by Alex Temples
Tristan picked himself off the floor and made a show of brushing off his clothing. “You’ve gotten much better at spindling energy than the last time I saw you. You never cease to amaze me, Brin.” He said, amusement in his voice.
I shrugged. “Right back at you.”
Glancing around the interior of the plane, I recognized the aircraft as one owned by Arcata Corporation, the pharmaceutical research company that acted as a front for fae living in the mortal realm. I attempted to twist around and see behind me, but a jolt of pain shot up my arm, instantly putting a halt to my exploring. I grimaced.
“Alright Brin, that’s enough moving about. You’re lucky I was able to sew that shoulder up while you were sleeping, but I still need to finish with this arm before we arrive in Washington.” Nia said, holding up the green-soaked cloth in demonstration. She poured more liquid on it before pressing it to the gash in my forearm.
I gasped at the sharp burning sensation as she held the cloth down, biting my lip to keep from complaining.
Nia glanced at my face and then patted me on the forearm with her free hand. “Hurts like the devil, but at least you’re not bleeding to death anymore.”
I took a deep breath before answering, choosing to focus on Tristan instead of the fae currently torturing me.
“Bleeding to death is a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?” I asked, sarcasm creeping into my tone.
Tristan stared down at me, his expression suddenly serious.
“Not at all, you’re lucky Nia wasn’t far. I should have realized you’d been cut with a cursed blade, but they’re so unusual it didn’t occur to me. Cuts from cursed blades don’t stop bleeding without the right magical counter curse.” He said, looking guiltily at my shoulder.
Cursed blade. Lovely. This day was off to a great start.
I reached out and patted Tristan’s hand. “It’s okay. I’m feeling fine now.” I said, shaking away the fog that was trying to pull me back into sleep. I turned to Nia, still trying to process something she’s said earlier.
“Did you say Washington?” I blurted out.
Nia turned to Tristan, her eyebrow gently arching. His lips twitched with a hint of amusement. “I’d better go make some drinks.” He said, moving eagerly towards the back of the plane. “It’s a long flight and we would all benefit from a little relaxation.”
I frowned after him before turning to Nia with a raised eyebrow.
“Brin,” she began, her voice gentle, as if she were soothing a frightened child. She paused to peek under the green cloth covering my forearm. What she saw seemed to please her, because she turned to a tray table covered in various potions and instruments to select a bandage and scissors before proceeding to wrap my arm.
“I came to Dublin to bring you an offer from my queen.” She paused. “Our queen,” she said, correcting herself.
I made an encouraging sound, hoping it would prompt her to get to the point quickly, but she seemed determined to take her time. I pursed my lips, impatient to hear why we were headed to Washington.
She sprinkled a light purple liquid smelling of lavender and spice on the bandages as she wrapped. I watched, fascinated by the mixture of advanced and primitive medicine that made fae healing so successful.
“An offer?” I asked suspiciously. My thoughts drifted to Evrei’s offer and the wreckage of the library. Offers from two fae in one day. Fantastic. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, wishing I’d stayed in bed this morning. I could be eating tea and scones right now.
I sighed with resignation. I still hadn’t had the chance to ask Tristan about the book we’d managed to prevent the dark fae from stealing.
Nia’s green eyes met mine and her lips curved upward in an understanding smile. “Yes. My lady has departed in search of her son, your Aiden.” She added, a note of sympathy in her voice.
Aiden. My gut twisted at the thought of him, and suddenly I was filled with equal parts anger and hurt. I thought back to the alley, and decided against telling her about the jaguar figure. “He’s not my Aiden anymore. He made that abundantly clear. Let him be someone else’s problem.” I replied, my voice laced with anger.
Nia glanced down, focusing on her work. “Of course.” She replied graciously. “With the queen off in the Netherrealms for a bit, she wanted to convey to me her apologies that she cannot start working with you on your magic lessons.”
My magic lessons. I had entirely forgotten Aelwen’s intention to begin lessons upon my return. Since I was the only Keeper not imprisoned by the dark fae, Aelwen had argued firmly that I must begin catching up on the decades of magical education I’d missed being raised mortal.
I made a thoughtful noise and looked up at Nia.
“Well, I suppose I’ll have to wait until she returns.” I said with a shrug.
Nia pressed her lips together, focusing on cutting and securing the end of the bandage. “There we go,” she said, stepping back to survey her handiwork.
“You’ll do just fine now.” She said with satisfaction, turning to begin cleaning up the tray of instruments.
Cautiously, I glanced down at my arm, lifting it slowly to see how it felt. There was a dull ache when I moved it, but the hot, searing pain I’d experienced in the library was gone. I sighed with relief and shifted in my seat, aiming to check on the progress of the drinks Tristan was making.
“Don’t you dare move.” Nia scolded, turning to me with a frown. “Just because you feel better now doesn’t mean you should be up and moving. The dark magic in that curse is strong and still in your system, despite the potions I used. You’ll want to rest and take it easy for at least a few hours yet. Dark magic is…strange. One minute you’re fine, the next you collapse into a faint. If you move from your seat I’ll be forced to put you to sleep.” She finished, her eyes narrowed in challenge as she waited to see my reaction.
I chuckled and held up my hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. I’m still. Please, whatever you do, don’t put me to sleep. I’ve seen Aelwen use that magic before and I have no interest in being out all day.
Nia nodded with satisfaction. “Very good.” She said, nodding with approval and turning back to the tray. “In my lady’s absence, she has asked me, and another from her council to ensure you are properly educated on the ins and outs of fae magic.”
“Oh,” I said, surprised.
I liked Nia. It wasn’t that. Did they expect me to go back to the fairy realm? I had spent some time in Eden not long ago. I was quite happy to be back in the mortal realm where there were less surprises. I looked up and saw Nia looking at me. Her face had fallen.
Oh no. I’d been so insensitive. She thought I didn’t want her instructing me. I had to fix this.
“I’d be honored to learn from you, Nia.” I said quickly. “I didn’t mean to give you the wrong impression. I was just thinking about having to go to Eden again. Honestly, I’m not sure I’m quite ready to go back there. I haven’t been since, well…since I visited with Aiden.” I said, my words coming out softer than I’d intended.
Nia looked relieved. She nodded. “Wonderful. I will be happy to instruct you. Now, I have one other surprise for you.”
I raised an eyebrow in question.
She smiled, a mischievous look on her face.
“I’m not going to like this surprise, am I?” I asked, with a half-smile.
“No. I’m afraid you will not.” She admitted.
“Go on then.” I encouraged.
“Aelwen has arranged for you to head up Arcata’s head research laboratory. She thinks it presents a good opportunity for you to continue producing EEV while also expanding your work to other areas of interest. She was under the impression you were getting bored working in a big laboratory with so many rules. At Arcata, you would be allowed the leeway to study things that interest you personally.”
My eyes widened with surprise. “Wow.” I exclaimed, at a loss for words. “Head up my own research laboratory?”
Nia nodded.
I w
as getting a bit frustrated with the bureaucracy of working at a university-affiliated lab.
We did good work, important work, but I had never been good dealing with authority. I frequently butted heads with Robert O’Connell, my boss and the head of the NYU pharmacology lab. Our work was limited in scope by the grant money on the table and the university’s political priorities and over the past year, I’d begun to feel a lack of purpose, a frustration with the monotony of the work I was doing.
For most of my career at the lab, I’d been working under a grant to develop an oncology drug, but ever since I’d brought it to market last year, I’d felt like I was a bit lost. That was part of the reason I’d been about to take a yearlong sabbatical before the pandemic broke out.
Run my own research laboratory?
Part of me said this was the offer of a lifetime and I should grab it up while I had the chance, but the more cautious side of me said there had to be a catch. With the fae, there was always a catch.
“That sounds too good to be true, Nia. Who would be working on my team?”
“You can hire your own team, Brin.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What about the research focus?”
“As I said, you would be able to choose your own focus. It’s likely over the coming months we’ll be quite busy with the dark fae, and solstice preparation. However, as you mortals say…life must go on.” She said, her expression earnest.
My stomach settled, hearing the sincerity in her words. She was right. A lot had happened the past few months. The months ahead would no doubt be even more challenging, but life did have to go on. It was those moments when everything was falling apart that having a routine and trying to feel normal was even more important. Without work and ritual to distract from the chaos, I was likely to go mad worrying over everything.
Family and purposeful work. Those were the most important things in life. I could hardly remember the last time I’d had a “normal” day. You know the kind where you wake up and go to work, maybe meet friends for happy hour afterwards before going home to do something as blissfully mundane as reading a good book with a cup of tea.
Normal. God, I think I miss normal.
“Nia, You’re right. Life must go on. I would love to accept Aelwen’s offer and come work for Arcata.”
Boy, I never thought I’d say those words. I used to think Arcata was a heartless, profit-driven corporation, before I’d found out it was run by fae. In fact, when I’d first met Aiden, I thought he worked for Arcata. He’d no sooner said the name of the company before I’d told him off in front of half of lower Manhattan. Thinking back to that day, it occurred to me I’d never heard of an Arcata lab in the city. Maybe it was in Jersey?
I looked up at Nia with a curious smile. “Nia, where is the lab? I don’t recall there being an Arcata lab in New The second my eyes caught her expression, my smile fell.
“What are you not telling me?” I asked, frowning.
Nia glanced down at her hands, trying to hide a smile, and then back up at me. “You’re right. There is no Arcata lab in New York, Brin. The job is in Washington D.C.” She announced, daring to look positively cheerful as she spun around and headed down the aisle.
“Nia! Don’t walk away from me. What do you mean the job’s in D.C?”
Having forgotten her warning about dark magic having strange side effects, I leapt to my feet and took two steps before collapsing into a faint to the sound of laughter.
*
When I came to, Nia, Tristan, and had a long chat about their communication skills. I’d explained the meaning of full disclosure to them, and then we’d had a long frank discussion about the Arcata offer. In the end, I’d decided to accept it.
I’m moving to Washington D.C.
The Arcata lab was in Northern Virginia. There was more space for the lab facility and nature was more easily accessible than in D.C. The fae needed access to nature to function at peak performance. When they were in New York, they never traveled far from Central Park, large green spaces being hard to come by in the city.
I felt surprisingly good about my decision. The lease on my apartment was up. I’d been planning on traveling, so I’d already tied up a lot of the loose ends that might have prevented me from moving. Nia had even arranged to have my belongings packed up and moved. The only thing left for me to do was to tell Oren about the move. I wasn’t looking forward to that discussion. But on the upside, I no longer had to worry about Tomas tracking me down. I would be right in his backyard.
Maybe I’ll surprise him.
I pondered the thought as I stared out the window at the unfamiliar landscape. We’d landed not too long ago at Washington Reagan International Airport. A black SUV had been waiting to drive us to the laboratory.
After a short drive in heavy, rush hour traffic, we exited the highway, passing a large blue sign welcoming us to Alexandria, Virginia. We drove a few blocks before turning onto Eisenhower Avenue, a street dotted with warehouses and big, empty parking lots.
I glanced with interest out the window as we passed an ugly green building with a sign reading Armory. Rows upon rows of large pick-up trucks and sport utility vehicles crowded the parking lot.
Hmm. A shooting range.
We passed a firehouse and several furniture warehouses, and then the signs and billboards disappeared as the warehouses became more commercial looking.
Staring at rows and rows of unmarked metal buildings, I shifted restlessly in my seat. The clothes I’d put on just this morning had seen better days. I didn’t like going about in rumpled clothing. It rubbed me the wrong way.
I caught Tristan’s amused smile out of the corner of my eye as I attempted to smooth the creases in my top. Nia was intent on her phone, likely catching up on email.
Finally, we pulled into a small drive leading to a black warehouse. Arcata was scrawled across the side in bright yellow. A small, square building with reflective glass squatted next to the road, glistening in the sun. The warehouse behind it stretched long and low across the asphalt, casting a shadow over the handful of cars parked in the lot. It was set back from the other buildings, but other than that, it looked unremarkable. It’s nearest neighbor a rock climbing gym we’d passed two blocks back. A long, chain-length fence topped with barbed wire enclosed the overly large parking lot.
We pulled to a stop in front of the square building I now recognized as a guardhouse. A spike strip ran across the entryway. Our driver, a silent bear of a man named Tom, nodded at the slight, bookish woman within the guardhouse.
She gave him a curt nod and he drove forward.
Tom felt human to me, but the bookish woman in the guardhouse was fae. I couldn’t sense her from inside the vehicle, but I reasoned she must be fae, because if she were mortal there was no way someone like her would be standing as the only barrier between intruders and whatever was in that warehouse. I was willing to bet there were a good many interesting things contained in a fae-owned warehouse.
We pulled into a parking spot. I waited until Tom put the car in park before I eagerly unclipped my seatbelt, opened the door and hopped out.
“Ugh. It’s so humid.” I groaned as the muggy air smacked me in the face.
“Welcome to Washington, Brin. Well, technically Virginia,” Tristan corrected himself. “No matter, this is what it’s like all summer and a good portion of fall.”
“I rather like the humidity here.” Nia said in a sunny voice. “It’s like being in the rainforest, but with all the comforts of a big city.”
“Fantastic.” I said with equal enthusiasm and a hint of sarcasm. I followed Tristan to the door, eager to be in an air-conditioned room.
After punching a code into the small panel next to the door, he pressed his thumb to the glass screen. When it made a satisfied beep he pulled the door open.
Immaculate slate floors sparkled as we made our way across the empty lobby to the elevators. White walls gleamed and I glanced around curiously at the lack of signage. If it weren
’t for the two towering palms nestled in bamboo pots flanking the elevators, one could have mistaken then building for vacant.
Tristan waved a hand over a small panel near the elevator and repeated the process of number punching and thumb scanning.
“Unless you need me, boss, I’m going to grab lunch.” Said Tom, who was lingering near the exterior doors, an anxious look on his face.
I figured he was talking to Tristan, and was surprised when Nia replied.
Nia nodded briskly. “We’ll be fine from here, Tom. Thank you for working today. I know you need to get home for little Maggie’s birthday party.”
Interesting. Nia was in charge here.
The big grizzly of a man smiled then, and I thought it made him look every more imposing. His voice was filled with gratitude when he spoke. “Thanks, Nia. My wife will appreciate that. You all stay out of trouble and ring Izzy if you have any problems.”
Izzy must be the dour woman at the guard house.
Tom nodded at me and Tristan before disappearing out the door we’d come in. The glass panel chirped angrily.
Tristan punched in his pin again and we all mounted the elevator. It felt like we went down several stories before it ground to a halt. I grunted with surprise as we stepped out into a sleek, modern laboratory.
There were several rows of lab stations with slate countertops and white cabinets that matched the white and gray tile. Ceiling-mounted computers hung from adjustable arms at each station. I saw a lot of familiar equipment, including some very high-end microscopes I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. A bank of tissue culture incubators squatted in the corner, and towards the center of the room was a microbiology island.
My fingers brushed lovingly over a florescence microscope as we walked past.
“Very nice.” I murmured.
Nia just smiled over her shoulder and kept walking.
I followed her quietly, taking in my surroundings as we turned towards a hallway full of glass front offices. Several of them were occupied by men and women in white lab coats. They acknowledged Nia with smiles and greetings as we walked past. I wondered how much time the little woman spent here. I’d always been under the impression she spent most of her time in Eden, but it looked like that wasn’t the case.
