“Not disagreeing there, but what are you getting at?”
“I want the Scepter recovered, but I don’t want to hear on the news about a massive magical battle in Paris. Various people interested in this matter are already having a hard time keeping too much information from leaking to the media.”
Shay snorted. “Big deal. It’s not like the old days. Everyone knows about magic. Why are they bothering to cover it up?”
“Aye, everyone does know about magic, which is why the interested parties have been able to spin the individual incidents as pranks or misunderstandings. But if people realize there’s something more powerful going on, it could cause chaos. Then people will get hurt.”
“Okay, I get it.”
“Not only that, James isn’t that good at keeping a low profile. He’s famous now. If he shows up people will notice and focus on him and the info will come out, or the wielder of the Scepter of Dagobert might feel cornered and launch a massive surprise attack. Not only that, James would probably tell someone what he was doing if they politely inquired. You, on the other hand, are good at keeping a low profile and lying.”
“You sure know how to sweet-talk a girl, Professor.”
“In this matter, Miz Carson, I can assure you that those are very positive traits. Your…background prepares you for this job in a manner that James’ doesn’t.”
Shay narrowed her eyes. She had always suspected the Professor knew about her first career and true past, but nothing would be gained by confronting him about it right now.
“I get it,” Shay replied softly. “I go to Paris. I find the witch or wizard. Take them out, and recover the wand, all while keeping it quiet. Sound about right?”
“You don’t have to kill them,” the Professor clarified. “But I’m dubious that they’ll give up such a powerful artifact willingly, so we must all do what we need to do to protect innocent people.”
“Okay, and I’m assuming I need to go sooner rather than later. Earlier you mentioned leaving in the morning?”
“Aye. Time is of the essence, Miz Carson. You’re willing to take on the job, then?”
Shay grinned. “Don’t worry, Professor—you had me at ‘millions of dollars.’”
He polished off the last of his beer. “You’ll take commercial supersonic transport to Paris, but I’ve arranged for a private plane flying from a private airstrip for your return trip. It won’t be supersonic, but this artifact is simply too powerful to risk flying around without special precautions. The arrangements I made have you flying out tomorrow morning at nine. That’ll put you in Paris by sunset.”
Shay pushed up from the table with a nod. “Then I’d better gather my shit. I’ve got a wand to find.”
Chapter Ten
Shay would have preferred something a little more fashionable for her trip to Paris, but holsters and knife sheaths didn’t pair well with dresses and heels. She was grateful for the unseasonably cool weather and falling night, which gave her an excuse to wear a stylish leather jacket to conceal her gear.
It was a nice jacket with killer shoulders, but it just wasn’t a nice sexy dress. Fighting in the latter might prove difficult, though.
The need for stealth also necessitated a boring choice of a blue sedan, rather than a sexy convertible like the one she’d driven during her trip to Paris to recover the Golden Owl.
If someone did take note of her, they wouldn’t see dark-haired Shay Carson, but auburn-haired photojournalist Kacy Lamont. She’d never had an opportunity to use the identity in her old killing days, even though she’d used other journalist identities.
She always found them useful. Journalists had an excuse to be wandering in strange places and asking pointed questions. Standing out didn’t make them inherently suspicious.
Shay snorted. What was she thinking? She was having fun just because of some documents, a camera, a wig, and some contacts? The job might pay well, but it was still annoying as fuck.
Hunting down a witch in the middle of a major city isn’t really my thing. If this wand is as dangerous as the Professor says, maybe I should have risked bringing James, after all.
The tomb raider sighed.
No, the Professor was right. He would have ended up doing some chest-thumping shit where he issued a public challenge, and we’d end up in some sort of battle royal with crazy local witches and wizards who wanted the wand, French cops, and who-knows-who-else, burning half of Paris down.
She loved the man, but James was a sledgehammer—and the situation called for a stiletto. Staying under the radar also meant that bringing the tachi was a no-go. She was driving for now, but she’d have to go after the wand wielder on foot once she found them and wandering the streets of Paris with a Japanese sword would attract a few eyeballs.
“Can you still hear me, Peyton?” Shay murmured into her throat mic as she entered a roundabout.
“Yeah, I can hear you. And your position from the GPS transponder is clear.”
The mic was linked to a dedicated transmitter that interfaced with a VOIP comm line, and the earpiece was all but invisible. She could wander Paris talking to herself, and almost no one would notice unless they were right next to her.
“I like this,” Peyton continued.
“Like what?”
“Riding shotgun on the mission.”
“You’re not riding shotgun. You’re thousands of miles away.”
“But I’m feeling it, you know? Controlling a drone, helping you navigate.”
Shay rolled her eyes. “If I already knew where the mark was I wouldn’t be doing this.”
“Let me have my fun. Maybe someday I’ll be hitting the streets with you.”
“Not fucking likely.”
Peyton muttered something under his breath.
“According to the follow-up info the Professor sent me,” Shay began, “our boy or girl is mostly active at night.”
“Makes sense, if they are trying things out and worried about someone coming after them.”
Shay snickered. “Someone like me?”
“Well, yeah. Though they must be getting pretty cocky to draw that much attention.”
“If someone handed you the ultimate magical tool, you’d be insufferable.”
“At least I’d look good.”
“That’s a
