by D. C. Gomez
“Twenty years?” How old are you?” I kept my voice as low as possible to ensure nobody overheard me.
“Really, that’s all you got out of my whole speech?” Katrina asked me in a teasing manner.
My cheeks heated. “Sorry,” I said. I felt terrible because she was right. I did have a tendency to pick the most random details out of a conversation and focus on them. Even while those thoughts went through my mind, I was still trying to do the math. What was wrong with me?
“I was born during World War II to a scared Jewish couple,” Katrina answered with a smile. “My parents were the only ones in their family to escape Hitler.” Her smile turned to a chuckle. “And I will be turning seventy next year.”
Why was I stressing about turning twenty-seven when I stood there with someone who looked so calm and focused at almost seventy? She had really put my life into perspective. The light on the altar caught my eye then, intensifying so much it made the two men closest to it glow. I must have missed something when I was so lost in my thoughts.
“What’s wrong with them?” I asked Katrina.
“They are channeling their bosses,” Katrina told me.
“Channeling? Like they are being processed by them?” I did not like the sound of that.
“That’s a more accurate description,” Katrina admitted. “The one on the right is representing the vampire emperor, while the one of the left is here for the elf king.” Katrina pointed toward them with her chin.
“What are those men?” I asked Katrina.
“What do you think they are?” I hated when people answered a question with a question, but I guess Katrina wanted to see how much I knew, and that wasn’t much.
“I was thinking lawyers, but I’m not so sure now,” I answered.
“Correct on the duty,” Katrina confirmed with a smirk. “They are a special type of lawyer. We call them mediums. They have the ability to allow others to communicate through them.”
“Can they talk to a ghost?” I would love to know I wasn’t the only person that could communicate with the souls of the departed. I had a desire to open my third eye and see what they really looked like.
“Don’t even think about it,” Katrina told me, snapping me back to reality.
“What? I didn’t do anything,” I told her in my most innocent tone.
“It never fails. I tell Death’s Intern that a person is a medium and you all go checking in with your third eye.” Katrina gave me a knowing look. “Then you all scream like banshees and all hell breaks loose. Whatever they are, it is their truth. I recommend you respect it.” The last part was more of an order than a request.
I never thought of using my third eye as an invasion of privacy, but I guessed in a way it was. Her scolding had put me right in my place, and I hated to admit it, but it embarrassed me to know I had unintentionally violated people’s privacy. I decided to focus on the altar and avoid causing a supernatural incident.
The mediums were all looking at the ceiling. I followed their gaze when curiosity got the best of me, but the ceiling looked the same shiny white color as it had when we came in.
As I was focused on that, the elf representative snapped back to reality. “I demand my daughter back,” the lawyer yelled in a strong voice that did not match the elegant suited man on the altar.
“That’s the voice of the elf king,” Katrina told me. “I’m impressed. They must have hired the best,” she added.
I had no idea what that meant, so I gave her a blank stare.
Katrina touched my shoulder. “Only powerful mediums can transmit the voice of their clients,” she clarified.
“Stop with the lies! We know you are hiding her,” the other lawyer shouted in a rough, mature voice. “She is betrothed to my heir. They belong together!” the vampire medium exclaimed.
“Oh please. My daughter would never stoop that low,” the elf king snapped. “Your devil-son took advantage of her kindness and tricked her,” the king finished.
I had met the devil and I was sure Jake would not enjoy his name being used in this conversation.
“Do not flatter yourself. We do not need parlor tricks for people to fall in love.” The emperor gave the elf a mocking grin. “I can’t say the same for some.” I guessed that was an insult since the elf medium was turning red.
If I was expecting an orderly negotiation like the ones on TV, I was hopelessly mistaken. The screaming and name-calling went on for over two hours, with each side blaming the other for hiding the poor girl. Based on their description of the princess, she was either a mindless-puppet or some version of Mother Teresa. Either way, the bottom line was simple: the girl was missing. My legs were starting to cramp, and no amount of stretching made it better. I felt sorry for my godmother, who every five minutes had to hold one side or the other back from strangling the other.
“If my daughter is not returned, we will destroy every vampire city until we find her,” the elf king told the vampire.
“Please tell me that vampires live in their own little cities away from humans,” I mumbled.
“I wish,” she replied, rubbing her forehead. “Unfortunately, they need humans for food supply, so the bigger the city, the better.” She met my eyes with a serious look.
“Oh God. We are in trouble,” I told her.
Katrina just nodded in agreement.
“Unless you want your precious rainforest burned to the ground, you will return her to us first,” the emperor responded. “This is all a trick to play the innocent, concerned parent. We know you have no issues locking your kind away for centuries if they don’t comply with your wishes.”
The emperor sure was throwing some crazy accusations around.
My godmother pressed a palm against each of their chests to hold them back. If she hadn’t been there, they would have plowed into one another. While they were occupied, I crossed the room. Katrina tried to reach for me, but I sidled away before she could grab me.
Before I knew it, I stood at the altar with five pairs of eyes staring me down. “Excuse me everyone.”
“Isis, this is not a good time.” My godmother glared at me. That look was reserved for when I was in trouble, but I didn’t care. I ignored her warning.
“You are here to observe, not talk, Reaper,” the emperor told me. Did I radiate Death or something? How did he know who I worked for?
“Right.” That was the rule, and I knew I was only there to watch, not talk. Still, I asked, “I just have one question and then I’ll leave you alone. Has anyone looked for the princess?”
Silence encompassed the room. The elf side of the room shrugged and glanced at each other, questions in their eyes. The vampire side were doing much the same.
“There is no reason to look for her because we know they have her,” the elf king replied first.
“They have her and are hiding her from us,” the emperor shouted.
“I got that part,” I told them, raising my hands up to calm both sides down. “You are both blaming each other. Got it. But has anyone actually gone out looking for her?” Silence again, from both sides. “Okay, when was the last time either one of you saw the princess?” I held my breath, afraid to find out how long this girl had been missing.
“Three days,” the elf king replied with a sad tone.
“Same here,” the emperor whispered.
“I’m guessing that is not normal, right?” I was hoping to keep the conversation somewhat casual and calm.
“Never,” the elf king told me. “I knew there was something wrong when I didn’t see her for dinner. That is our tradition. My daughter and I always have Friday night dinner together.” The elf King’s voice boomed through the room, his voice so loud it had started to crack.
“Did she have any enemies? Any altercations that happened lately?” I asked the king.
“Stop stalling already. They have her,” the king snapped at me. “I didn’t think you were on their side.”
“We would rather burn than side with
a Reaper,” the emperor shouted at me with hate-filled eyes.
“I don’t have a side,” I said looking at both of them. “I’m looking at all possible options. I know you both blame each other. But what if the princess is actually missing? Nobody has been looking for her, right?” Silence followed my words again.
“What are you trying to say, Reaper?” This voice was different, and when I turned to find who it belonged to, it was the second lawyer standing on the vampire side. He sounded younger than the emperor, but stronger in a sense, too.
“I understand you are all convinced of the others guilt, but would it hurt to search for the princess before going to war.” There. I said it, and I thought it came out sounding fairly reasonable, too.
Both parties turned towards each other for silent conferences. I avoided my godmother’s glare and turned to Katrina instead. She had a huge smile on her face and gave me a thumbs up. At least someone in this room didn’t think I was totally useless.
“Who would you recommend I send to look for my daughter?” the elf king asked.
I met his hard stare with one of my own. “I don’t know. Send someone who knows her.”
“No!” the emperor screamed, and every pair of eyes turned towards him. “It needs to be someone neutral or we will never know if they find her. Those tricky elves could just lie to all of us.” He glanced at the elves with an evil glower.
I had no idea elves could lie. Good to know.
“I agree,” the elf king concurred.
My mouth dropped open. Had he just agreed with the vampire? Miracles did happen, after all.
“We do need a neutral party,” he continued, his eyes meeting mine. “You.”
“Excuse me?” I was pretty sure I hadn’t heard him right. “What about me?”
“You will search for my daughter,” the king told me.
“Not her,” the emperor answered. At least someone here had a bit of sense. I could get behind the vampires.
“Do you question that Death’s Reaper won’t keep her word?” The elf king angled his head, a smirk on his face. He was definitely taunting the vampire.
“Would you dare declare war by betraying us, Reaper?” the emperor asked me.
War? What was he talking about? I just wanted the poor princess found.
“She will do it,” Katrina answered for me. I didn’t know when, but she had climbed the steps of the altar and was now facing the group. “On behalf of War and Death, we give you our word that we will search for the princess and find her,” she told both parties, raising her chin. “You both must agree to grant us passage to your territories to investigate.” With those last words, she smiled. I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t see anything to smile about.
“Fine, but you have three days,” the elf king said.
“Yes, three days. If she is not found and returned, the world will pay,” the emperor told the group.
“Then this is a binding agreement,” my godmother said. “A peace treaty is in effect for three days to allow the Interns to search for the princess. A time and location will be sent out for the next session.” Without another word, all groups left the altar and disappeared through doors on opposite sides of the room. Funnily enough, I hadn’t even known there had been doors there.
“Let’s go.” Katrina grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of the room and then up the stairs. I shuffled along, lost in my own thoughts because I really had no clue what had just happened.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Darkness had started to creep in when we went outside again. I wondered if it was because we were up north, or maybe it was because it was almost winter. After our SUV was returned, the boys decided to lounge in the rocking chairs on the porch. I had no idea how, but they all had drinks with little umbrellas in them. It made me a little jealous.
“What are you guys drinking?” I asked.
“Pina-coladas,” Constantine told me as he licked his large bowl with three paper umbrellas stuck to pineapples.
“Seriously? From where?” My life was definitely not fair. I was stuck in a basement with life-sucking lawyers and the boys were chilling in the sun, drinking tropical drinks.
“They have awesome roadside assistance,” Bob told me, looking more relaxed than he had all day. “We need to tell Reggie he needs to upgrade.” If Bob had found someone better with roadsides assistance, then they were the real deal.
“Isis, it was awesome!” Bartholomew jumped in. “They brought us BBQ for lunch, drinks, and the SUV.” He held up his half-empty glass as he spoke.
“Please tell me they didn’t give you one as well.” I was not impressed if they were giving alcohol to a minor, even a genius one.
“They made mine a virgin drink,” Bartholomew said with a huge smile. “We saved you a huge plate of twice baked potatoes, baked beans, and corn on the cob.” Bartholomew was once again my hero, and just the sound of the words had my stomach growling.
“It’s official. I’m jealous,” I told the boys as I sat down on the steps of the house. “Your afternoon was much better than mine.”
“How did it go?” Constantine asked me. “We weren’t expecting you for at least another three hours.”
“Isis interrupted the negotiations and agreed to search for the princess,” my godmother said as she appeared in the doorway.
When she said it that way, it sounded a lot worse.
“Wow, is that allowed?” Bartholomew asked me, his voice higher pitched than normal.
“Unprecedented, but not illegal,” Constantine answered. “Did they accept it?” Constantine addressed the question to my godmother, but I refused to look in her direction.
“Unfortunately.” My godmother took a deep breath before continuing. “Isis, we need to talk.” Godmother came down the steps and stood in front of me.
I wanted to look away, but I knew how childish that was, so instead I faced her. “Not right now, Godmother.” The last thing I needed was a lecture.
“No, right now is not the time.” Godmother stepped closer to me. “You need to focus on this task, for your sake and the rest of humanity.” Godmother stared at me when she finished—no pressure at all.
“Gee, thanks,” I said, not able to think of anything else.
“Isis, I love you and I’m always proud of you,” Godmother whispered as she came even closer. She lifted my chin and smiled at me. “You will figure this out. You always do. And when you are ready, we will talk.”
Godmother held my face with both hands and said a silent prayer over me. I was familiar with the ritual because she had done it often while I was growing up. I always thought she was praying to God or Jesus. Now that I knew what I knew, though, I had no idea who she prayed to.
When she finished her prayer, she kissed my forehead. “I love you sweetie. Be careful.” Then she walked away.
Any other time, I would have rushed forward and hugged her before she left. Today I just watched her climbed in her limo and leave. Her entourage was already waiting for her, but they only climbed in the limo after she did. It reminded me of a group of synchronized swimmers.
“Not sure which one is scarier: the fact that your godmother is the head of the order, or that you are Death’s Intern,” Katrina told me as she sat next to me. “That is one impressive resume. I feel sorry for the fool who messes with you.” She chuckled.
“If that is the case, why am I not jumping for joy?” I asked her.
“Katrina is right. That is one impressive mix,” a male voice said from behind us, making all of us jump to our feet.
“War, hasn’t anyone taught you how to knock?” Constantine yelled at the huge man behind us.
War commanded authority just by his size. He was at least six feet six inches, maybe two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle. He had military fatigues on with a name tab that read “Rock,” and four stars on his chest. It made sense. Being responsible for every war in the world, he should be the highest-ranking military officer, and I had a feeling he held the sa
me rank—or higher—in every army in the world. Either way, War might be handsome, but he looked familiar, and it was driving me nuts not being able to place where I’d met him.
“It is my house, so why should I knock?” War answered as he leaned against the doorframe.
Bob had moved as far away from War as possible while still staying on the porch. Katrina stood behind me and stared at the ground as if it had turned into the most interesting thing she’d ever found. And good old Constantine looked at the General like he’d seen better. Much better.
“Yeah, yeah. Minor technicalities,” Constantine said. “I’m assuming you heard the whole conversation and we don’t have to fill you in.” He raised his eyebrows.
“Indeed,” War answered, showing his perfect, white teeth. He turned his intense, come-hither stare in my direction. “How long do you have to find the princess?”
Another sense of knowing went through me, but I still couldn’t place it. Where had I met him before?
“Three days sir.” I wasn’t sure how to address him, so sir was always safe for any officer.
“Not bad at all,” War said with a nod. “At least you didn’t screw this session up Katrina.” He looked over my shoulder at her.
“Yes sir,” Katrina replied. She was standing at parade rest, a typical military stance, but she still wasn’t looking at him.
I had no idea what Katrina had done, but War was not happy with her. He turned around to scan the rest of the group. Katrina never relaxed from her position.
I moved closer to her, acting as casual as possible. “Is he always this intense?” I whispered.
“He is in a good mood now. You haven’t seen intense,” Katrina told me, following War with only her eyes.
“Sergeant Johnson, what a surprise?” War addressed Bob.
Bob’s face paled and he grabbed the porch rail so tight his fingers turned white. I hoped he wouldn’t pass out.
“Good evening sir,” Bob said, his voice shakier than I’d ever heard it before.
“I was wondering where you had been hiding all this time,” War told Bob as he inched closer. Constantine blocked his path and grew his size, making it harder on War. “I had great plans for you, my boy,” War told him with a grin, giving up on getting any closer.
