Her First Mistake

Chapter Forty-Three: That's Rich

    Mrs. Leon turned out to be alright. She was a shapeshifter herself, something her attacker hadn't realized until it was too late. There wasn't a hair curler out of place as she came down the stairs with her bag. 

   Once I'd been told that the Enforcer camp had been notified that I'd be arriving, I didn't wait. I pulled the five of us into the nex tunnel and wound my way towards California. The air got thinner and warmer until we materialized in the middle of a tan desert. Solid sand hills made up the whole scene. The sun bore down on my face as I looked around. "This is where the nex tunnel ends."

   Tate nodded and started walking. His parents hooked arms and followed, since Mr. Leon was still blinded. Dad lingered behind me. "That's intentional. Death Valley is one of two places on the North American continent where there aren't any nex gates, lines, or tunnels. Anchorage is the other place."

   He seemed to know where he was going. I followed behind him and tossed away my staff to free my hands. Tate looked down at his chest and pulled out a small chain. A tag dangled at the end. Just as it came into the light, there was a small flash of yellow and it glowed. Tate turned to me and held out a hand. "You've got to be touching me to get inside the protection spells."

   His sincerity told me that he wasn't trying to trick me. I made a face and grabbed his hand. Tate looked back at his father. His mom smiled. "He's still got his emblem, he'll get in." She hooked her arm through Mr. Leon's and then dragged my father over, who spluttered slightly in surprise.

   Tate nodded and started walking, taking me with him. His hand practically dwarfed mine, considering he was much larger than I was. He wasn't sweating, either. I suddenly found myself self-conscious of how sweat prickled on my brow. How was he not sweating like crazy? It was already really hot and the sun had risen maybe half an hour ago.

   I felt the first sign of the protections Tate had mentioned. Yellow warped my vision and it felt like I stepped in front of a hot oven. Instinctively, scarlet dripped from my arms. They suddenly locked in place as the yellow protection spell froze the crimson. Tate halted. "Sorry. I should have warned you. You've got to stop using magic while walking through. Otherwise it locks you."

   "A warning might have been nice," I grunted. "It's a reflex reaction. You can blame Alexie for that." Any sign of magic I didn't know and my reflex was to conjure my own to defend myself. Helpful and a bit annoying at times. I closed my eyes and mentally shoved all magic off of my skin. I didn't do that very often, so it took a little longer to get rid of the crimson than it did to conjure it.

   Once all signs of magic left my arms, the yellow spell released them. I was able to move again. Tate led the way through whatever barrier the yellow created. After about a decent few minutes of walking, the hot air vanished and buildings appeared in front of me. They were bright and low to the ground in an attempt to conserve energy and war off the heat.

   Tate's shoulders slumped. I looked at him. "Is this your training camp?"

   He nodded. "This is where I've lived for the past two years."

   "That's a long time." When his fingers suddenly tightened, I remembered that he still had my hand. I let go and he released his grip. Yuck. My hand was sweaty. I wiped it on my pants and looked around.

   A man was heading towards us. He was a tall guy, one with arms as thick around as my head. His head was buzzed short and his skin deeply tanned. The tan was only a little darker than Tate's. So that's where Tate's tan had come from: Death Valley. The man wore camo pants of dark brown, tan, grey, and black, and a brown shirt.

   He brushed past Tate to shake hands with his father. "Good to see you."

   "You too, Lugo."

   The man clasped hands with Mrs. Leon before turning to Tate at last. He didn't offer his hand. Tate wasn't surprised. "Corporal Leon. I'm glad to see you're okay."

   Tate dipped his head. "You, too. Captain, this is Roxie. She helped me out of the Ghost Realm." 

   The man, Captain Lugo, turned a critical eye on me. I met them head-on. After a moment, Lugo smiled. "So you're the mage that has the world in an uproar."

   "That would be me. Thanks for taking in these guys." I jerked my head over at the parents. "And this is my dad. He's a bit of a handful."

   Dad snorted. "You're the one calling me a handful? That's rich."

   Captain Lugo sized him up before shaking hands. "You'll all be safe here," said the Enforcer. "Besides Anchorage, it's the safest place on the continent. I'd like to see Dani Darhk try to get through the protections. No one has managed it yet."

   I relaxed. "Thank you. We've already had a few close calls. My dad's going to need someone to stitch him up. He got stabbed."

   "Stabbed?"

   "I was wearing a vest," defended Dad. "It's not even that bad."

   Lugo seemed amused. "I sense some stubborn blood in this group. Who all is staying here? I only had a tentative number and the General still wants to know for sure."

   "Three," said Tate. "My parents and Mr. Reilly."

   I shot a look at him. "Aren't you staying?"

   Tate shook his head. "I'm coming with you."

   "That's the first I've heard of this decision . . . when were you planning on letting me know?" My tone was snippy. My eyes narrowed in on him. Tate met my eyes firmly and they were steely. For once, his expression was dark.

   "You're not the only enemy Dani has made, Roxie. She just tried to have my parents ambushed. She knows who they are and it's obvious that she'll attack them if she so much as feels like it." Tate's tone turned harsh. "I'm not going to forget that simply because you want me to." His fists were tight and his jaw clenched.

   I scrutinized his face before mentally backing down. Tate had a good point. I wasn't the only person who wanted Dani's blood. She had made other enemies. I had no plans on letting anyone else be the one to kill her, but I wouldn't stop anyone else if they wanted to go after her. I kept Tate's eyes, stormy grey colliding with rich brown. 

   "Okay." I nodded. Just as long as he doesn't get in my way. I looked towards Captain Lugo. He had been watching our interaction with mild interest. "You wouldn't happen to know where Dani is hiding, would you?"

   Captain Lugo shook his head. "No. But I hear that the Council has sent a group of individuals after her to figure that out. You might try appealing to them to get onto that team. They'll know the most about her whereabouts."

   My eyebrows lifted. I didn't like teams. I didn't work well with anyone else, but his point had merit. The Council was the magick government. They'd know the most. If they had a team dedicated to finding information on Dani, then I was getting onto that team. It'd be the best means of finding her. That team would lead me right to her, where I could finally take her down.

   "Anchorage, Alaska, right?"

   "Right. It will probably take a few days before the Council has an opening, but I'm sure they'll let you in."

   "Oh, I'm not going to sit around for that long. They'll let me in once I arrive." My lip quirked. "I don't like waiting."