by Pati Nagle
“Excellent choice, sir. One bottle?”
“Two,” Caeran said, handing him the wine list. “We’re celebrating.”
The steward made a little bow before walking away. Caeran smiled at me. “In honor of your attaining legal age.”
“Thanks.” I looked back at the menu and decided what the hell. I’d order the filet, Oscar style. You’re only twenty-one once.
The wine arrived—red and rich, best I’d ever tasted—and the party began. Much to my surprise, they all gave me presents. Len had got me some pretty sand-cast earrings and Caeran gave me a bracelet that matched them. The cousins gave me little nicknacks they’d made: a deer carved out of wood from Faranin and a leather pouch with a beaded design from Bironan. Kind of hippie gifts, but they were cool, and I really hadn’t expected anything at all.
Lomen grinned and told me to look inside the pouch for his gift. I pulled out a heavy disc about two inches across. It was a coin in a plastic case.
I peered at it in the restaurant’s atmospheric lighting. “Liberty dollar?”
Lomen nodded. “To protect your cards.”
“Wow! Thank you.”
I’d told him about card protectors, usually medallions or special poker chips. I had a lucky chip I used—it was in my pocket—but this beat it by a mile.
“You guys are the greatest,” I said. “Thank you so much!”
I had to shove the gifts aside to make room for food. We ate and drank and ate some more. A third bottle of wine showed up, and I was feeling pretty happy. If only Savhoran had been there, it would have been perfect.
I took a sip of wine, musing. The other cousins were just as attractive as Savhoran, and had less baggage. Lomen was friendly, even. I really should be considering trying to catch one of them.
I really had no interest in doing that.
No help for it. I had a thing for Savhoran. Not smart, but the heart is notoriously un-smart. Otherwise there wouldn’t be all those angsty hit songs.
Bironan picked up the wine bottle, offering with a gesture to refill my glass. I shook my head.
“Better not. Want to stay sharp for the tournament.”
Actually, I’d probably already drunk too much, but oh well. I was having a really fine dinner with a table full of good-looking men. Well, elves. Heck, that alone was worth the fifty bucks.
I managed to save room for dessert. I knew Caeran didn’t like sweets, and the other guys seemed indifferent, but Len agreed to share with me. We ordered something with chocolate and caramel—it came out looking architectural, taller than it was wide, and made of artistic layers and adorned with an orchid. Len was afraid to touch it, but I dove in. It was bliss.
Len excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. Caeran frowned as she stood.
“Me, too,” I said, and got up. My head was a little light from the wine. “Safety in numbers, right?”
The waiter arrived with the bill at that moment. Caeran glanced at Lomen, who rose and followed us to the bathroom. I felt kind of silly, but I also felt safer with him outside.
We did what you do, primped a little, and went back out. The guys were gathered by the elevator. They’d found a bag and collected my gifts into it. I took out the coin and stuck it in my pocket. Checked my phone; we had about ten minutes until the tournament started.
“Dinner was wonderful,” I said in the elevator. “Thanks again for all the presents.”
“You are welcome,” Caeran said, smiling. “Happy Birthday.”
“And the wine. That was great wine.”
“Your majority is worth a toast.”
“Majority?”
Len glanced at him. “That’s what the ælven call it.”
“You celebrate turning twenty-one?”
“Fifty, actually,” Faranin said. “Younger than that is considered immature.”
Whoa. Half a lifetime for me, if I was lucky.
I’d sort of almost forgotten that they were immortal. They seemed more normal now that I’d gotten to know them.
I glanced at Lomen. He winked at me.
I shoved my hand in my pocket and fingered the coin case. I’d have to look closer at that coin. I’d assumed it was a replica, but with these guys, you couldn’t make assumptions.
Caeran and the others clustered around me and Len when we got out of the elevator. The clump of us made our way to the poker room. The maddening circus music of slot machines surrounded us. I found myself glancing at the people sitting at the slots, but the only white hair I saw was on little old ladies gambling away their Social Security checks.
People were gathering for the tournament: four tables, thirty-eight players. Lomen and I had drawn different tables. Len offered to hold my bag of prezzies, and Caeran and the others arranged themselves outside the room.
My bodyguard. I could wish they were a trifle less conspicuous, but oh well. It was nice of them to escort me, and I was going to get the most enjoyment I could out of the tournament, since who knew when I’d get a chance to play in another one. I hoped they wouldn’t be too bored.
My nerves were jingling a bit. Normal for a tournament. I’d never won one, though I’d made the final table a few times, and even gotten in the money.
I found my seat and nodded to the other players at the table. I didn’t come here often enough to get to know the regulars. A lot of them played every week, some several times a week. Must be nice.
The tournament began and I forgot about everything but the game. I took out the coin Lomen had given me and used it to cover my cards. Tried to do it the same way every time, even if I was going to fold the hand. Good practice to avoid giving tells.
A waitress came by offering drinks, and I ordered a Coke, hoping the caffeine would counteract the wine I’d had. I played tight for the first couple of rounds, trying to get a feel for the other players, hoarding my chips. There was one bully at the table, all-in a lot, trying to steal the blinds, but by the end of the second round he was out.
I switched my play, taking chances on a couple of middling hands that I would have folded earlier. One paid off with a straight on the river and I took a pretty nice pot, enough to keep me safe for a while.
After the third round it was down to three tables, with the players who were short-stacked beginning to drop out. I glanced up and saw that Lomen was still in the tournament. Good for him!
On the next hand I was dealt pocket kings. I put my Liberty coin on top of them and tried to look nonchalant while I waited for my turn to bet. Two players called the blinds, then the guy to my right made a big raise, doubling the pot.
I bit my lip. If he had pocket aces I could be dead, but I had to try.
“All in,” I said, shoving my stack forward.
Everyone else folded, and the guy who raised called me. We turned over our hands. He had Ace-queen spades.
The flop was jack-four-ace with one spade. Not good. The turn card was the king of spades, giving me three of a kind but also giving him a flush draw. I held my breath for the river card, praying it wouldn’t be a spade.
Seven of hearts. Whew!
“Break,” called the tournament director as I raked in my chips. The other players got up, a couple of them saying “nice hand.” The guy I’d taken out had already left the table.
I stood and realized we were down to two tables. With the pot I’d just taken, I would make the final table unless I did something stupid.
Lomen came toward me. “Very good, Manda!”
“Thanks. You’re still in?”
He nodded and gestured to the other table, where there were six stacks of chips. A couple more players down and we’d be at the final table.
I headed out to the casino, needing a bathroom break. Len gave me a little cheer as I joined her.
“Thanks. Come with me for a pit stop?”
“Sure,” she said.
Caeran followed us and waited while we went into the ladies room. I finished before Len and was washing my hands when a stall door behind m
e opened.
In the mirror I saw a dark, hooded sweatshirt. I turned and was trying to yell, but all I got out was a squeak before the freeze grabbed me.
She stepped right up to me. Tall—they were all tall—and her eyes were black. She smiled in a smug way, ran a fingertip underneath my chin, then took hold of my arm.
“Come along.”
She turned me toward the handicapped stall at the back of the restroom. My body obeyed her even though I wanted to kick and scream. She had her hand on the handle when Len burst out of another stall.
I caught a whiff an instant before my eyes started streaming. The alben let me go and I dropped to the floor. I heard footsteps and stuff, but I wasn’t really paying attention ‘cause the right side of my face was on fire.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” Len said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t touch it. Let me help you stand up.”
I got to my feet and she smeared liquid soap on my face, which made it hurt even more. I cussed and cried and she wouldn’t let me rub it off.
“Touching it makes it worse. The soap will help, just leave it on there. Trust me, I’ve read all about this.”
I cussed again. “Is she gone?”
“Yeah. Caeran and the others went after her.”
Happy birthday.
They didn’t catch her. Needless to say, I was in no shape to finish the tournament. Lomen had stayed behind, and once I could walk he escorted me and Len home. Caeran and the boys were still out hunting.
After an hour that felt like a year and several applications of dish soap, my face stopped hurting enough for me to open my eyes and leave the kitchen sink. Still hurt, but it was bearable.
Len looked at me with worried eyes. “Sorry.”
“You’re dangerous with that stuff,” I said, gingerly pressing a towel to my face.
“It got her off you.”
She led me out to the living room where Lomen was sitting in Caeran’s chair. On the coffee table were my presents and a chocolate cake.
“Cake. Oh, I love you!”
Len grinned. “Love Lomen, it was his idea. Want some ice cream?”
Yes. I wanted all the ice cream in the world. I wanted to bathe in it.
I sat down and cut myself a huge hunk of chocolate. As I was stuffing it in my face, my gaze drifted to the prezzie bag.
“My coin!” I said around a mouthful of chocolate.
“I picked it up for you,” Lomen said, digging the coin out of his pocket. “Here.”
I swallowed and clutched it in my fist. “Thanks. Didn’t want to lose this. It was bringing me luck.”
Guess I should have taken it with me to the restroom.
Len got out another pepper spray from the stash in the laundry room, and made me show her mine.
“Much good it does me,” I said. “She does her mind-control thing before I can get it out.”
“Well, keep it anyway.”
Lomen sat up. “Has she used the mind-control on you, Len?”
“No.”
He looked pleased. “Perhaps she does not have the strength to control more than one human.”
Great. Why did I always get to be first choice?
Len stuck Back to the Future in the DVD player and we all sat watching it and eating cake and ice cream. I resisted the temptation to rub the ice cream on my face, but I did have seconds.
We watched the sequel and then decided to turn in. Len wouldn’t let me help with the dishes.
“It’s your birthday,” she said, putting soap on a dishcloth. “Sorry it wasn’t more fun. You were doing so well in the tournament. I feel bad that you had to miss the end.”
“Not like you planned it.”
I tried to look like I didn’t care. Apparently I failed, because Len dried her hands and then hugged me.
“And I’m really sorry you got attacked. That sucks. This wouldn’t be happening to you if you weren’t my friend.”
“Not true. I might still have given blood that day.”
She leaned back and gave me a skeptical look. OK, she was right, I wouldn’t have.
“Well, I’m selfish,” she said, “so I’m glad you’re my friend. It’ll get better, I promise.”
“Right.”
I turned to head for my room but Lomen was standing in the doorway watching us. “Did Caeran explain to you that you are under our clan’s protection?” he asked.
“Uh…not in so many words. You have a clan?”
“We have been remiss. May I tell you about us? I will answer any questions as well.”
“Um. Sure, I guess.”
He led me back to the living room and sat in Caeran’s chair again. I perched on the end of the couch, feeling nervous. Usually the cousins ignored me.
“We are members of Clan Greystone,” Lomen said. “It is like an extended family. We are cousins in the sense that we are blood relations, but not necessarily as close as what you call first cousins. There is also the complication that some of us are much older than others. Faranin was a friend of my father’s father. Do you see?”
“Yeah.”
“We live by a creed, a code of honor. The alben do not follow it, so we have been in conflict with them for many centuries.”
“Could they follow it if they wanted to?” I asked.
“Yes, but few do. There was once a clan made up of folk who were afflicted with the alben’s curse and still followed the creed. They are gone now.”
“Why?”
He grimaced. “Many were killed in a fight with the alben around the time of Herodotus. After that they were too few to attract new members, and they gradually chose to return to spirit.”
“New members? Are there new vam—uh, new alben all the time?”
“A child of two alben is alben. And some who fight them are exposed to the disease, as Savhoran was.”
My heart gave a little squeeze. I’d been thinking about Savhoran a lot, and now I dared to ask a question that had been on my mind.
“If an alben bites a human, do they get the disease?” I stared at my hands, because I could feel myself blushing.
“Alben do not usually bite. That is a myth, along with the fangs. And no, humans are not affected by the disease.”
So much for my chance at immortality.
“So Savhoran has no one to team up with,” I said.
“He is still a member of our clan, unless he chooses to withdraw. You are also a member in a sense. When Caeran told you about us, it became his obligation to protect you, and as his clan-kin we share it.”
“Huh? Why should you have to protect me?”
“It is part of the creed. We are…stewards of all lesser beings in the world, and when a human becomes aware of us, it is our responsibility to protect her from the consequences of that knowledge.”
I decided to ignore the “lesser beings” bit. “What sort of consequences?”
He smiled a little. “Being considered irrational by other humans, for example.”
“Oh. Nut-case factor.”
He raised an eyebrow as if he hadn’t heard that term before. “Also, you have come to the attention of an alben who is now hunting you. We are obligated to protect you from her.”
I nodded. Couldn’t pretend I wasn’t glad.
“Hard to catch, isn’t she?”
His face got serious again. “She is powerful, and she poses other dangers to us. Do not worry, we will stop her.”
I could think of one other danger off the bat: she could infect them. I wondered what else.
“Do the alben have a clan?”
Lomen shook his head. “They tend to operate alone, or in mated pairs. Too many hunting in the same area attract notice.”
Yeah. I wondered how many serial killers were actually alben.
“Do you have other questions?”
“Yeah. If you guys are immortal and all, how come you’re not running the planet?”
Lomen blinked and looked a little dismayed. Len came in from the kitchen an
d answered me.
“They breed really rarely, Man. Not like us.” She sat next to me on the couch.
“Must be really rarely.”
“Yes,” Lomen said quietly. “To most of us, conceiving a child is something we dream of but never achieve.”
“Wow,” I said. “We sure don’t have that problem. Can you have kids with humans?”
“Yes, but the children are mortal,” Lomen said.
“Oh. Not good enough, eh?”
“That isn’t it,” Len said. “It’s hard for them to watch their own children age and die. Caeran had kids with a human a couple of centuries ago. He kept track of them for a few generations, but they didn’t know him, so it wasn’t really like a family. He’s still sad about it.”
I looked at her with new understanding. She was lucky Caeran thought she was worth the emotional risk. I wondered if they were thinking about kids.
“The other problem,” Len said, “is that ælven females have a hard time with childbirth. They can die.”
“So can we.”
“It’s a bigger risk for them.”
I looked at Lomen, who was watching us with a sad expression. “Guess it’s not completely magical, then,” I said.
He gave a small smile. “Everything has its cost.”
I swallowed. My thoughts kept drifting back to Savhoran. I wished I could be with him the way Len was with Caeran. Selfish, I knew. Poor Savhoran had enough problems without worrying about a meepy mortal girlfriend.
I stood up. “Guess I’ll call it a night. Thanks, Lomen.”
“You are welcome. Happy Birthday.”
Len helped me collect up my presents and take them back to my bedroom. I thought about how Lomen had enjoyed the cake and ice cream. Maybe it was just Caeran who was a health nut.
Len came in with me and set the carving and the pouch on her desk. “There’s something else you should know about the ælven,” she said.
“What?”
She glanced over her shoulder, then closed her eyes for a moment. When she looked at me again her voice was a whisper. “They can hear your thoughts.”
“Wha—”
“Shh!”
“What?!” I hissed.
She beckoned me over to the bed and we sat on it. “They have to be paying attention, and usually they have to be nearby, but they can tell what you’re thinking. So watch the fantasies, OK?”
