Isabella retained her silent speed when she shifted to her Human form. She glided across my living room in an instant and stopped inches from Wen-li. “What happened?” she demanded.
“They—they tried to kill me. Someone. Someone tried to kill me.”
“Bronski?” I asked.
Her head whipped around to stare at me. “Maybe. I think.” She stopped, took a deep breath, and seemed to take hold of herself. “Yes. It would have to be.”
“You told him we were going to Annapolis,” I said.
“Yes. No. What I mean is I told George Foster, my boss while Dave Torbert is out of town. He told Bronski to meet you in Annapolis. I went with Foster to Campbell’s house.” Wen-li shook her head. “It’s gone. Burned to the ground.” She hunched her shoulders a bit. “We found your car. It’s completely destroyed.”
“Where is Torbert?” I asked.
“He’s had a vacation scheduled forever. Jim, our boss, thought we could get by without him for a couple of weeks.”
“Go on,” I said. “Where did someone try to kill you? At Campbell’s house?” I took her hand, led her into the kitchen, and pushed her into a chair. Then I put the kettle on. A little magic helped it to boil faster.
“No. When I got home. On our way back to DC, we heard that you had murdered Lord Campbell and his granddaughter, attacked our agents, and then escaped. George said we would sort it out in the morning, so I went home. When I went to open the door—the outside door to my apartment building—a man came at me and tried to shoot me.”
She took another deep breath but started shaking and hyperventilating. Isabella looked alarmed and shot me a look of entreaty. I opened a cabinet and took down a bottle of dark-green liquid, poured some in a glass, and walked over to Wen-li. I didn’t try to hand her the glass, just held it to her mouth and said, “Drink.”
I poured a healthy swallow into her mouth, and her eyes bugged out.
“Swallow it,” I commanded. She did, and her eyes started to water.
“What?” she gasped. “What was that?” She panted a little as she stared at the glass.
“Agavirna,” I said, setting the glass on the table. I noticed that her hands had mostly stopped shaking. “It does a good job of steadying the nerves.”
“And blowing the top of your head off,” Wen-li said. “What proof is that stuff?”
I must have looked puzzled because Isabella asked, “What is the alcohol percentage?” She reached for the bottle, and I handed it to her. She sniffed it and her eyes widened.
“About fifty percent when it’s first distilled.” I shrugged. “I don’t monitor it that closely. This has been aged, so it might be a little stronger due to evaporation.”
“It burns like a blowtorch,” Wen-li said.
“It’s completely safe to drink in moderation,” I replied. Deciding that after the day I’d had, a drink wasn’t a bad idea, I pulled out two more glasses and poured some for Isabella and myself.
“You make this?” Isabella asked.
“Yes.” I pointed to the open cabinet where three bottles with different shades of green liquid sat. “Depending on the infusion and how long it ages, you get a different drink. This is the twenty-year batch I just bottled last year.”
“So,” Isabella said to Wen-li, “after you killed the guy, what happened next?”
Wen-li bit her lip. “I-I went inside the building. I wanted to call George.”
“Did you go inside your apartment?” Isabella prompted.
The girl shook her head. “No. There was something, something magical. Some kind of trap, I think.” She took another sip of the agavirna. “I went back outside, out the back door. I tried to call George, but he didn’t answer. I called the office, and they said George was on his way to the hospital. He and Jim Roberts, the head of PCU, had been ambushed and shot outside our headquarters.”
She looked at me. “I didn’t know where else to go, so I came here.”
“You don’t think we killed the Campbells and attacked those FBI agents?”
She shook her head, almost violently. “Bronski called me. He wanted me to meet him, but not at the office. I don’t trust him.”
“Good call,” Isabella said. Her eyes turned up to me in an I-told-you-so look.
“Okay, I should have killed him when I had the chance,” I told Isabella. I looked down at Wen-li. “You still didn’t say why you came here.”
She hadn’t taken her eyes off me. “Dave told me you’re an Elf, and he told me about Elves. He said you’re an honorable person, and that as long as people acted with honor toward you, you would act with honor toward them. He said that’s the way Elves are. That’s very similar to the culture I was raised in. I just didn’t know where else to go.”
I wondered, not for the first time, how Torbert knew so much about Elves.
“We like to think of ourselves that way,” I said. “And I think most Humans like to view themselves as good people.”
“How old are you?” Isabella asked in a gentle voice.
“Twenty-six. I guess you think I’m pretty young and silly.”
“I don’t blame you for being scared,” the shifter said. “We will try to protect you, but we tried to protect the Campbells. There are no guarantees in this world.”
Shortly after midnight, with everyone carrying as much in the way of food and supplies as we could, I led our small party out my back gate. We headed for Glover-Archbold Park and the clandestine trail to my nursery. If I had to defend a place, I’d rather take on mages or men with guns at the nursery instead of the townhouse.
I walked in front with Karen following me. Sometime during the evening, I had decided that Karen was easier than Special Agent Wen-li. Isabella took up the rear. As crazy as things had gotten, I was on edge. It seemed as though just going to the market had become a dangerous adventure.
I smiled but didn’t slow down when I heard Isabella’s snarl, followed by an Imp’s squeal and then the meaty thump of the little demon hitting a rock or a tree. I doubted the creature would try her a second time.
But in spite of all the demons running around Washington, the old irritants of the park were still out in force. I came around a corner in the trail, and a Vampire jumped out in front of me. He grabbed my arms and attempted to stare into my eyes to enthrall me. He was a head shorter than I was, and when I lifted my knee between his legs, it launched him completely off the ground.
“Wrong girl, vermin,” I said as I whipped my sword out of my bag. He stumbled away, and I followed, thinking about the next girl he might attack, as well as the other girls he had probably assaulted. He dodged my first cut, but I took his head on the backswing.
“Holy shit!” Karen said from behind me.
“You have to be careful out here,” I said as I wiped my sword clean on his pants. “Some of the Vampires let their victims live, but not all. Check the statistics your government doesn’t publish about this park. Rapes by Vampires and Werewolves are daily occurrences.”
“This is one of the wealthiest areas of town,” she said.
“Yeah. Think of what it’s like in the parts of town the cops don’t care about.”
“It probably wasn’t a safe place to walk at night before the breach,” Isabella said.
“No, it wasn’t,” I answered. “I think we can thank the Vampires for taking care of the Human predators who used to come here. It’s all non-Humans now. Your Darwin fellow would have loved this place.”
We had one other encounter with a Vampire near to where we exited the park, but he backed off in a hurry. Then we approached the nursery.
“Stay here,” I said, leaving my companions in a small grove of trees at the edge of the park. “I’m going to scout and see how many watchers we have. I want to keep everyone guessing as to where we are.”
I moved away from Karen and Isabella, shrunk to my smaller size, and donned a glamour. It took me an hour to travel the length of the fence surrounding the nursery. Two different FBI
cars, two mages—as far as I could tell they weren’t together—and a pair of Werewolves—who were together—had the place staked out. It bothered me that I hadn’t seen more. I realized that I was viewing the situation the way a Human would. I’d been living among them for too long.
Taking off my boots, I stood with my bare feet on the ground, closed my eyes, and felt the world around me. I soon recognized the watchers I’d already identified, but also another mage, a pair of mages, and a mage waiting with five Humans. The last three groups were hidden by either spells or illusions, but the displacement of the natural world revealed them to my senses when I truly listened.
Interestingly, three of the watching people or groups were within fifteen yards of each other near the bamboo grove under the oak tree at the northwest corner of my property. The two FBI cars were just out of sight of each other near the entrance to the nursery. The Werewolves had stationed themselves on a cross street where the entrance could be seen using binoculars. But no one had staked out the northeast corner.
I went back and retrieved Isabella and Karen, and we took a long, looping route north of the nursery and then back to the northeast corner.
A low branch of the oak tree there hung over the fence thirteen feet above the ground. I leaped up, caught it, and scrambled to pull myself up on top of the branch. A quick trip to the equipment shed, and I had a sturdy rope in hand. I fashioned a loop in one end and dropped it down to where Isabella and Karen awaited.
Karen weighed practically nothing, and I pulled her up with ease. Isabella shifted and easily leaped to the top of the branch. Isabella and I slipped down the tree trunk, then I caught Karen when she jumped.
As far as I could tell, none of the outside watchers had seen us, but a large number of Fairies had roused themselves and come out to enjoy the entertainment. I spoke with their queen, and she promised to double the normal night guard.
We slipped into the cottage and I put Karen on the couch. A rug and a fluffy blanket by the door did fine for Isabella, who preferred to sleep as a cat anyway. I hoped things would shake out and return to normal soon, but I couldn’t put my employees at risk. It was Thursday, and after sending out a text blast to my employees telling them not to come in to work until Monday, I fell into bed. It had been one hell of a long and disturbing day.
Chapter 19
My employees were always off on Sundays, so that was what it felt like at the nursery that Friday morning—very quiet, except for the Fairies, though their noise was always cheerful. With no Humans around, Fred and Kate were out tending their garden, but they were never noisy.
I was preparing breakfast when Isabella asked, “Are we just going to sit in here and wait for everyone to forget about us?”
“Do you have a better idea?” I asked, while pouring tea in her cup. “I’m not sure why everyone hasn’t forgotten about us already, but I have a theory. I think Nieminen can use the jaguar statue, but he can’t unlock its full potential, and he thinks you can.”
She gave me a raised-eyebrow look. “And all the others?” she asked waving her arm to indicate all the watchers encircling us.
“As for the others, they aren’t sure what the artifact can do, but they believe that you know. I think Nakamura has the Weres watching us. I doubt we have to worry about them—they’re just watching. Vance isn’t stupid enough to challenge me again. I think at least one of the FBI cars reports to Bronski, and I think the mage with the five Humans either reports to Bronski, or he is Bronski.”
“I can’t believe Bronski is stupid enough to want the damned thing,” Karen said. “He’s seen what it can do, and he certainly doesn’t have the power to control it.”
Setting a plate with an omelet in front of her, I said, “Bronski doesn’t strike me as smart enough or ambitious enough to go after the statue on his own. I think he’s working for someone else—a more powerful mage.”
“What about the other FBI car?” Karen asked.
“Either they’re all together, or maybe one group is actually on the side of the law.”
“Or two different FBI factions are trying to snatch the statue,” Isabella said.
Karen’s cell phone rang and she pulled it out. “It’s Dave!” She answered, “Where are you? Things are a complete disaster here.”
She talked to him for about twenty minutes, filling him in on the latest events. I knew Isabella had excellent hearing, but I didn’t know if she could hear Torbert’s side of the conversation as well as I could. So, when Karen hung up, I let her tell us of their conversation.
“Agent Torbert said he’s coming back to DC, but it’s going to take a couple of days,” Karen announced. “Some of our superiors at the Bureau contacted him. He told me to stay here, to stay with you.”
“And Bronski?” I asked. I had heard her tell Torbert of her suspicions about Bronski.
“Dave said he will issue orders to have him detained. He also gave me the name and number of someone in DC to contact. He said the man is a mage and he can help to relieve the pressure on us.”
I had heard that. Miika Apthenir seemed to be a personal friend of Torbert’s and not someone connected to the PCU or the FBI.
After breakfast, Karen called Torbert’s friend. She spoke with him briefly, then he broke the connection.
“He refuses to speak over the phone,” Karen said. “He said that if we want his help, Kellana ap th’Rogir needs to meet him at the National Gallery of Art this afternoon. Is that your name?”
I found myself nodding my head. “It’s one form of my name.”
Isabella argued that it was too dangerous. Then she wanted to go with me. Karen tried to call Torbert back, but he didn’t answer. Finally, I agreed to go and meet with Miika ap th’Tenir, as I suspected his name was properly pronounced. Karen called him back, but he didn’t answer either.
I knew where NGA was, the problem was getting there. I had a mental vision of driving out of the nursery and leading a parade to downtown. Instead, I had to climb the oak tree, drop down on the other side of the fence, shrink to my smaller size, then walk two blocks to ensure I was beyond watching eyes. Two blocks when your legs are more than three feet long is no big deal. Two blocks when your legs are six inches long turned out to be quite a hike.
Then I had to wait for a bus, which was late. It took me almost two hours from the time I left the nursery until I got to the National Mall. I hoped the mystery man I was supposed to meet would wait for me.
The west wing of the gallery was the modern art section, a separate building with a street between it and the main museum. I tended to avoid places where they wanted to check my bag, such as museums, concert halls, and government buildings. I donned a glamour that hid the bag, and entered the museum’s east wing, then went downstairs to the gift shop and through the tunnel to the west wing.
Miika had an advantage over me. I had no idea what he looked like. Karen had told him I was tall with green hair. Of course, if he wasn’t wearing a glamour, he should be easy to spot. The moving walkway in the tunnel spit me out into the basement gift shop. Other than a few tourists and their kids, I didn’t see anyone unusual or feel any magic.
The top three floors surrounded an empty space in the center. A wide, open stairway along one wall led from the basement to the first floor, then to the second, then up to the third. I would be visible to anyone in the museum the entire way. Standing at the base of the stairway, I scanned what I could see, trying to feel any magic in the building.
Silver-blonde hair past his shoulders, silver eyes, and a face far too beautiful for a Human caught my eye. He leaned on the edge of the railing on the third floor. Then he saw me. His gaze locked onto me and didn’t waver as I climbed the three flights to his level. Halfway up the last flight of stairs, I began to feel his magic, a magic unlike any I had felt in Earth’s realm. A magic I hadn’t felt since Midgard.
He was short and stout for a male Elf, at most an inch taller than I was, with a broad chest and shoulders. The lines of his
face were muted. Although too beautiful for Hollywood, he wasn’t beautiful enough for the palace in Elhandirhin in Alfheim. But his kind were relatively common in Midgard, where I spent my first one hundred and twenty years.
“Sel Kellana,” he said in greeting, properly dipping his head and awarding me a half-bow. A certain lilt in his voice was common in Midgard but not in Alfheim. That made sense. Humans were rare in Alfheim.
“Serin Miika,” I answered. I felt awkward. I was just a farm girl, not of noble birth. The artificial divisions and unfathomable prejudices Humans imposed on each other in Earth’s realm suddenly made the class and race divisions of Midgard seem petty and meaningless. He addressed me as ‘Sel’ and I addressed him as ‘Serin’ rather than ‘Ser’ automatically. It was drilled into both of us from birth. His father may have been royalty for all I knew, but I was deemed superior to him because my mother was an Elf and his was Human.
“Ser Miika,” I corrected, elevating him to my equal. His was a face from home, and how much that meant to me was almost overwhelming.
He jerked, almost as though I had slapped him, then leaned forward, studying my face.
“We are far from Midgard,” I said in Elvish, “and we have far more commonalities than differences in this realm. I come to you for help, and I ask, Ser, for I have no right or ability to command.”
He didn’t answer, but he also didn’t turn on his heel and leave. I think he was trying to decide if I was mocking him.
“David Torbert said that you might be able to help us. I don’t know how much he told you of the situation.”
“He really didn’t tell me anything except that one of his people, Karen Wen-li, was in danger and that she was currently under the protection of an Elf who called herself Kellana Rogirsdottir. He told me the PCU is under assault and asked if I could help.” A brief smile crossed his face. “I do some paid consulting work for the PCU from time to time.”
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