Elemental Assassin 01 - Spider's Bite

city, employing thousands of folks. But whatever rock or ore or gemstones had been hidden under the earth had long been exhausted, and now the quarry stood empty, with only the murmur of the stones to break the silence. The only people who came here these days were dwarves who tapped into the sheer walls of the quarry with their small pickaxes, looking for something sparkly to take back home to the kids.
    We arrived at the rock quarry fifteen minutes before our time was up. I approached the area from the south, taking a little-used access road I remembered running across more than once as a kid. The same access road Bria and I used to hopscotch down as children.
    “Have you been here before?” Caine asked. The first words he’d spoken to me since we’d left the apartment. “Not many people know about this road.”
    “When I was a kid, I used to come out here and play sometimes.”
    The detective gave me a strange look, but he didn’t pry. I didn’t offer any more information, like the fact I’d also come to the quarry to listen to the stones talk to me. To attune myself to the different vibrations they gave off. To practice my magic. To find a bit of peace in a world that had been turned upside down.
    “What about you?” I asked.
    He shrugged. “Just for the occasional body dump. It was a popular site a few years ago. We still come out here several times a year. In the spring, Cliff and I—”
    I never learned what Cliff and he did in the spring. Caine shut up and stared out the window. Brooding. About me, about us, about the fact I’d hadn’t told him why I’d murdered his partner. And that maybe, just maybe, Cliff Ingles had gotten exactly what he’d deserved.
    A few minutes later, I slid the car into a stand of maple trees about a mile out from the quarry, parked it, and got out. So did Donovan Caine, who turned to face me across the hood.
    “Why are you stopping?” Caine asked. “We’re not that close to the quarry.”
    “Because you’re not coming in with me.”
    “Why not?”
    “Alexis James is an Air elemental,” I said. “You won’t stand a chance against her.”
    “And you will?”
    I nodded. “Like it or not, I can do things you won’t let yourself, detective. Besides, Alexis is expecting me to come alone. She won’t like the company. It will make her twitchier than she already is. I’m going to get her attention, have her focus on me. Your job is to circle around behind her and get Finn and Roslyn out of there—no matter what. Alexis is sure to have Stephenson with her and probably those two goons from the country club. You need to take them out if we have any chance of surviving this. Can you do that?”
    The detective nodded.
    “Good. Let’s get this over with.”
    Donovan Caine looked at me a final time, and our eyes met. Gold on gray. I knew what he was thinking. The same thing I was. Two hours ago, we’d been buried inside each other. Now we were both probably on our way to our own deaths. Irony. Another fucking bitch.
    Once more I felt that spark of softness in my chest, but I was careful not to let it show in my eyes or face. If he sensed it, if he was kind to me now, I wouldn’t be able to focus. Wouldn’t be able to do what needed to be done. A luxury I couldn’t afford. Not now, not ever.
    Caine nodded his head at me. His way of saying good luck. Or good-bye. I was surprised he bothered with the nicety, given the near meltdown he’d had in my apartment. But the detective had bucked back up on the ride to the quarry. He knew he had to work with me a little while longer if he wanted to save Finn and Roslyn. Then—then he could turn on me.
    Donovan Caine stepped away and melted into the shadows, heading toward the back side of the quarry. I waited until I couldn’t see him anymore, then squared my shoulders and started walking down an embankment to the front of the massive hole. As I strode along, I touched the various knives hidden on my body. One in either sleeve. Two more in my boots. One against the small of my back. The cold silverstone metal of the weapons comforted me, the way it always did. Alexis James might kill me, but I wasn’t going down easy.
    I walked about half a mile before I saw the entrance to the quarry. The city had long ago given up keeping out the bums and wayward kids, and a rusty sign read Enter at your own risk . The remains of a tall iron gate ringed the entrance, but I stepped through a gap where someone had pried the bars