Forged of Pure Magic (Relic Diver Book 3), page 1
Forged
of
Pure
Magic
Shawn Keys
For more information about the Author
Visit:
https://authorshawnkeys.wixsite.com/website
Cover Art by:
Christina Patricia Myrvold
Freelance Concept Artist/Illustrator
To view her portfolio, visit:
https://www.artstation.com/christinapm
See Discussion on this title and others on Facebook:
Harem Lit Facebook Discussion Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1520110688072405/
Originally Published by Shawn Keys
Copyright © October 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7771641-7-1
Contents:
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Prologue
Nelson Simms jammed a toothpick into his mouth and worried at a seed bothering him where it had gotten stuck behind a tooth. The sandwiches they’d had delivered had been tasty but a little heavy on poppy seeds in the crust. With a groan, he settled onto the picnic tabletop, planted his feet on the seat and stared out over the dark grounds of the former safe house.
A little less than a week prior, the acreage bordering on the lake in the back country of eastern California had been the temporary home to an important couple: Nora and Justin Laviolette. Another similar location not far away had been used for Regina and Bertran Valemount, where Nelson’s partner Ciara Tamlen watched over them with her team. Their daughters, Angelica and Kaylee had hired them through their protection firm. The task: to conceal and protect the couples from the enemies of their daughters. Their parents were at risk of becoming hostages or being killed outright in an act of petty revenge.
Then came the half-panicked phone call out of nowhere; what their clients had described as a monster had tried to kill a friend of their daughters. They hadn’t provided any details. Nelson had the distinct impression that they had been sure he wouldn’t believe the truth of what was happening. He didn’t know what to think, but the phone call and the disaster in Denver, where a modestly sized skyscraper had been carved out by a series of mysterious explosions and collapsed under its own weight, had occurred almost simultaneously. He didn’t know what that meant, but coincidences had always tasted bad to him.
In the end, it didn’t matter. The phone call had ordered to pull the two sets of parents out and place them in a hidden location, buried under another layer of secrecy. He’d executed the plan without question: that was protocol. Now not even the daughters knew where they were. Apart from the half-dozen agents who were still with the four parents, only Nelson and Ciara knew of their whereabouts. Not even their superiors back at headquarters were kept in the loop when this emergency failsafe was activated.
Ciara had gone along with them as the leader of the detachment. Nelson probably should have gone along as well. But he had always thought a good defense began with a strong, possibly deadly offense. Or at least… in this case… a defense in great depth. If this ‘monster’ followed the breadcrumbs here, Nelson would make sure to eliminate the threat before it ever got the chance to look for the second layer of their deception. If they simply vacated the acreage, that would risk leaving some clue behind and keep the trail alive for the so-called monster.
A chime in his earpiece told him he had an incoming call. The three-level tone identified the caller without looking: the senior watch officer at the data center back at his firm. It was a 24/7 service watching for specific cues on social media, news outlets and from other less reputable sources that might indicate one of their clients was in danger.
Nelson touched the receiver, sending the call to his ear. “Team 8 Commander speaking.”
“Evening, Sir. This is Harriet from the watch floor. I’ve received an information trip you may be interested in.”
“All business this evening, hey Harriet?” He grinned teasing her a little. They weren’t exactly on intimate terms, yet. But the flirtation had been mounting over their last few calls, and he had a hope that things might go somewhere with the lovely woman with what he thought of as a sexy voice.
“Anything else would be unprofessional,” she answered, trying to sound reproving but failing to disguise her pleasure at hearing his voice.
“Can’t have that. Then again, this is a closed circuit.”
With a note of prim humor, Harriet asked, “How would I know? You might be broadcasting this to your whole team just to prove how charming you can be.”
“You think I’m charming?”
“You think you are charming.”
“Ouch. So cold, Harriet!” He chuckled, then forced himself back on topic. He’d stay on the line after to have a little fun, but what she had to say might be time sensitive. “What’s the scoop?”
Her voice switched over to something more bent on business. “Your location is out on the market. So far it doesn’t have a lot of publicity on the black market, but it’s only a matter of time before it gets noticed by the paparazzi. Normally, the location of Angelica’s and Kaylee’s parents wouldn’t provoke much of a reaction. Considering how little they’ve been seen in public lately, various people might be desperate for any lead as to where they are stashed away.”
“Crap. That isn’t great news.” He mused. Laying a trap for a potential assassin was one thing. Risking the death of reporters… even scum from the tabloids… is something else entirely. “Thought we would have had a little longer to dangle the bait. I expected someone to ask the question first and look for an informant, not a general broadcast looking for a buyer. Who is selling?”
“A frequent flyer on the information peddling boards. Chara Martinez. She’s good. She tends to have things no-one else has.”
“So, what is she offering? General location?”
“Specifics. Address. General layout of the house and grounds. Even some details like cable runs and phone terminals they can tap.”
Nelson’s jaw clenched. Part of his job was to foresee problems like that. Not only was the address kept as a well-guarded secret, but his team had gone through the steps of digging into government and construction contractor data bases to erase a lot of that information. If anyone found out where they were, they wouldn’t be able to uncover things like ‘how to cut the phone lines’ and ‘how to shut off the power’. Not without a lot of extra work and money. Only now they could. He was silent for a while.
Harriet prompted him. “You know what this means. Not even the firm has that much information on the acreage. We weren’t hacked and we haven’t sprung a leak.”
“Yeah, I know. Protocol. Only one who would have all that is one of mine.” Something scratched at his mind. There was a detail that was off. He figured it out and asked, “Are they selling both locations? This was the Laviolette residence. Do they have the same data on where we had the Valemount couple hidden?”
“No,” Harriet answered immediately, sounding as if they had checked thoroughly before calling. “If this Martinez woman is holding it, she isn’t selling yet.”
“Huh,” he grunted. “Strange they wouldn’t offer both. Or mention that the Laviolettes aren’t even here anymore. If it’s a traitor on my team, they know damned well that they’ve been moved.”
“Maybe they just want to see a little action. Some adrenalin junkie who wants to make sure this assassin doesn’t miss. I’d say that narrows down who this could be.”
Nelson grunted again, “Yeah. Has to be Max, Henry or Julia. Those are the three the firm sent over to supplement the team for this ambush.” He still didn’t understand. If they draw this killer down on top of us, they’re going to risk dying right along with us. Gusty move. He got a little more thoughtful. Or are they even more cunning? They could be hoping that once I know our position is compromised, I’ll pull out and head for the hidden retreat, taking them along for the ride. Quite the risk, he thought.
Harriet said, “Can’t be Henry. He’s a former team leader who had a bad time of it three years back. Lost his team. Still wants to help people but is nervous about what’s going to happen with his next combat action. Doesn’t want any of the responsibility. Having been in your shoes, I can’t see him selling you out.”
Knowing that motivations were funny things, Nelson didn’t totally write him off. But he tended to agree. He’d talked to Henry over the few last days. He got the same feeling. The man was solid. Dependable. All the tension in the veteran was about what might happen the next time he took the safety off his weapon. “Can’t see it being Julia. She’s already semi-rich. Daughter of some tycoon. In it for the fun. Selling information doesn’t fit.”
“Unless like you said, it isn’t about being a traitor locating the Laviolettes and more about the thrill of the fight.” Harriet sounded like she was just as suspicious.
Nelson appreciated it, but once again it didn’t feel right. Not from the person he had gotten to know over the
“About two years ago.”
“Relative to when we started protecting these two families?”
“A month after the contract began.”
“Well, that’s something.” Was he a mole that dug into the firm to try and get close to the two sets of parents? That could lead to him being able to bribe his star clients or threaten their parents with harm. If so, that meant Max was playing a seriously long game. Not of that felt right to Nelson. If he’s been waiting his turn to get onto this team only to sell them out, he picked a strange way, and time, to do it. He roused himself from his thoughts. “Thanks for that. Let me know if you have any indication that anyone is buying.”
“Can’t, sorry. Secret sale and it isn’t exclusive. We bought a set just to see what she has. Anyone who put up the money has a copy.”
“Alright, thanks. I’ll start making plans to pull out within the next day. Let me know if you get any hint at all that the media has it.”
“I will. You owe me one.”
“What? This is your job, you know. You get paid to watch my back.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and collect. Maybe you can watch my back for a while. That’d pay me back nicely,” she tossed off as a parting shot. The connection ended.
Nelson smirked, suddenly looking forward to this mission being over. A little time back at the firm sounded really good. These deep protection details could last a while. Building trust with the client was important, so you couldn’t rotate the teams out too often. He’d been with the Laviolette couple for nearly a year. He hadn’t had any reason to stop him from signing on for another year. Maybe he did now, though.
Shaking that off, he pushed off from the table and prowled around to the front porch. Checking his locator display, he followed Max Clemens’ electronic marker. The man had cached himself on the stairs dipping under the porch and headed for the basement entrance.
Nelson wasn’t trying to be sneaky but he was naturally agile and walked quietly. He made no deliberate effort to let the man know he was coming, either. He was glad that he did. It let him catch a glimpse of a glowing screen and the scroll of a texting window before Max could hide it away. Nelson stormed down onto the steps, snarling, “What the hell are you doing?”
Knowing he had been seen, the wiry soldier didn’t try to avoid the question or pretend it hadn’t happened. He squared his slim shoulders and met Nelson eye to eye. “Had to be this way, commander. Needed to nudge things along. Can’t have this monster crawling around the countryside killing people.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Heard you talking to some of the others. Gossiping about the Denver incident. The timing wasn’t a coincidence. You were right. The killer coming after these clients of ours is the same one that brought down that tower. You have no idea what you’re dealing with here. The longer it’s hunting, the more death there will be. We needed him to take a piece of bait that we control. Just like you intended when you stayed behind.”
“Who the hell do you think you are? You’re hanging our team out to dry!”
Max flashed him a dark smirk. “Thought you wanted a shot at this assassin.”
“Don’t fuck with me. You fed enough detail to that informant to place us at a massive disadvantage!” Nelson held himself back from slugging the smug asshole in the mouth.
“Had to make it tempting. Look, nothing has changed for you. This creature is coming. If we can take it down here and now, that’s better than being caught by surprise.” Max tried to sound encouraging. He didn’t sound genuine.
“Creature. Monster.” Confusion and frustration combined to give Nelson a bad feeling which crawled up and down his spine. “Why does everyone keep using words like that? What the hell is going on? What do you know?”
Before Max could answer, Nelson’s display chirped at him. He glanced down and saw one of the blips flash red. Their tracking system wasn’t incredibly advanced, but they did all have heart monitors. A red light meant a heartbeat wasn’t detected. Not infallible. The sensors could fail. Although they haven’t yet while we’ve been here, Nelson growled to himself, hating the suspicious timing.
Max caught sight of his own display. This time, the apology that came to Max’s face was all too real. “I’m sorry I had to drag you into this. I really am. The thing coming for us is a nightmare that you really didn’t want to meet.”
“You fucking idiot. There’s a difference between laying a trap and being a sitting duck. You’re going to get us all killed!” Nelson opened his comm circuit. “Glen? Answer me!”
Rather than getting his answer, another of the blips went red on his display. Carla was down. Two sensors failing was beyond unlikely, approaching impossible. This ‘monster’ was already inside the perimeter. His voice dropped lower, realizing their attacker might be able to hear him. He hissed into the radio circuit, “All positions, this is Alpha. Primary target is on the grounds. Does anyone have eyes on… him?” He had to fight against saying ‘it’. Max’s dire warning was getting to him. Fucker is making me squirrely.
“This is Zanders, negative.”
“This is Giles, swore I heard some sort of animal creeping around in the bushes. Sounded like a big, fuck-of-a-bear or something but I never saw it.”
“This is Darren. I’m with Mick. Got nothing.”
“This is Andrews, neg… hold on. I’m seeing some sort of – sweet mother of God, what the fuck – !” His voice cut off as the sound of automatic rifle fire blasted over the grounds. Nelson saw the muzzle flashes off to the left, down over a rolling hill. The bright staccato strobes pinpointed his location but didn’t last long enough to illuminate the threat. A second later, a blood curdling scream echoed from his location only to get choked off. Another blip went red.
Nelson was already running up the steps when Max grabbed him from behind. Nelson spun on him, “Don’t get in my way, you damned traitor!”
Max held his hands up, begging for him to wait. Then, he turned and fetched a pair of rifles from the darkness on the staircase. He tossed one to Nelson. “Assembled these myself. They’ll take a .458 lott hunting round. Don’t bother with that MP5. 9mm rounds will bounce right off this thing.”
Once again, Nelson paused. He knew he was wasting time. That might mean costing the lives of his people. But he couldn’t help it. “How do you know that?”
“Don’t trust me if you don’t want to. But it doesn’t hurt anything to have a bigger gun slung over your shoulder. It kicks like a mule, but you’ll drop anything short of an elephant.” He held out a bandolier of large bullets.
Nelson took the weapon and bullets, then planted a palm on the man’s chest, stopping him from walking away. “Who do you really work for?”
“Not gonna tell you, boss. But I’m in this just like you. Not gonna slip away. I didn’t sell you out. At least, I sold myself out right along with you. I don’t want to die, but I’m here for a purpose. It has to take the bait and die right here. Otherwise all this was for nothing.” A fanatical light shone behind his eyes, committed to this mad game.
Nelson shook his head, hating everything about that manic expression. “You’re bloody insane.” He jabbed his finger into the man’s ribs hard enough to bruise. “Stay out of our way or I’ll put you down myself.”
Once again, Max didn’t object, letting Nelson bluster at him.
That made it worse. Nelson wanted him to bite back. He wanted the traitor to give him an excuse to belt him in the mouth and send him rolling down the stairs.
Channeling his aggression, Nelson stormed off, spinning his MP5 around onto his back and slinging the bandolier over his other shoulder. He cradled the handcrafted .458 in his arms. As much as he hated to admit it, the traitor was right. A little extra firepower never hurt. Stomping out into the darkness, he whispered into his radio. “Talk to me people. We can’t let this bastard hunt us down one by one. Does anyone have eyes on Andrews?”
