Crucible Steele (Daggers & Steele Book 5) (26 page)

Somewhere, deep beneath the oily mixture of fear and calm that lay over my thoughts, I heard my feet pounding against the wooden planks. I heard the roar of the fledgling dragon, the iron rattle of a cage door being shut, and the cry of a Wyvern. I saw a man turn—a man with long hair and an eye of purest white. I heard the air crackle and felt the hairs on my arms rise.

I flew as fast as my feet could carry me. He raised his hands. I clenched my jaw and shut my eyes.

A flash split the air, and the roar of thunder crashed into my ears. A tingling sensation coursed through me, as well as several sharp shocks, at my wrists where my gloves met the sleeves of my hauberk and on my cheeks where my mask must’ve failed me.

I yelped, but momentum was on my side.

I slammed into Lazarus as I opened my eyes. A whoosh of air left his lungs, and something crunched as we hit the deck, possibly one of his ribs. I lifted a fist and slammed it into his temple, and the light that burned in his one good eye went dark.

Around me I heard a whump, a thump, and a splash. Two of the Wyverns went down under Quinto’s heavy hand, and the third had dove into the water to avoid Rodgers’ wrath. Several paces behind me, a scorch mark blackened the wooden planks, a fire smoldering at its center.

I wasn’t worried about the escapee. Somebody would catch him, sooner or later. Rather I turned my eyes back to the boat to check on my partner. Despite the danger to my own person, I’d almost worried more about her than myself. She’d already been abandoned and kidnapped once today, after all.

She’d climbed onto the dock and was headed our way. She shot me a thumbs up and a smile. Surprisingly, I was able to do the same.

41

I turned the knob and stepped into the interrogation room, the dark, dingy, depressing one in our basement near the morgue. A chill ran down my spine, more from the mood in the air than the ever-present subterranean chill.

Lazarus sat in a chair in the middle of the room, his hands cuffed and chained to a metal table that in turn had been bolted to the floor. The setup concerned me, but I was certain Shay and Cairny had signed off on the arrangement. A couple of cops stood guard inside the room, and they were still alive, so I supposed it must be safe enough.

I took a seat across from Lazarus, who followed me with his right eye. Other than the scrape along his temple left from the blow of my mailed fist, he seemed no worse for wear, though his breathing did seem shallow. Perhaps I
had
broken a rib.

The Captain stepped through the interrogation room’s open door. He nodded to the bluecoats. “Dismissed, men.”

The two cops glanced at each other, but they knew better than to argue. They left and closed the door. The Captain took the only other seat available.

Lazarus and the bulldog stared at each other. A moment stretched into twelve winks. The air crackled, but not with electricity—rather simple tension. I considered opening my mouth, but I didn’t. Let one of them break the ice.

The Captain finally took the lead. “Been a long time, Lazarus.”

Laz’s voice came across as pained, but whether from his rib or something more nebulous, who knew. “Likewise, Abe.”

Another moment stretched into an eternity.

“So…” asked the Captain. “What’ve you been up to over the years?”

“Really?” said Lazarus with a raise of his brow. “That’s how you’re going to play this?”

The Captain snorted and shook his head. He gazed at the wall. “All this time—over twenty years, now—I thought you’d acted as an informant for us. Turns out it was always the other way around, wasn’t it?”

Lazarus scowled and leaned over the table. “What do you want me to say, Abe? That you’re wrong? That I don’t know what you’re talking about? That I’m sorry?”

“That is wasn’t all a lie would be a start,” said the Captain.

“What wasn’t a lie?” said Laz.

Captain met the man’s eye. “Our friendship.”

I blinked. I still hadn’t said a word, and I didn’t plan on changing that now. Things had taken a decidedly odd turn.

Now it was Lazarus’s turn to snort. “If you think it was a lie, then you’re blinder than I am.”

“And how do you figure that?” asked the Captain.

Lazarus jerked his thumb at me the best be could, given his shackles. “This lackey of yours is still alive, for starters.”

“And Griggs?” said the Captain.

Lazarus averted his eyed. “Griggs was never a friend, and it wasn’t my fault he got the short end of the garrote. He was in too deep with the Wyverns.”

The Captain slammed his fist into the table. “You killed him!”

“I did what I had to!”

Spittle flew. Lazarus matched the bulldog heat for heat. I could’ve cut the air with a knife.

Red bloomed in the Captain’s jowls, but it was short lived. When again he spoke, it was in his usual, measured, mirthless tone. “What was he up to? What did he know? Did Griggs uncover your dragon plot? Is that why you murdered him?”

Lazarus turned his head. “I think it’s time I get my lawyer.”

The Captain stared at Laz. I don’t think I could ever recall such disappointment in his face. “So that’s how it ends? Played out in the courtroom? You don’t even have the
balls
to tell me the truth?”

Lazarus snorted again. “As if the truth mattered.”

“Doesn’t it?” asked the Captain.

“What matters is the narrative,” said Lazarus. “And between you, me, Griggs, and the Wyverns? Trust me. I may not be police, but I know how this’ll play out. Exactly as you’ve outlined. Now get me my lawyer. You owe me that, if nothing else.”

The Captain clenched his jaw. For a moment I thought he might speak, but instead he rose, opened the door, and stepped out.

I turned my gaze back to Lazarus, still trying to process everything. What hadn’t the Captain told me? How well did he really know Lazarus? And what about Griggs?

“Why
didn’t
you kill me?” I asked.

Lazarus lifted his head, his one seeing eye cloudy. From pain, or guilt perhaps?

“Why are you still here?” he said.

“Seriously,” I said. “The first time. In the cistern. You could’ve struck me down like a gnat.”

“You think I lied to Abe?” he said. “You’re more clueless than I thought.”

So the lightning mage turned smuggler
did
consider the Captain a friend? “I’m still a little fuzzy. In the end, was Griggs on our side, or yours?”

This time the air crackled for real.
“Get out.”

I did.

I found the Captain in the hallway outside, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a scowl firmly planted across his face.

I struggled as I tried to collect my thoughts. Sleep deprivation wasn’t helping me any. “I, uh… Maybe I shouldn’t have been in there.”

The Captain waved me off. “Don’t worry about it, Daggers. There aren’t any secrets between us. Not any more.”

I wasn’t so sure about that.

I stuffed my hands in my pockets. Now that we’d retreated to the hallway, I felt the chill more keenly. “Well, at least we got him, right? Griggs’ killer, and Barrett’s in all likelihood. This is a victory.”

“Of sorts,” said the Captain. “Yes, we got him. But he wasn’t the Wyvern’s head. I may have been wrong about Lazarus—clearly I don’t know him as well as I thought I did—but I know the
kind
of man he is. You may have seen him shouting orders in that underground den, but there’s someone above him. Someone who’ll keep the Wyvern machine humming, even after the loss of their dragons—or at least those we managed to impound at the cistern exits. In some form and by whatever means necessary, they’ll live. And believe me when I tell you, they’ll remain powerful, though it might take them a while to rise from their ashes.”

“So, you’re saying they’re more like phoenixes than wyverns?”

“Please, Daggers. I’m not in the mood.”

“Sorry.” I waited a moment before broaching the obvious question. “So…what about Griggs?”

“Externally? He can be a hero. But internally?” The Captain shook his head. “People will hear snippets and tidbits, even before the trial, and for the most part folks around here have pretty good heads on their shoulders. There’s too much doubt, Daggers. That’s where Laz was right. The truth probably doesn’t matter. The narrative does.”

I didn’t really want to ask, but I had to. “And how does the narrative portray you, Captain?”

The old jarhead sighed. “I knew a major Wyvern player, Jake. Not as well as I thought, but I knew him. That’ll come out. No way around it.”

I stared at the floor as a hole grew in the pit of my stomach.

The bulldog clapped me on the shoulder. “Hey. Buck up. You did your job. Admirably, despite conflicting information and orders. Don’t worry about me. I’ll pull through. You on the other hand should go home. You look like you haven’t slept in a week.”

“I napped yesterday late afternoon.”

“That was longer ago than you realize.”

He pointed in the direction of the stairs, and I started to move.

“Daggers.”

I stopped and turned.

“Thanks,” said the Captain. “For everything. I owe you.”

I just nodded.

42

Sunlight streamed through the windows and into the pit as I reached the top of the stairs. Based on the shadows, I figured it had to be at least ten o’clock. Probably closer to eleven. Surprisingly enough, the demon who lived inside me hadn’t gnawed a hole through my stomach yet. Chances are he was asleep, as I should be.

I cast my gaze over to my desk and found Steele seated on the edge of hers, looking fresh and lovely and no worse for wear despite the lack of sleep and overnight imprisonment. Rodgers and Quinto stood to her side, chatting her up. I made my way over and joined the party.

“You’re back,” I said.

Rodgers gave me a tired nod, one that Quinto mirrored.

“How’d it go?” I asked. “Good, I assume, if you’ve already returned.”

Quinto nodded. “Yeah. Once Bonesaw came to understand the magnitude of the charges against him, he basically gave up. Thought he might get a little leniency if he stopped making our lives hell.”

Following our takedown of Lazarus and the Wyverns, while Steele and I’d wrapped up the loose ends and pulled on the corners of the police net we’d set up, I’d sent an unenthusiastic Rodgers and Quinto to take care of some business that had nagged at me since my last encounter with the ogre. It sounded as if they’d gotten what they’d needed.

“So,” I said. “Did you find her?”

“Your elf friend, Kyra?” Rodgers nodded. “She was in Bonesaw’s apartment. In a back room, tied and gagged and generally frightened half to death.”

“Meaning she was alive,” I said.

“Yes,” said Quinto. “So we can’t add murder to the charges against Bonesaw. But between grand theft, aggravated assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder of a police officer, he’ll be going away for a
long
time—despite his eventual cooperation in the interrogation room.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “How’s Kyra?”

“Now?” said Rodgers. “Surprisingly okay. She’s a tough cookie. Though she’s missing a finger. One of our medics patched her up, and she’s in the process of giving her statement.”

Shay made herself known. “I wonder how much of your escapades with the Wyverns are going to make it into said statement…”

I’d given Steele and the gang a rundown of my clandestine activities while we’d prepared to raid the Wyvern base, even if I hadn’t gone into much detail.

“Given what she’s been through, I’m inclined to let it slide,” I said. “Besides, other than the theft of the hummingbird brooch, I don’t think she committed any crimes during our time together, and I don’t actually have any evidence that ties her to that particular theft. I assume it was her based on how the crucible games went.”

“Games?”
said Steele.

“I’d say so, yes. To be honest, I’m still not sure if they made the whole thing up to keep me busy or if real Wyvern recruits are put through similar tests. And speaking of the crucible, any word on Cobb?”

Shay shook her head. “As far as I know, none of the teams at the cistern exits found him.”

“Which means he’s still out there.” I clenched my teeth. While Lazarus’s interrogation had firmed my suspicions about him and Griggs, that didn’t exonerate Cobb from wrongdoing. I was sure the pale-skinned Wyvern played a greater part in the tangled web than we knew. Perhaps he’d murdered Barrett? Either way, I hated knowing he still roamed the streets.

Shay knew me too well. “We’ll find him.”

Rodgers nodded. “We’ve got so many Wyverns in custody now that the ones who got away won’t be able to hide for long. Especially now that we’ve got their leader behind bars.”

Given what the Captain had told me, I wasn’t sure either statement was true.

“Speaking of which,” continued Rodgers, “there’s something I still don’t get. Lazarus is an electromancer, right? I’ll admit that’s pretty wild, but what about his skill set makes him a valuable asset to a gang of dragon smugglers?”

I’d thought about that myself without any revelations. “I think any gang would be happy to have a guy like that on their side.”

“Really?” said Shay. “Daggers, given the connection you made between Lazarus and Griggs’ means of death, I thought you’d already figured this out. A small electric shock hurts. A big one kills. One right in the middle—the perfect amount—can knock someone out.”

A light flickered in my head. “Some
one?”

“Electric shocks are probably one of the only non-lethal ways to make dragons go down for the count,” said Shay. “Other than tranquilizers, but who knows how dragons respond to drugs.”

Quinto didn’t seem interested by our current line of thought. “So, Daggers…Steele tells us you interrogated Lazarus.”

It wasn’t a question, but I knew what he was getting at.

I shook my head. “He didn’t have a whole lot to say, to be honest, and what he did say would go over better coming from the Captain, I think. Regardless, it’ll take time for me to digest it all.”

“Meaning?” asked Quinto with a raised eyebrow.

“Meaning we got our guy, but it’s far past time we all went home and got some shut eye,” I said. “My puzzler doesn’t work too well when it’s running on empty. I can only imagine how the rest of you feel. At least
I
got a nap yesterday.”