by Mallory, H P
“She doesn’t look good,” Dia said as she inspected Sam.
“She doesn’t look any worse than she did earlier though.” I said the words more for my own peace of mind.
Dia and I had been summoned to Sam’s room by Knight who had yet to show up. What the meeting was about, neither of us had any idea, although I hoped it had something to do with the fact that our current plan of sitting and waiting was working about as well as BP trying to control an oil leak.
Even though I couldn’t say I felt good by any means, I’d been able to sleep for two hours thanks to Dia and at least I felt sane again—no longer craving illegal narcotics, seeing random babies or lust-craved Lokis. My day was looking up.
“Dia,” I started, knowing this would probably lead to an argument but I was going to broach the subject anyway. I was running out of time.
“Hmm?” she asked and glanced at me before her gaze moved back to Sam. “It’s almost like everything is on pause.”
“How so?” I prodded, wondering if she’d reached the same conclusion I had.
She shook her head. “Sam isn’t any better but isn’t any worse. Meanwhile, Jenny, Travis and Shirley all look decently healthy, albeit in comas, but healthy all the same. Whatever this thing is, he definitely doesn’t understand how Dreamstalkers work.”
“Or he’s fully aware of what he’s doing,” I said, eyeing her to judge her reaction to my cryptic comment.
“Meaning?”
I sighed, long and hard, wondering if it was better just to blurt my possibly outrageous ideas or warm her up to them, one toe into the deep end at a time. Ah, screw it, I’d blurt. “The Dreamstalker is waiting for me, Dia, he’s waiting for me to fall asleep so I can fight him on his ground.”
Dia nodded but didn’t say anything although her silence was response enough. She either thought I was nuts and wanted to refrain from commenting or she was contemplating the idea. Hopefully the latter.
“And I think you know what we have to do,” I continued. “Sitting and waiting is getting us nowhere and pretty soon, he’s going to grow tired of waiting for me and he’s going to do something to Sam, something I will have to live with for the rest of my life and something I’ll never forgive myself for.”
Dia nodded again, her eyes traveling from me to Sam, back to me again. “You know Knight won’t go for it, especially since it would be putting you into a very precarious situation?”
She had a point. Knight wouldn’t go for it and knowing his steel disposition, it would probably take a miracle on 34th street to change his mind. But, I hadn’t really bothered myself with the minute details concerning what Knight would or would not approve of. Instead, I focused on Dia. If I could make her see the truth in my reasoning, she could help me work on Knight. And, although I wasn’t really sure how she ranked in the ANC hierarchy, I assumed that as acting Chief of ANC Moon, she was high enough up there that her opinion mattered more than a damn.
Before I had the chance to further work on Dia, Knight lumbered into the room, looking like a warrior come to slay a dragon. There was a stiffness to his composure that I hadn’t seen in a long time and with the way he worried the pen in his hand, clearly something big was rampaging through his mind.
I tried not to notice how chiseled his face was as he brought his eyes to mine and studied me for a second or two, seemingly to deduce whether I truly had made it through the Mandrake ordeal successfully. I smiled in response and he just nodded. We’d just had a full conversation without uttering a single word.
“Ladies,” he said in greeting, finally breaking the silence.
“Loki,” Dia answered and winked at me as I laughed.
“I’ve got to make this one quick,” Knight said, his tone and body language back to business. “I’m traveling back to the Netherworld…tonight.”
“What?” I snapped as both Dia’s and my mouths dropped open in perfect unison like choir members. “What the hell for?”
Knight faced me with the same stubborn set to his jaw I’d come to know so well. “The blood lettings in Banshee,” he answered simply as if we’d be satiated with such a ridiculously short response.
“Um, can’t that wait?” Dia asked as she eyed me again, her expression one of concern.
“Knight, in case you don’t remember, we’re kind of in the middle of a major case here,” I added. “One that is bound to break any second…”
“I know that, Dulcie,” he spat out and shook his head, like he was trying to get his temper under control. Hmm, something was up because Knight normally wasn’t this trigger happy. Don’t get me wrong, he was often the King of all SOBs but now wasn’t the time nor the place. “Regardless, I’m leaving tonight.”
I shook my head and sighed, almost wondering if I was having another bout of hallucinations and was just imagining that Knight was actually saying this crap.
“You can’t just leave, Knight,” I started. “What about the blood tests for the suspects? What about the Dreamstalker? Hello? What about Sam?”
He nodded but it was hurried and he even checked his watch as if to exemplify the point. “Wait until I get back.”
“Wait until you get back?” I yelled, feeling myself finally losing it. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
“Knight, the timing of this trip is very bad,” Dia added as if she were trying to justify my outburst with reason.
Knight ran an agitated hand through his hair before facing us both again. His jaw was just as tight, his expression just as pinched as it had been a few seconds ago. That meant he wasn’t about to give in.
“I know it seems like bad timing but the blood lettings in Banshee are tied to this case,” he finished.
I glanced at Sam, anger bubbling up within me. There was no way in hell I intended to wait for Knight to return from this utterly useless errand when Sam’s life was hanging by a thread. I glanced at him again and hoped the ire oozing from my body reflected itself in my eyes.
“We can focus on Banshee once we get this guy, Knight. There’s no reason for you to go there now.”
“It’s not up for discussion,” he bit out. “Just don’t do anything drastic until I return.” He started to turn for the door but apparently remembered something and glanced back at me again. “That’s an order.”
Yep, just like that, the asshole I’d come to know so well had returned and who the hell knew when the nice Knight would show up again? I had half a mind to dub him Dr. Loki and Mr. Asswad.
I shook my head and stared at the floor. How the hell could he think this was a good idea? Now of all times? It made no sense and seemed to run counter to everything I’d ever thought about Knight. If nothing else, I used to be able to say I respected him as a detective and as an ANC cop, but now I couldn’t even say that.
“And when the hell will you be back?” I demanded.
“A few days.”
Fury bubbled up within me like lava and I thought I might blow right then and there. Dia, apparently sensing my volatility, placed a consoling hand on my arm and faced Knight. “Sam might not have a few days.”
Knight sighed and glanced at the floor. “My hands are tied.”
I turned around, afraid if I looked at him any longer, I’d claw his eyes out. His hands were tied? His hands were tied while my best friend was dying? Well, damn him to Hades—there was no way in hell I wasn’t going to do anything but the drastic. And he wasn’t my boss so he could screw himself.
“This is insane,” I announced angrily.
“I have to get going,” Knight answered and checked his watch again. “I’m due at the portal in fifteen minutes.”
It wasn’t like you could get a flight to the Netherworld, since it existed on the same plane as earth, but in a different dimension. Instead, the Netherworld traveler had to make preparations with the Netherworld ANC and then the ANC would send strata-hopping worm holes, known as dimensional portals to see the traveler to his destination.
Before I could object, Knight simply
turned around and left. I looked at Dia and we were both speechless for a minute or two before a big smile outlined Dia’s mouth.
“Guess we no longer need to worry about getting his buy in?” she asked and threw me for a second.
Once I realized she was referring to my plan to meet the Dreamstalker in his own territory, I smiled. She was on my side.
I glanced at her and couldn’t help but laugh, even though worry, disbelief, anger and confusion all consumed my immediate thoughts. “No, I guess we don’t.”
#
Three hours later, I received a call from Dia who asked me to meet her for dinner in the hospital cafeteria. She’d gone to her hotel room to shower and nap before returning for the evening. I was only too happy to join up with her because I assumed we were going to discuss moving forward by laying out our next plan—that plan being how to kill the Dreamstalker, part two. And as far as I was concerned, whatever Knight didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him.
“Hi, Girl,” Dia said as she entered the cafeteria and plopped her bag into the seat next to me. “What slop are they serving tonight?”
I laughed. “I didn’t check.”
Instead of going to investigate what “food” the hospital was serving, she pulled out the plastic chair next to me and sat down. She took a deep breath and faced me with a wide smile, her dark eyes sparkling.
“I have news for you,” she started.
“Shoot,” I said noncommittally.
She tapped her long fingernails against the cheap plastic table and took a long pause before facing me again. She should have been an actress. “Knight didn’t go back to the Netherworld to check on the Banshee blood lettings.”
My eyes went wide and I felt my heartbeat speed up. “What? How do you know?”
She smiled and pulled out a compact, opening it to check her lipstick. I couldn’t help but admire her plump, pretty lips. She snapped the compact closed and faced me again. “One thing you’ll learn about me as we get to know each other better is that I’m a good cop and the reason is because I’m nosy.”
I shook my head, a small laugh escaping me. “You crack me up, Dia.”
She shrugged. “Well, I am good for a laugh too but back to the point about being nosy— I don’t take people on their word and Knight seemed way too evasive earlier today so I investigated.”
She was right, Knight had seemed too evasive. “So, what, you got in touch with Banshee?”
She nodded before a flirtatious smile lit her lips and I had to wonder if an incredibly hot doctor hadn’t just entered the room. I glanced behind me but didn’t see anyone so I turned back to Dia.
“I, uh, knew one of the guards at Banshee,” she said with a laugh. “And boy was that man a hottie.”
“Moving on,” I said, frowning at the expression of absolute bliss on her face.
She shook her head, as if she were dispelling the images of the hottie and faced me with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, couldn’t help remembering the abs on him and his butt…”
“Dia!”
She laughed and held up her hand in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. So, I spoke with my contact at Banshee and asked what the deal was with Knight’s visit and he said Knight never showed up. And not only did Knight never show up, he was never scheduled to show up.”
She leaned back in her chair and eyed me as if she was allowing the news to settle in. I gulped as I wondered what the hell Knight was up to and furthermore, why had he lied to us, to me? After all he and I had been through most recently, I didn’t want to admit it to myself but Dia’s news stung. Before I had the chance to inquire further, Dia leaned forward again and broke the silence.
“So, I did a bit more researching and called some friends I have in the ANC Netherworld and I found out that Knight was called back to the High Court for questioning.”
“Oh my God,” I started, realizing how bad that could be. The High Court was the determining law of the Netherworld—if you were a Netherworld creature and screwed up royally in the U.S., you ended up in the High Court where they would pronounce your punishment and they definitely weren’t known for being easygoing. No wonder Knight had seemed so perturbed and anxious.
“What the hell would Knight be investigated for?” I asked, my stomach still somewhere down around my toes.
Dia nodded, apparently she had all the answers. “One of my very good friends happens to be the stenographer for the High Court,” she began. “And Knight’s case began this afternoon, an hour or so after he left the hospital.” Dia took a deep breath. “Well, my stenographer friend told me that Knight was being investigated regarding a case with the former head of ANC Splendor, Quillan Beauregard.”
“Oh my God,” I repeated again, not knowing what else to say, and slumped back into my seat. This was terrible. Worse than terrible.
“Apparently Quillan was involved in some underhanded dealings regarding street potions and during the initial examination, he was never apprehended,” Dia finished.
I knew the story all too well. “I was there,” I said simply, as if to announce the fact that I knew exactly what had happened that evening and didn’t want a reminder.
“I know,” Dia responded and I glanced at her in surprise. “I wasn’t done with my story.”
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“So, my friend told me that Judge Churchill was pretty upset with Knight because he was supposed to show up with you, Dulcie.”
I felt the contents of my stomach rise up to my throat. “What?”
“Apparently it was you they wanted for questioning but Knight went in your stead and demanded that you had nothing to do with the situation which is why you hadn’t come with him.”
I wanted to throw up again. Knight had covered for me—he’d known full well that it had been my fault when Quill escaped. The awful image of that evening sliced through my head like a shard of glass, the memories already replaying themselves—me realizing Quill had been allied with the bad guys all along; how I’d aimed my Op 6 at him but hadn’t been able to pull the trigger; how my heart had ached over the fact that I hadn’t been able to take him into custody and more so, over the fact that one of my closest friends had betrayed me.
I shook the vision from my head. I’d basically let Quillan go and Knight had known that all along. Knight had lied to the High Court to protect me.
“What…what happened to Knight; what was the verdict?” I insisted, my voice sounding as distraught as I felt.
Dia shrugged. “Don’t know. The case isn’t over yet.”
I pounded my fist into the table and swore.
“Dulcie,” Dia said, an expression of worry on her face.
“Do you know anything more about it?” I interrupted.
She shook her head. “I only know that Knight swore up and down that you had nothing to do with Quillan’s disappearance. That it was on his watch and he failed in his duties.”
I swallowed hard and didn’t say anything more. Dia glanced at me and her lips were tight.
“And if he’s lying,” she started with a tone of skepticism in her voice. “He could face life in Banshee.”
“Why…why didn’t he tell me?” I persisted, as the realization that I might have ruined Knight’s life crashed and burned within me.
“Obviously he wanted to protect you,” Dia finished before standing up. “That’s all I know.”
I glanced up at her and nodded, dropping my attention back to my shaking hands.
“Now, you and I need to eat and figure out what the hell we’re going to do about this Dreamstalker,” she said but I couldn’t really say I’d processed her words. I was still completely floored by the news about Knight.
I vowed that once the Dreamstalker was dead, my next stop would be the Netherworld. I wasn’t going to let Knight suffer for my shortcomings.
Thirteen
An hour later, I’d made the rounds among my comatose patients and was now back in Sam’s room. I pulled Sam’s head forward and fluffed her pil
low, being careful to lay her neck and head back down. A stray hair stuck to her lip so I secured it behind her ear, feeling like a mother tending to her sick child. As far as Sam’s health was concerned, there was still nothing new. No attacks from the Dreamstalker…yet.
Dia paced back and forth in front of me as we laid out our plans. And luckily for me (or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it) Dia had finally come around to my way of thinking—that we needed to take the Dreamstalker on in dream territory rather than continue sitting and waiting and basically, doing nothing. In preparation, we added another cot beside Sam’s, the empty cot for me—for when I met the Dreamstalker in the land of dreams.
“When do you want to attempt this?” Dia asked, casting me a worried glance. By “attempt this,” she meant when did I want to go to sleep so the Dreamstalker could attack me.
“Tonight,” I answered and my voice was surprisingly level, calm. “I’m tired of waiting.”
“I’ll need to act as sentry for you, Dulcie,” she continued as she chewed her bottom lip and started her fifth stroll across Sam’s room. “I’m not going to let you sleep with no one to protect you.”
I shook my head—this was one argument on which I wouldn’t yield. “You’ll need to continue searching the hospital and the grounds, Dia,” I argued. “If the Dreamstalker…I mean, when the Dreamstalker comes for me, that will mean he’ll have to be close by. We can’t afford to have you worrying about me when you could be focused on nabbing this guy.”
“Do you have a death wish?” she demanded, facing me with her hands on her hips. It suddenly made sense why some of her friends called her Diva—she was a force to be reckoned with, for sure. I liked Dia—she took girl power to a whole new level. “If you’re asleep and I’m not there to protect you,” she continued, “whatever this thing is could take you out and no one would ever know it.”
I had to smile at her histrionics but the smile left my mouth as soon as I remembered the peril I was about to throw myself into. “No, I don’t have a death wish and I’m considering this from every angle. I need you to be out there on the frontlines, Dia, not babysitting me.” I glanced down at Sam again before returning my gaze to Dia. “I can handle myself.”
