO guards.”

“You don’t think all the guards have been turned to the First Kind do you?” Jess asked looking in my direction.

“We have to assume that they have, which means we don’t know who we can trust. Our main mission is to get Edgar and the Mapmaker Legend out of here.”

Golden light illuminated us as Nightshade was finally able to get the Map working. He slid his fingers across the paper, calculations and equations zoomed back and forth as he determined our exact location.

“We’re about two miles from the main prison. I think I know a good spot where we can enter unnoticed.” He pointed to an area on the map and Declan nodded in agreement. “It’s a sub-basement that connects to the sewer system. I doubt any First Kind will be down there. If you portal us in there they won’t even notice an HVO power signature.” Nightshade lifted the glowing calculations from the Map and let them hover in the air.

“I can do it.” Delcan reached out with his Silver Star and absorbed them. He pressed the center of his Star and silver light poured out of it, forming a star.

 I’d never traveled by way of the HVO, all Old Kind powers working differently. Only DS and the Skeleton Key Guild are truly able to portal anywhere. All others have limited portal skills and rely even more heavily on Mapmakers than we do. HVO is good at creating prisons and shackles as well as tracking but as for portals, that’s another story.

I stepped through the Silver light and my stomach flipped upside down. I gritted my teeth and realized I was still in the in-between space of the portal. I had to take several steps in portal space before I saw the other end. I quickened my pace and stepped out. My breath caught in my throat and I instinctively grabbed my Doorknob, feeling the warmth and comfort of it calm me.

“What the hell was that?” Jess was bent over and Slade was beside her his hand on her back steadying her.

“Sorry, the way we travel is different from the Guild. It takes some getting used to,” Declan said with an apologetic shrug.

 Nightshade stepped out last and didn’t seem to be affected by the portal. I wondered if perhaps that was because of his Polymorph training. I was going to have to talk with Gavin about that if I made it back.

“Why isn’t it bothering you two?” Jess asked Slade and Nightshade.

“I’ve done it before,” Nightshade said as he scouted the room.

“It’s not too dissimilar to how the Engineers travel,” Slade responded.

“You do that all the time?” Jess’ eyebrows looked as if they might permanently join her hairline.

I didn’t blame her for wondering why anyone would be nuts enough to go through that stomach-churning sensation more than once.

“It’s not that bad,” Slade said defensively.

“You and I have a vastly different definition of not that bad.” She chuckled and took a deep breath.

“Do you know where we are?” I asked Declan.

“Yes, we’re two levels beneath the HVO guard quarters. Now what?” Declan asked.

“Now I need a moment.” I took a fortifying breath and moved closer to the only door in the room. Nightshade stood beside it, his back resting against the wall. The others began looking around, giving me some space.

“There are a lot of energy signatures in this place. I can’t make out how many, not to mention some anomalies,” Nightshade said, even though I hadn’t asked.

I did however ask, “Have you got a better idea how to find Edgar?”

 “Nope just pointing out what I think you need to know.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious, now if you’ll give me a minute?”

“I get that you’re planning to rescue Edgar, and I agree with imprisoning the First Kind. But you’re up to something else.”

 Nightshade didn’t look at me. Good thing since I felt heat rush to my face no doubt turning it a bright shade of red. I gritted my teeth, frustrated. He might not remember us, but he could still read me like an open book and it was pissing me off.

“What do you care?” I snapped.

“I don’t, but I do care that we rescue Edgar. I want to make sure you’re focused on that first. Whatever revenge you’re after, can wait until then.”

“I would never risk Edgar’s life.”

“I’ll hold you too that, Masters’.”

“You don’t need to. You just make sure you get Edgar out of here. I’m leaving that to you.”

He titled his head to the side and looked at me oddly. “Why me?”

“I know you’ll get Edgar out of here no matter what.” Not to mention I couldn’t bear the thought of him being left behind again. My mind raced back to the image of Nightshade being tortured and the scars he carried on his back to this day... all to save me. I damn well wasn’t going to let that happen again. If anyone was going to be left behind, it was going to be me. I wouldn’t let anyone give their life for me again.

“That’s all?” His eyes narrowed.

I could almost see his mind working, as if he was trying to remember something that was so close yet out of reach. “Yup.”

“If you say so, Masters.”

 I gulped trying to keep my composure as Nightshade walked away from me. I shook my head, now was not the time or place for it. I wasn’t going to risk Edgar in a futile attempt to get back the man I had lost. All I had now was my payback, and I sure as hell was going to get it one way or another.

I pressed the palm of my hand against the door and concentrated. The energy began to tingle in my hand and I let it flow from the Universe through me. As Old Kind I could feel the pulse at all times as naturally as a normal person takes a breath. I focused all my thoughts on it, and Storm Reach came alive all around me. The HVO had chosen this dimension wisely. It was filled with the type of energy they could be manipulate.

It didn’t take long for my senses to feel the presence of both the First and Old Kind all around us. I also felt the anomalies that Nightshade had mentioned, there were almost as many as the First Kind. I pushed them aside and kept looking for the one signature I knew almost as well as my own.

The familiar energy suddenly surged all around me like a whirlwind, and I stumbled almost tripping from the power it emanated. I knew that instant that they were trying to access the Mapmakers Legend. I zeroed in on the source and then I felt him. Edgar was there and so was my mother. They were on the other side of the complex, but I knew how to get to them.

“I found him,” I announced.

 Jess ran to me and threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “How do we get to him?”

 “It’s not going to be easy,” I replied.

“It never is.” Slade laughed.

“Where’s the map?” I asked and Nightshade pulled it from his bag and opened it holding it out for me to see. I traced my finger from where we were across the entire complex to a tower on the other side. I poked the page and smiled. “Right there.”

“Oh crap,” Declan said.

“What?”

“That’s Storm Reach Tower, we only keep the most powerful criminals there.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means it would be easier going to the depths of hell to reach Edgar than where we have to go.”

Status: Into a place worse than Hell.

We pushed into the hallway with Nightshade and Declan in the lead. Nightshade used his Map to guide us and Declan helped us to avoid any pitfalls we hadn’t considered. We made our way out of the sub-basement and into the upper floors of the prison. The sounds of people moving about were everywhere and we halted our steps and took cover now and then to avoid any confrontation. If they discovered our presence too soon all would be lost.

Once we were at the connecting floor between the HVO and the prison proper we headed for the entrance room. We passed by a mess hall that had only a few stragglers sitting around tables, too engrossed in their misery to pay any attention to their surroundings. Pushing forward we moved through an HVO portal into another sector of Storm Reach.

The hairs on my neck rose as we crossed into the new section of the complex. We all slowed down and the silence spoke volumes. The lights were dim and it almost appeared as if a fog covered them. Refuse had been strewn about and the chaotic conditions made it seem as if the First Kind had abandoned this section entirely.

“This doesn’t feel right,” Jess said quietly and I had to admit I agreed with her.

“What is this place?” Slade asked.

“This was the processing area. We would portal prisoners just outside the doors and bring them through here to the Entrance Room,” Declan answered peering into the darkness as if he didn’t recognize the area.

“It looks like the First Kind had other ideas,” Nightshade said.

A bone-jarring howl shattered the silence and we all froze in place. The clicking sound of claws tearing against wood and metal echoed all around us.

“Is that what I think it is?” I asked.

“Damn it,” Declan said with a rushed breath.

“Damn it, what?” Slade spun around yanking his wrench off his back preparing for a fight.

Declan clenched his hands. “This dimension is a haven for Gremlins. It’s one of the reasons we use it, though Storm Reach has defenses in place against them.”

 “Looking at this place, I’d say defenses are something the First Kind could care less about.” I activated my Doorknob, my energy whip snapping out and slithering along in front of me.

“Nightshade we need to get out of here like five minutes ago!” Slade said.

 Nightshade already had the Map out, plotting a quick course to the next section of the complex.

“Do you know which way to go?” I asked Declan.

“No, everything is different. It looks like entire walls have been torn down, the whole place reconfigured. I don’t know which way to go.”

“Gremlins don’t really care about decorating.” I smirked and edged closer to Nightshade. “Any day would be helpful.”

“You want to do this, Masters, be my guest.”

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch just get us a path out of here, now.”

“This way.” Nightshade pointed to the left and rushed forward. He shoved the map into his bag and pulled out his Skeleton Key, a crimson glow sparked around it.

The howling and shrieking grew louder, the Gremlins having picked up the scent of intruders in their domain. I’d fought the snarling creatures before and it wasn’t pleasant, especially when there was a bunch of them. It made things a whole hell of a lot worse.

We cut across one corridor after another following behind Nightshade as he raced toward what I hoped was an exit. He spun and turned down an adjoining hallway and before any of us could reach him, he was racing out of it waving us away as he ran in the opposite direction.

“Run!” he yelled as three Gremlins spilled out of the hallway chasing after him.

“Declan, Slade, see if that hallway is clear.” I pointed to where Nightshade had run out of as I grabbed Jess’ arm and raced after the Gremlins. “You’re with me.”

“We shouldn’t split up!” I heard Declan yell after us as we raced down the hallway.