An Uncommon Truth of Dying (Broken Veil Book 2) Read online

  “Damn it!” Caradoc grabbed a hammer and started smashing a number of the trackers. “Did you put a resurrection system in these? Now look! They’re all turning back on!” He didn’t wait for Mott’s answer as he finished off the fake bugs. He then scooped the remains and dropped them into his steel box.

  Mott looked as shocked as the rest of them. Except Harlie. He was focused on the screen with the camera on the parking lot.

  “I didn’t do that to them. In fact, I would have thought it would have been impossible with the secondary connections I’d added.” Mott scowled and looked toward the closed box. “They messed with my invention.” The tone of his words was that the most heinous crime possible had been executed on him personally.

  “Area 42? They might have folks who could change things like that.” Aisling didn’t have a hard time imagining them messing with his inventions, but Mott clearly did.

  “We need Reece to get his ass back here and start explaining.” Mott glared at the screen as if looking for Reece on the camera would help.

  “I think they are going to be busy for a while. They found a section of building that appears to be proving interesting.” Harlie hadn’t looked over but cut all the other screens so that the only one remaining was the parking lot and he enlarged it massively. “Yes, right there.” He’d found a laser pointer and circled something in the far-left corner.

  “I give up, what is it?” Aisling could see random letters on the concrete, but the damage was too severe to put together words. At least for her.

  Harlie pulled up another screen and put the words in place—then filled in the missing parts. “This was part of the commissary for Area 42. I think we found part of the missing building. Or it’s found us.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Are you sure that’s what it says?” Caradoc shoved aside his worry about the bugs for the moment and moved closer to the big screen. “There are very few intact letters.”

  Harlie glanced away long enough to give his little brother an eye roll. “This program was extrapolated from one of yours. Plus, they are making the same connection. Look at them.”

  He was right, the gaggle of people in suits, as opposed to the cops or firemen, were now swarming that one corner, effectively blocking it from Reece’s camera.

  “And now they are chasing off everyone else.” Stella shook her head and made a tsking sound as the cops and firemen returned to their vehicles, with a few suits making sure that happened. “They can’t keep trying to do this on their own.”

  “But that won’t stop them.” Aisling spotted some familiar people. “There’s Jones and Reece as well.”

  “We need a sample of that building debris.” Caradoc narrowed the camera as tight as it would go, but the Area 42 people were doing a great job of blocking it.

  Harlie peered at the image. “Agreed. If there is any psychic resonance on it, from wherever it came from, I might be able to pick it up.”

  “I was thinking more along the line of Mott and me doing a study on the elements on it.” Caradoc looked like he was already deciding what instruments to use.

  “Now, boys,” Stella said. “Both avenues of study are valid. But first we need to get a piece of that building.”

  “I doubt Reece would do it,” Aisling said, “even though he’s pulling us into this secret group with Garran and Surratt, he is still trying to stay in Area 42.”

  “We need to hide a piece from them, then pick it up once they leave.” Maeve broke away from staring at the two Nix photos. “We know they’re going to haul it off soon.”

  Middle of the day, middle of L.A., and Aisling knew Area 42 would still find a way to remove all the rubble. She had no idea how they were going to get a piece free before that happened.

  “That might be possible.” Stella was rubbing her chin and a small grin formed. “I know I couldn’t get close enough to steal a piece, but with the right disguise, I might be able to wander close enough to that far edge there to magically hide a piece.”

  As a changeling, and a powerful one at that, Stella was good at disguises. It was illegal for changelings to use their abilities for nefarious reasons, but she was just going to wander by a place of interest.

  “What spells are you thinking?” Harlie and Caradoc were both powerful magic users, but unlike Caradoc, Harlie actually followed the practice. Caradoc kept trying to find ways to do the same things magic could with technology instead.

  Stella tapped her chin as she thought. “I believe a shali hiding spell combined with a usibik repulse spell. There are several small, broken pieces in that far corner and it’s a good distance from the piece with the letters.” She was already planning her attack.

  “How much building do you need?” Aisling aimed the question squarely between Caradoc and Harlie. She agreed with Stella that both areas of study could help.

  “I won’t need much,” Caradoc said. “A spectral hythinator should give us some answers as to where that came from and what it is. It works on small amounts. Maybe a handful of material?”

  “That should work for me as well. It should also tell me if that is actually the building that left here or not. Depending upon who or what took it, they could have sent material to confuse the search.”

  “I’ll spell what I can. There will be a marker left by the hiding spell, once the Area 42 people leave you should be able to grab it.” Stella got to her feet. “Keep an eye on me on the screen.”

  Before Aisling could ask what she’d be going as, a short familiar black man appeared in Stella’s place.

  “Nice, but Reece and Jones will recognize you. Not to mention, you know Garran probably has eyes in the area as well.” Stella had used that disguise before when the police station had been attacked.

  Stella looked down with a scowl. “That’s what I get for not changing very often. Spell fall-back contamination.” She closed her eyes and a taller woman appeared. She looked human and possibly homeless. Or at least rough around the edges. “Bother. I was aiming for a man.” Stella looked down at herself. She changed again and appeared as a small male gnome. One who also had seen better days. “Perfect.” She started for the door.

  “We’ll watch you and call if anyone looks too interested,” Aisling said.

  “I’ll have my phone on vibrate. Ring if I need to bug out.” With a nod, Stella left.

  “What are the odds that’s not truly the missing building?” Aisling hadn’t thought of that until Harlie mentioned it. If someone could steal a building, faking part of it coming back to mess with Area 42 was possible. It depended on who took it and why. Neither of which they had answers for.

  “It’s hard to say. But everything must be examined.” Harlie winced as he scanned through a few of the closest cameras.

  “Your head still hurts?”

  “Yes. I have a bad feeling that building is directly responsible for the veil being open.” He scowled at the screen.

  “I wish I could—” Aisling cut off as she saw a dark shape on the camera. It was in all black with a tall old-fashioned hat. “A vallenian?” It was hard to tell as it kept drifting between the pieces of rubble. But considering that no one on the ground appeared to notice it, it could be. Or Aisling could have finally snapped.

  “Where?” Mott had drifted back working on his pad, but his head snapped up immediately at her words.

  “Right there. He’s by the edge where the partial words were.” He wasn’t easy to see, but there was no doubt that he was there. Aisling looked around but saw the same level of confusion on Mott’s face as that of everyone else. “Seriously? Harlie? Tell me you see him.”

  Harlie squinted at the screen. “I’m sorry. There is a disturbance of some kind in that area, something beyond our ken, but I don’t see an Old One.”

  “Damn it, why do I keep seeing them?”

  “Hey, I saw one before I knew what it was, but I don’t see it now.” Maeve gave an encouraging smile. “It doesn’t mean anything bad though. They might just like yo
u.”

  “Or she’s somehow tuned to them.” Caradoc squinted at the screen and looked annoyed. “I was in the area where she saw one, but I never saw it. Reece was there in Old Town, right? When you saw the three?”

  Aisling kept looking away, hoping the creature would vanish, but it was still there each time she looked back. “He was. He did see them right as they left that time. But not the first time they appeared. We had one follow us and he looked right where it was and saw nothing.”

  Harlie nodded slowly and kept his eyes on her. “I think we need to find out what is unique to you that you see them when your blood relatives don’t. But not right now.”

  Aisling rubbed her arms as a chill hit her. Logically, she agreed. They had a few more pressing things on their plates. Emotionally, she wanted them to fix it immediately.

  “Is that Stella? She moved fast.” Maeve called their attention to a smaller screen that was a block away from the parking lot. A semi-drunken appearing gnome was meandering down the street. He appeared to be wandering, but he was making good time.

  “And the vallenian is right in the corner she’s going to visit.” The vallenian had stopped passing through the rubble but was watching everything from the corner in question.

  “And no one is even looking over there,” Maeve said.

  “I have to distract it.” Aisling got to her feet. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but if the vallenians kept appearing to her and not others, it might mean there was a connection. That thought didn’t make her happy, but it might come in handy in this case. Having Stella run into one could be a bad thing. This wasn’t the time to test their theory that vallenians didn’t kill people.

  “What if it is helping us out?” Harlie watched Aisling carefully. “You want Stella to be successful and now no one in a group of thirty are remotely near the spot she’s heading toward.”

  “You now think that because I can see them, I’m influencing them?” Aisling looked around the room. No one was disagreeing. “Seriously? How can I control them? And if I could, wouldn’t I have used them to save me? On any number of adventures, such as facing off against Nix?” He’d buried her in a landslide of rock in the tunnel he was using to store his iron death drug. She still had nightmares about it.

  “Like when they appeared when you and Reece were trapped in that gang war? And they appeared to save you both from certain death?” Caradoc’s face now echoed Harlie’s.

  “I didn’t call them! They were there when I came running out.” Aisling didn’t like the way this was going. Creatures used to scare fey children, shouldn’t be connected to her. At all.

  “And they just happened to freeze time so fifty or so gang members, heavily armed, mind you, didn’t even see you.” Now Maeve was getting in on things.

  “Everything happened extremely fast.”

  “Point is, we can’t prove or disprove any impact Aisling might have on them right now. And Stella’s getting awfully close to that corner.” Maeve pointed toward the screen.

  “The vallenian is still there.” Aisling shook her head. “I don’t think we can count on him being on our side to keep the Area 42 people from noticing Stella. Or to leave her alone. They have their own agenda.” It was specifically hanging out in that one spot for a reason. Just because their recent encounters with the vallenians hadn’t left anyone dead, dying, or dragged back through the veil didn’t mean that was their new status quo.

  “Agreed. Let’s make you look less like you.” Caradoc rubbed his hands together.

  “Can’t I just wear a baseball cap and sunglasses? It works for vid stars.”

  “Actually, it rarely works for them but that’s what they want.” Mott’s eyes lit up. “Which might work too.”

  “A vid star walking by that group of hardened Area 42 agents isn’t going to distract them.” Maeve shook her head. “But one being chased by something large and scary might?”

  Caradoc and Harlie looked at each other and grinned.

  Aisling didn’t like that grin. “Just what are you two thinking about?”

  “Not a thing that will harm a hair on that lovely blonde head, sister mine.” If Caradoc’s grin got any larger it could be used to flag down wayward ships from rocky shores. “I have a baseball hat and some fancy shades in my car.” He threw his keys at her.

  “I need to know what’s going to happen.”

  Maeve shared a look with the brothers then turned back. “Might be more realistic if you didn’t.”

  “You too? Fine, keep an eye out and move fast.” She opened the door. “Because I will be.” She vanished. Or appeared to. When elves wanted to, they could move faster than most beings could see. Except other elves.

  Aisling ran to Caradoc’s car, found the hat and shades, locked the car back up, and started walking quickly—but not elf-running-for-her-life quickly. Whatever they had to surprise her would be moving quickly too. There were enough elves in the Area 42 group that they’d see her high-speed run, but it would be better if all of them first saw her.

  She slowed down as she came out of an alley a block away from the parking lot. She was surprised that Area 42 didn’t have the zone blocked off. Then again, they were shorthanded, and blockades caused questions. Whenever they’d been involved in needing a blockade before, it had always been something set up by the L.A. police. Since they were avoiding them, she could get why Area 42 didn’t have one. She kept an ear out for whatever it was her brothers were planning on surprising her with. She got a few stares from passersby across the street as they tried to figure out which tall, leggy, possibly famous blonde might be drifting through the bad part of town, but no sign of anything scary.

  The only tip-off she got was a slight scraping sound as a huge, clawed foot lifted off the ground behind her. She spun and screamed. A real scream, they’d worked that surprise out well. A snog monster was right behind her.

  Snog monsters didn’t exist outside of a fairy tale her mother used to tell her. About three feet high, they were all claws and teeth and ate bad elf children. Yes, as an adult she knew they weren’t real. But the five-year-old child inside of her screamed again and took off running.

  The timing was perfect. She tore past the parking lot at almost elvish speed and the Area 42 people instinctively went after the monster.

  Everything would have gone great if the vallenian hadn’t appeared right in front of her.

  Chapter Eight

  She skidded to a stop, the snog monster behind her scrambling as well. The Area 42 people were almost upon her when the vallenian tipped his hat and motioned to the people behind her. Which shredded the snog monster image and pushed back the Area 42 people hard enough that most of them fell.

  Then he vanished.

  Aisling couldn’t be caught by the Area 42 people, so she kicked back into full speed and ran. She was still running a good five minutes later when her phone buzzed. She slowed down. “What?”

  “You’re clear.” Caradoc sounded like he’d been laughing before he called. “Not sure what you did to our monster or the agents, but none of them are following you, and Stella has our sample. You did such a good job pulling them away, she didn’t hide it, she grabbed it. You up to running back or should I come get you?”

  “I’ll get back there on my own. Just you and Harlie remember this moment—revenge can take time. But it will happen.” Sending a fictitious childhood monster after her was not cool. She clicked off the phone and took some deep breaths. After the vallenian had appeared, then vanished, she’d really sprinted. She wasn’t in bad shape, but she also rarely ran that hard. She jogged away, making a wide circle of the area to make sure she was clear of any straggling Area 42 agents. Then she kicked up speed and ran back to the diner.

  Reece still wasn’t back, and the others were all clustered around the far end of the table. They jumped collectively when she came in.

  Aisling gave all of them a long look. “I know all of his toys are tempting, and that in theory we’re going to be
one happy super-secret family, but are you ready for Reece to see whatever you’re doing? Not to mention, not sure how long until they can come back, but Garran and Surratt’s holograms appear about a foot from where you are. The receiver is in the ground right in front of the screen.”

  Caradoc sighed and uncovered the equipment he’d thrown a jacket over when she came in. “We could have kept it hidden.”

  “Can you do the same study with your own equipment?” Aisling knew patience wasn’t one of Caradoc’s strengths.

  “Yes.” He packed everything up, storing what looked like crumbled concrete and shards of steel and wood into yet another steel-lined box. Then he put back the large tech toys he’d borrowed into the storage area along one side of the room. He did give them a small pat and wistful sigh.

  “One advantage of magic.” Harlie smiled. He had a small portion of the same rubble Caradoc had, but his pieces were sitting in the middle of a brightly colored piece of silk.

  “And Garran and Surratt could still appear, and you’d have to scramble to hide it. Not to mention that I’m not even sure Reece hasn’t got the place bugged.”

  “Oh, he does.” Stella was back to looking like herself. “But I can turn it off. You are correct though unless you want to share what we just did with them, you might want to wait until you all get home.”

  Harlie didn’t look as annoyed as Caradoc, but he carefully tied the corners of the silk square together and tucked it in his pocket.

  “So the vallenian was still there?” Maeve grinned as she finished a salad.

  “Yes. The nice snog beast these two sent got me in full speed as I passed the parking lot. The vallenian appeared directly in front of me. It defused the snog beast and sent the Area 42 people tumbling.” She hadn’t seen Reece or Jones in the ones following her, but it all happened too quickly.