Page 59 of Once Upon a Curse for True Love
The third person in the room—a senior agent whose name she’d already forgotten—grunted from his position near the communications array.“She shouldn’t even be here.This is a need-to-know operation.”
Dr.Oakheart raised an eyebrow at him.“And who better to help us interpret magical tech interference than the department’s consulting expert?Unless you’ve developed the ability to distinguish between a lich’s shadow magic and standard signal disruption?”
The agent muttered something unintelligible and turned back to his console.Andromeda threw Dr.Oakheart a grateful look.They both knew her presence had more to do with Chief King’s reluctant acknowledgment of her role in identifying Graves than any technical expertise she might provide during the raid.
“All teams, check in.”Agent Zane’s voice crackled through the speakers, commanding even through the static.“Alpha team in position.”
“Bravo ready.”
Green confirmation lights lit up beside each team’s location on the tactical map.The abandoned pharmaceutical facility spread across the displays—a complex of gray buildings surrounded by chain-link fences and overgrown vegetation.In the center stood the main laboratory, its windows dark and empty, like the eye sockets of a skull.
“Eastern perimeter secure.”
Andromeda’s heart stumbled at hearing Donatello speak in that terse, professional tone, remembering how different his voice had sounded whispering against her skin mere hours ago.
Reports came in from the other SMPD agents—west, north, and south—all confirming secure perimeters.
“Remember your briefing,” Zane admonished.“Hold positions.If Graves attempts to flee, do not—I repeat, do not—engage him.Deploy containment nets only, and call for backup.”
A chorus of acknowledgments followed.And the action began.The special tactical team approached the loading dock in formation, their movements precise and coordinated.The three Nocturnes were at the front, recognizable because they weren’t wearing the night-vision goggles.
They reached the entrance.
“Breaching now,” Agent Zane announced.
The twin doors exploded inward in a controlled blast, the sound drawn out by a containment spell.The strike team swept in, fast and efficient.Their helmet cameras showed concrete floors, rusted equipment, and walls covered in graffiti.Dust motes swirled in the beams of their tactical lights.
Andromeda leaned closer to the screens, her heart pounding in her ears.The shadows in the camera feeds pressed in.Every dark corner a possible hiding place for an unspeakable evil.The tension built with each passing minute as the feds made their way deeper into the facility.
“First floor clear,” Zane reported.“Moving to the second floor.”
The feeds showed the team ascending a wide staircase, weapons at the ready.Andromeda’s mouth went dry.She glanced at the perimeter cams, relieved to see Donatello and Sarah Michelle still in position, watchful and alert, but out of immediate danger.
On the second floor, the feds spread out into a large open space that must have once been the main laboratory.Equipment lay abandoned, covered in dust and cobwebs.Glass beakers and test tubes littered the countertops, some broken, others intact but emptied of liquids long since evaporated.
And then she saw him.
Lionel Graves stood in the center of the lab, so still he might have been a statue.His tweed jacket hung from his frame.His skin had that waxy, grayish tinge even in the helmet camera feeds, and his eyes glowed with an unnatural light.
“Target acquired.”Zane’s voice was steady but tense.“Mr.Graves, you are under arrest for the murder of Magnus Thorn and suspicion of illegal necromantic practices.”
A smile spread across Graves’s face, too wide, too rigid.When he spoke, his voice had the same unnatural timbre Andromeda remembered from the archives’ stairs.“How formal, Agent.Did they teach you that speech at the Bureau?Does it help you sleep at night, pretending you’re enforcing laws instead of suppressing magical knowledge that terrifies you?”
“Stand down,” Zane continued, ignoring the taunt.“You’re surrounded.”
“Am I?”Graves tilted his head, the movement jerky and unnatural.Shadows pooled at his feet, spreading outward like spilled ink.Several agents raised their modified stunner guns.
“Fire!”Zane ordered.
Blue-white energy erupted from the stunners, striking Graves from multiple angles.He staggered backward, his shadows receding.Andromeda hoped it’d be that easy, but a manic laugh answered her—a hollow, echoing sound that came from everywhere at once.The cloud of darkness surged forward with renewed vigor, engulfing the nearest agents in seconds.Their screams cut through the comm system, making Andromeda flinch.
The blackness spread, consuming the room.One by one, the helmet feeds turned to static as the cameras failed.
“We’re blind!”someone shouted.“Night vision doesn’t work!”
But the audio still worked, broadcasting the sounds of chaos—shouting, the distinctive whine of stunner guns firing, and underneath it all, that terrible laughter.
Then came a wave of screams so agonized that Andromeda had to cover her ears.The sound cut off abruptly, leaving only static and the distant, fading echo of Graves’s screeches.
