“Isn’t it also possible,” Allie said, not truly believing it but wanting to push the police to think outside the theory she knew they currently favored, “that he was never working alone at all? Maybe the whole time he had a partner or group he was with, like the original coven, and now that he’s gone someone else is picking up the slack? And one of them is after me because I was part of the reason he got caught?”
“Do you believe that?” Smythe asked, looking at her intently.
She wavered, “I don’t know what to believe, but it’s possible and no more or less likely than thinking there were two separate killers running around the whole time.”
“I think you need to consider taking some more safety measures,” detective Riordan said. “I don’t want to get called out to process a scene and find you lying on the ground dead because no one was taking this seriously enough.”
Allie looked down, feeling cold. Jason’s hand clenched on her shoulder, and his emotions spiked from worry to fear. She felt him shift slightly behind her, the hint of iron in the gun he wore at his hip an irritating presence at her back. She felt like she was watching her entire life spiral out of control and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
And then, as if she wasn’t overwhelmed enough Jess’s voice floated into her mind, “Allie? Are you alright?”
She reached up rubbing her hands over her face. She debated not telling him, but that was foolish, and then decided to just say it. He was 700 years old and a commander in the Guard, he should be able to handle bad news without panicking, even if he tended to overreact to anything involving her safety. “Jess, the police are here and they have some disturbing news. The blade that cut my car tires is the same one that was used to kill Aeyliss.”
“I am on my way,” he said, his emotions a mix of fear and anger.
“No,” she said feeling his emotions immediately shift into hurt. “No Jess I mean it. I am not rejecting you – the gods know I love you and I’ve told you so and shown you so you know it’s true. But there is no reason for you to run out here for nothing.”
“Aliaine-“
“Jessilaen” she cut him off before the thought could fully form. “You have a duty to the Guard. You cannot place me before that. I am not in any immediate danger and so far whoever is doing this hasn’t actually threatened my life. This is a disturbing turn of events, but it’s not like he wrote ‘I killed Aeyliss’ in blood on my car. Stay where you are and I will keep telling you what is going on.”
“I cannot bear you being in such danger,” he thought back, his misery a bitter taste in her mouth.
“We don’t know that I am. For now we can only keep on as we have been. I have to go, the police are still here and I need to finish talking to them. If you are that worried ask your brother’s opinion,” she said quickly, wanting to be reassuring but aware that one of the detectives was speaking and unable to follow both voices at once.
“Ms. McCarthy?” detective Riordan was saying, his voice concerned.
“I will talk to Zarethyn and I will see you again as soon as possible. Do not doubt that your safety means more to me even than my duty,” Jess whispered into her mind, even as she tried to ignore him and focus on the human police in front of her. When she spoke out loud again she was surprised to hear her voice shaking and she struggled to sound stronger, “I’m sorry detective. I’m having a hard time concentrating. What did you say?”
“I said that there’s not much we can do for you, but please let us know immediately if anything else happens. Anything at all, no matter how minor it might seem,” Riordan said looking sympathetic.
“Thanks detective, I will,” Allie said. “Any chance I’ll get my car back any time soon?”
“Probably another day or two. I’m sorry about the delay, but under the circumstances we’re going over it with a fine tooth comb looking for any additional evidence,” Smythe said.
“I understand,” she said, resigned. It’s not like she could do anything about it anyway.
“We’re taking this very seriously,” detective Riordan said, looking troubled.
“I know you are, and I know there’s not much you can do unless you get a real lead about whoever’s doing this,” Allie said. “And I’ll be extra careful.”
Riordan nodded, still looking unhappy. “Alright then. We need to get going but I wanted to tell you this in person. Keep in touch, okay?”
She forced a smile for his benefit, “Thanks detective, I will. Hopefully I won’t have to.”
Both detectives smiled back and nodded as they said goodbye, but she could feel their concern. This had them spooked and that made her very unhappy.
When they left Jason stepped back a little, dropping his hand. “Wow. That…I don’t even know what to say to that.”
Allie covered her face with her hands again, rubbing her temples. “What the Hel has happened to my life?”
She felt him start to step towards her again and then stop himself, his feelings uncertain. “Allie…I…this is really bad. You need to tell Jessilaen. Maybe the Guard can help you.”
“I already told him,” she said ignoring the disbelief that went through him, “But Jason I’m not going to let the Guard take over my life. I can’t get put in a position where I end up under Guard again, or worse taken to the Outpost in protective custody.”
“Ummm. That’s a better option than death isn’t it?” he said.
“Is it?” she whispered back.
****************************
Allie sat anxiously in the back of the large conference room, waiting for the meeting to get around to discussing Jason. She hadn’t understood when he’d first told her about the hearing that it wasn’t a separate event of its own but would be included as part of the larger monthly meeting the fire department held, and would be open to the entire department and the public. When he had broken down at dinner and admitted it was likely to be a public spectacle sandwiched between budget debates and discussion of the upcoming training schedule she’d been appalled. She had not realized that although Jason was a paid fire fighter, as were a half dozen others at the station, there were also a large number of volunteers and so the monthly meetings were considered official town business and as such open to the public, as well as the entire emergency services department.
There wasn’t much she could do, especially with the tension that still hung between them after the events of the other night, but she had insisted on going with him. Tony couldn’t because he had to work, and there was no way Allie was letting Jason go alone. It had taken some bullying on her part because he worried that everyone from Bleidd to the Guard to the human police wanted her staying safely at home, but she had eventually convinced him that she would be just as safe out with him as sitting at home with no one but Liz and Shawn to keep an eye on her. It may have helped that she had implied that she’d follow him anyway, and so now she sat quietly in the back while he sat in the front row, radiating stress.
It was difficult to be in such a large crowd, surrounded by people feeling so many different things. As hard as she tried it was almost impossible to completely shield from a group this size in the current state her gift was in and the effort to do so was giving her a dull headache. She had hoped that sitting in the back corner might help, and it did seem to slightly dim things, but she still felt a little too much like she was treading water in the middle of the ocean.
The meeting dragged on and Allie watched the clock hands crawl slowly around. She was starting to wonder if they were every going to get to Jason or if they had decided to put it off until next month, when the assistant chief cleared her throat loudly at the front table, “Well, that takes care of the discussion about the new lockers. I think we’re agreed that we’ll table that issue until next month?”
There was a murmur of assent and someone made the motion official, to be quickly seconded by another person sitting in the lines of folding chairs. Allie shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the assistant chief
continued, “Then it looks like the last item on our agenda is the issue of fire fighter Takada’s status. For the record Takada was put on paid leave after violating a direct order at the scene of a fully involved house fire, and re-entering the building at great personal risk to himself, endanger the entire crew in the process. We will now discuss whether further disciplinary action will be taken.”
The captain nodded and then took up where the assistant chief had left off, “Obviously our crew has to work as a team and we cannot have any individual putting themselves or other people in danger. Jason, you have always been a dedicated fire fighter and an exemplary employee, but I hope you understand why it is absolutely unacceptable for you to decide to go into an unstable structure fire against direct orders?”
Jason stood up slowly, his head down, shoulders slumped, “Yes, sir. I do understand.”
He thinks he’s getting fired, Allie realized, frowning. He isn’t even going to try to fight to keep his job. Then she winced slightly to herself. Well really what’s he going to say? I knew it was safe for me to go in because I’ve been lying all this time and I’m not human and fire doesn’t hurt me? Right, and then losing his job will be the least of his worries. And that won’t make them feel any different about him defying orders and running into a building about to collapse anyway. Being fireproof doesn’t keep you from being crushed.
“Do you have any explanation for this gross lack of judgment?” the captain asked, already shuffling papers on the table in front of him, obviously not expecting anything from Jason.
“No sir,” Jason said, his voice quiet even in the echoing space.
“Well then, I’m afraid-“
“No, wait,” Allie said, standing up so fast she almost tipped her chair over. There was a small commotion as everyone in the room shifted and twisted trying to see who had spoken and Allie struggled against the urge to sit back down. Jason had partially turned and was looking at her with wide, slightly panicked eyes. Gods only knew what he thought she was going to say.
The captain frowned, his mustache twitching downward at the edges. “Miss, please don’t interrupt. These are official proceedings.”
“I know. I mean I understand that. But there’s something I need to say, umm, in Jason’s defense, if that’s alright?” her voice sounded weak even to her own ears and she bit her lip. What the Hel are you going to say you idiot? she thought desperately. He’s never going to speak to you again if you make this worse! Then she kicked herself You may not be a full elf but you are partially one and you can talk him out of this without lying or exposing his secret. Just think and say what they need to hear to draw their own conclusions.
The captain was still staring at her, and she started to think he wasn’t going to let her say anything at all, but then he relented, “If you can add anything that might mitigate the circumstances I would certainly like to hear it. Step up here and state your name for the record and then tell us what you need to tell us.”
Jason’s eyes darted between Allie and the captain and assistant chief sitting at the front of the room. He caught Allie’s eye and shook his head slightly, but she ignored him walking up to stand near the front with more confidence than she felt.
“My name is Allie McCarthy, and I’m Jason’s friend and roommate,” Allie began slowly, gathering her thoughts. “I’m also a witch. Not an exceptionally talented one but I’m fairly good. Jason knows that because I handle the magical maintenance around our house. I’ve done quite a bit of spellwork for him over the years and it’s possible that he thinks I’m much better than I am. I think that he went into that fire because he believed it wouldn’t hurt him,” she ignored Jason’s disbelieving gasp, “I could have given him the idea that protective spells were more thorough than they actually are and if he ever got hurt because I had led him to believe that he was protected from something I can’t actually cast a spell against….well I’d never forgive myself. I can’t stand by and let him lose his job or get into a lot of trouble over something like this.”
There was a moment of total silence when she finally stopped speaking and then the captain turned to Jason, “Takada, did you believe you were protected from the fire?”
Looking like he might be sick, Jason nodded stiffly, “Yes, sir.”
The captain blew out a deep breath, shaking his head. “Boy you should know better than to trust any magic to protect you against a roof collapse. If that sort of thing worked the department would use it all the time for everyone.”
“Yes, sir,” Jason agreed sounding less horrified and more confused now.
The captain leaned over and whispered with the associate chief for a minute and then straightened up again, his face unreadable. “Miss you can sit back down. Takada do you understand that this behavior is absolutely unacceptable?”
Allie all but ran back to her seat. Jason swallowed hard, looking down, “Yes, sir. I understand that. I endangered everyone and disobeyed a direct order and that should never happen.”
“Damn straight it shouldn’t! And if it happens again you’ll be out on your ass faster than you can say ‘jackrabbit’. I expect you to know better than to trust magic, even here in this almost-Fairyland, to protect you from here on out. You’ll be docked vacation days for every day you were suspended with pay. Karen’ll get you back on the schedule asap, and I don’t want to hear a single complaint about whatever shifts you get put on, understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Jason said reflexively. Even from her spot at the back, Allie could feel how stunned he was.
The captain stood up and announced the end of the meeting and chaos broke out. People were going up to Jason in groups and alone, talking loudly. No one had expected him to keep his job, but Allie was relieved to see - and feel with her gift – that almost everyone was happy about the way things had gone. There were only a couple people who were projecting disappointment. She let out a shaky breath, not even aware she’d been holding it and huddled back into her seat trying to be invisible.
Finally the room cleared out and Jason walked slowly back to where Allie was sitting. He looked puzzled. She glanced quickly up and then back down. “So, ummmm, that went well, right?”
“You lied,” he said softly.
“Jason Takada I never lie. Not even for you.”
“You did, you said you told me I was magically protected…”he started, but she waved a hand to stop him.
“I did no such thing. I said that I could have given you the idea that protective spells worked better than they do – which I could have if we’d ever discussed such a thing – and that I’d never forgive myself if you got hurt because of something I told you about magic, which is completely true,” Allie said still looking down. “They jumped to conclusions from that and assumed I meant that I had put a spell on you that you thought would protect you in a fire, but I never actually said any such thing.”
Jason grunted slightly in surprise. “Wow. That’s devious. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“I am part elf and I grew up with all that semantic, verbal ballet crap you know,” she muttered. Then a bit louder, “By elven standards that was pretty lame actually. An elf would have seen right through that.”
Jason was still staring at her, his emotions a swirl that she didn’t want to look at too closely. “I guess I’m lucky that my boss isn’t an elf then.”
Allie shrugged, “I guess. You ready to go?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
As they reached the door one of the other firefighters, a thin, brown haired man with a friendly smile, was just coming in. Allie was relieved to feel with her gift that he was one of the ones who was really happy for Jason, and when he spoke his voice was cheerful. “Hey Takada, you gonna join everybody at Mike’s?”
“Well Mike’s Pizza is the best but I think I’m kinda tired…”
“Oh come on Jase,” Allie cut in, not wanting his night to be ruined just because she was with him, “Let’s go get pizza with the guys. You should celebrate.
”
Jason gave her a frustrated look, “I’m your ride.”
“Oh it’s okay,” the other firefighter said, still smiling, “she can come too. It’d be nice to look at someone pretty instead of all the same ugly faces.”
Allie blushed. Jason looked torn. “She has a boyfriend Rogers.”
“Of course she does, but she can still hang out with you and eat pizza. Come on Takada,“ the other firefighter, Rogers, wiggled his eyebrows, “you know you wanna.”
“Yeah, it could be fun,” Allie agreed, wondering again why everyone immediately assumed she had a boyfriend.
Jason heaved a heavy sigh. “Fine.”
The three of them headed out the door, Allie trailing slightly behind the two men who were chatting about gossip around the firehouse. Jason’s truck was parked in the lot adjacent to the building but Mike’s Pizza was only a block and a half from the firehouse, and with parking in this part of town always at a premium walking was only logical.
“Jess?” Allie reached out to him as she walked, feeling the usual worry that she was intruding.
“Allie? What is it? Is something wrong?” he was immediately afraid for her, the feeling sharp, and she frowned. She had a sense of him in his bed, the room dark and still.
“Everything’s fine, I’m with Jason. I went with him to his hearing. Now we’re going to get pizza,” she thought back trying to let him feel her happiness in the moment. “I just missed you and wanted to talk to you. I didn’t wake you did I?”
He relaxed and his emotions turned to softer things, “I hadn’t fallen asleep yet, but it is worth losing sleep to talk with you. Did Jason’s hearing go well then?”
“Better than he’d hoped. He was reprimanded but he has his job back,” she thought, watching Jason and his friend walking ahead of her.
“I am happy for him.” There was a slight pause and then, “Allie I wish you would reconsider coming to stay with me for a time. I cannot bear this constant worry.”
Lost in Mist and Shadow: A Between the Worlds Novel Page 27
