by J. A. Pitts
I looked at her. “We just spent the better part of a day with two elf kids dolled up in goth clothing. We discussed dragons, shape-shifting elder gods, and dwarves. Why would the possibility of them knowing about the dwarves because they were helping them be that far a stretch?”
“Elves hate dwarves … all the literature says so.”
I looked at her. “By all the literature, you don’t mean The Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons, do you?”
She smacked me on the shoulder, which I deserved. “Elves are children of the light. Dwarves, children of the night.”
Which brought my mind back to that poor dwarf kid, murdered for trucking with dragons.
The cab ride was mercifully mundane. Katie lay her head against my shoulder and closed her eyes. She’d been up earlier than me, and we’d had a pretty long day of hiking around. It had been a decent enough day, but I wanted to get back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. We were going for Indian food. Katie wanted something spicy; I was sure I could find something to like. They’d have chicken, right? and bread?
Back in the room, Katie flopped down on the bed, mumbling something about a nap. I thought maybe she’d want to snuggle, but she crashed hard. I turned on the television with the volume low and plugged in my cell phone. The battery was good and dead. After I was sure Katie was not going to wake up, I stripped out of my clothes and padded into the shower.
By the time I was finished, Katie was snoring. Not like her, but it was a strange bed and she didn’t look like she was completely comfortable. It was still fairly early, so I wrapped my nakedness in a fluffy hotel robe, turned off the television, and checked on the phone. One bar of battery, good enough. I powered it up, and it immediately began buzzing with messages and missed calls.
Two of them, to be precise. I put on my headset and checked the messages—one from Julie and one from Rolph.
Julie’s message was to wish Katie a happy birthday, and to remind me to be home in time to work on Monday. “Yes Mom,” I muttered as I deleted the message. I had to be in Cle Elum bright and early to help Frank Rodriguez. Like I’d shirk work.
The second message was short. “Smith, this is Rolph. I need to discuss events of late. Please return my call.”
He was chatty.
I brought up his number on the speed dial, picked up my pack, and went back into the bathroom. I sat on the toilet and propped one foot up on the side of the tub, then shook the bottle of nail polish I’d picked up for this trip—a deep red called Bimbo Limbo. I was going to paint my toenails. I hadn’t done that since college. No one who knew me would ever know, besides Katie; she was in for a serious surprise.
By the time I had the bottle shaken and opened, Rolph answered.
“Hey, Rolph, it’s me, Sarah.” I leaned over and dabbed a wide red swath over the nail on the big toe on my left foot. Very bright.
“Ah, smith,” he said, sounding relieved. “I’m afraid we are once again faced with hard tasks ahead.”
I dipped the brush back into the tiny glass jar, taking care not to knock it from the edge of the sink. Great. Now what?
“I know you already have word of the skald’s kidnapping.”
“Yeah,” I said, dragging the brush carefully over the nail again. “Katie and I were there. I fought with the bunch of them—bastards.”
“Impressive,” he said. “I know of the scoundrels. I am surprised they let you live.”
“I can hold my own in a fight,” I said, piqued. “I give as good as I get.”
He chuckled. “I meant no disrespect. You are as fiery as ever.”
More psychoanalysis. From a dwarf, no less. “What’s on your mind, Rolph? What do you know about the guys who snatched Ari?”
“One moment,” he said. He covered the phone, speaking to his girlfriend, Juanita. She’d rescued him after the dragon battle, got him to shelter before the rising sun. They’d met on the Elvis Versus the Goblins movie shoot. We were surprised she threw JJ over for Rolph, but love works in mysterious ways.
The next two nails were easier, smaller. In fact, they were so small the polish smeared a teensy bit onto the skin around the third toe. I wiped it off with a thumbnail, getting most of it.
Catching a low mumble from behind me, I turned in time to see movement in the mirror. I put the brush back in the bottle and stood up, glancing out into the room, stepping lightly so I didn’t smear the polish on the three painted toes. Katie was still sleeping. I’d have to wake her soon or she’d sleep through the night. The mirror was still pretty steamed up, so maybe I’d only caught a glimpse of myself moving around.
I heard a faint voice ask, “Is she naked?”
“Who’s there with you?” I asked Rolph. The sound was distorted for a moment before he came back to the phone. “Only Juanita and I, why?”
“Which one of you asked if I was naked?”
He laughed. “Neither of us.”
“I heard someone ask ‘Is she naked?’”
I looked around. As I turned my head, I again thought I saw something in the mirror. Holy shit. I leaned forward and wiped the mirror with the back of my hand. I bet they have a peephole in here. The mirror was on the sidewall, however. The one that backed to the rest of the room.
“I’m afraid you have lost me, smith.”
“Can we meet in person?” I asked him, feeling strange.
“Perhaps that would be best,” he said. “Juanita suggests we meet for dinner on your way back home.”
“Excellent.”
I walked back out into the room and wrote the name and address of the restaurant on a hotel notepad.
I plugged the cell phone back into the charger and looked over at Katie. Maybe we should bag dinner. She looked like she was good to sleep through the night.
Katie’s suitcase sat open on the chair by the window. On top she’d laid out her frilly underthings. I traced my hands down the white silk camisole. She was such a girl. Her blouse and skirt were hanging in the closet; the top was a short black number with very thin straps. Nice. I’d never seen this outfit. It could be new for the weekend. I never even thought of doing that, buying something new, pretty …
I glanced over at my own suitcase. Things were jammed in there with no thought to keeping pleats straight or preventing unnecessary wrinkles—just not on my radar. I dropped the robe, grabbed her things still on their hangers, and walked to the mirror over the dresser.
I held the clothes up, checking how I’d look in them. It was startling. Totally not something I’d ever wear, dear god. And these would never fit me, much too small. And I couldn’t pull off a skirt—all that shaving, and waxing, primping … the underwear alone would kill me.
But I had to admit it wasn’t that bad. Wouldn’t the world be stunned to see me all shorn and spiffy. I glanced over at Katie, sleeping curled up in her sweats. Would she like it if I femmed up? I didn’t want her to change, and I couldn’t imagine she’d want me to, either. But what if?
It was complicated. I didn’t want to fall into stereotype here. If I decided to shave my legs and put on a skirt one day, I’d like it to be on my terms and not cause the world to shift on its axis.
As I turned, the tattoos on my calf came into view. Who was I kidding, the world had already tilted damn near off its axis. I had tattoos erupt through the skin on my calf just from reforging and handling a magic sword. I’d killed a dragon and rescued an elder god. Hell, I’d even been kissed by a Valkyrie.
That was a moment that takes your breath away.
Guiltily, I returned her outfit to the closet, turned off the lights, and slipped into bed with her. Maybe we just needed the night to recover. It had been a rough couple of days.
Besides, my head swam with the whirl of roles and expectations. I just wanted to be me.
Eleven
I woke early—like 4 A.M.—and got dressed in the dark. Katie’s soft breathing told me she still slept. She was going to be pissed she slept through her birthday dinner, but I didn
’t have the heart to wake her. Or maybe I was just being selfish and scared.
Once I had my sweats and sneakers on, I grabbed my running pack and wrote out a quick note. A run would do me good. I felt tight, wound up. Kicking out a few miles would change that.
Ninety minutes later, my muscles were humming, and the endorphins were kicking in. I love the way I feel after a run. Wish I could remember to do it more often.
Katie was still asleep when I got back to the room. I’d shower first, and then wake her.
I stripped down and saw the open bottle of nail polish on the vanity. Of course … I glanced down. Three toes on one foot painted, the rest naked. Figured I couldn’t concentrate long enough to finish one foot.
Waste of eight bucks. The bottle made a forlorn thud as I dropped it into the trashcan. That’s what I got for trying to be someone I’m not.
After a quick shower, I puttered around the room, making noise while I packed, hoping to wake her. After a few minutes I got a wet washcloth and wiped her face with it, and she slept on. I stripped the bed and jostled her, tickled her, poked, and prodded … nothing.
Someone in the room next door was having an argument, and for some reason it was giving me a headache. Thoughts of ambulances and emergency rooms began to dance in my head. I dug around in my pack, thinking I had some ibuprofen, and managed to stab myself with something. I pulled my hand out of my pack quickly and stuck the offending finger in my mouth. What did I have that was sharp? And why did my finger taste funny? I turned my pack upside down. There, in the midst of my assorted shit, was the flowered necklace the elves had given me. As the room grew fuzzy, I saw there were thorns on those vines.
I realized two things as I fell over backward. First: my finger was good and numb, likely an effect of whatever the flowers were—and of course, Katie still had on the necklace. I hadn’t taken it off her.
Second, Skella and Gletts were standing in our dresser mirror, watching us. It didn’t make any sense at first, them standing there. I know they weren’t in the room with us, so the only plausible answer was that they were in the mirror. Crazy making, I know.
As I hit the floor it got even more surreal.
Gletts stepped through the mirror. “I thought she’d never pick up that necklace,” he said, very put out.
Bastard.
“Don’t hurt them,” Skella said, sounding freaked. “See if she has it so we can fix this.”
They didn’t realize something. I could feel my body succumbing to whatever poison was on the flowers, but my mind remained clear. I tried to sit up, struggling to rise, and somehow snapped out of my body. It was like back in the bar all those months ago. One second I had lost control of my body, the next I was floating outside myself—I’d gone astral again.
Gletts was rummaging through the dresser and closets. I quietly floated upward, hovering to the left of the mirror, where Skella couldn’t see me. If I wasn’t so pissed at them, and afraid for what was about to happen, I might think the whole thing was freaking awesome.
“I can’t find it,” Gletts growled, throwing Katie’s birthday outfit to the floor as he ransacked the closet. “Why wouldn’t she have it with her?”
Skella pressed against the mirror from her side. I could see the side of her face and a room behind her. It looked rough-hewn, cut stone and timbers. There were a scattering of tables, cauldrons, and assorted tools: hammers, saws, and the like. A huge fire roared in the center of the room, and on the far wall, chained upside down, was Ari. “What the hell?”
Skella snapped her head around, saw me, and shrieked. “Gletts, she’s awake!”
Gletts spun around, saw my body lying on the floor, and looked over at Skella, confused. “She hasn’t moved.”
“I heard something,” she said, looking around, apparently not seeing me.
I reached out, my hand passing through the mirror like it was a doorway, and touched the side of Skella’s face. She shrieked and fell backward, knocking over a table covered in beakers and glass jars.
Gletts whirled around, running toward the mirror. He had no problem seeing me.
“How?” he asked, pausing long enough for me to lunge forward and tackle him. “Get off,” he cried as we tumbled to the ground.
Since I could feel both Gletts and Skella, I assumed they somehow lived in both states—astral and physical. I didn’t get to enjoy the effects of gravity, however. Should’ve remembered that from last time.
Gletts punched me in the side—which I felt—and scrambled away on all fours.
I tried to follow him, but I seemed to be partially stuck in the desk chair. Problem with being in spirit form—interaction with objects in the real world were not as you might expect. It was odd to see one of the wooden rungs stuck partway through my thigh. It took a second to pull myself away from the chair, and while I was delayed, Gletts dove into the mirror.
“Sonuvabitch,” I growled, floating off the floor once more. I sorta swam over to the mirror, determined to follow him, when Skella’s face appeared. She was crying. I stuck my head into the mirror, and she placed her hand on my head, pushing me back gently.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, glancing back over her shoulder. “We were going to remove the necklaces.” She pursed her lips, almost pouting as she thought to say something else.
“What’re you on about there?” a gruff voice called from across the cavern. I could see three large men dropping tools and shrugging out of cloaks. Dwarves.
Skella swung back around to face me. “The poison will wear off in about six hours. Get out of Vancouver.”
I fell back, unable to grasp her hand. She mumbled something, waved her hands, and the mirror fogged for a moment, then returned to showing me the room.
Great, we’d been poisoned by the elves and I was out of my body again. Now what could I do?
Twelve
Six hours, for fuck’s sake. It took every single second of six hours for the poison to wear off. I floated around, unable to push my way into any of the mirrors, which sucked. I couldn’t even knit, as much as I loathed doing so.
One thing I had, though, was time to think. Jimmy had some answering to do. He had knowledge I didn’t. Was he aware of the elves? This whole mirror thing was way out of my realm of reality. I’d been lazy, not confronting him—scared, frankly, to push things. I couldn’t face him, not with the massacre in the spring. Hell, I’d even let him hide Gram. What was I thinking? Gram was a part of me now, an integral tug on my psyche. When things settled down—when I got the job front rolling again—I’d do something about it. Yep, definitely, just as soon as I fixed a few other things in my life.
Who was I kidding? If I waited around for things to settle down, I’d die without any answers. What I needed to do was change my direction. Maybe hit Jimmy head-on? I needed to just go out to Black Briar and face the music. This was some spooky shit. A year ago, I didn’t know dragons existed. Today, I found out that a couple of elves could travel into my room through mirrors and poison me in a way that leaves me helpless for hours. Talk about the ultimate roofie. I hate to think what they could’ve done to us. What a dangerous fucking world.
Once the effects began to ebb, I found myself pulled back to my body. Not like I was doing any good out here anyway. Well, keeping watch was a good thing, right? I couldn’t even pick up a book or turn on the television. There were some serious drawbacks to all this.
I woke with my head pounding and desperately thirsty around three in the afternoon. Not sure why no one had rousted us from the hotel. I’d be checking that.
I rose, stumbled into the bathroom, and vomited into the toilet. The porcelain felt good against my forehead—cool. After a moment, I pulled myself to my feet and turned back to the room. The mirrors were normal, and the room was trashed. Katie’s skirt and blouse lay crumpled where Gletts had thrown it, bastard. He did not want to run into me again anytime soon.
Katie was still out, which scared me. She’d had that necklace on for a long time.
Using a thick washcloth, I held onto the necklace with one hand and snipped the vine with a pair of scissors Katie kept in her pack.
Red welts circled her neck where the thorns had pierced her. The numbing effect must have been quicker with her, since she hadn’t complained when she put the necklace on, but I’d fallen to the poison much faster than she had.
Once I had the necklace cut, I gently lifted her head and pulled the vile thing away. I placed it and mine in a plastic bag and set it in the ice bucket. I’d dispose of those later.
I washed Katie’s neck and checked her for a pulse. Her heartbeat was strong. I called down to the front desk, and they said we had the room for one more night. Said we’d called down the night before and asked to extend. Guess it was a good thing, considering. I’d bet it was Skella. Good service on the hotel’s part, though.
I ordered room service and went around picking things up while I waited for food. What had they been looking for? They didn’t steal anything, passed up the cash I had, credit cards, laptop … Could this be about Gram? What else did I have that a couple young elves may want?
And Skella didn’t act like someone who wanted to hurt us. She looked chagrined, like maybe they’d been forced to do this. And what of Ari? They were underground it seemed—caves somewhere? But he was alive. I’d seen him move. He didn’t look comfortable by any means, but he lived all the same.
Right at six hours after I cut the necklace off her, Katie began to stir. She woke moaning and groggy at first, then threw up all over the place. I held her until she stopped, then helped her into the shower to clean up.
“Weird dreams,” she said as she stuck her head under the spray.
She opened her mouth and let the water run over her face for a very long time.
I stripped the bed and called down to housekeeping to explain that Katie had the flu and that we’d be checking out soon. They said they’d clean up after we left. I put a twenty on the desk with a note thanking the staff for such good service.
I put on my Bluetooth and called Rolph and Juanita. I explained it all to him as best I could and apologized about missing dinner.
