by A and E Kirk
Leontes cleared his throat. “Please state your business.”
“Awright, I like that,” Callahan said, fingering his large earring. “Just like you to be straight to the point. No chatter. Yeah, the thing is that we’ve come to help.”
“Help how?” Leontes thought he knew, but needed to have the fairy say it.
“With the investigation, of course. Queen Mab wants to offer you all the resources at her disposal to help yous track down Oleander. Well, not the real Oleander, sure, but—”
“We’re calling him Fauxleander,” Jaeger said, then shut up after Leontes gave him a look.
“Clever, mate. Very clever. He’s a smart one, ain’t he lads?” The rest of the fey nodded. “That’s fabulous news. So why don’t we’s all go see the queen to compare notes and enjoy a confabulation of our own.”
“Because we do not want to,” Leontes said. “For the record, we kindly decline the offer of assistance. The matter is closed. We shall be leaving.”
“But I’ve got me orders,” Callahan said with a whiny pitch to his voice. “You see, Queen Mab knows the vampires, shifters, and witches are all having quite the confab on this, and she’s feeling a wee bit left out, so I’m supposed to bring yous to her, by whatever means necessary. I can’t let her down. She might cut me head off. And I like me head right where it is.” He pointed to his head for emphasis. “You understand.”
Without a word, the other twelve fairies moved to surround Leontes and Jaeger.
“I understand.” Leontes calmly eyed the group. “Take me, but leave Jaeger and Kiara alone.”
Callahan made a face. “Oh no, sorry, mate. It’s a package deal. Well, at least she has to be in the package.” He nodded at Kiara in the car. “So maybe you should give the bird a shout. Or would you rather we tear you apart for a bit to get her attention.” He smiled again, revealing incisors that while not quite fangs were not far off.
Amid the atmosphere of escalating tension, the fierce wind suddenly died. The snow still fell, but now the flakes dropped straight down. Callahan and the other fey looked around with confused expressions.
A sharp, high-pitched whistle screeched through the night, piercing the eerie silence that had emerged in the wake of the vanishing wind. It lasted several seconds, and when it was gone, the silence returned. Moments later, there was a pounding sound that thundered from inside the cold, snow-covered fairy realm.
It started in the far hills and grew louder. The fey cocked their heads in the direction of the noise. Metal glinted and flashed in the distance. Only a few times at first, but as the racket grew louder the silver glints became more frequent, Callahan’s crew members began to visibly tremble.
Several of them started to sweat. Others fidgeted. Their collective military stance became less rigid. Eyes, filled with terror, darted to their leader, and then back to the winter realm.
As Callahan stared out into the snow, his face lost what little color it had. He licked his lips and wiped a hand over his mouth.
With a fierce glare, he turned on Leontes. “This ain’t over, mate.” Then he shouted, “Move out!”
In a burst of movement and expressions of relief, the fey skated away and jumped through the veil, the edges of which began to sizzle loudly and flare with bright blue-white light.
In the aftermath of their sudden departure, Leontes muttered, “It is closing. If we do not get your people out of there, they will all die.”
Without warning, Kiara ran past Leontes and Jaeger and jumped through the opening into the snow.
CHAPTER 30
Kiara raced to the downed guard, his body so horribly broken from Callahan’s grotesque machinations. He was unconscious but breathing and had a heartbeat. Though worried about inflicting more injury, she decided dead could be worse than anything she did, so she grabbed his ankles and dragged him as gently as possible. His face, which was quickly turning blue, left a trail through the powdery snow. She lugged him across the veil and into the dirt on the side of the road.
Leontes grabbed her. “Kiara, stay out of there!”
“There are more in the car!” She shook him off and ran back in, Jaeger racing after her.
“Jaeger, do not go in!” Leontes yelled. When the werewolf ignored him, Leontes tossed his hands up in the air and looked to the heavens.
Kiara and Jaeger found the back of the SUV empty, but the driver and passenger remained in their seats, unconscious and bleeding. Kiara opened the driver’s door. When the passenger door proved too damaged to oblige, Jaeger tore it off and tossed it aside, letting blustery winds carry it out of sight.
The two ripped the seatbelts off, but the damage to the front end had crumpled the interior dash around the guards’ legs, keeping them pinned inside. Kiara and Jaeger pulled and yanked, ripping wires, plastic, and metal, but they could not get the guards free.
The veil kept closing. Its edges touched the outside of the car. Sparks flew and metal screamed a high pitch. It began to carve the vehicle in half.
“I’m not leaving them!” Jaeger yelled in frustration.
“Neither am I!” Kiara shouted back.
“Where the hell is Leontes! I knew he wasn’t a fighter, but I didn’t take him for a coward!”
The SUV lurched violently backwards.
Kiara and Jaeger stumbled forward.
The truck moved steadily in reverse. The veil continued to close. Like a scorching hot laser, it flashed and sizzled and peeled away the outsides of the SUV as the vehicle moved. When the raging hot edge reached the level of the front cab, Kiara and Jaeger jumped inside to keep from being skinned alive or sliced in two. They squeezed between the seats and tried desperately to free the guards.
When the veil’s edge hit the open driver’s door, the relentless force shaved it off without missing a beat. The front tires exploded with a deafening pop. Jaeger grabbed Kiara and pulled her into the backseat. The collapsing veil finally reached the hood. It zipped closed with a crackling snap and chopped off the front section of the vehicle as easily as a hot knife slices through butter.
Out the cracked windshield, lit up by the moon, Kiara and Jaeger saw the road they had been traveling down before the fairies made their grand entrance. No winter realm in sight.
Kiara and Jaeger looked at each other in confusion. The SUV’s back doors popped open. Leontes’ gaze raked through the interior. Once he saw the two of them, he dropped the bumper he had used to haul the truck back out of harm’s way, then he nonchalantly brushed snowflakes off his coat and pulled out his cell phone.
“We have reception again. Perhaps it is time to ring your father so he can take care of this mess.” He tossed the phone to Jaeger. “We have places to be.”
CHAPTER 31
Kiara skipped through the chaotic aisles of Frankie’s lab at Nightmare Mansion, swinging her arms with abandon, knocking into equipment that rattled and threatened to fall over.
In comparison to the VLAAD Institute’s stark, state-of-the-art labs, Frankie’s workspace exuded a funky, warped persona seemingly designed by the Mad Hatter himself. Files, journals, and paperwork were piled haphazardly in staggering steps. The hectic jumble of shrunken tables, desks, and chairs shared space with a lone table set high enough for the average adult. Colorful plants hung from the ceiling at uneven lengths.
A breeze fluttered through lace-covered windows and swirled foul gases that emanated from bubbling experiments set over concentrated blue flames. Multicolored liquids boiled in oddly shaped beakers and flasks amongst enough old-school equipment to make it look like a museum. Stepping stools littered the floor.
Off in a far corner, a baby grand piano sat silent, covered in a dusty, threadbare tarp, and almost disappeared under countless stacks of science journals and medical books.
Kiara looked around. “Frankie, where did you go?”
A muffled voice came from under a countertop. “That stupid mutt pulled out another plug.”
“Oh.” Kiara glanced down, and then resu
med skipping. “Like I was saying, I saved the day. Again. Leontes and Jaeger helped. A little.”
“You promised to stay in the car,” Leontes said. “And leave at any sign of trouble.”
“I promised to not get caught.” Kiara kept dancing around the lab. “Frankie, can I borrow your eat-reader? I’m in the mood for one of your erotica stories with all the kissing and stuff.”
There was a loud bang from under the table. “Dammit!” she muttered.
“Erotica?” Jaeger gasped with dramatic shock. “Dr. Frankenstein! You naughty girl.”
Bristling with irritation, Frankie crawled out, rubbing the back of her head, and stomped to her feet. “They’re not erotica. They’re romance novels, and I didn’t buy them. They came free with the e-reader.”
Jaeger rolled his eyes. “Sure they did. Can we read them out loud?”
Leontes groaned and wiped a hand over his face.
“Speaking of books,” Jaeger said. “Is it true you still get royalties from Frankenstein? I mean, I know Mary Shelley supposedly wrote it, but we all know it was yours. How come you never wrote anything else? Or did you? Maybe some ‘romance novels’?” He flashed a wry grin.
Frankie had a high flush to her cheeks as she pointedly ignored Jaeger and handed Kiara some pills along with a glass of water. “Time for your medication. And I’m going to need a fresh blood sample. Especially after the night you’ve had. You’re lucky to be alive.”
“No kidding,” Jaeger said. “Is anybody going to tell me, what super, super scary thing scared the super scary fey so bad that they ran away?” When no one answered, he followed after Giselle, who trotted about in puppy form sniffing everything. “Hey, cool piano.”
“Leave it alone,” Leontes said, opening an old file cabinet. “Frankie, do you remember a fairy named Callahan?”
“Head of the slimy killing crew, The Dirty Dozen?” Frankie made a face. “I hate that guy. Always with the huge ego, and even bigger earring.”
“That’s him,” Jaeger said with loathing. “A brutal damn maniac if you ask me.”
“He’s a favorite of Mab’s,” Leontes said. “The earring has one of her most powerful glamoring spells, which can hide him from her enemies. He even infiltrated Oberon’s court once, posing as Goodfellow, and almost had enough intel to help Mab instigate a coup during the summer reign. The king was furious.”
Jaeger ran his hand on the top of the piano and asked Leontes, “This is yours? What do you play?”
Leontes flipped through files. “I do not play.”
“Who does?” Jaeger pushed aside the tarp and lifted the cover off the keys. “Because my mom gave me lessons when I was a kid, and I worked at this bar in Hong Kong where I did sing-a-longs. We could have a weekly—”
Leontes rushed across the room and slammed down the cover with a loud bang and a discordant rumble of harsh sound reverberated from the rattled instrument.
Jaeger barely snatched his hands away in time. “Hey!”
Leontes glared. “My apologies if you mistook my directive for a request. No one plays this piano. Do not touch it. Is that clear?”
“Well, now it is,” Jaeger said. “You know, for a diplomat, you’re sporting one hell of an attitude. You need to chill out.” He scooped up Giselle and sauntered away. “You, too, Dr. Frankenstein. Seems a little harsh to lock my niece in your office.”
“After what she did to my lab, she’s lucky I didn’t do worse.” Frankie jerked her arms into a fresh lab coat. “And no, Leontes. Not even if hell freezes over.”
Leontes put the cover back on the piano. “Frankie, please be rational.”
“I am. If the puppy stays with me, I’ll kill it. Why would you bring back another stray?”
“Careful, Frankie,” Kiara said. “Jaeger is royalty. A werewolf prince, according to the fey.”
“Fey schmey. What do they know?” Frankie scoffed. “Maybe a werewolf prince piece of shi—”
“Frankie,” Leontes warned. “Royalty or not, he is our guest and protocol dictates he receive a modicum of respect.”
“I’ll give him a modicum of respect right up his perky little ass.”
“Frankie!” Leontes shouted in horror.
“No, it’s okay. You think my ass is perky?” He twisted around as if trying to get a look at his own backside. “Well, I guess you’d know. I mean, with you being at eye level with it and all. Not to mention an erotica expert.” Jaeger ducked just in time to miss the beaker thrown at his head. “I’m thinking the babysitting my niece gig isn’t for you.”
Frankie eyed Jaeger over her glasses. “You’re not as stupid as you look.”
Kiara caught her arm and spun her away. “Please, Frankie, you’re the only one we can trust while we go chasing the lead Leontes got. Not that he has one yet, but I’m sure he will from this.” Kiara proudly held up a wallet, then lifted her shirt to show two more hanging off the waist of her boxers. “One of them is Nicky’s. I’m surprised you didn’t get anything.”
Leontes pulled four cell phones out of his coat.
Kiara grinned and held up a pair of earrings. “I wanted Nicky’s necklace too, but—”
From his fingers, Leontes dangled a necklace heavy with glittering gems. Kiara laughed and the two hunkered over the table as Leontes dumped out the rest of the loot he had managed to score. Jaeger frantically checked his own pockets thoroughly before finally looking relieved.
Kiara grasped Leontes’ hands and tugged off his gloves. “Go through any memories stuck to our pirate’s booty, and then you and I can go out again.”
Leontes sighed. “Today was a collection of unique circumstances. You need to remain here at the mansion. Safe.”
“And I’m not watching two puppies all by myself.” Frankie glowered at the werewolf prince. “Jaeger, the security codes to your room are in my office on my desk. Unless that demon dog made another mess. Kiara, go help him.”
With a defeated air, Kiara guided Jaeger to the back of the lab. When the two had disappeared, Leontes reached into the pocket in the inner lining of his coat and withdrew the dagger wrapped in his handkerchief.
Frankie hissed in a breath and took it from him, turning it over in her hands. “Kiara said it was lost. You’re in trouble when she finds you’re hiding it from her.”
He shrugged. “Our bigger concern is what I uncovered in Europe. Someone has set the supernaturals on a treasure hunt for several of Kiara’s artifacts. One of those items is this dagger.”
“What the hell? Who’s offering?” Frankie asked, glancing nervously over her shoulder.
“I am unsure. But whoever is behind it has promised that finding articles she used in the past will bring some great prize, and the culprit is willing to pay dearly for them. Rusila claims she knows nothing of it.” He nodded at the weapon. “As for the dagger, it is best that you hide it until we can talk to Lyons.”
“Frankie!” Kiara called from the office.
The doctor yelped in panic and tossed the dagger to Leontes. As he caught it, the lab disintegrated like crumbling sand, replaced with nothing but black and then…
Kiara’s face was a breath away from his. She smiled with malice, baring her teeth, ferocious green eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. His heart beat a frantic rhythm. “No!” he shouted and tried to get out of harm’s way, but the blade of the dagger sliced without mercy across his neck. Pain flashed ice cold. Blood pulsed hot down his throat.
Leontes reeled away from the attack that no longer came. He dropped the dagger and fell to the ground. Breath ragged, he blinked and shook his head, trying to chase away the vision.
Kiara raced in and knelt beside him, full of concern. “What happened?”
“I am fine,” he said. Behind Kiara, Leontes saw Frankie slide the dagger inside the pocket of her lab coat.
“Your scar was turning red again.” Kiara traced a delicate finger across the thin crimson line on his neck. “Where did you say you got it?”
He jolted from her
touch and pushed to his feet, his voice gruff. “I did not.”
She frowned. “It had to be before you became a vampire. Or it would’ve healed.”
Leontes gave her his back and glanced through the items they had pickpocketed from the shifters. “I collected many scars prior to being turned.”
“Who turned you? Was it me?” Kiara reached for him.
Without looking, he batted her hand away. “Enough! Take Jaeger to his room while I work on leads with Frankie.”
Kiara’s hand curled into a fist, and then dropped to her side. She left without another word. Jaeger followed close behind holding Giselle. After their departure, only the sound of Frankie’s bubbling concoctions could be heard. She watched him for a while, then grabbed a stepladder and dragged it noisily across the stone floor. She parked it next to Leontes, climbed up, and put a hand on his shoulder, which trembled slightly.
They spent several minutes in silence until Frankie said, “Whose memory did you have?”
Leontes took a moment to answer, then he said quietly, “Mine.”
Frankie gave a bleak nod. “Thought so…At the risk of adding to your problems, do you realize you asked Kiara to escort a hot, hormonal bachelor unsupervised to his bedroom? And she’s wearing only his underwear?”
Leontes froze. Then he moved so fast, he practically winked from sight.
CHAPTER 32
Kiara led the way through the mansion, dodging ghosts as best she could. Zombies were best pushed off their stumbling feet out of the way. Ghouls and vampires were smart and quick enough to scurry away into the shadows. The onslaught of wandering undead had Giselle growling, her hackles raised despite Jaeger’s best efforts to calm the child.
