by Jude Marquez
Eli gave me a quick rundown of all the things that happened when they were with Eric and Ashley Bowman. I got the feeling that he was leaving a few things out, but he relayed the major events.
I had paused at the entrance to the hiking trail and listened while Eli told me everything. Gerri and Savannah had long left my sight, but I could still hear them. They would be easy enough to trace.
“Well, you did the right thing,” I finally said. I was at a loss for anything else to say. I couldn’t believe that the Bowman pack had betrayed us. They had been friends with my parents in this kind of betrayal stung. “Are you somewhere safe now?”
“We are. We figured if we stayed where there is a lot of people we would have a better chance,” Eli said.
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Good thinking.”
I leaned against a nearby tree and put my hand to my forehead. We didn’t have any other connections that close to Vegas.
“Another thing,” Eli said.
I laughed. “It was always one more thing.”
“The Bowman alpha. He wasn’t there. There was no sign of him and I couldn’t catch his scent at all. But there was no mistaking it, Eric was still a beta,” Eli said.
I frowned and kicked at the dirt below my boot. “That’s not unheard of. It could just be that the Bowman alpha left.”
“No, Celia. You don’t understand what I’m saying. There was no sign of him at all in that house. He isn’t gone. He’s dead.”
Eli’s words made me look up. “That’s not possible. If he’s dead, then Eric should be the alpha. You would know is Eric was the alpha. Are you sure you aren’t making a mistake?”
Once an alpha died, their powers, their leadership, automatically went to the next in line. The only problem with the system is, there is no way of telling who the next in line would be. It didn’t go to the oldest or even the strongest. Miss Maricel told me it was our own kind of shifter magic, something that she didn’t understand, but it had never chosen wrong.
“I’m not making a mistake, Celia. There was no alpha in that house. And alpha Bowman? He died. A long time ago,” Eli insisted.
“That means that their line is dying,” I muttered.
“I know,” Eli said.
We didn’t like talking about it, but it happened. When a line had reached its end, the alpha magic just disappeared. And it didn’t matter how many people were in the pack, that was it. They were dying.
“Talk,” I said matter-of-factly.
Eli remained quiet.
“Okay. Here’s what you will do. Stay in the public eye. Don’t go anywhere quiet or remote, not unless something else happens. Get some food and get some rest. I will talk to Artie right now and we will figure something out, I promise. If nothing else, if something happens, had for Lou’s mom in New Mexico. He knows where she is.”
I could feel Eli settle. This small plan was better than nothing.
“Okay. Call me as soon as you have anything,” Eli said.
We said our goodbyes, and I followed Savannah and Gerri’s voice deeper into the woods. they had made a surprising amount of distance and when I approach them, Gerri was kneeling in front of the mirror, leaning against a tree. Only about ten feet away, there was a small stream rushing by. As I watched Gerri, the surface of the mirror seemed to shimmer and almost giveaway underneath her palm. A moment later, a blinding light filled the forest, and I had to look away before it dimmed.
When I looked back, a woman about my age was staring back at Gerri. She was tall and willowy, with eyes the color of the sunrise and long hair pulled back. She seemed to wear what was traditional fairy clothing. A long, translucent sheath over another sheath, the second one swirling with colors of the sunrise; coral, purple, and pink. It would have looked ridiculous on anyone else over the age of five, but she made it look regal.
Gerri bowed her head as soon as the woman came into view. “Mother, I offer my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience I might have caused you. I accept all the responsibility of our visitors. I expected for myself and Savannah to be there to chaperone but unfortunately, circumstances arose that made that impossible.”
The woman in the mirror waved her hand away and made as though she would reach out to touch Gerri’s hand, before realizing that she wouldn’t be able to.
“Nonsense. The children you brought me are a delight. Their manners are exceedingly appropriate and somehow, they can make all the others follow their lead. Truly, both of them are a gift. I have extended to them and their families a standing invitation to our court. Do not concern yourself with their welfare, daughter. They are well and they will remain safe as long as they are in my care.”
“There are not words enough to praise you, Mother,” Gerri murmured.
Her words may have sounded grandiose, but I couldn’t help but agree with her.
The Queen’s eyes flickered from her daughter to me. A small smile touched her face. “Alpha Ortega. It is so nice to meet you.”
I approached the mirror and knelt in the damp dirt next to Gerri. “I don’t have the words thank you, Your Highness. Please know that I will forever be in your debt.”
“It is nothing. Your children are a gift,” the Queen insisted. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that only one of them was mine.
“I hope the shifters aren’t giving you too much trouble,” I added.
The Queen turned her head to the side, as if something had caught her attention or someone had called her name. She turned back to me. “Not at all. Clint walks a fine line, but he is often more amusing than offensive.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “That sounds like Clint.”
The Queen held her hand out to the side and pulled someone next to her. I gasped when I saw that Artie was standing next to her. “I assume that you two need to talk.”
“Celia,” Artie breathed, and I could feel his relief from a dimension away.
“Hey pup,” I whispered and was embarrassed when I felt tears in my eyes.
Billie appeared next to him and I never wanted to hug someone else’s child so much in my life. “Billie. It’s so good to see you two.”
There was only a moment of relief on her face when she saw that it was only Savannah and Gerri with me. “I’m glad to see you too, Celia.”
“I will let you speak in private,” the Queen said and stepped out of sight.
“How are you doing? Are you okay?” I asked.
Artie snorted. “Are you kidding me? This place is a dream. All I have to do is think of something that I might need or want and someone rushes to bring it to me. They are so nice here.”
Next to him, Billie nodded.
They were both wearing close that seemed to come from the fairy court. Billie was wearing a dress similar to the Queen’s, but instead of shifting colors, it was a pastel purple. Her hair was braided ornately up on top of her head and there were even rings and necklaces decorating her.
Artie wore a loose pair of pants and slippers and something that resembled a white T-shirt but I couldn’t say what color it was. First it was gold, then it was blue. His glasses were white and seemed to reflect everything around him.
But they looked healthy and well fed and uninjured. I couldn’t get any kind of distress signal off either of them, so I took them at their word and accepted that they were doing well.
“Not that I don’t love it here, but when do we get to come home?” Billie asked quietly.
“When we get the Ascendancy out of Glenwood Lock,” I said firmly.
Artie nodded. “So are you on your way? Are you on your way to get the books?”
I nodded. “It seems like our best bet to keeping everyone safe.”
There was a shadow over Artie’s face and I sat up immediately. “What? What is it?”
“I wasn’t thinking about keeping everyone safe with the books,” he admitted.
“What were you thinking?” I asked.
“I thought each of these books i
s instructing us how to destroy something. I have instructions on how to kill Lou and Dante. Dante has instructions on how to kill the Queen of the Convocation. I have a theory that may be in one of those books, there would be instruction on how to take down the Ascendancy. Or maybe there is some kind of history in there about the Immortal Pack, that could help us figure out how to take them down.”
Artie’s offense seemed to be a better idea than my defense. It seemed like we were always just waiting for the Ascendancy or The Convocation to attack. So why not take the fight to them?
“Okay. Say there are instructions or history about the Immortal Pack. What could it tell us we don’t already know?” I said.
“You know all the stories about the Immortal Pack. How they took over everything from Arizona to Texas down through Mexico. How they ruled over it and it took decades of fighting the Ascendancy for them to be brought down. It always shows them as bloodthirsty savages. But what if they aren’t? The only history we have of them comes from the Ascendancy. They would want us to think that way. But, for all we know, they could be something entirely different. And maybe if we find out what they knew, if we could learn their real story, then maybe we can learn how to take the Ascendancy down,” Artie said.
I thought about it for a moment and looked down. “So you think in one of these books is the secret to taking them down?” I asked.
The mirror in front of us seemed to crack for a moment and when I blinked it was gone.
Artie had seen it too. I looked over at Gerri and saw that she had her eyes closed. She seemed to concentrate on something very, very hard.
“That’s what I’m thinking. But I could be wrong. But it’s the only thing that I can think of unless you guys want to come over here. It’s great,” Artie said.
I gave him a smile. “Maybe another time. I have to go now, Artie. As soon as I can, I’ll try to contact you again.”
Artie nodded, and he looked like he was ready to say goodbye before he stepped forward once more. “Wait!”
I looked over at Gerri, who was sweating now. “Quickly,” I said.
“There is a book in Glacier Mountain Park. Another one in Durango, Colorado. The last one is in White Sands, New Mexico.”
I nodded, memorizing information. “Got it. I love you. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Dante is a high school of Glenwood Lock and I tried to find Azolata but he is shielded and even with the Queen’s help I couldn’t–” Artie cried out.
The mirror cracked and shattered all over the forest floor.
I looked down at Gerri. Savannah was at her side, helping her stand up.
“Sorry,” she muttered.
I shook my head. “It was more than I could ask for.”
THE ROOM WAS OVERWHELMING.
Everything about Las Vegas was overwhelming. I can feel the hum of all the people gathered around. This place truly never sleeps and even though it didn’t feel like home, it had something like it. It was a buzz, something like a high that made my skin prickle and my ears perk up.
The room was nice. I didn’t expect it to be as nice as it was, but the front desk lady told Eli that they were running low on rooms that weren’t suites. Eli waved it off and handed a card over to her. She checked his ID, a passport I had never seen with a name I did not recognize, and took a credit card from him and then sent us on our way. I’m sure that the two of us were not anything unusual to her. On my way in, I saw at least three celebrity look-alikes and possibly one actual movie star. When I turned to point them out, Eli had pulled me along gently.
He gave me a look that reminded me we did not want to stand out, not even here.
And so here we sat, in an unfamiliar city, far from home, with no kind of plan.
“Do you think they will come here looking for us?” I asked quietly.
Eli was flipping through channels. It seemed like there was no shortage of them on the massive flat screen in the middle of the room. He nodded absently, his chin tucked into his hand. “I’m sure they are already looking.”
I felt myself tense up and turned to him. “Then should we leave? Should we be going somewhere?”
Eli glanced over at me and gave me a small smile. “I always forget that not everyone is used to being on the run. I’m sorry. Our best bet is to stay here. For all their bravado in Glenwood Lock, they can’t do any of that here. There are far more human authorities here than there are back home. And there is something that Vegas has that Glenwood Lock doesn’t.”
“Dry cleaners?” I guessed.
That one got a laugh from Eli. “Okay, Vegas has a lot that Glenwood Lock doesn’t. But what I’m talking about is technology. Cell phones work out here, all too well. If the Ascendancy busts down doors and shoots people, and those people don’t go down? That’s going on the Internet faster than anything else we’ve seen so far. The risk is too much. Our safety is around crowds of people. And really, I’m not sure where we could find bigger crowds than we would here.”
His logic was sound. I let myself relax a bit and then I stood up. I paced to the bathroom and peeked inside. The bathtub was big enough to swim in and we could have played baseball in the shower. Then I thought of Eli in the shower, dripping wet and naked, and had to force my thoughts elsewhere.
I paced over to the minibar and reached out my hand, before I remembered my father warning me away from mini bars. I remembered how he told me that one candy bar could cost as much as twenty dollars.
“Oh, good idea,” Eli said and jumped up from his perch on the bed and went to my side. He opened the fridge and passed me a soda before opening one and drinking it down himself. Then he tore open one of those twenty dollar candy bars and ate it down in two bites.
I forgot how much shifters ate and how we hadn’t had a decent meal in well over twenty-four hours.
“Isn’t this, like really expensive?” I asked nervously.
He crouched down by my knees to peer into the small fridge. Eli shrugged. Then he looked up at me and offered me a candy bar. “I don’t know. It all goes on the card and the accountant takes care of the bill from our trust funds.”
I looked down at him, those warm, somehow innocent, green eyes and shook my head. “You have a trust fund?”
“Dad set it up for us before we were born. Our kind meets unusually early ends. If you accept that fact but also take advantage of human life insurance policies, the money piles up faster than you really want to think about,” he explained.
I stared at him and for a moment; I didn’t know how to react. “That’s horrifically morbid,” I whispered.
He nodded and held out the candy bar. “So do you want it or not?”
I took the candy from his hand and tore it open. Eli stood up and found the of the room service menu.
“We should order some real food. We can’t be traveling on empty stomachs. The last thing we need right now is to get lost,” he muttered. He flipped through the menu and as he flipped to a page, his eyes widened.
“What? What is it?” I asked.
He looked up at me. “Tacos,” he whispered.
I shook my head at him and then held my hand out for the menu. He passed it over to me and as he did, the small, black flip phone that we had waiting on top of the dresser, charging, began to buzz.
Eli looked at me and we met in the middle of the room. He checked to the ID and flipped it open and turned on the speaker. “Moonshine?” He said.
“Hey, it’s me,” Celia said.
I hated how tired and broken she sounded. The young woman that I knew and loved and trusted over the past month and a half had never sounded like this before. It broke my heart to hear her sound so miserable. How Eli met my eyes told me he was thinking the same thing.
“What’s wrong?” He asked.
Celia sighed and sounded like she was a million miles away. “You mean other than the usual? Nothing.”
Once again, Eli and I looked to one another.
“We have a plan. Well, sort of. We�
�ve got something,” Celia said.
“Okay, we’re listening,” Eli urged.
“I just talked to Artie. We need to go for the books. I thought maybe it would be a way for us to protect ourselves and maybe the town, but Artie told me that in each book we have so far, it tells us how to kill things. We know that the Convocation uses the Ascendancy to police us. If we will take down the Ascendancy, then we have to take down the Convocation. Artie is thinking there are instructions or history in those books that will help us,” Celia said.
“History?” I asked.
There was a pause and then Celia said, “I can’t tell you how good it is to hear your voice Lou.”
I warmed under her words. “Same here. We miss you. We miss everyone. “
Celia let out a heavy breath. “I know. It’s time to go home.”
“Yes, it is,” I said.
“The history that I was talking about is the Immortal Pack, from Mexico. We might’ve mentioned them. Or maybe you read about them in your books,” Celia said.
I shook my head. “Just that they were a pack so large that there Alec saw was almost immortal. That the Ascendancy had a hard time taking them down, and that it was years and years of bloodshed,” I said after searching my mind.
“That’s right. Our history, what survives of it, is filled with stories about the Immortal Pack and what a bunch of bloodthirsty monsters they were, barely more than savages. But Artie pointed out they might have been nothing like that at all, since the only history that we have about them is what the Ascendancy has told us. They would keep the secret to their own near defeat close to the chest. That makes sense. But they could have been something else. Something more, something better. So if we can find out about them, maybe we can learn how to defeat the Ascendancy and the Convocation once and for all. At least, that’s what we’re hoping,” Celia finished.
I nodded.
“How is Artie? Billie? And the others?” Eli asked.
I felt a cold flash of shame for not asking about them immediately.
“They are doing well. It seems like the Queen loves them and is spoiling them.”
I smiled. That’s just who Billie and Artie were. That’s how people reacted to them.
