Blade Bound

   “After the puff-of-smoke trick she pulled at Towerline, she may not leave on foot,” Catcher said. “And more people means more casualties if she does pull something.”

   Not a comforting point.

   “We don’t know precisely what she’s planning until we know it,” Mallory said. “In the meantime, we plan for what we can. If Sorcha’s working alchemy, knocking out her crucible would be a good start, if it’s there.”

   “Northerly Island is within the wards,” Catcher said. “So she can’t arrive magically without our knowing it.”

   “And in case she tries to come into the city some other way, sneak behind us?” Luc asked.

   Jeff nodded. “I’ve tied the wards into a visual monitor, so if she breaches them, we’ll know where and can plan accordingly.”

   “That won’t give us much advance notice,” Ethan said, “but it’s better than nothing.” He leaned back, hands linked in his lap, and closed his eyes. “We’ll know when she arrives. We’ll have six sorcerers on the ground to battle her, plus Mallory and Catcher. At least a few vampires with the SWAT members, all of whom will have weapons. We’ll make sure the House is protected in the interim.” He was quiet for a moment, then opened his eyes, looked around at us. “What are we missing?”

   “Allies?” Luc asked. He’d crossed his arms over his chest, rocked back on his heels. “She might bring someone else.”

   “Is there anyone she hasn’t made an enemy of?” Catcher asked, glancing at my grandfather.

   “Not that I’m aware of,” he said. “The fairies might be the best option, simply because their allegiance is always, apparently, for sale. But I don’t think Claudia would allow that here. Not after what she said to you. She may like her new power, but it doesn’t sound like she’s comfortable with the power Sorcha has.”

   “We need escape routes,” Ethan said. “The SWAT team will have mapped out ingress onto and egress off the island, but I don’t think we should take for granted the possibility that they’d help us get away.”

   I thought of Lane’s words. “Not if we’re just ‘supernaturals’ involved in a feud.”

   “And not if they want to leave Sorcha with something to work on while they get away,” my grandfather said. “I don’t like to think of CPD officers as being that cowardly. But their training didn’t prepare them for this. Not for Sorcha and her magic.”

   Ethan nodded. “We’ll want alternate means off the island.” He glanced at my grandfather. “A helicopter would be useful.”

   My grandfather nodded. “I’ll check on that.”

   “I might know someone with a boat,” I said, thinking of Jonah and the speedboat the RG used to get to its HQ—the lighthouse in the marina near Navy Pier. I’d have to give him a call. I wasn’t on the best of terms with the RG right now, as I’d given them a pretty tough lecture about being a little more walk, a little less talk. But maybe we’d finally catch a break—and maybe the ice would break enough to make it useful. “I’ll check.”

   “If we’re separated, get back to the House.” Ethan looked at Luc. “Suggestions for an extraction point downtown?”

   Luc pulled up a map of Chicago, zoomed in to the Museum Campus, looked around, aimed the laser pointer at Soldier Field. “Here,” he said. “Easy foot access, easy car access. And if we run this thing tight to dawn, there’s shade.”

   “Agreed,” Ethan said. “Put Brody there in the SUV. Contact the security company, get a blackout vehicle ready just in case we need a daylight extraction.”

   “Roger that,” Luc said. “If we cut this close, get to the stadium and into some shade. They’ll find you, bring you home.”

   I didn’t like that option—the vulnerability of being carted out of downtown Chicago unconscious during sunlight hours—but there was no help for it, so I nodded. Sorcha had probably done this on purpose, I realized. Made the deadline dawn, to create the possibility the sun would take us out without any effort on her part, and make us more nervous about the entire thing.

   “And we have egress,” Ethan said, looking around. “Me, Catcher, Luc, Lindsey, and Juliet on the ground. Brody in the vehicle. Kelley at the House, in charge of security.”

   “On that,” Kelley called out from her spot across the room at one of the security monitors.

   Ethan looked at Jeff and my grandfather. “You want to be stationed in the van, I assume?”

   “It gives us eyes, ears, and movement,” my grandfather said. “That would be my suggestion.”

   “And quick access to research, information,” Jeff put in. “Just in case we need something.”

   “Google Magic?” I asked with a smile.

   “That’s actually a thing,” Catcher said dourly.

   “But he hates it, and don’t get him started,” Mallory said. “We don’t have near enough time for that conversation right now.”

   I was glad to see the smile on her face, particularly when it was directed at teasing her husband.

   “Anything else?” Ethan asked.

   “We’ll have to be prepared for this to go tits up,” Luc said. “Because I’d say the odds are pretty good of it. I’d suggest our goal is the absence of casualties. Anything beyond that is a blue ribbon.”

   “On a pig,” Lindsey agreed.

   “I’ll suggest again,” Luc said, “that you consider putting your own spin out there. We have a PR staff.”

   “We do,” Ethan said. “And the House will provide a statement as it always does.”

   “Sire, it’s time to do more than that. You need to be out there, out front, the face of the Chicagoland Vampires.” He cleared his throat, as if preparing himself. “Celina did it.”