Smoke Rising: Book III

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

The doors of my old office swing open and slam shut behind her. It's the first moment we've had alone in hours, and I've been dreading it since the second she discovered I didn't tell her about her home.

"I want to see it." It's the first thing she says. I'm afraid it might be the only thing she says.

"Okay." I try and remain calm. It's easy to fall back into the mannerism of a Commander. It's not so easy balancing it with being a boyfriend. "Emery, I'm sorry I didn't—"

"No." She raises her hand up to stop me. The anger in her eyes tells me all I need to know, but she continues regardless. "You don't get to apologize."

I swallow hard, choosing my next words very carefully. "You're right."

My response takes her off guard, the anger simmering to a low boil instead of a blistering heat ready to explode at any moment.

"You've been right about everything, from the day we met. About you using magic, about trying to rescue you from your father—twice. About it being our responsibility to try and save the people in this country, and about how to do it. You're right."

She grimaces. "I know I am." Her arms fold across her chest. "And I understand why you didn't tell me... but that doesn't make it okay."

I nod, pressing my lips into a hard line. She's a lot calmer about this than I thought she would be.

"I'm going to see it."

I nod again, agreeing. "Do you want my help arranging it?"

"I can manage." She leans against the back wall, sighing. "But I do need you to hold things together here. Almost every soldier was turned today. If they get trigger happy..." her voice trails off.

"I can do that. But I want to be there for you, if you want me to be."

She closes her eyes. "I'm leaving in ten minutes. Ling is the basement handcuffed to a pipe." She sets the keys to his cuffs on the table and begins to walk away. "See if you can talk some sense into him. I really don't want to kill him."

"I'll see what I can do."

She pulls the door open, and Blue is already outside waiting for her. She gives me a look, one that screams 'you are in some deep shit Jackson.'

Like I need to be reminded of that.

I don't know if seeing her hometown in ashes will help her, or if it will just push her deeper in the hole she's in, but I remember what Evelyn said, and what I know to be true. She can take care of herself.

She is probably the most powerful Caster alive. Which is both a problem, and some kind of miracle. How in the hell did I find and fall in love with someone so damn incredible? How did I get her to love me back?

"Commander Jackson?" Beecham steps into the office, and I'm about ready to scream. "I mean, what am I supposed to call you?"

"How about just Jackson?" I sigh, tapping my fingers against the back of a rolling chair at the wooden table in the center of the room.

"Alright, Jackson," Beecham smiles. "We are sending six teams of four to retrieve our families. We're going to start at the furthest homes first, then work our way closer. We believe this will cause the least amount of suspicion to be raised. That way, by the time we get to the city and other high populated areas, we'll have gotten everyone else already."

"Great," I want to roll my eyes, but stop myself. "Do you need something from me?"

"Well, not exactly sir. I just thought I'd let you know that Commander Ling was on a call with the Chancellor and the other Commanders when you guys... um—cut the connection. If Ling doesn't contact him soon, it'll be very suspicious."

Awesome. I groan, sitting in a chair and running my fingers through my long, ungroomed hair.

"I hate to give you more bad news but The Chancellor has Ling's newborn baby under surveillance. If he makes a mistake..." he doesn't finish, but he doesn't need to.

"So we need to get Ling's daughter, probably before he'll make the call."

"Yes, sir."

"I need Huxley Hendrix. Can you find him for me?"

"Yes, sir."

"When you do, escort him to the basement where Ling is being held."

"Yes, sir."

I head there now. If I'm going to step back into this role, I'm going to need his help. I can't be seen, and I trust Huxley with my life... and Ling's baby's.

The Commander is right where Emery left him, a few extra bruises and cuts thrown in, however. I relieve one of Blue's goonies from his post guarding Ling, and tell him to wait outside. He doesn't ask any questions, and I'm assuming Blue has told them to do whatever I say. They're loyal, I'll give her that. They just need to lay off the protein shakes and steroids.

"How are you holding up?" I say, crouching by Ling and unscrewing the cap of a water bottle.

"I have to piss and I'm pretty sure your girlfriend broke my nose."

I can't help but chuckle. "Yeah, she does that."

"I wish you would have never made me Chancellor."

I press the bottle of water to his lips and give him a drink.

"You wanted it."

He coughs, choking on the water. "I was an idiot. You should have told me to stay where I was."

I look at the closest thing to a friend I had for years. He was with me on my first mission. I wonder if he'll be with me on my last. "Is it a boy or girl?" I ask, trying not to give too much away.

He glares at me, but maybe it's just the swollen eye. "Girl. Her name is Isabella. Mandy wanted a normal name... less Asian." He rolls his eyes, but he smiles. He loves his wife, and now, his daughter.

"I'm going to rescue them, Ling."

Horror hits him, taking hold. "No—please. You don't understand. If you so much as show your face, he'll kill her and my wife. He has the whole place rigged."

"Ling," I put my hand on his shoulder. "In all the years you've known me, have you ever known me to be a complete idiot?"

He makes a face, and I laugh. "I mean, Emery has made you a bit... insane."

"Yeah, well Emery is gone. Right now, my only concern is getting your daughter and wife to safety. But to do that, I need you to make the call."

He leans his forehead against the pipe and closes his eyes. "Jackson, you know I can't—"

"Yes, you can. Almost every single soldier in the base switched sides today. And I know you Ling. You will too."

At least, I hope he will. For both our sake.

I give him a minute to process, but not a second longer. "By now you've probably heard I'm a half-blood."

Ling peels his good eye open. "What?"

"I'm what they call a Shadow Caster. Those months we spent in the Amazon looking for that Caster woman, I was able to keep us alive by using my magic. I was also able to find her by going into what my people call Shadow form."

"No, I didn't hear any of this. What the hell Jackson, why didn't you ever tell me?"

"It was too risky... But I'm telling you now because I have people—A friend that I know can get your family out safely." I pull the handcuff keys from my pocket and jingle them in front of my face. "Listen to my plan, and then decide about the call. Deal?"

He mulls it over silently, and then shrugs his shoulders. "It's not like I have much choice here."

No, he really doesn't. I push the key into the lock and twist. His arms collapse, and Huxley walks in behind us.

"What's up boss?"

Ling gives me a look, and I can't help but laugh. If any of my soldiers ever spoke to me like that, I'd have had them doing laps around the base until their feet bled.