Blood Borne

by T. G. Ayer

  I tapped her arm. "Leave it. He's in charge here and he's done well so far." Her eyes sparked with fury when she looked at me. "You heard the director. He started it. Let it go," I whispered, shaking my head sharply.

  Fathima took a breath and rolled her shoulders. "Okay, okay. I get it. I'm letting it go." She nodded and looked at Gilfillan, then reached a hand out. "Director, I hope you incarceration here will not be detrimental to any future cooperation between our agencies."

  "Not detrimental at all. Par for the course and all's well that ends well." He smiled, his expression so genuine I almost believed it. Until I realised this was DIrector Gilfillan who had a lot of questions to answer.

  26

  Fathima arranged for copies of the declaration of identity to be made, then organized a jumper for the rest of the Sentinel team. I'd chosen to jump the director back to the Sentinel HQ in order to have a moment or two for a private discussion.

  As soon as we arrived inside his office, I said, "I'll update Horner on your return, but before I go I'd like to clarify a few things with you."

  Gilfillan nodded, his expression calm as he rounded his desk and took a seat, his bulk making even the large chair squeak. "No need. I’ll check in with him as soon as we are done here. Ask away."

  I eyed him for a moment, a little worried that he appeared to be so calm about his recent incarceration in a djinn dungeon, but I set aside those concerns for now and said, "What method did you and your team use to gain entry to Mithras? There was a ward erected around the realm that we were working to ensure didn't get tripped when we passed through the Veil. I'm wondering how you entered without any extra-special means." I stopped there, all too aware of what Horner had said.

  Gilfillan smiled blandly. "We were out of ideas on that front. And of course, there was a certain amount of concern with regard to your loyalty and that of the djinn members of your team, so we weren't free to ask you for aid. In the end, we relied on Horner to help us figure out a way in."

  Eyes narrowed, I studied Gilfillan’s stony features for a moment. He must have taken my silence as dissatisfaction with his answer because he sat forward, elbows on the table, hands open and facing me. "Okay, look. Horner suggested that since we didn't have any other method of gaining access to Mithras, we should wait until your team was in. Then we can ride your energy trails effectively hiding our own entry."

  I nodded, strangely glad that he'd not lied and told a different tale to Horner. As it was, I'd begun to worry about my boss and his intentions all the more. "Sounds like it worked. Did you have any issues transitioning through the Veil?"

  He shook his head. "Not a one. And as soon as we arrived, a rebel team was waiting for us. It went well enough until we were caught and thrown in jail of course."

  I suppressed a sigh. "Ok. Thanks for answering my questions. Hopefully, your debrief with Horner will go well." I was about to jump when Gilfillan called out, "Agent Morgan?"

  "Yes?" I replied.

  "I suggest you and your team be careful with regard to who you put your trust in. Nothing is what it seems these days."

  I frowned, wondering why he would bother to warn me of any danger considering we were kind of at odds with each other. I didn't probe though, instinct telling me I'd get nowhere. So I simply nodded and said, "Thanks for the heads up."

  Then I left him sitting at his desk, staring off into thin air, his expression unreadable. The man's poker face was legendary.

  I jumped straight into my bedroom, finding that Saleem was sleeping as he’d promised. I tiptoed around to grab fresh clothing, aiming to hit the shower, and then the pillow for an hour or two to recharge.

  It had been one long shitty day so far.

  First though, I sent a message to the Kai, Logan and Darcy, asking them to meet at the Cinnamon & Sugar Donut Diner. I was so tired of seeing the same places over and over and I figured an hour out of the house would do us all good. I had been tempted to go to O’Hagan’s but the pub was usually too crowded this late in the day.

  Besides, the diner made the best donuts in the world, with or without a little magical persuasion of course. To be honest, I’d eat a whole dozen if it contained some solve-all-your-problems magic.

  And maybe a restore-all-your-memories infusion too.

  27

  When I woke, I found I’d slept for three solid hours. I was partly annoyed that Saleem had left me to sleep for so long, but I didn’t say anything, prefering to not mess up the relaxed mood that I was in.

  I showered and dressed, then made my way downstairs. I was tempted to check in on Steph first but decided against it. I’d probably only make her more angry at this point. Saleem was in the kitchen waiting for the water to boil, and I paused in the doorway and watched the light reflect off the muscle of his shoulders and back.

  His naked back.

  “I take it Steph has left the building?” I asked, smiling broadly as he turned at the sound of my voice.

  “What makes you say that?” he asked, face the picture of innocence.

  I shrugged and folded my arms, making it clear that I was ogling him. “Just the she would have told you to put your clothes back on. Or done it for you.”

  Saleem stared at the ceiling as though begging the gods for patience. Then he said, “I’m not naked, you know. Steph is a big girl. She’s perfectly capable of handling the sight of a shirtless male in the house.”

  “Shirtless male, yes. Shirtless djinn on the other hand? That’s an entirely different ball game.” I stared pointedly at his chest where the djinn markings writhed on his skin, words in ancient languages that were no longer easy to decipher, spells of the long-forgotten magic of the djinn realm.

  He glanced down at his chest. “Oh. I see.”

  Silence followed as I tried hard not to laugh. I cleared my throat. “So are you coming like that? Or you going to put some clothes on?”

  Saleem’s eyes widened. “Oh, right. I almost forgot about the meeting with the team. I’ll go grab a shirt and be right back.” With that he faded away in a swirl of embers, then reappeared seconds later.

  I smiled at his use of teleportating within the house, which made me well aware that I didn’t jump much while at home. Home was where I could relax and do normal things like walk up the stairs, and down the stairs. Normality was something I clung to when it happened, especially as it came around very rarely.

  Now that Saleem had his clothes on, and we were ready to go, I said, “Are you sure you are strong enough to jump? We could drive? Or I’ll jump, you hang on?”

  Saleem studied me for a moment, then shook his head. “You’re still weak yourself. How about we jump together?”

  “Okay.”

  How could I turn down a perfectly reasonable offer?

  We arrived at the Cinnamon & Sugar Donut Diner, and my mouth was already watering before we entered. The moment we stepped into the rich, sweet, warm interior of the diner, my stomach grumbled loudly. Saleem threw an arm around me, his laughter brushing my ear and neck.

  I ignored him and scanned the pink and chrome booths for Kai and the gang, quickly finding them at the last table along the front window where a lampshade in the shape of a powdered donut threw rose-tinted light upon them.

  Kai waved to get our attention and I grinned back. It felt strange to be doing something so normal as donuts and coffee when we’d only recently been fighting to save an entire realm of persecuted people. It felt surreal, but it was a little pocket of sunshine in a month of cloud-filled days.

  I’ll take what I can get.

  Saleem and I crossed the multi-pink checkered floor and slid into the u-shaped booth and there were smiles all around. They were all tired, and a little forced, but they were still cheerful. I grabbed the menu. “So what are we having. I’m starved.”

  Logan chuckled. “Evelyn said there’s a special menu this week. The waitress will have to personally give us the details though. Apparently it’s not always available so we have to be discreet when askin
g for it.”

  Evelyn was the owner of the diner, and I’d always wondered if she was a mage or perhaps a witch, especially considering the range of spells she infused her cupcakes and donuts with.

  I waggled my eyebrows. “Ooh. Mysterious. I like it.” I nudged Darcy who’d been sitting silently since we arrived, she wasn’t even looking at the menu. “Not a fan of donuts?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Are you insane?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I already know what I’m getting, so hurry up and decide ‘cos I’m getting dehydrated with all the drooling I’m doing.”

  I snorted. “You and me both.” I studied the menu’s regular menu which listed standard fare like custard cream, jelly filled, cinnamon, and chocolate drizzle.

  Logan was waving the waitress over while Kai glared at him in warning. Did she know something I didn’t. She was shaking her head and giving me a look that said she was losing her patience with him. The orange-haired waitress, who could have passed for a candy-striper any day--hurried over, pad and pen in hand--and stopped beside our table.

  “What can I get you folks?” she asked, smiling warmly.

  Logan leaned across Kai to get closer to the waitress. He ignored Kai’s eye-roll and said, “We want the special menu please.”

  The woman grinned. “Well, aren’t you folks in for an interesting snack. I’ve got the list here, and I’m leaving it with you for a few minutes but I’ll need it back as we can’t have anyone sharing it. Are you all picking from the special menu?”

  I squinted up at her, Kai shook her head vehemently and Darcy simply said, “I’ll have the Kahlua & Coffee with the Irish Cream filling and a Sinnamon Delight. Let these buffoons enjoy the weird stuff.”

  The woman winked. “Don’t knock it till you try it.”

  “I’ll pass, thanks,” said Darcy, smiling as the waitress shook her head then looked over at me and then Kai.

  Kai said, “I’ll take a Bacon Jam filled donut with maple glaze and a Bite Me Berry Cake, please. That’s about as adventurous as I’m getting. And a Pink Fuzz milkshake.”

  I followed up with an order of Kahlua and Coffee Donut and a Witches Brew which was technically a strawberry jelly. “And I’ll have a Loveshot Liquid Chocolate shake as well.”

  “Alrighty then, ladies. Be back in a few minutes with your orders. And don’t bother trying to take a foto of the menu either. Something about the paper it’s printed on makes the image blurry every time.” Then she winked and sauntered off, clearly enjoying the effect her warning had on us.

  “She knows what we are?”

  “What? That we’re not…normal?” asked Kai, shoving Logan aside where he was still leaning over her to check out the menu with Saleem. When Darcy nodded, the walker shook her head. “They’re always able to spot a supernatural.”

  “I think it’s a spell of sorts,” I said softly. “Or perhaps they are simply able to sense us. Besides, they dose up the baked goods nicely enough. Pretty sure they are well capable of whipping up a sensing spell in a jiffy.”

  Darcy nodded, though her eyes were focused on the counter up front that was currently only half full of donuts though they all still gave off a soft glow of magic. “I might grab a few more to take back to Corin and Iain.”

  Kai stiffened at Darcy’s words and the mindmelder seemed to sense her attention. The two women shared a strange look and then Kai cleared her throat. “Mel. After we eat, there’s something I need to tell you.” Then she looked over at Logan. “You want to give Saleem an update alone?”

  “No. It’s your story to tell. And you may as well tell them both at the same time.” Logan sounded pragmatic about it though Kai looked uncomfortable. I had to wonder if she wanted to tell me in private because she thought I’d feel left out in some way. It was clearly something big, which meant she’d held onto this news for a while. Otherwise she wouldn’t look so worried.

  I leaned closer. “Hey. You can tell us both at the same time. It’s okay.”

  Kai blinked at me and then gave a short nod. “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “So, the short version is that my big bad fae great-great-grandpa destroyed our house and tried to abduct Grams. So we hid her away at an undisclosed location, and Mom went with her.”

  My jaw dropped as I stared at Kai. Then I held up my forefinger. “Wait. Did you just say you are fae?”

  Kai rolled her eyes. “Did you miss the part where I held back the truth from you all this time even though I really should have told when it happened?”

  I shook my head. “Should I have felt betrayed that you didn’t tell me something that was clearly personal? Or should I be upset that you lied about where Grams and your mom were when we went on our mission to Mithras?” I smiled to make it clear the question wasn’t projecting any feelings of betrayal.

  Kai sighed and sank against the back of the seat. “So you’re okay with it? That I kept stuff from you?”

  I shrugged. “It's fine. When it comes to family, we do what we have to do.” I glanced over at Saleem whose face held surprise and nothing else.

  “Good. I’m relieved you're okay about it. I’m going to be keeping a low profile in the coming weeks, so I think I’ll head over to Drakys with Logan just so I’m not around to make myself a target.”

  “You're a target? I thought you said Grams was?”

  Kai nodded. “She was, but she also believes that the Ancient Fae—that’s grampagramps and his cronies—could be after me so I need to remain invisible for as long as possible.”

  The table was silent for a while, and then the waitress returned with our orders. As she set them on the table, Logan ordered a Cheese & Honey Crisp Donut with Honeycomb and Chocolate, and a Duck Blood Soup Donut with Jalapeno Sprinkles, and Saleem requested a Lobster & Garlic Butter Donut and a Rainbow Luck Donut, their stupid grins enough to have us smiling too.

  Another moment of peace in the middle of the maelstrom of catastrophe that was our lives.

  28

  After the donuts were downed, except for the Duck Blood donut--which was no surprise--the team sat back and sighed almost in tandem with each other.

  For some reason, donuts were extremely satisfying and calming, even without the drops of magic added into it. I’d sensed a thread of magic here and there, all white magic and basic spells which reassured me that the owners of the diner had no negative intentions when it came to supplying both humans and supernaturals with a mouthful of magically spelled baked goodness.

  I had to force myself to get down to business. “So, what are we going to do about the Sharaita?” I asked softly.

  The table fell silent then, my question sending everyone back to reality and the danger we faced as a group. Kai cleared her throat. “I’m all for putting it on the back-burner for now. We have a few other urgent issues to attend to, like the upheaval in Drakys for one.”

  Darcy was nodding, her forehead furrowed. “But do we know when the relic will call for its price? I mean, do we know anything about how long we have? If we go off and do something else, what if the Sharaita decides it’s time to take what it wants?”

  I sighed but Saleem cut me off before I could reply. He said, “I feel like we just need to do what we have to for now. We also need to research its history and what its demands have been in the past. That may give us an advantage when the time comes.”

  I rolled my eyes. I was a little tired already of research that went nowhere. But I said, “I guess we all have method to obtain information. I have to say though, I’d have loved to speak to Grams and Celeste to see if they know anything else that could come in handy.” I looked over at Kai. “Any chance you could get in touch with them, wherever they are currently hidden?”

  Kai shrugged. “I’ll try. But considering the kind of person Grams is, I doubt she’ll stay hidden too much longer. She’d rather fight the Fae King herself as opposed to hiding somewhere to avoid a confrontation.”

  I shook my head. “I’d have loved to have seen that. Grams handing the Ancient Fae
King his ass on a platter.”

  “Well, that’s not exactly the way it played out, but I guess it’s a suitable enough précis.”

  Everyone chuckled although I couldn’t sense a single iota of amusement at the table. I tapped the hot pink melamine in front of me and said, “Okay, so for now we’re going to not think too much about the relic. And we’re going to see what info we can unearth regarding how it works. There is one thing we do need to all be aware off though.”

  All eyes were on me and for a second I was nervous as to how my revelation would be taken. Everyone at the table had differing loyalties when it came too Horner.

  “So, there was this issue with Horner and his odd behavior when I last saw him.” I quickly updated them on Gilfillan’s incarceration and Horner’s attitude. “I meant to talk to him some more about the Sharaita and what we should expect but his attitude was off somehow. I had hoped to be able to pick Celeste’s and Grams’ brain on their thoughts regarding Horner since they both worked with him on the Ni’amh deciphering, but in the end I decided it was best to not say anything else. Not until I spoke to you guys and got your thoughts. It just didn’t sit right with me.”

  “Exactly what was it though? His expression, his tone?” Kai asked, eyes darker now, the green of emeralds. I could see her skepticism clearly but I wasn’t about to take offense. Even now, I was doubting my doubt when it came to my boss.

  I rubbed my forehead and said, “Just how defensive he got when I asked him about the Sharaita and why he didn’t tell us the real price. I know he gave us the gist of it, but if he knew how to procure the relic, surely he knew the price? And given the people who would be using it are a teensy bit important in the future of the existence of the actual freaking DarkWorld itself, I’d have thought he’d have been a little more circumspect in informing us of the consequences.”