by Viola Grace
Elsinor nodded, she could see that being a problem over a few decades.
“Jeri is an amazing programmer. She has designed a few tricky things that hopefully helped them track you this time. Well, if you are watching this, they found you, so that is encouraging right off the bat.”
Elsinor grinned at her own image. It seemed that her sense of humour remained intact.
“Now, in my lifetime, I did all the research I could, and I found traces of us across the globe. We have been everywhere in human history at one time or another, and we are extremely old. There are a few avenues of inquiry that I have not been able to get to, and they are the dragons and the next oldest things, the vampire kings. As time went on, Al and Jeri got more paranoid and wouldn’t let me into any place they considered dangerous. I made a last escape to the Night Faire, but they caught me on the way out. I was forced to buy both of them cotton candy and a turkey leg before they would let me go. I did get the charms I wanted, though, so it was worth it.”
Elsinor in the recording leaned back and sighed. “So, all I can do is forward my research, the charm, and the crystal. That is your inheritance along with seven billion dollars in shell corporations that fund this building and hundreds just like it around the world. You are a wealthy woman. It has come with age. Even if you have to start over every fifty years, there are those that have remembered you, and they have treated you kindly.”
El looked on, and when her mind finished spinning at the thought of all that money, she realized even it wasn’t enough to protect her. He had still come, she had still been found missing her organs.
“Right. Well, that is enough for your first day. Trust Jeri with your life. She will guard it well, and if she trusts you, she will tell you all about her.”
El murmured, “What about Al?”
“Al is a story all his own. He will share pieces of himself, but it will take years. Buckle up. He is not one to tangle with lightly. That said, a truer friend and companion couldn’t be found.” Elsinor winked. “He is also a lot of fun in bed. The wings add a fun complication to things.”
A final wave and a grin. “Good luck. Read all you can and find a death keeper. If you can access the larger body of information, you can rush to the edge of understanding and bring an end to this. It is a cycle that I want to see the end of, but I cannot remember its beginning. At least you can find the end. Good luck again or still or forever. Hell, good luck to me. I need it.”
The file was at an end. El stared at Elsinor with the cheerful hand waving at her.
El leaned forward and opened some of the other files. She scanned the information and absorbed it. There was a ton of data to run through, but by the time there was a knock on the door, she felt she had made a good start.
Her stomach rumbled, and she made a dash to the restroom. When she emerged, pale, shaking, and sweaty, she smiled at Jeri. “Time for a hamburger.”
Jeri grinned and shook her head. “The pain will be worse.”
“I don’t care. I have given myself an errand list a mile long. I need to get my body functioning quickly. That means a higher protein intake.”
“There was protein in the nuts and seeds that were in the oatmeal.”
“Well, the oatmeal is gone now. Time for a burger.”
Jeri nodded. “If you insist.”
They walked side by side to the space where the morning meeting had been held. Jeri went off to one side and prepared a hamburger. El waited patiently, rubbing her hands together when her assistant and companion brought the food to her.
It smelled amazing, and when she took that first bite, it was pure bliss. The inability to chew it surprised her. The agonizing pain in her head made her retch and spit the meat out at the same time.
Jeri caught the projectile, gathered up the burger, and walked away saying, “I didn’t want to tell you that you were a vegetarian, just in case things had changed. I guess it is embedded in your body, not just a philosophy thing.”
El sat there, slumped over and glaring as Jeri threw away the chewed bit and ate the majority of the burger before returning to the kitchen.
When she returned a few minutes later with a covered plate, El was still grim. “That was mean.”
Jeri slid the plate in front of her. “I didn’t want to skew your tastes, and I always wondered if you chose to eat plants and seeds or if you had to. Now I know.”
On the plate was a burger that was nearly identical to the first one. “Are you going for another spit take?”
“It is fully vegetarian. Take a bite. One of your companies works tirelessly to craft food for those who are medically vegetarian instead of ethically. So, it looks and tastes like meat with a similar texture.” Jeri patted her shoulder. “Tuck in.”
The smell was teasing her as much as the first burger had. El lifted it, licked it, and then, she bit down, munching with enthusiasm. Her body didn’t react; she enjoyed every bite.
When she was done, she sat back. “Thank goodness. But really? There is no reference to needing vegetables in my memory.”
“In that case, I am guessing that it is something that your body needs or the magic that keeps you young.”
“Maybe it is a condition of the magic.”
Jeri nodded. “It could be. We have never really gone over it before.”
“More important things to talk about?”
“Yeah, mostly how to plant trackers in your body that couldn’t be removed. I have the details of what happened to you on your last day if you like.”
Al came around the corner, chewing on his own burger. El was pretty damned sure that it wasn’t a veggie burger.
“Did you put together the data, Jericho?”
Jeri nodded. “Yup. I am just about to show her what I have found.”
“Can I sit in?”
“Sure. Let me get Old Yeller, and I will be right back.”
El sat there, and Al sat next to her. “Are you enjoying your education day?”
She looked longingly at his burger. “Yes and no. I like my old self, but I have learned I am a vegetarian. Not really a fan of the situation.”
Al chuckled. “You weren’t too pleased the last time, but it seems to be a condition of your existence.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I wonder how I got along before?”
“You ate small meals constantly, and you kept nuts and seeds in your handbag.” Al grinned. “I found it endearing. You were like a little goth squirrel, to use today’s parlance.”
She snorted. “Funny.”
“Not really. It is a very apt description.” He snickered. “I think I have a photo on my phone.”
To her amazement, he pulled a phone out and flicked through it with remarkable dexterity for a man with such large hands. He was chuckling as he held the phone out toward her.
There on the screen was an image of her with dark eyes, almonds clenched in both hands, and she was nibbling frantically with her wide eyes staring in surprise at the camera. Her hair and clothing were black, so she couldn’t refute his statement. She looked like a goth squirrel. Her hair was even sticking up.
“Having a previous life is peculiar.”
“You will get used to it.”
Jericho chuckled, collected them, and they wandered into a new boardroom with the door closed once they were all inside.
“Right. I have had my bots collecting every trace of you, and my worms removing any data created by tracking you. It was not an easy task.”
Elsinor smiled. “She... I... would not have been so proud of you if what you did was easy.”
Jeri smiled, and Al inclined his head with respect. It seemed she had said the right thing.
“Right. Well, this display is of the four states involved in this event.” Jeri triggered the hologram.
A flat panel with the area was highlighted.
“You disappeared here. Next to our home. That is where your life signs stuttered.” Jericho p
ointed to the exact spot on the map.
“From there, you were transported to this point.” Jeri swallowed. “That is where you died.”
The small red spot on the display was a beacon that led nowhere.
Elsinor nodded. “What happened next?”
“We tracked your organs to this facility. It is a private clinic outside Marthenburg. After three days, the tracker that we had placed in them showed the movement toward Arcoway city. Two days after that, the radioactive tracer wore off. I am assuming that the recipient of the organs’ body has flushed it out.”
“Probably. That was a clever thing.”
Jericho brushed away tears. “We had to wait until the local constabulary found you. It wasn’t long, but you had just started your healing process. They took you to the morgue, but your body began to repair itself, and then you were rushed up for scans.”
“From there, the airlift.”
“Correct.”
She watched the movements as they were charted on the display via dotted lines.
“So, this can’t be the complete report.”
“No, we have also been looking for any conspicuous spending. We have been watching for sudden cessation in dialysis, cancellation of heart or ocular therapies. Anything that refers to the organs that were taken.”
“What did you find?”
“A list of nine names in the city. Two are confirmed deceased, six of the remaining do not have the financial means to continue treatment, that leaves one likely suspect.”
Elsinor smiled. “Why do I get the feeling that it is related to the name of his town?”
“Because his last name is Marthen. Josias Marthen. He owns the town.”
She snorted. “That makes sense. No one would question if he came in and simply settled down for some medical treatment.”
There was a tense expression on Jericho’s face. “He’s a vampire king.”
Elsinor blinked. “That throws a wrench into things.”
Al snorted. “Do you think?”
She gave him a dark look. “Jeri, can you pull up everything possible about this guy and send it to my terminal? I think I have some combat training or something this morning. Suddenly, I want to hit something.”
Al nodded. “I will warn Corwin.”
They got up from the table, and she followed him to the gym. It was time to work off some of her frustration and give her a reason to spend the afternoon looking for a death keeper. A woman in her condition would tire easily. Well, she hoped she would. Elsinor really had no idea.
Chapter Five
Corwin didn’t take pity on her condition. He worked on her stamina until she was trying to crawl away from the exercise equipment.
“You have done well, Elsinor. Much better than expected.”
From her position, face down on the mat, she lifted her hand and shot him the finger.
He chuckled and lifted her to her feet. “Considering you were dead a few days ago, you are doing wonderfully well. I will see you again tomorrow, and we will get you into combat training by the end of the week.”
Her head spun, and her muscles were cramping. “Wonderful. I can’t wait.”
He gave her a quick hug. “I haven’t seen your return before, and I am very glad that you managed it.”
She nodded. “At this moment, I have a slight and fleeting regret, but I am sure I will recover.”
Corwin nodded. “You will feel better after a hot shower. Would you like help returning to your quarters?”
She shook her head. “No, I will just walk it off. Thank you.”
“You are welcome. Same time tomorrow?”
She nodded and slowly made her way out of the gym and into the halls. Keeping her body moving forward was essential. Elsinor kept her focus on the death keeper she needed to seek out. She knew how to run a search, but how was she going to pick out the one who could help her? Sure, there were probably dozens of death keepers on the continent, but how would she know who was the best one for the job?
She flexed her fingers and began with a search for death keepers who had made the news. She scanned online source after online source and sat back with a smile when the same name came up over and over again. Imara Mirrin. Master Death Keeper and Spectral Consultant. If there were someone who could read a soul stone, it would be her.
Mirrin. Why did that name ring a bell? She went into her personal archives and looked for hits on the name. Well, that was interesting. There was a Mirrin Depford-Smyth in a chancellor position at a college.
When she found an image of the chancellor and the death keeper, Elsinor smiled. She just loved watching genetics in action. Perhaps she should talk to her friend before she spoke with the daughter. It might help smooth things along if the young woman discovered things that no one needed to know.
The file on Mirrin said she was trustworthy, powerful, and had links to several magical families. She would be a good friend to renew an acquaintance with.
For information, Elsinor continued to look into the college, and she blinked at the number of names that were familiar to her.
Sighing, she turned to her personal files and started to slog through them as rapidly as she could while learning names and places that she enjoyed. It was nice of her previous self to leave so much private info on friends and what passed for family. Al and Jericho were the only files that were sealed with passwords. She had no idea what the passwords were, so she considered them private. If her previous self had wanted her to know, she would have left a clue.
“How are you dealing with finding out who your attacker is?”
She turned and looked at Jericho. Elsinor shrugged. “I am not worried about it. He won’t be after me for another five-plus decade.”
Jeri blinked. “Don’t you want to confront him?”
Elsinor smiled. “Of course I do, but I am in no condition to do it. I must have started working out before the abduction, though. Corwin says I am surprisingly fit.”
Jeri shook her head. “Right. Of course. Yeah, you were doing yoga and Pilates in here. I caught you twice.”
The way Jeri said it, it seemed she would have been less embarrassed if she had caught Elsinor naked. “Did you think it was a sex thing?”
“At first... yes. It wasn’t until you disappeared that I figured it out.”
“She was trying to give me a good jumping-off situation. It seems to have worked. I have more muscle tone than she had in the pictures that Al showed me.”
Jeri sat on the edge of the bed, and she grinned. “It was the picture where your cheeks were puffed with nuts, wasn’t it? He loves that photo.”
Elsinor wrinkled her nose. “It was. How long has he had it?”
“Nine years. He transfers it to each phone when he gets a new one.” Jeri smirked. “How are you adjusting?”
“Fairly well. Hearing about my situation from my own lips has been very helpful.” Elsinor winked. “You can stop asking. I will tell you if I am freaked out.”
Jericho nodded. “I am glad to hear it. Your previous self was open as well, until the last year before this one. You always shut down before you are taken.”
“There are doors opening that part of me has been waiting for. Whatever I was, I am now prepared to go to war in my own defense. I don’t think that that has been my mindset previously.” Elsinor cocked her head. “I woke up very angry and only blood is going to quench that fire.”
Jericho whistled. “That is definitely new. Normally, you come out of it wanting to do good with a gentle heart.”
“There is time for good later. We can do good if it needs to be done during our quest, but I am tired of being hunted. I have a family, and I want to live my life with it, to enjoy it, and to savour giving and receiving love.”
It seemed so right when Elsinor said it out loud. That was what this new start was all about. She was going to break the cycle, snap the chain of events, and pull apart the person who was causing
it. She might have come into her previous incarnations with an open heart, but now, she had a new heart, and it wasn’t nearly as committed to harmony as her previous selves had been.
Jericho spoke quietly. “Why now? Why are you ready now?”
There was a hint of accusation in her tone. Elsinor reached out and squeezed her hand. “Because I have been looking through my files, and I have an army of those who will act in my stead. The legacy is a wide net that has spread across the world, and even if I fall forever, it is strong enough to continue.”
Jeri squeezed her hand. “You will not fall forever. We will not allow it.”
“I will if it is my time, but right now, I think my time is still a great distance away. I want to live to the fullest, so it is best that I fix this and get started.”
“So, you are starting combat training this week?”
Elsinor batted her lashes and smiled brightly. “As soon as I can feel my ass again. Corwin is a sadist.”
Jeri laughed, and it was nice to hear her daughter’s laughter. Elsinor paused and cocked her head. “I don’t know if you know this, but did I ever have other children?”
Jeri paused. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Because I feel the maternal sense toward you is that of someone looking at a surviving child.”
There was the scratch of a foot on the floor near the doorway. “I will handle this.”
Elsinor sighed. “It doesn’t need to be handled. It is just a feeling I had.”
Jeri got to her feet and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “It’s fine. Al has known you in a different way than I have. He knows things that I don’t like to talk about.”
Elsinor looked at Al as he walked in and took up the seat on the bed while Jeri left her with her lover.
“So, what do I not know about my situation as a mother?”
He leaned forward and took her hand in his, the markings glowing under his skin. “Sometimes, you come back, and you are feeling this. Once, you came back, and you whispered in your sleep about a family, a curse, and wandering death. You spoke of three little girls and two little boys. The way you spoke of them, they were all under the age of ten or so.”
