Bella Flores Urban Fantasy Collection

by R D Martin

  The vampire flexed his fingertips, and the door swung open as though pushed by a tank. Bella staggered back beneath the force, barely catching her balance before tumbling to the floor. She glared at the vampire, though his expression never seemed to change.

  "Apologies. I still have difficulty with control." The vampire pulled himself straight and cleared his throat. "Shall we be off?"

  Bella looked around the room before nodding. She still wasn't sure of what had happened, but she was sure the vampire would not leave without either the Finder or her, and the Finder wasn't here. Stepping into the hall, she turned to pull the doors closed behind her. Catching sight of Cat, she stared at him until the door cut off her view. She hadn't had time to find out what he'd heard, if anything.

  A sudden thought struck, and she had to struggle to let go of the door handles. What if whoever attacked the Finder's box is still inside? She hadn't even thought to check for that. There were dozens, no, hundreds of ways to hide without being seen. Someone could still be in the room, cloaked beneath one or more layers of spells. Would Cat be all right? Could he sense if someone hid nearby? Would she sense if something happened to him? The bond should work both ways, but she'd never felt his pain before. What if she came back and he was hurt, or maybe dead? What would she do?

  "Prime?"

  The vampire interrupted the thoughts threatening to drown Bella where she stood. Nodding, as much to herself as him, she began following him through the corridor leading to the Conclave amphitheater. She needed to hold it together now. There was nothing to show the Finder was dead, just gone. She should be able track him down. All she had to do was survive the afternoon meeting without making too much of a fool of herself.

  Bella shuddered. She was already on his bad side for losing the Leonidas disk, and he was careful of his reputation. If she messed up as his Prime, he was liable to kill her. She took a breath, forcing herself to remain calm despite the raging turmoil inside. She just needed to make it through the afternoon. Just sit there, do nothing, and say nothing. That was easy to do. It wasn't like they were voting on ending the world, right?

  6

  Bella voted to end the world. Well, not quite end the world, really. More like end the subjugation of the supernatural world by the Imperium. And as much as she tried to deny it, the fault landed on her shoulders and it began the moment she entered the amphitheater.

  Following her guide through twisted corridors, hoping she would remember the way back, she made it to the amphitheater and the assembled Conclave in good time. Reminding herself nothing would happen, at least not today, she pushed open the double doors and stepped in. Every head in the room seemed to turn in her direction, and those creatures without heads turned their entire bodies. In the short space between breaths, all conversation stopped and she became the center of every delegate's attention. She'd had nightmares like this before, but to experience one in reality was a whole different level of gut-churning embarrassment.

  Keeping her head down, she began the long walk down the stone steps leading to the seat reserved for the Finder. All was silence until she'd journeyed about halfway down, at which point someone coughed. As if the cough was the signal to resume talking, the assemblage turned away from her and continued their own conversations, a fact Bella was grateful for, as she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to hide her furious blush.

  Scuttling down the remaining stairs as fast as she could, she arrived at her seat and slid onto the stone bench. Just sit here. Sit here and be quiet. It was her mantra and she put it on a loop in her mind. All she needed to do was make it through the afternoon, and then she could figure out what was going on.

  A set of lower doors near her swung open and the same five beings from before entered the arena, strolling toward the dais erected in the room's center. Bella gave them a quick glance before putting them from her mind.

  With the adrenaline no longer coursing through her with the fury of a herd of rampaging elephants, she could take a moment to think things through. She might have let circumstances drive her at the Leonidas exchange, but she'd be damned before she let it happen here. With the disk, the only thing she lost was some money. Well, a lot of money, but still just money. Now, though, someone might have lost their life.

  A blur of movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and Bella looked up to see a runner delivering a message to the group at the center dais. After a moment, one of the group stood. She didn't recognize him, nor did she recognize his species. He looked as though someone had taken an octopus, slapped it on the body of a bear, then shaved the bear before painting it with spots and stripes before giving it a set of arms that belonged to a silverback gorilla. Bella wasn't entirely sure it was even male at all.

  The creature made a noise that Bella assumed was speech, though it sounded more like someone was pouring a load of paper clips into a crystal bowl. A translation spell kicked in, filling the room to allow everyone to communicate, and his sounds morphed into a singsong form of English.

  "Head count has been concluded, and with the arrival of our last delegate"—the creature tilted its gleaming head toward Bella. It was a slight snub, but it made her want to crawl under the table and hide— "we shall continue with the question of the day."

  The creature sat and, one by one, members of the Conclave spoke before the assemblage. Bella phased in and out during the speeches. She didn't even know what the question of the day was, much less why people would want to debate it. Besides, she had more pressing matters to deal with, didn't she?

  If she assumed the Finder wasn't dead—not hard to do, since she had seen nothing in the box that looked like smashed caterpillar—then she was left with two possibilities.

  The first, and the one she hoped for most, was he'd removed himself from the box when he was attacked. It wouldn't have been hard for him. He was old, at least a thousand years as far as she knew, though Gar had hinted he was even older than that. With that much time on earth, the Finder would have been smart enough to ensure that there was always an exit handy in case something happened, wouldn't he?

  The second possibility was much less appealing, though the gaping pit in the bottom of her stomach yelled it was more likely, was the Finder had been kidnapped. But who would do that, and why? Ransom? The Finder was old and powerful, but anyone strong enough to kidnap him would have to be as well. They'd already have had time to amass a vast amount of wealth, so they wouldn't need any of the Finder's money. Unless the ransom wasn't about money. Maybe someone wanted an artifact he'd collected. She knew the Finder had a massive storehouse beneath his shop, though she'd never been in it. Only the Finder and Gar had access to the entrance behind the front desk.

  But if they wanted something of the Finder's collection, they could have just bought it from him. The Finder would sell anything for the right price. And why attack him at all? Especially here. Maybe the kidnappers had imagined taking him would force Gar to surrender whatever artifact they were looking for? If that was the reason, then they were in for a surprise. Bella loved Gar, but even she could see the strain on the relationship between her friend and her boss. She'd always felt that, should the Finder die or disappear, Gar would be out of there faster than a lightning strike.

  An argument broke out between members of the Conclave in the stands higher up and pulled Bella from her thoughts for a moment. The two delegates, one who looked like a wolf with a smashed face, while the other looked like a mummified cat without the bandages, argued over the right to control a specific territory. The argument made little sense to her, but the two creatures kept fighting until it looked as though they were ready to tear at each other's throats. The crack of a gavel echoed throughout the chamber, and both parties stopped shouting long enough to look down at the center dais. The vampire, Darius, stood and demanded they calm themselves. Both would have their chance to speak.

  Bella couldn't help feeling a little jealous of the power the vampire wielded. His presence alone demanded r
espect from anyone near him. And if it hadn't been for the Finder, she'd have wound up as nothing more than a simpering puddle at his feet. That thought made her shiver. Even William had never had that effect on her. No, not now. This wasn't the time or place to hash out how she felt about him.

  With the argument above resolved, she returned to her ruminations. If the Finder's disappearance wasn't about money or an artifact, then what could it have been about? Perhaps it was revenge for something. After such a long life, he was sure to have made at least a few enemies. As a Finder, he was unique in his abilities to locate hidden and missing objects. Bella grunted at the irony of the Finder being lost. The Finder's ability made him able to locate items others might have spent their entire lives searching for. There was bound to be some hurt feelings there. The problem was, she didn't know enough about her boss's history to even guess who the hidden enemy would be. She tabled that train of thought for the moment, giving herself a mental reminder to ask Gar more about the Finder's past.

  So, assuming the disappearance wasn't about money or an artifact, or even some hidden enemy rearing up from a secret past, then what was it about? Maybe, maybe it was just a simple smash and grab? Someone had seen the box holding the Finder and thought something valuable was inside? No. The spells protecting the box were more powerful than any she, or any witch she knew, could bypass. And someone had smashed the top in by brute force, so it was unlikely to be a simple thief if they didn't care about keeping riches undamaged.

  A polite cough and a tap on the table pulled her from her thoughts, and Bella found herself the center of the Conclave's attention for the second time. A young page pointed to the table in front of her where two circles glowed, one green and the other gold, as they hovered inches above the stone.

  "Your vote, miss?"

  "My what?"

  "Vote, miss." The page's tone was almost as confused as hers. He pointed to two glowing circles on the table in front of her. She'd been so occupied with her own thoughts she hadn't seen them appear.

  Bella took a quick glance around the quiet room. Tension filled the air and it felt as though the entire world were holding its breath as it waited for her vote. Though the glowing circles on the table were bright enough to illuminate her entire area, as well as the tables of her neighbors on either side, she couldn't see the same light emanating from any other seats.

  "Uh, I'm sorry," she tried to whisper to the page, but it sounded to her as though her quiet voice carried across the entire amphitheater. "I sort of, um, zoned out there for a second. What am I voting on again?"

  The page's eyes opened wide and his expression shifted from slight confusion to outright shock.

  "The question, miss," the page replied after a moment, not bothering to keep his voice down. "The question of the day."

  "Ah, okay. Only, I don't know what the question of the day is."

  The moment the last word left her lips, the surrounding delegates began speaking in harsh, guttural murmurs. The sound spread like ripples in a pond as it was taken up by others, traveling up and down the rows of tables until it reached even the highest seats.

  In the distance a congregant shouted for her to vote in a tone that somehow seemed both angry and impatient. His shout was taken up by others as well, and if her murmured comments had created a wave among those attending, his shouts created a tsunami.

  Bella tried to ignore the shouts as she looked at the page. What was the vote for? Did she even have to vote? Was there a way to just stay neutral? There were only two circles, though.

  The crowd grew louder as she hesitated, and even the air felt heavy and oppressive under the attention of the Conclave. She had to vote. But which circle meant which? If she touched the green, did it mean she was agreeing? Gold could mean the same thing, though. Maybe she should select the gold.

  She held out her hand above the hovering disks, and try as she might, she couldn't stop it from shaking. She didn't know what she was doing. Why had the Finder brought her here? Why was she forced to sit through all this when she didn't know what all this was? This should have been his vote, but she didn't even know how he would have voted. What happened if she voted wrong?

  Closing her eyes, she swallowed. Her stomach was doing flip-flops and threatening to eject every meal she'd ever eaten. Without the Finder here, any decision she made would be just a guess. The crowd now roared as it demanded her vote. Darius banged his gavel for order, though the sound was drowned out by everyone around her.

  Enough is enough. She had to decide, and without knowing all the facts, she knew any decision would be wrong and she'd just have to deal with the fallout. Letting out the breath she'd been holding, she relaxed her arm and let her hand fall through the gold circle.

  Shouts erupted from hundreds of throats as her hand broke the circle. She couldn't ignore the anger in some, but others seemed to be joyous. To call the cacophony confusing was an understatement.

  "What… what did I just vote for?" She hadn't meant to ask aloud and jumped when the page answered her.

  "War," the page replied in a monotone voice that somehow carried a mountain of weight with it.

  Bella's throat felt as though someone were squeezing it tight enough to cut off her air supply. Her lungs screamed and her heart pounded. She'd voted for war? Why was the circle for war gold? Shouldn't it have been red, or at least some color to show how serious the matter was?

  "War?" she squeaked, turning to look at the page, who just nodded. She felt icicles form in her veins even as the blood drained from her cheeks. Beads of cold sweat formed on her brow, and her stomach turned in knots. War? She was responsible for war? Her imagination flared with images of tanks firing rounds at lines of people, black clouds of smoke billowing out behind each shot. Planes flying overhead, dropping bombs on the antlike specks far below.

  A loud banging made Bella look up in time to see Darius slamming his gavel on the table in front of him. The sound echoed throughout the chamber and cut through the shouts and screams of the assembled. Bang. Bang. Bang. He slammed the gavel down with enough power to dent the table. After a few moments, silence reigned in the room once more.

  Bella watched him lay down the gavel and turn to his companions on the dais. They spoke for a moment in hushed whispers before he once more addressed the Conclave.

  "The vote has been taken and the resolution on the floor has passed. After conferring with the Council, we have decided that the gravitas of the situation demands all other business must be tabled until the motion is voted on. We will, therefore, adjourn for today as planned and vote on the motion to sever ties with the Imperium tomorrow."

  As one, the members on the dais rose and left the amphitheater through their small door. Conversations sprang up again among the delegates, though not with the same volume as before. As they spoke, they also began walking, slithering, or flying toward the exits.

  Bella remained as still as the stone bench she sat on and stared at the tabletop. What had she done? Sever ties with the Imperium? The page was right — it could mean war. The Imperium kept everybody in check, kept the supernatural hidden and safe. It was true she hated them. They'd stolen her father from her and executed him like a common criminal. She hated them with every fiber of her being. But to sever ties with them? That was unthinkable, even to her.

  For a brief moment, she wondered if she'd stepped into a different world, or if, perhaps, she was in a coma. Either would explain why her entire life seemed to be spinning out of control.

  That's the problem, isn't it? Her life was out of her control. Well, it was time to take back that control, time to do something about the spinning, and that started with finding her missing boss. If she found him in time, then maybe he could undo her vote. Maybe he could stop the war before it began.

  Bella squared her shoulders as she stood. Everything started with finding her missing employer, and while she wasn't a Finder herself, she was a witch. She was strong. Above all, she was determined. Nothing would stop her. Tur
ning, she strode up the stairs to the exit, ignoring the echoes of her footsteps as they bounced around the empty room. She would learn what happened to the Finder, undo her mistaken vote, and stop a war before it started. And gods help anyone standing in her way.

  He watched from the shadows as the young woman made her way up the stairs and through the double doors at the top. The entire time a genuine smile stretched his lips. It had been years since he'd smiled like this, and his lips almost ached from the effort. He refused to let it go, though.

  It was happening, though a little earlier than he'd planned. He hadn't expected the vote to carry, but it had done so, thanks to her. He'd have to speed up his plans to take advantage of it.

  That idea made the smile on his face slip just the smallest amount. He'd laid out his plan carefully, one small crumb at a time. A rumor here, a bit of innuendo there, and even the judicious use of a sharp blade when it was necessary. All of it to bring him to this point.

  He flexed his fingers and rubbed his palms against his pant legs as though trying to smooth out invisible creases. If he tried to move too fast, the entire plan could collapse around him and everything would have been a waste. Now was not the time to rush things, not yet.

  And what of her? Her vote had been a surprise, but would she stay the course? That question made his smile disappear as his lips pursed. He could take her. One less person for the world to miss, but doing so would mean more time added to his plans, and he was so close right now. Closer than he'd ever been, in fact. Could he pass on the opportunity?

  The watcher shook his head. No, he thought. He couldn't pass on this. So she would live, for now. But perhaps some insurance was best. She had to survive, but that didn't mean he couldn't guide her along the right path.

  The smile returned to his lips, and he sank deeper into the shadows. It was time, time to see his enemies destroyed, time to be free of the shackles weighing him down. He would get his revenge and more. His enemies would die at his hands and the streets would run red with blood as he crushed them beneath his boot. Yes, he thought, letting the shadows embrace him like a lover. It’s time. Finally, it’s time.