by Logan Jacobs
I wanted to argue more, but I knew she was right. “Okay, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”
“When do you not?” Ariette teased with a wink, and then she spun on her heel and marched back toward the bank with three other Fae soldiers in tow.
When we entered the empty lobby, the silence was almost deafening after the previous carnage. My boots crunched against glass, and then I came to a stop behind Ariette. The elf stood with her spine straight as a pole, and her ocean blue eyes were wide as she stared down at the troll’s corpse strewn across the lobby floor. Green blood pooled around it, and one of its black eyes stared up blankly at the ceiling while the other was nothing more than a crater carved by my bullet.
“Hey,” I said quietly to the frozen elf, “are you alright?”
“Yeah, um, I just…” Her voice shook as it trailed off, and I watched her clench her fists and shake her head.
I reached a hand out to touch her shoulder softly, and her body leaned toward me the moment I made contact. Still, she didn’t take her eyes off the door.
“Just take a moment,” I said soothingly as I wrapped my arm around her frame.
“Sorry,” she whispered softly. “I don’t know why I’m so scared.”
“Probably because that thing almost killed you, Ariette,” I responded just as quietly. She turned her face toward me, and our noses brushed up against each other.
Quickly, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips. It was warm and soft and almost made me forget we were still in the middle of a war zone with a group of men behind us. They all coughed and looked away awkwardly.
“Okay,” she said, her tone even now, as she stepped back after a moment and dipped her head. “I needed that.”
She threw a glance over her shoulder at the clean-up crew behind us, but they all looked around the lobby and pretended to have seen nothing.
“I think we should start our search in the vault,” I suggested to break the awkward silence. “Right before I killed the troll, it tried to crawl back in that direction. Maybe it left behind some clues as to what it was doing here in the first place.”
“Good thinking, HC,” Ariette said with a nod, and then she looked back toward her men with a stern expression. “You three. Collect the body and have it shipped back to the guild hall. I want this thing analyzed from top to bottom.”
“Yes ma’am,” the three Fae replied in unison as they saluted her. Then they turned toward the troll corpse while Ariette and I faced the vault.
“Let’s see what we can find,” I said as I took a step forward, but then my vision swam, and I stumbled.
“Whoa,” Ariette said as she caught my elbow. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” I said with a strained smile as I righted myself. “Just a little drained after the fight and healing you up.”
Ariette frowned and opened her mouth again, but I cut her off with a nudge to her shoulder.
“Hey, if I can’t worry about you, you can’t mother hen me,” I teased. “It’s like you said. We have a job to do. We can sleep when it’s done.”
The elven warrior’s mouth snapped closed as she realized I had used her own logic against her.
“Fine,” she grumbled, “but if you faint, I am sooooo telling Kal, and you’ll never live it down.”
“That’s fair,” I chuckled. “Now, come on.”
I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and strode toward the vault. The door was wide open, and the interior was a scene of utter chaos.
Not only were the blackened and dismembered bodies of the ugly goblin creatures strewn all over the vault floor, but money and shelves were also scattered throughout the room, and I even spied some jewels and other riches that had apparently been ripped out of their safety deposit boxes. Everything was charred from the bomb, and the nasty blue innards of the creatures were smeared across the far back wall.
“What do you think they were after?” Ariette asked as she kicked one of the overturned shelves.
“I’m not sure.” I walked around the table in the center of the room and observed the torn up bills. Every shelf had been ripped down from the walls, and plaster and nails hung off the sheetrock haphazardly. Most of the bills were ripped to shreds and charred along the edges, but there were also several cloth sacks tossed up against the far right wall that were only partially singed. When I leaned down to inspect them, I realized either the troll or the goblins had stuffed them full of intact bills, gemstones, and gold.
I walked around the shattered remnants of a table, and then I found something on the ground that definitely did not belong.
A blue-black oval sat in the middle of the floor between the table and the wall. The swirling void had to be pure magic as it spun in place on the floor. It reminded me of what black holes look like in pictures. The curious part of me wanted to reach out and touch to see what it felt like, but the newfound adept in me said that was a bad idea.
“Hey, Ariette,” I said to her with my eyes still on the oval. “I think I found something.”
“No way,” she gasped as she yanked me backward three steps. “No freaking way that’s possible.”
“What is it?” I asked as I tried to get in front of her eye line.
The blonde warrior just stood there as if she had seen a ghost. Her cheeks paled, and her hands went to her chest to hold herself together.
“How the hell could they be using those?” she muttered, more to herself than to me.
“Ariette!” I exclaimed and snapped my fingers to get her attention. “Using what?”
“That,” she replied as she pointed a trembling finger at the oval, “is a dark portal.”
“What’s that?” I asked as I grabbed one of the few intact stacks of bills and then tossed it into the hole.
The void expanded as it caught the bills, and then it closed in on itself abruptly like the jaw of an alligator as it snapped closed. When it reopened, the bills were gone.
“I guess that’s why the troll was trying to crawl back here. It was trying to escape,” I mused as I leaned down and inspected the mysterious hole. “I wonder where it goes.”
“Uh-uh.” Ariette gripped my arm tightly like she was afraid I would step into the portal and never be seen again.
“I’m not getting in it,” I replied. “What’s the deal with these things, anyway?”
“Well, a dark portal can only be created by a dark wizard, and we killed every single dark wizard that there was,” she grumbled as she tilted her head. “So, that thing should not exist, and on top of that, I don’t care how smart that troll thing was, there is no way it was powerful enough to create this.”
“It’s possible the guild missed one of the dark wizards, or maybe a new one’s come up,” I suggested as I rubbed the back of my hair. Ariette’s tension made me a little nervous.
“Nope, no way,” she said adamantly. “You can’t even access the dark texts. The Seelie have confiscated them all so even a descendant of the original wizards wouldn’t have the knowledge needed to master their arcane talents. It’s just not possible.”
Ariette and I stared at the dark portal in silence for a few moments. My chest was heavy, and a pit formed in my stomach.
“How is it still here?” Ariette finally asked as she circled the open hole. “Every other time the creatures have come through, they simply disappear. No one’s reported seeing a dark portal from the previous attacks, and as you can see, they’re kind of hard to miss.”
“It must be the iron,” I said as I looked up at the iron bars that lined the vault ceiling much like the bank itself. Definitely an anti-Fae security measure. “The troll must have opened the portal before it came out of the vault. I guess we arrived just in time to catch him before he escaped, and he and the goblins switched off on keeping us distracted while the other grabbed the loot. But my guess is the iron in this building is making it difficult for the portal to close. See how small it is?”
“I guess that makes s
ense,” Ariette replied with a shrug before she squatted next to the portal to peer into it.
“You’re not thinking of going in there,” I joked.
“I’m wondering how we’ll ever figure this out if I don’t,” she responded darkly. “There’s no guarantee we’ll be able to find the portal during the next attack.”
“Portal?” Kalista suddenly chimed in our ears. “What portal? Also, can I come to join you guys now? Alfrisco is getting on my last damn nerve.”
“We’ll be on our way back in a moment, Kal,” I replied as I watched Ariette and the swirling oval in front of her closely. “We just need a figure out what to do with this dark portal first?”
“Wait did you just say, ‘dark portal’?” the hacker screeched in my ear.
“Yup,” I replied. “Found it in the vault. We think this is how the troll meant to escape.”
“Oh man, I have to freaking see this,” Kalista muttered.
I watched as Ariette inched closer to the portal and leaned over it, but then the oval began to shrink in on itself, and within seconds, it had disappeared.
“Well, there goes that idea,” I quipped to the elf, and then I spoke into the comms. “Don’t bother coming in, Kal. It just disappeared.”
“Damn it,” the hacker cursed. “Why do I always miss all the cool stuff?”
“Probably wasn’t the best idea to follow it anyway,” Ariette replied as she stood up.
“This time,” I muttered.
“What was that, HC?” she asked as our eyes met.
“You know as well as I do there is going to be another attack,” I said, “and if we haven’t figured out what is happening by then, our only choice is to go through the portal.”
The beautiful elf-warrior stared into my eyes for a few long moments.
Then she nodded.
Chapter 12
Ariette leaned her head around the doorframe of the vault and watched as the police officers and guild members dispersed. The troll’s corpse was gone, and only a few human CSI members and detectives combed the area for more evidence.
“We’ve got to tell Danira about this,” she said as she pulled her sleek black communicator from her back pocket. When the screen came to life, she dialed the control room at the guild, but the call shut down before it even rang once.
Instantly, a new call lit up the screen. The name was in Elvish so I couldn’t read it.
“Oh no,” Ariette inhaled sharply.
“What’s wrong?” I asked with a hand on her shoulder. Her blue eyes looked over at me.
“It’s the guild master,” she whispered, and her blue eyes locked on me as her thumb hovered over the answer button.
“Well, answer it!” I exclaimed as it continued to ring.
“Right.” She nodded, and then she slid the button across the screen.
A pale elven man’s face filled the screen. The guild master had a long and hooked nose that was set under thick, bushy brown eyebrows. His chocolate brown eyes were surrounded by tiny wrinkles, and his thin lips were pressed into a hard line. I didn’t have to see the rest of his body to know that his arms were crossed. Long brown hair was pulled back from his face in a braid, and he had the plumpest cheeks I had ever seen on an elf.
The guild master was silent as he stared Ariette down. She shifted her expression into the most naïve look she could possibly muster and gave him a huge, fake smile.
“Hasen!” she exclaimed. “How are you today, sir?”
“I am the same as any other day, Ariette, old and tired,” he responded in a complete monotone. His voice was deep and husky, and it had a dangerous edge to it. He definitely sounded like the kind of guy that no one should mess with.
“Right.” She nodded vigorously as if that was a perfectly normal answer. There was an awkward silence as the guild master slid his eyes over to look at me.
“Milton, is it?” he questioned.
“Uh, yes, sir,” I responded quickly.
“Hmm,” he said, and he drew out the word for an awkwardly long amount of time. “You look stronger than I expected.”
“Okay?” I said in confusion.
“The monster was killed, I understand?” Hasen asked as he turned back to Ariette.
“It was, sir, but--” Ariette started before Hasen cut her off.
“And yet we don’t have any more information about these attacks than we did before,” he growled. “I hope you know that we are trying to put a stop to the violence in Jefferson City, not just rack up our kill count.”
Ariette choked back her words and nodded.
Anger flared up in my body at his tone, and I spoke without thinking. “She almost got killed fighting that thing today.”
Ariette looked at me with gratitude in her eyes, but Hasen simply lifted his eyebrows calmly and pursed his lips.
“Good thing she didn’t then,” was all he said in response.
“Sir, we called Danira to report a dark portal, but the call didn’t go through,” Ariette said as she steered the conversation back to safer ground.
“Yes, I am aware of that,” the guild master responded. “I blocked your call so you and I could speak. Is there anyone else there with you?”
“No, sir,” Ariette said with a shake of her head. “We sent the clean-up crew and humans home. Kalista is outside with the van and our data.”
“Good,” he responded. Again, he took a long pause.
Ariette and I looked at each other, unsure if we should say more.
“Sir?” I finally asked, and Hasen’s chocolate brown eyes flicked over me. “The portal stayed open long after that thing summoned it. I think it’s because the room is filled with iron. I think we could hold the portal open next time and go through it with a team.”
“Intelligent conjecture, human, but we don’t know for sure if it’s because of the iron,” the guild master began. “I will not send my warriors into a dangerous situation without knowing what they’re facing.”
“Of course, sir,” Ariette responded. “It’s just our best guess.”
“We don’t guess in the guild,” Hasen shot back before he leaned back in his chair and sighed. His billowing white robes were now visible. When I looked at his whole figure, with his dark hair, pale skin, and white robes, he sort of looked like an overzealous priest.
“What should we do about the portal, Hasen?” Ariette asked after a moment. The muscles in her neck were taut, and it was obvious she wanted out of this conversation.
“Have you told anyone else about this portal?”
“No,” Ariette responded quickly, and she elbowed me softly in the ribs so I wouldn’t mention Kalista.
“Excellent,” the guild master crooned. “Tell no one.”
“We’re covering this up?” Ariette questioned with an edge in her voice. She clearly didn’t like that. “Shouldn’t people know the truth? If we’re dealing with a dark wizard here, people need to be prepared.”
“Ariette, think of the confusion and panic that would cause,” the guild master explained with a sigh. “There is no need to terrify an entire population based on a single incident. For all we know, it wasn’t actually a dark portal. Maybe your eyes misled you.”
“With all due respect, sir,” Ariette said through gritted teeth, “my eyes did not mislead me. I know what I saw. It was a dark portal, and that means a dark wizard is on the loose.”
“We can’t cause mass panic, Ariette,” he repeated with a stern look. “That would cause more death and destruction than these creatures could ever dream of causing. If the humans find out that there are dark wizards about, or at the very least, someone with the power to create dark portals, we could have an uprising on our hands.”
“Of course, sir,” I cut in with a nod.
Ariette threw a glare in my direction, but I couldn’t help but agree with Hasen. He may have a superiority complex, but he was right about one thing: humans would snatch hold of this opportunity, and we could end up with a war on our hands. Or, a
t the very least, a lot more mayhem and chaos than some trolls could ever cause.
“I will be putting you on this case, however,” the guild master said slowly, and Ariette perked up beside me. “My agents will be wiping your information off your computers, but you will have access to it all on a system that isn’t connected to the outside world. Even though Kalista is very good, we can’t risk your systems being hacked. Furthermore, I need you three to meet me back at the guild to discuss our next moves. We have clues about the whereabouts of the mastermind behind these attacks.”
Before Ariette could respond, the screen went black. That was a good thing because then she grunted in frustration and threw the device down on the table. Surprisingly, it didn’t break.
“Stupid, condescending, grumpy old son of a bitch!” she shouted into the empty room. “I swear, it’s like he thinks that I’m a child who needs to be taunted and teased in order to fall into line.”
“He makes a really good point though,” I said as I placed my hands on both her shoulders. I looked into her eyes as she took a deep breath and rolled her head to look up at the ceiling.
“You are right,” she said as she looked back at me, and then one soft hand went to trace my stomach through my shirt.
“Telling the public would cause mass panic,” I muttered. “Think about how freaked out you feel right now and multiply that by millions of people.”
“I know,” she relented, “but it just doesn’t seem right. People are dying. They should know what they’re up against.”
“But we know,” I responded as I rubbed her shoulders. “And you, me, and Kalista can figure this out, proper protocol be damned.”
“Why, HC,” she laughed, “those are four words I never thought I’d hear you say.”
“I guess I’m playing bad cop right now,” I replied with a smirk.
I stared into her ocean blue eyes for a moment. They were so full of compassion and strength that I was in awe. I bent my head down, and she met me halfway to capture my lips in a warm kiss. Her tongue slid over my bottom lip, and I walked her backward until she leaned against the table.
