SUMPTU

ARTEMIS

The fel threw herself at the strong metal mesh of her cage, snarling at them. Or trying to, anyway. Her mouth was open, but no sound came out, the wound that had severed her vocal cords years ago still visible as a scar on her furry throat.

“I told you, Artemis,” Isaac said. “She hasn't settled down at all. She's still clearly 'aggressive.' I don't know why you expected her to revert.”

“It was just a theory,” Artemis said. He patted him on the shoulder. He looked down at him and smiled. Isaac wasn't too short, but Artemis was tall, and he was hunched over with his fake age. “Weren't you the one who told me to always tell you about my theories?”

Isaac rolled his eyes. “Because last time, it set me on the path to the toy maker.”

“Exactly. Sometimes you need a non-scientist to give you a fresh perspective.” He shrugged. “But if I was right every time, I'd be a scientist.”

Isaac smiled a little. Just a little, though. They had far too much on their minds for humor.

“Admiral Ursler,” Artemis said. She was patiently waiting a few steps behind them. “You have those numbers I requested?”

Like Isaac, Janelle Ursler used the toy maker to appear older than she actually was, but for her it was because no one would take her seriously otherwise. She was very young for an admiral, not that Artemis cared. He promoted his people based on merit, not age or position.

“Four biters,” she responded promptly. “One-hundred and twenty-eight burners. Five-hundred and three bats, nine-hundred and eighty bleeders, an even two-hundred skins, and nine-hundred and seventy two lasers.” She put the pad down. “That's two-thousand, seven-hundred and eighty-seven total. That includes the ones gained in testing, accidents, and those lost due to accidents.”

“Thank you,” Artemis said, taking the pad from her. “I appreciate the help.” They were short-staffed at the moment, so he had asked her to grab the data for him, even though normally someone of her rank would never have to play aide like that. “Now, what about your own report?”

“Sir.” She saluted crisply. “The Battle of Chronias was an utter failure. In addition to having the second-highest number of new screamers, we also had the highest number of deaths, and the second-highest amount of property damage. But even if that had all gone well, we still lost Zaphkiel.” She bowed—an interesting trick, with the massive tail that had replaced her legs. “I will accept any punishment you deem necessary.”

“None,” he said without hesitation. She looked up at him in surprise. “You are an admiral. I know your skill on land is less than perfect.”

She worked her mouth silently, searching for something to say, before simply bowing her head again. “Thank you, sir.”

“I do have other questions, of course. First, how did Medina do?”

Ursler's brow furrowed briefly, before clearing. “Oh, right, the Highlander.”

Now it was his turn to be surprised. “The... Highlander?”

She nodded. “Yes, one of my men moonlights as a bodyguard for Medina's friend Lizzy. Apparently that's her nickname for her.” She shrugged. “It kinda stuck with me.”

“Fine, I suppose it doesn't matter. How did she do?”

“Pretty well, considering everything that went wrong. She got the Draculas whipped into shape quickly, and used them to take out the generators while the EMP had them disabled. After that, it was pretty much a turkey shoot.”

That was about what Artemis had expected. All the reports he was getting praised Laura's strategy; Victor and Maria would be pleased, at least. “That's more than enough. I'm sure your written report will provide more detail.” He turned back to Kat, still thrashing about in her cage. She turned into a bat briefly and threw herself against the double-layered mesh weakly a few times, before smoking back into a cat-girl. “What is the situation with the Northern Fleet?”

“The Rahabs are getting more aggressive—not something I would have thought possible. They probably think the screamers are weakening us.”

Artemis snorted. “They are. The question is whether or not it will be a weakness the Rahabs can take advantage of. How many ships have we lost?”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Just one so far, the Merchant Registry ship Eatonrun. Just a food supplier—as that ridiculous name implies—so there was minimal crew on board, and they all survived. We were also able to salvage most of the cargo, though the 'habs stole enough of it to keep themselves going for a while.”

The Rahabs weren't a culture, not really. They were just a gang, united by nothing but hatred. They were the last of the old gangs, in fact, largely because they kept to Whitecap Bay, where Necessarian forces were already spread thin.

But that was precisely what made them so dangerous. They didn't have the numbers of any of the real cultures, but it didn't take many men to sink a ship, if you knew what you were doing. And there were more of them than Artemis was comfortable with. Even their ramshackle little fleet was far larger than the 'sarian one.

Well, he didn't have time to worry about that right now. The screamers were taking all of his attention. “Thank you, Ursler. Admiral Briggs is in the West Wing. I'm sure you two have many things to discuss.”

She performed that strange bow again and slithered off to find her southern counterpart. It was indicative of their small navy that they had a grand total of two admirals.

He turned his attention back to Isaac. “Well? How bad is it?”

He rubbed his forehead. “Between the cages, feeding them, and all the precautions we have to take in order to keep our guards and aides from getting infected...” Isaac shook his head. “Too much. It costs far too much.”

“Domina isn't equipped with prisons,” Mary Christina said from a wall speaker. “The city is a prison. I'm not sure how much longer we can last like this. We're going to have to start eliminating captured screamers soon.”

Artemis leaned heavily on his cane. Killing enemy combatants or criminals was one thing. But the only thing these people were guilty of was getting infected. If they just started throwing them to the dogs, there would be riots. And the public would find out. The Paladins would notice when the screaming started to die down, and Derek at least wouldn't let it stand uncontested. And he wouldn't be the only one.

“I take it you still haven't had any luck curing them?” I asked Isaac.

He gave Artemis a sad little smile; they both knew he would have told him about something that important. “No progress whatsoever. I think the singers might be the key, but we don't have any of those in custody.”

“I hope that's not what you called us here for.”

Artemis turned at the cheerful voice to see Victor Medina and Maria Huntsman striding up.

He felt a smile find its way onto his face, despite the grim situation. Those two reminded him of happier times. “I wasn't sure you two would make it.”

Maria shrugged. “We were in the area. And getting past your security sounded like fun.”

Artemis had given the pair a set of alpha-level security badges pretty much at the same time as he created the security system in the first place. Not that it mattered. They insisted on sneaking in every single time. Sometimes they actually succeeded, but most of the time his men just pretended not to see them.

“Well, never mind that now. I have an assignment for you two.” He saw the disturbed looks on their faces. “And before you ask, it doesn't involve capturing a singer.”

“As long as it's not capturing the Composer himself instead, I think we'll manage,” Maria said with a grin.

“I need you to find Zaphkiel.”

Victor leaned against the cages, either not noticing or not caring about the screamers trying and failing to claw at him. “What do you need the Watcher for?”

“And why do you need us to find him?” Maria said. “I thought you were still on relatively good terms with him.”

“I am. But he's a screamer now, and the Composer has him.”

Maria groaned. “Silver moon and golden sun, Artemis. Can't you ever give us anything easy?”

“If this was easy, I'd just send your kids.”

Victor held up his hand. “Wait one second.”

“Don't worry, I know you're busy tomorrow. This can wait a few days.”

“That's not what I meant. We're not exactly humble, we know we're good. But surely you can't expect us to beat a warlord, let alone a screamer?”

Artemis started walking away from the cages, limping a little, and the others followed. “Don't worry about that. I just need you to find him. I'll have someone else capture him.”

Maria still sounded confused. “Who?”

Artemis grinned a little wolfishly. “His mother, of course.”

Victor quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his path. “You can't get her involved. If the Mother Monster is turned—”

Artemis raised his hand to quiet him. “Simmer down, Victor. She won't get close to him. She hates violence, anyway.”

Mary Christina spoke up from the speakers. “Let's just say that the most powerful monster in the city will make good bait.”

Victor and Maria still looked apprehensive.

“I did most of her buffs myself,” Isaac said. “They'll never catch her.”

Artemis smiled. “And that's why she's good bait.”