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She shook her head. The Poofs moved closer and she sobbed. “Please, no. Take the monsters away. My God, my God, help me!”
I waited. Nothing. “Your God’s not here yet, Moira. I think it’s coming, and when it does, there will be some hell to pay. I’m going to make sure you pay it. Now, answer me—where was Kyrellis when you were following us?”
Her whole body jerked. “How . . . how do you know her name?”
“We have her. And we’ll kill her unless you tell me where she was. She won’t tell, but I’ll do all the things I told you and more if you don’t. I’ll let them eat her, slowly, in front of you. From the feet up.” I had a feeling the Poofs would do it, too, if I wanted them to. I hoped we’d stop Kyrellis before I wanted to.
Moira sobbed. “Don’t hurt her!”
“You didn’t care about James. You wanted to hurt him. You were happy to hurt him, happy that it was breaking my heart. Why should I care about your feelings?” She didn’t have an answer, and I hadn’t expected one. “Now, tell me—where was Kyrellis while you were following us?”
“If I tell you, will you promise not to hurt her?” Moira was begging.
“Yes.”
She nodded. “She was setting the bombs.” Oh, good, we were officially at DEFCON Worse. I almost felt kindly toward the spies—they’d only planted bugs.
“What bombs and where?”
“Bombs to destroy you all.” She said it calmly.
“WHERE?” The Poofs all snarled.
Moira looked at me as if it were obvious. “At the palace.”
“Palace? What palace?”
“Where you all live.”
We lived here and Caliente Base. No one would call either a palace. A horrible feeling came over me. “You think where we were when you attacked James is the palace, don’t you?”
“Of course.” She smiled. “Even if you have Kyrellis, the bombs will go off soon.”
“How soon?”
“When your sun is high. Fitting time to see a kingdom die.” She looked happy again.
I couldn’t help it. I leaned close to her and spoke softly. “Moira?” She nodded. “You know how I said I wouldn’t hurt Kyrellis?”
“Yes.” She sounded uncertain. Maybe she was looking at my expression.
“I lied.”
CHAPTER 34
I RAN OUT OF THE ROOM, Poofs behind me. “Drug that crazy bitch. Renata, forget it, we have bigger issues!”
“What the hell is going on?” Martini asked. “Your stress levels are off the charts.”
My phone rang before I could reply. Why now? I dug through and answered it, while I ran for the elevator, the others behind me. “Hello?”
“Kitten? Where are you?”
“Dad? Now’s a terrible time. I’m at the Science Center.”
“Why aren’t you in Vegas?”
We were in and I hit the button for the launch area. “Heading back there at warp speed, Dad.” I thought about it. “Why?”
He sighed. “Your mother’s waiting for you, and from what I can tell, things are a little tense with Jeff’s mother.”
I went cold. “What do you mean, Mom’s in Vegas?”
“Well, Kevin told her about how some of Jeff’s people were going to be there, and we figured it might be a good way to get to know them. She’s not alone. Your Aunt Karen and Aunt Ruth are with her, and Nana Sadie and Nona Maria are there, too.”
“Daddy?” I never called him Daddy any more unless I was freaked beyond belief.
He knew that, and I heard his voice shift. “What, Kitty? What’s wrong?”
“Call Mom. Get them out. All of them, out. Evacuate the entire complex. Tell her to do it fast.” I looked around wildly. “What time is it?”
“About eleven in the morning, why?” Christopher was giving me the look that said I was scary and strange.
“Dad, get them OUT! Do not go there yourself, you understand me? You stay away from Vegas and get them out of there!”
“Okay, I’ll call you back.” He hung up, and I hit the stop elevator button, then hit the one for the holding area.
“How bad is it?” Martini asked me quietly. “Your terror is so high I can’t read you correctly.”
“Worse than you can imagine.” The doors opened and I bolted out. “Chuckie!”
He ran to us. “What’s wrong?”
“We have spies,” Christopher offered. He didn’t sound like he thought this was worth panicking about.
“We have a lot worse than that.” I reached Chuckie and grabbed his arm as my phone rang again. “Dad, did you reach them?”
“No. Your mother didn’t answer. I tried several times. Either she left her phone in the room or they’re in the casino and can’t hear it. Should I call the hotel management?”
“No. I’ll take care of it. Keep calling, keep me posted.” I dumped my phone into my purse. “Everyone’s there. Jeff’s parent’s, Paul’s, Michael, my mother, my female relatives, the rest of Airborne. The Amazons weren’t the ones bugging your room. They were the ones setting bombs up to go off in the palace at the height of the sun.” I was shaking and shaking Chuckie. It didn’t seem to help.
“What palace?” Chuckie asked me, looking as confused as everyone else.
Martini grabbed my hand. “GLADYS!” The man was the king of bellowing
I heard the com activate. “Yes, Commander.”
“I want this live to all A-C perso
“Live, Commander, go ahead.”
“This is Commander Martini. All active Field and Imageering agents to Las Vegas immediately, unless dealing with a superbeing. If so, kill it, leave it, and get to Vegas. Bombs spread throughout, at least, the Mandalay Bay complex. We have no more than an hour to save tens of thousands, including our own people. Anyone who doesn’t pull weight answers to me when it’s over. Bombs are alien in nature, likely to look like something imitating nature. Move out, NOW.”
Gower and Tito appeared. “Ready,” Gower said.
Christopher grabbed Chuckie, and we all took off at hyperspeed for the launch area. Ran the stairs instead of the elevator—it was faster. Realized I should have mentioned it on the 15th floor. Decided to worry about the bigger issues.
“The entire city of Las Vegas imitates something,” Christopher said as we waited for an open gate and the humans all dealt with the aftereffects of the hyperspeed. Apparently all the gates had been calibrated for Vegas by the time we got up here, but there was a huge stream of A-Cs pouring through them, and we were at the back of the line. “The bombs are going to be impossible to find.”
“I can help,” Queen Renata said. “I will know them.”
“We need more than one person.”
“Chuckie, how many of those alien-detector things do you have?”
“On me? One. At my office in Headquarters? Plenty.”
“On it,” Christopher said. He grabbed Chuckie, and they disappeared.
“Where’re they going?”
“Operations,” Martini answered. Meaning where the Head of Security hung out. Meaning, I assumed, Gladys had a personal gate. Martini didn’t seem concerned, so I decided to focus on the bigger problem.
“What if the alien-detector things don’t work on the bombs? If only Renata can recognize them, we’re in trouble.”
“The others could assist as well,” Queen Renata said.
Alexander shook his head. “Not Lenore or Uma. Lenore has no idea, and Uma’s more on the side of Kyrellis than us.”
“What about the lizards, dogs, and cats?”
“They could, yes.” He looked uncertain. “Gregory could, too. We’ve seen the bombs.”
Martini grabbed two random A-Cs. “Get the prisoners in the holding cell. Everyone but the two women who look humanoid. The rest I want here before I go through. That’s fifteen seconds, tops.” They disappeared. “Describe the bombs.”
“They can look like more than one thing,” Queen Renata said. “But they will normally resemble a large, spiky fruit. I believe you call them pineapples here, or at least, your world’s equivalent.”