Night Rune (Prof Croft Book 8) by Brad Magnarella (best e reader for academics txt) 📕

“And the … demon-vampire?” he asked, peering past me.

Back on the couch, Arnaud had stopped smoking, thank God. Infernal energy was infusing into him again, and he’d stirred a few times.

“He’s a conveyance more than anything,” I said. “Once we’re home, we plan to annihilate him.”

“That sounds like bullshit,” Tabitha remarked through a mouthful of fish.

“It’s true,” I said, more defensively than I’d intended. “I promised someone.”

“Who? Everson’s future wife?” she scoffed.

“You said you came back to recover a friend?” he asked.

“Are you familiar with a Jordan Derrow?”

He repeated the name and shook his head.

“How about the Raven Circle?”

Recognition sparked in his eyes. “Yeah, they’re a druid group based out of Central Park.” He seemed to grow cautious. “Why?”

Not wanting to say anything that could spook him, I turned cautious myself. “Well, we think our friend might’ve gotten mixed up with them somehow. What can you tell me about them?”

“The name started showing up sometime last year. The nasties that inhabited the parks after the Crash were freelancers, mostly. Then this druid group arrived on the scene. I heard rumors about a turf war in Central Park. Next thing I knew, this group was running the whole show. And not just in Central. If you want to do business in any of the parks, you have to go through the Raven Circle.”

“We ran into some punks at Schurz Park earlier today who demanded tribute.”

“Yeah, they operate like a supernatural racket. Thankfully, the parks aren’t my beat.”

This sounded like Jordan and his fellow druids, but what had made them go full mafioso? Jordan might have originally seen it as the price of survival—then, like Gorgantha and Seay, forgotten he’d ever done anything else. I dragged a hand through my hair. Something had told me recovering him was going to be a pain in the ass.

“We think our friend is at Belvedere Castle.”

“Ooh, Raven Circle central,” he said. “I feel you.”

“I despise those filthy birds,” Tabitha remarked.

“That was one incident,” I shot back, knowing she was referring to the time a gang of ravens harassed her at Washington Square Park.

“And you did fuck all to protect me.” She blinked, then looked over at Everson. “Or are you to blame?” Deciding it wasn’t worth puzzling out, she exhaled and went back to work on her swordfish.

“Anyway,” I said, “if they have shifters and gangbangers at their beck and call across the city, we’re going to be dealing with a lot more than the Raven Circle. They’re probably communicating through druid bonds.”

“That you can scramble.” With a raised finger, Everson excused himself from the table. When he returned, he’d retrieved a map of the city that he proceeded to spread beside me. “I’m visual,” he explained.

“Yeah, me too.” I stopped. “Well, clearly.”

Everson smiled as he traced a finger around the section of park with Belvedere Castle.

Knowing where he was going, I said, “Bury copper at points along Seventy-second and Eighty-sixth and both avenues, push power into them until they link up, and presto, you’ve got a disturbance field.”

“That would work, right?”

“Sure, if I had the time to set it up.”

Everson cocked an eyebrow. “What about the help?”

“We’re back,” I called, stepping through the thin glamour.

As the clearing came into view, I was relieved to find my teammates there. At the same time, I was disappointed Malachi, Seay, and the others weren’t with them. On the taxi ride to Central Park, I’d been hoping hard for their return. Gorgantha received me with one of her monster hugs. Bree-yark, who had been walking a lap around the tree with Dropsy, smiled at me with his goblin teeth.

“How’s the hip?” I asked him.

“On the way to brand new. Thanks to you and Caroline.”

Caroline stood from the grass and shook some leaves from her cloak.

“How did it go with you?” she asked, glancing at Arnaud as she walked up to us. He was frail and shaky but recovering.

“Interestingly,” I said. “I was able to cook two batches of potions and do some research.” I decided not to bring up what Arnaud and I had discussed about the races as elements in Malphas’s “Night Ruin” scheme. I was still working it out in my mind, one. And two, I wanted our focus now to be on recovering Jordan and the druids.

“I also bumped into my time-catch self,” I added.

Caroline’s eyes widened, while Bree-yark and Gorgantha moved in to hear better.

“He caught me in his apartment, but it turned out to be a bonus. He had intel on the Raven Circle, a druid group running the parks in the city.” When Gorgantha frowned, I said, “Yeah, it’s Jordan’s circle.” I went on to share everything Everson had said and finished by telling them he’d offered to help.

“He’s here?” Bree-yark craned his thick neck around. “Oh, this I gotta see.”

“He’s actually working the perimeter,” I said. “Setting up a disturbance field so the Raven Circle can’t call for outside backup. He’ll signal me when he’s ready, but that’ll be the extent of his involvement.”

“Sounds like you have a plan,” Caroline said.

“A preliminary one.” I sat and unfolded Everson’s map.

Arnaud sank to the ground behind me, his muzzle back on. We had remained at the apartment until the demon-vampire was strong enough to walk under his own power. That gave Everson and me time to break down what we knew of Belvedere Castle and to talk strategy, all while ignoring Tabitha’s many digs. Eventually, Everson ordered her out onto the ledge and sealed the cat door behind her.

“Having two of you doesn’t just double the oppression,” she’d remarked on her way out. “It increases it exponentially.”

I lied and told Everson she would get kinder with age.

“All right,” I said, angling the map so everyone could see. “First, what’s the activity been like around here?”

“A group of punk asses walked by,” Gorgantha said, “but then they walked right back out.”

I nodded. “Everson thinks the mortals are working the smaller parks—like the group we met