by Ally Shields
Seth acknowledged her arrival with a lift of his head but returned to his conversation. Kam sipped her coffee and walked over to look out the wall of windows. The Lormarc building was six stories tall, and Seth’s office was at the top. Great panoramic view of New Orleans and the river, but she missed the familiar scents and sounds blocked out by the glass and mortar. She turned away, running a professional eye over the bookcases on the back wall and the display tables he’d recently added to showcase Elvenrude jewelry. Buyers should be impressed. She selected an upholstered visitor’s chair across from him and sat down to wait.
Seth sat with his chair swiveled to one side, leaning back and concentrating on his conference call. She took the opportunity to study his profile. Strong, patrician features. His black hair was slightly windblown and probably overdue for a cut. But she liked it a little long. It added to his slightly dangerous look even an elegant business suit couldn’t hide. Today he was in jeans and a T-shirt that showed off his muscular arms.
He turned his head, gave her a lazy look, and winked. She choked back a laugh. He’d caught her. But that small, intimate moment was what she’d needed this morning. As long as they were together, everything else would somehow be all right. Hadn’t she learned that truth in Cyrilia? Getting home to Seth was most of what she’d thought about.
He finished his conversation and came around the desk. Kam set her mug on a table and rose just in time to be swept into his arms. He kissed her so thoroughly she came up breathless and laughing when he lifted his head.
“That’s better,” he said. “You were looking way too serious. Something’s on your mind. Have you heard from Brunic already?”
Kam sighed and stepped out of his arms. “He won’t meet with us. At least not here. I suppose we could force the issue and go to Elvenrude. But that’s not likely to end well for us.”
“I hadn’t expected him to be so bullheaded.”
“Nor did I. He told Barrott there was no point since nothing’s changed.” She sat down again and picked up her coffee mug. “Barrott looked for Father to fill in the details, but he wasn’t at the guild. I guess my parents aren’t taking this well.” She glanced in the mug, saw it was empty, and set it down again.
“Need a refill?” Without waiting for an answer, Seth tapped his intercom and ordered a pot. “I have a suggestion. How about a late-night visit to Elvenrude? Brunic’s patrols can’t be watching the guilds all the time. Well, I guess they could, but it isn’t likely. He hasn’t put much effort into finding us.”
She perked up immediately. “That’s a terrific idea. How about tonight?”
“I’m game. The others must be feeling the separation too. Shall we all go?”
Kam nodded and stirred with excitement. Regardless of the risks, they’d been away too long.
* * *
Thom Barrott wasn’t pleased with their plan, but they reached Elvenrude that night without incident. The portal guards conspicuously looked the other way on both ends of the portal, and the group had quickly separated, the men heading out on their own errands after escorting the women to the edge of Brierwood.
Kam, Esty, and Bria hurried down the walkway, and Kam knocked lightly on her parents’ door before unhooking the latch and stepping inside. “Mother. Father. It’s Kam.”
She heard mumbled voices from the kitchen. Then her mother ran into the room and flung her arms around as many of them as she could reach.
“Oh, my girls.” Meotta Ryndel started crying and kept grabbing until she had all three women tucked in her arms.
“You’re going to strangle them,” Kam’s father said. “Besides, a father could use a hug too.”
After the enthusiastic reunion, they gathered in the kitchen over sweet tea and this week’s baking choice of elderberry bread. Her mother wanted to know everything they’d been doing, and they gave her the version they’d all agreed on…minus the fights with the Cyrilians. In exchange, she filled them in on local gossip.
Kam’s father pulled her aside. “It wasn’t safe for you to come here, but I’m very pleased you did. Your mother has not been herself.”
“We’ve missed you too. It’s awful not to be able to come home whenever I want.” Kam studied his face. “Why is Seliwyn being so adamant about this? I thought it was another of his tantrums that would blow over.”
“And it might have, if not for the mixture of truth and lies about the Cyrilians that keep circling throughout the kingdom.”
Kam frowned. “More lies? Do they involve Seth and me? Who’s saying these things?”
“Not just about you. About Seliwyn. And about the moon elves. Harad Lormarc believes it’s coming from the Security Sanitarium. From his brother Jermon.”
“What? How would Jermon know anything?” She widened her eyes. “They didn’t let him see Andolf, did they? I thought the two men were held on opposite ends of the building.”
“Side-by-side cells.” Sawyer’s face was solemn. “Someone decided it was more efficient to keep them in one area. Jermon may have conversed with Andolf for hours and then passed the information to outside supporters—with his own spin on it.”
“The dungeon was too good for him,” she said darkly. “I don’t know what he hopes to gain, except making trouble for everyone. So what’s being said?”
“That Seliwyn is so weak he’s lost control of the King’s Guards. Harad thinks his brother still hopes to start a revolution to put himself in charge. We’ve doubled his guards and prohibited visits, but stories keep surfacing in the villages. Old tales of the moon elves’ cruelty, exaggerations of the attacks and deaths in New Orleans.” Her father shook his head. “In the last few days, there’s been talk Jermon would make a better leader, that he’s the only one who can save Elvenrude. Even speculation he was framed for things Seliwyn ordered done—the guns, the uranium, and the deaths.”
She blinked at him. “People believe that?”
“There’s enough doubt to cause trouble.” He put a hand on her arm. “They’re still repeating the old lies about you with a new twist—Seliwyn ordered you to ambush the Cyrilians.”
“But that isn’t how it happened.”
“Of course it isn’t. But until this situation is under control, you’re safer in New Orleans.”
“What about Esty? Can she stay home?”
Her father smiled. “Is she getting in your way?”
“No, not really. I thought it might be easier for Mother if Esty was here.”
“You’re mother will be fine. She’d rather know you were safe.”
Kam spent another hour with her family before the three women left to meet the men at the portal as agreed. She was relieved to find them waiting outside the guild.
“Everything go OK?” Seth asked quietly.
“Yeah, but I heard some alarming news. I presume you did too.”
He grimaced. “The king could have saved us a lot of trouble if he’d executed Uncle Jermon. Father and Harad are doing what they can to quell the rumors, but with a civil war brewing, it’s clear we can’t look to Elvenrude for help with the Cyrilians.”
They transported to the Cityside Ryndel Guild, spoke briefly with Barrott about their trip, and were leaving, when one of the portal guards approached them. “Lieutenant, if I might have a moment.”
“Yes, of course.” She waited.
“We’ve talked it over. All twenty-five of us stationed Cityside are agreed. We’re available for anything you need us to do.” He shifted uncomfortably. “That includes any extra duties you might have for us, sanctioned or not.”
Kam hid her surprise. They were already overlooking the summons, but this was outright defiance of their orders.
She hesitated, unsure how to handle it. As their superior officer—although her authority at present was questionable—she didn’t want to encourage disobedience, but she was touched. And their help was badly needed. “I appreciate your offer, but for now, just keep the portals safe. If I asked you to do anything else, you might
not be able to return to Elvenrude.”
“As I said, we’ve discussed it, Lieutenant, and we’re willing to take the chance. We have a better understanding of what’s happening than those at home. We know the rumors are bogus, and if we don’t stop the Cyrilians here, they’ll invade Elvenrude.” He looked over his shoulder at several guardsmen standing behind him before adding firmly, “Our offer stands.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind.” She nodded in dismissal, and the guards returned to their posts.
“Well, that was refreshing,” Rhyden said as the group finally exited the guild. “It’s nice to know everyone isn’t slinging blame our direction.”
“That’s true,” Seth admitted. “But if we used them, we’d be feeding the rumors of the Guard acting outside Seliwyn’s orders.”
“And what would we gain?” Kam sighed heavily. “Twenty-five doesn’t improve our odds much against hundreds. I’m worried it’s not enough to hold the portals against a determined assault.”
The sobering thought kept them quiet most of the way home. Kam tried to devise a scenario using the guardsmen and even the CIA to stop Trystan, but she couldn’t think of one that had an honest chance of succeeding. Maybe by morning.
But they were fast approaching Crain’s forty-eight-hour deadline. If she didn’t come up with something quick, the human world was about to find out they weren’t alone.
* * *
When Kam woke around eight and went to the kitchen looking for coffee, Seth was already there talking quietly with Esty and Bria. He seemed surprised to see her.
She cocked her head. “What’s going on? Are you plotting something?”
“Seth told us what’s happening in Elvenrude.” Esty gave her an accusing look. “I wondered what you and Father were whispering about.”
Kam narrowed her eyes at Seth.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, with a half laugh. “She asked, and I thought they deserved to know.”
“I suppose.” Kam poured a cup of coffee and joined them at the table. “I was hoping I’d wake up with some grand plan this morning to get us out of this mess, but no such luck. How about you?”
Seth shook his head. “Rhyden and I stayed up last night and discussed setting up a permanent guard on the Cyrilian portal.”
“And do what? Shoot them as they come through?” she said dryly.
“Yeah, that was our hang-up too. If we try to capture everyone, what do we do with them? It’s not a practical solution.”
“I don’t like it at all,” Bria said. “They used to be my neighbors, even my friends. I…” She stopped, as if reconsidering. “I might have a better idea.”
“Let’s hear it.” Kam cocked her head. “I’m all out of them.”
“What if you captured Trystan—their future king—and forced Cyrilia to sign a treaty protecting everyone?”
“But Bria…” Kam stared at her. As close as the young woman was to Trystan, this had to be a difficult suggestion.
“Oh, you’d have to promise you won’t hurt him.”
“We couldn’t guarantee it.” Kam shook her head. No false promises. “He and his guards would resist any attempt to take him. In a fight like that, things can go wrong.”
“Are you sure they’d agree to enforce a treaty?” Seth asked gently. “If Dreysel is truly his enemy, he might jump on the opportunity to seize control.”
Bria’s face paled. “Are you suggesting the assembly might turn against the crown and refuse to ransom him?” She shook her head several times. “No. Dreysel may lead a lot of the younger men, but the elders don’t listen to him. He’s still in the minority. Cyrilia has changed for the worst, but it can’t have lost all respect for the royal family.”
Rhyden and Caleb entered the room just in time to hear the last few minutes of the discussion. They grabbed coffee and slices of the elderberry bread Esty had brought from home.
With both hands full, Rhyden nudged out a chair with his foot and sat down. “OK, say you’re right about the assembly and all the rest, how do we get him over here…and alone? We can’t wait for another raid or even for dark. Crain’s deadline is tonight.”
“About twelve hours from now.” Kam pursed her lips. “I think Crain will hold off as long as it stays quiet, but we can’t count on it.”
“Tryst will come whenever you want. I’ll send for him.” Bria’s voice was soft. She held out her hand, revealing a smooth, blue stone. “This is a calling stone. Tryst gave it to me in case I changed my mind about coming home.”
Interesting she hadn’t mentioned it before. “How does it work?” Kam asked.
“Sort of like your pager ring. He carries a similar stone. If I rub the stone three times, his stone will glow and lead him to me.”
“And you think he’d come.”
“Yes. He trusts me.” Bria dropped her eyes and flushed.
Kam touched her hand. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I know. But if Tryst is responsible for the gang war and the killings—even if it’s just looking the other way—he has to be stopped…before he does something worse.”
On that they were agreed. Despite lingering reservations and a lively dispute over where and how to attempt his capture, a plan was finally adopted. No one wanted to do this in public, but it wasn’t likely Trystan would walk into a building alone. Not even for Bria. They chose Jackson Square for its central location and open space. At 10:30 they gathered at the park and Bria sent the signal to Trystan. By 10:45 everyone was in place. Waiting.
Cloaked by invisibility magic, Kam and Seth hid behind the huge statue of General Jackson on his horse. Bria stood on the other side, just barely in Kam’s line of sight. She looked nervous.
Esty and Rhyden stood off to one side about twenty feet away. She wore a straw hat, and they pored over a city map to keep their faces hidden. Caleb stretched out on the grass, sunglasses covering his features.
Sightseers strolled by, stopped to admire Jackson, and moved off again. Most of the tourists stayed by the shops or the river at this time of day. Park usage would increase in the afternoon when the August heat reached its peak.
Kam checked her phone screen—11:05. He was taking his time. At 11:30 Caleb raised his head and looked around. Everyone was getting edgy. Was Trystan not coming? She scanned the area. Was he nearby watching to see if Bria was alone?
“Seth,” she whispered. “How much longer do you think we should wait?”
His hand touched her arm. “There’s still plenty of time—”
He broke off, and Kam tensed at the sound of Bria’s voice. “Tryst, I’m over here. Thanks for coming.”
“I was relieved you contacted me. Are you ready to come home?”
Kam and Seth moved swiftly, coming around the statue from opposite directions. “This is a gun,” Kam whispered, as she poked him in the ribs with the barrel. “Don’t move.”
Trystan stiffed but offered no resistance.
Although Seth was still cloaked, she assumed he had a hold of the Cyrilian’s arm by now. Rhyden and Caleb closed in from the sides.
“We’re good,” Rhyden said. “No one’s looking our way.”
Kam and Seth became visible. The four of them formed a circle around Trystan and Bria. Esty watched from a few feet away.
Trystan stared at Bria. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are. But what you’re doing is wrong.” She raised her chin. “No matter how fond I am of you, I can’t allow this killing to continue.”
“What killing? What are you talking about?” he snapped.
“Let’s not do this here.” Seth said. “We can talk more freely in private. Shall we go?”
“It doesn’t appear I have a choice.” The Cyrilian’s voice was bitter, his eyes reflecting the sting of Bria’s betrayal. Kam almost felt sorry for him, and her heart wrenched for Bria who looked devastated.
“Not at the moment, you don’t,” Kam said. “I hope we can reach a quick agreement, and th
en you’re free to go.”
“What is it you want?”
“Not here,” Seth insisted again.
With Seth on one side, Rhyden on the other, and Caleb behind him, Trystan’s only alternative would be to fight, and he didn’t act inclined to do so. Kam put her gun in her pocket and grabbed his hand, twisting off the silver ring of invisibility.
“I wouldn’t want to tempt you to cut this short,” she said, meeting his gaze. “We have a lot of talking to do.”
They took him to the Lormarc Office Building. Seth had already closed the office for alleged air-conditioning problems, and when they reached the sixth floor, he locked the stairs and elevator. Seth and Rhyden flanked Trystan between them and led everyone to the small conference room. They settled around the ten-seat table, Trystan on one side, the others across from him or on the ends.
Trystan hadn’t lost his composure or his confidence during the walk from Jackson Square. He seemed more annoyed than alarmed by his detention. As soon as they were seated, he took the initiative. “Is someone going to tell me why I’m here? I’m interested in hearing what is so important it’s worth betraying a friend.” Although the barb was clearly directed at Bria, he avoided looking at her.
“I’d like coffee before we get started,” Seth said, standing and ignoring Trystan’s attempt to take charge. “What about you?” He looked at Kam.
“Good idea. I’ll help.” Silently applauding Seth’s tactics, she got up, and they took orders, leaving Trystan to stew in silence.
When Kam and Seth returned to the table with the coffee, she sat next to Trystan, angled her chair so she could see his profile, and took up the conversation. “We want to make a deal with Cyrilia. It isn’t enough to stop the unprovoked violence against us and our guilds, Cyrilia has to quit interfering with the humans or you’ll expose us all.”
Trystan slowly turned his head and frowned at her, but she went on.
“All you have to do is sign and enforce a treaty that protects everyone, including the humans. I know your world is in crisis, but this isn’t the way to solve it.”
