Protect

by Laura Wylde

  She sat down on the edge of the daybed and I scooted over so she could sit comfortably. Her smooth hip, dressed in a pair of linen slacks, snuggled against my stomach. “They never made it up the stairs. Thanks to you. You did it. You held them back.”

  Both her slender hands squeezed over mine. “I can’t keep doing this to you, Lenny. Everything that has happened to you lately is because of me. I’m putting you in danger. It has to stop.”

  “It will stop. When we’ve finished with them, they’ll never bother you again.”

  “You don’t understand what I’m saying. I want you to drop it. I don’t want you going after them for my sake.”

  “I can’t do that.” She didn’t understand. Even if I wasn’t head over heels for her, I had a duty to fulfill. I had responsibilities as a guardian that I took seriously. I had taken a sworn oath to protect the innocents against demons. I would rise out of the ashes a thousand times to keep her safe.

  I discouraged her from talking about it again by turning up the television set. “Ever play soccer?” I mused, watching the game.

  She nodded. “I did, in high school. I was actually pretty good at it. It’s not exactly an all-American sport though, is it?”

  “But it’s fun. Not as violent as football or hockey. I like volleyball, too.”

  She laughed. “You like volleyball? Oh my God! Are you the kind that plays it on the beach in your swimming trunks?”

  “I am.”

  “That’s so gay!”

  “It’s not! I just happen to look very good on a beach. I surf, too. That’s not gay.”

  I got her to chuckle and relax a bit. I didn’t like the avenues her thoughts had been heading. “My dad liked to knit,” she said. “He was embarrassed to do it in front of his friends. He would only knit at night while we were watching TV. He was afraid people would say it was gay.”

  “Volleyball is not a gay sport.”

  Daniel’s tears really sped up the recovery process. It wasn’t long before I began moving about. I adored Tanya’s intensive care, but I needed a little activity. I needed to become a member of the group and start pulling my weight again. After three days on the daybed, I believe I made a permanent indention in the cushions. Not wanting any more fuss, I simply stood up one day, went into the kitchen, made my own breakfast, then went to our exercise room to use the treadmill and bench press some weights.

  I was a little sore afterward, but it wasn’t bad. I was at two-thirds my normal capacity. The worst part was the headache it gave me. The wing snap had been very close to my central nervous system. Sometimes, lucid thought escaped me. I was having difficulties remembering events, beginning with the night Daniel and I were on stake-out. I remembered I was angry, but had a hard time remembering why. I remembered we argued, then I left. After that, my thoughts dissolved into flashes of images, most of them having to do with the harpy invasion, but before that, Tanya’s kiss. They’d have to cut my spine in half before I would forget that.

  The sauna would help sort it out. We called the whole room a sauna because we kept it warm and steamy, like a tropical jungle, but the actual sauna was a closed-in room to one side of the hot tub. It was built completely from cedar. It had two long benches and a rubber sealed mat for massages. It was heated by glowing red lava rocks.

  I scooped up two ladles of water and threw them on the rocks. They hissed as though they were alive, the vapors rolling out like the heat from a dragon’s breath. I sat back and sighed deeply, inhaling the sharp, cedar scent. The sweat collected and rolled down my skin, mingling with the water drops misting the air. The sweat would remove any toxins left over from the close contact with harpies.

  Phoenixes have a delicate sense of smell. Scents that only affect humans mildly, can create strong responses in a phoenix. Aromatic flowers, sandalwood, frankincense and myrrh are as intoxicating to us as a glass of wine. We often use spices for interdimensional therapy. Once we inhale the fragrance, we can communicate with the gate-keepers and other guardians.

  Smells that humans might just describe as offensive, we often find disgusting, even intolerable. Sewer rats made me retch, something the coyotes always found laughable. A harpy’s odor is so toxic to us, a few drops of their oily sweat on our skin is like being sprayed by a possum. It can take days to get it all out.

  It took a full hour in the sauna, but I finally felt clean again. I went out to the main room to shower off and noticed that Jamie and Daniel were using the hot tub. I rinsed, then eased myself into the jacuzzi side of the tub. Giant bubbles gurgled and popped around me, massaging my aching muscles. They marched along my back until I was floating weightlessly. I lifted my arms and a million frantic bubbles held them aloft. I closed my eyes.

  When I opened them, Daniel had taken a seat next me, with Jamie on the other side. “How are you feeling, little buddy?” He asked.

  “I was just thinking. You know, phoenixes and sirens have one thing in common. They both hate the smell of a harpy.” Then I frowned. Something forgotten nagged at my mind. Sirens. I was supposed to say something about sirens. The coyote report!

  I sat up straight. “Boss, Gloria’s info was spot on. The harpies are building nests all over the city. They’re trying to build an army.”

  “That’s in direct violation of the peace treaty. They can’t get away with it.”

  “Originally, it was just a pact between them and the vampires to stage war on the city, but after the last purge, most of the vampires moved to New Jersey. So, the harpies turned to the sirens. The sirens said they would help only if the harpies raised an army. They said they didn’t care about Manhattan, but they wanted Long Island. The sirens were counting on an alliance with the mer people, but when they were approached, the mer people didn’t accept. They said the last alliance they formed with the sirens ruined their reputation in Thebes forever. Now, the sirens no longer want to see the harpies succeed because they would have to share the city. They’re sitting back on their hands, pretending they’re still waiting for the army, but they leaked the harpies’ intentions out to the streets.”

  “Do you think they would help us?” Asked Daniel.

  I scoffed. “Not a fat chance. But they won’t hinder us. We need to put out an area-wide APB to the other special units. I should have remembered to tell you days ago.”

  Daniel shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault. Everything happened so fast, you didn’t get a chance to say anything. I’m sorry I’ve been so dismissive of your friends. I should have listened to you more.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve been a pain in the ass,” I grumbled. It’s painful to admit when you’re wrong, but fair is fair.

  My report did give us a sense of purpose. We didn’t waste any more precious minutes in the tub. It was time to start making some plans. We dressed quickly and went directly to the office to advice the commissioner of the situation. It was getting late and I had worked up a fine appetite, so I went into the kitchen to see what there was to eat. Tanya and Jack were already hovering over the stove, starting dinner.

  A dining table is as good as any for holding a meeting. Once we’d conducted the serious business of filling our bellies, we settled down for our discussion. To keep it energized, the table had been cleared of the dishes and replaced with coffee and oatmeal cookies.

  First, we filled Tanya and Jack in on the harpy epidemic springing up in the city. During the dispatch with the main offices, Jamie had learned of a recent raid in Boston. “There were only three harpies and they had just begun to make their nest. However, they were being guarded by two gargoyles. The gargoyles evaded capture, so we’re still not sure how deeply they’re involved, but I did some research on harpy cycles. Their fertility is at its greatest every hundred fifty years and can sometimes attract gargoyles.”

  Daniel tapped his spoon lightly and absently against his coffee cup. He looked at Tanya, who only stared back with large, owl eyes. “How about you? Did you learn anything about harpy fertility cycles in your studies?”<
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  She picked at a cookie, breaking it into tiny pieces that she ate unhappily between sips of coffee. “There was some information in a book I was trying to check out from the library. It was always unavailable, though.”

  Daniel nodded with a certain amount of satisfaction. She had confirmed all his suspicions. “Then you were close. We’ll have to open a dialog with the gate keepers. They will want a limit on the number of nests we take out, but I think it’s safe to say, our group will be a priority. They broke the treaty by preparing for war. They attacked as a group in broad daylight. They harmed a guardian in an act of cowardly revenge. They followed us home! They’re criminals.”

  “Don’t get too hot around the collar,” warned Jack humorously. “You’ll burst into flames. We play by the book. We’ll notify the gate-keepers of the necessity for taking out the nest and that the Boston nest has already been exterminated. We aren’t revenge killers, though. We have to keep that in mind.”

  If I had my way, endangered species be damned. I wouldn’t mind taking out every single harpy in New York. I said as much, even though I knew I would receive a lecture. Sure enough, Jack replied. “You know that harpies are used to help guard the underworld and punish those who were brought there for their evil-doing. They are part of the check and balance, Lenny.”

  “As long as they’re doing their job! This is not the underworld. They have no rights here. I say we should kill them all.”

  Daniel scowled. “it’s not our place to decide. I know you’re feeling passionate after all that’s happened, Lenny, but we need to approach this with a cool head. I want us ready to attack tomorrow morning. We’ll use the diamond shape flight pattern. That way, if they are close by, we can assemble quickly. If we have to conduct a search, we can veer off in the four directions, but do not – I repeat – do not veer away more than five hundred yards before flying back into formation. I don’t want the team separated under any circumstances.”

  It was standard search and destroy formation. We all knew the drill. We had been ambushed twice. It wasn’t going to happen again. We broke down the strategy to include what we had learned of the different fighting tactics and weaknesses of the harpies. Through it all, Tanya remained silent. During the last two weeks, I had begun to pick up on her moods. She was a high energy person, usually chatty, often restless, always ready to learn something new. Yet she had very little to say this evening, which was strange.

  I watched her pick apart her cookie, leaving more crumbs on the table than what made it to her mouth and knew she was still feeling bothered. The pep talk I had with her earlier apparently didn’t have a long-lasting effect. Dark turmoil flitted through her eyes. Her neck drooped. The golden hairs on the back of it trailed away from her ponytail and wisped around her shoulders. A swan has never looked more graceful, or an angel of mercy more sorrowful. I leaned toward her side of the table and asked gently, “Tanya, is there something you’d like to say?”

  Her voice wobbled when she first started speaking, but it became stronger after a couple of deep breaths. “This all started because I wanted to write a thesis on the possibilities that mythological creatures were real and continue to exist today. I didn’t really believe I’d find solid evidence, just empirical data. I treated the creatures as though they were animals to track, like trying to find the Loch Nest Monster. I didn’t consider how they would feel.”

  “Tanya,” Daniel said, reaching across the table to take her hands. “You couldn’t have known…”

  “But I should have known! As soon as the bear clan protested their relationship to the Yeti, I should have known I had hit a few sensitivities. Instead, I shrugged them off as a wilderness cult with too much time on their hands. Who knows what offences I might have ended up causing if Jamie hadn’t stepped in and made a few corrections. Not just harpies, but gorgons, mer people, oh! And elves! I had no idea elves had such a formal social structure.”

  “Maybe the fates made the decision to unite us when we did,” suggested Jack, who loved philosophical discussions. It was said his great-grandfather met with The Fates personally, and I wouldn’t doubt it. The original phoenix consulted with The Fates. He didn’t feel the future should be sealed. The Fates made an agreement that whenever the phoenix appeared as a symbol of hope, those of great courage and conviction would be able to overcome their fate. “They wanted you to get it right.”

  Tanya wasn’t convinced. “I don’t think so. I think I just messed up. Listen to you guys! You want to wipe out a species that was really trying to protect its nest.”

  “They broke the law!” I objected. “You didn’t. It’s not just their nest they’re protecting. They want to build an army! That’s what you were on the verge of learning. You’ve got that screwy siren living on the top floor. All she had to do was slip up one time and all the pieces would have fallen into place.”

  “She’s drunk all the time,” Tanya argued. “I can never make sense out of half of what she says. You’ve got to put it on me alone. My stupid book started the whole thing.”

  Jack was so offended, he stood up. “It’s not a stupid book! It’s an incredible compilation of stories, with ties to the modern world. It breathes life. It’s hard to believe you’ve gotten as far as you have without a shape-shifter’s help.”

  “Maybe if I agreed to abandon the project, the harpies would leave us alone. They don’t have anyone to help them build their army. You could just tell them to go to Selvestovia without killing them.”

  Daniel shook his head. “They won’t agree, Tanya. Even if they did, they’re still an endangerment to human lives. If we took them to the gate-keepers, they would still pass a death sentence because they violated the law. If the gate- keepers pass sentence, they aren’t even safe in Selvestovia. The harpies know this. They aren’t packing their bags just because you surrendered.”

  “But it could prevent future problems, couldn’t it? Look what has happened to Lenny. It wasn’t necessary. I jeopardized him. I jeopardized all of you.”

  “Sweetheart,” said Jamie in that rolling voice that could lull a baby to sleep. “We go after mythological creatures who break the law. That’s what we do. We’ve been fighting the underground for centuries. You write your book. We’ll do our job, and we’ll come back to you safely.”

  She stood as tall as her height would allow her, which was probably around five foot eight. A little tall for a woman, but she still seemed petite compared to the rest of us. “I just want you to know,” she said, her voice falling away like the cookie pieces. “I admire all of you. You’re brave. You’re gallant. You each have a special quality. I’ve never felt so close to anyone before as I’ve felt toward you; everyone of you. You’ve all worked your way into my heart, and I feel as protective toward you and your legacy as you feel toward my safety. I don’t want to see any of you hurt. Any of you suffer. If I write my book…” She didn’t finish. She ran sobbing from the room.

  Tanya

  If, a month ago, I had been told I was about to meet four gorgeous shape-shifting police officers and fall in love with them, I would have laughed in the face of the crazy old fortune teller using tea leaves, reading palms or whatever means she used for divination. All other incredible events aside, including harpy attacks and getting swept up to find sanctuary in a mansion, I just wasn’t the kind of girl who developed a lot of romantic relationships.

  I wasn’t opposed to romance, it’s just that my career had been more important to me. My trust fund wouldn’t last much beyond my college years. By the time I graduated, I wanted to have an academic post with the mythological department. I thought my manuscript would secure it and possibly create a stable income in book sales.

  My dad called it my stubborn, independent streak. He said I got it from my mother, who always did things just the way she wanted without asking anybody what they thought. When they first divorced, I was so angry and asked my dad why he wasn’t. He said it was because you never knew which way an independent person was going to
swing. He knew that when he married her but had been foolish enough to think he could influence her. “Her mind grows,” he said. “I wasn’t enough for all her growing needs”.

  Maybe that’s why I’d always kept my distance in relationships. Maybe I had a lot of different needs, like my mother, and one person couldn’t satisfy all of them. If I was to look the truth bluntly in the eye, each one of the four officers filled a particular need within me.

  Daniel was The Rock. The solid pillar, someone to lean on. Daniel inspired confidence. When he was around, I knew nothing bad could happen to me. It’s what made him a good leader. When he was in charge, he made the others feel invincible.

  Jamie was like a tonic, almost like a drug. His voice had an addicting quality. It poured over you like honey. I could bathe in that voice. I could lavish it over my body. He could have been five feet tall, overweight and ugly and I would still fall headlong into his voice.

  Jack appealed to every fiber in my body that responded to art and culture. He looked wise. He looked dignified. You knew before he even spoke that he was an authority on everything beautiful and majestic. He was so refined, he knew the entire table setting arrangement, complete with the nightmare assortment of silverware and their proper use, for a royal dinner.

  Lenny made me tumble. He was so sweet, so boyish. There was something wonderfully naïve about him, despite being over two hundred years old. It’s like he grew up in a bubble and never had a real relationship with regular humans. It brought out every bit of tenderness in me. When he was injured, I felt his pain. Whenever he hurt, I hurt.

  I sat on the bed, wondering what had gotten over me. Why I was such an idiot. They were discussing serious plans, even weighing out the long-term consequences. I had to stand up and blurt out all my sentiments for them. How much I cared about them, how much I didn’t want to see them put themselves in danger on account of me.