“Now you’re just being snotty. I bet he would have pocketed the glass. I bet he did that at the sushi restaurant.”
“Do you have proof of that? Did they report there was a piece missing from the broken teapot?”
I was into the jetway now, and the temperature had dropped about thirty degrees. Outside I could hear the wind moaning around the metal tube, causing it to vibrate a bit. Since I had a connection in Denver I really, really hoped there wasn’t another winter storm marching across the country right now.
“Of course not. They weren’t going to try to glue it back together. They probably just swept it up and threw it away. And maybe he wouldn’t have taken the glass. Maybe he would have offered Palendar a handkerchief to wrap up his hand and taken the handkerchief away. It doesn’t matter as long as he got the blood.”
“You probably should have let the situation play out to see if Qwendar actually took the piece of glass or found some other way to get Palendar’s blood. That would have verified your theory.”
“Yeah, but then he’d have Palendar’s blood, and if I’m right, we’d have another Alfar-goes-crazy-and- murders-people incident. It might even have happened at the arbitration.”
The line stalled at the door of the plane while people struggled to find compartments for their carry-on luggage. I finally made it on board, and, juggling my rolling briefcase and cell phone, I staggered back to my seat.
“Linnet, I’m just not buying it. Qwendar is here to protect Alfar interests. Why would he endanger that by having them commit murders? It doesn’t make any sense. I think it was a bizarre coincidence, and you overreacted because you are overtired and stressed. You’ve had another horrific experience. You’ve seen John and his brother, which can’t have been easy”
“Stop patronizing me! I’m tired, yes, and if being really, really pissed off qualifies as stressed, then I guess I’m stressed too, but I am not overreacting. Qwendar was
The plump-faced flight attendant was staring at me. “Miss, you need to turn off your phone now.”
“Look, we’re about to take off. I’ve got to hang up. We’ll talk about this once I’m back in LA.”
I turned off my phone, put it away in my purse, and closed my eyes. It was going to be a long night. I thought about Kerrinan in his prison cell, and Jondin, presumably in another just like it. What if I could prove Alfar magic was behind the killings? Would the courts accept that as a defense? Had John been under a spell when he treated me so shittily? Where did David go on that one day? And what was with him and McGillary? Why was Shade nervous about David? And how had Jolly known I was in New York?
At some time while wrestling with these thoughts I fell asleep and didn’t wake until we landed in Denver. Then there was a mad dash to catch my next flight, only to discover it was delayed forty minutes. I turned aside into a sports bar, to get something to eat and treat myself to a margarita. I had eaten half my burger when there was an announcement that my flight was leaving in twenty minutes instead of the anticipated forty. I threw money onto the table and ran for the gate.
Sleep eluded me on this leg of the trip. I ended up watching the in-flight movie, which was a low-brow comedy filled with young men behaving badly and lots of fart jokes. It was terrible, but at least it kept me from endlessly chewing over the problem of the Alfar.
As I rode down the escalator toward the baggage carousels, I turned on my phone. There was a message from Maslin, and he sounded excited.
“I found something on Human First. Call me.”
I reached the ground floor and looked for a familiar figure. Instead I was surprised to see a burly man in a dark suit holding a sign that said ELLERY. I had had a half notion that David might have picked me up but realized that was a bit too thoughtful for a vampire. But apparently he had sent a car to pick me up. I walked up to the man.
“Linnet Ellery?”
“Yep, that’s me.”
“Do you have luggage?”
“Yeah. Just a small bag. It was a quick trip. Just one night,” I continued and I wondered why I always had this tendency to say more than was necessary.
Amazingly my bag was one of the first out of the chute. The driver grabbed it in one massive hand and we headed outside. It was a clear night, with a full moon fighting Los Angeles light pollution and mostly winning. We crossed the street and into the parking structure. He led me to a black Lincoln town car and put my luggage in the trunk. He opened the back door, but the dome light didn’t illuminate.
“Hey? Where are you?” the driver asked incongruously.
Something in the tone more than the words erased my exhaustion. I tensed, my body wanting to flee, but I paused to look back at him to determine if the flight response was appropriate. My mind should have listened to my body. There was a shimmer in the air as someone moved out of Fey. Among the concrete pillars and the bulking shadows of the parked cars there was a disconcerting view of a meadow. It vanished and Qwendar walked toward us. My stomach was suddenly filled with a cold, aching lump, and my knees began to shake.
I was in trouble, big, bad, deep trouble. I tried to bolt, but the driver grabbed me by the hair before I took two steps. His hands, hot and rough, slid down my arms and gripped my wrists with bone-grinding force. He wrenched my hands behind my back, and I felt the bite as plastic cuffs were slapped onto my wrists. Then I was flung violently into the back of the car.
“Be careful, fool. There mustn’t be a mark on her.” Qwendar’s voice came out of the darkness.
“Where the hell were you?” the driver grunted.
“Establishing my alibi,” Qwendar snapped. “Get control of her!”
I tried to thrash and kick out, but the big thug was too quick. Glancing over my shoulder I saw him rip off his belt and wrap it around my ankles. Feeling like a trussed goose on its way to market I lay on the backseat, my cheek pressed against the cold metal of the seat belt. The seat next to me shifted as Qwendar got into the backseat. He patted me on the hip. I jerked trying to get away from him. I heard the driver’s door slam, and then we were in motion.
At first my mind was awash with panic. There wasn’t a coherent thought anywhere in sight. I drew in several deep breaths and forced myself to think. We were in a parking garage. There would be someone in the kiosk to take their money. I would scream. Police would come.
“He has an E-ZPass,” Qwendar said, as if he’d read my thoughts. “He waves a card at a reader. No stopping. No paying. No rescue. I do so love technology.”
“Except when it fucks you,” I said. I managed to lever myself up to a sort of sitting position. My arms were already going numb. “You thought I couldn’t see you.”
“True. It was a mistake on my part.”
“David knows everything. We’ve talked.”
“But where’s the proof, dear Linnet? And after you’re dead, no one will believe the ravings of one obsessed girl forcing her attentions on a man who has clearly said he doesn’t want her.”
Fear has a taste like bile and rancid oil. Panic made my gut feel loose, and I found I couldn’t draw a full breath. Qwendar turned to gaze out the window, indicating our conversation was over.
“Why, Qwendar? Why are you destroying your own people?”
“You humans had a saying from your Vietnam War: ‘We had to destroy the village in order to save it.’ That’s what I’m doing. I’m saving my people from your kind. Your world and your kind have become seductive to the Alfar.” I couldn’t help it. I let out a sound of derision. “I know it seems absurd. To me, too. Humans are constantly warning their children against Alfar charms, but your world of gadgets and ease has its allure too. Add to that, all of you humans attract our younger people. You are so short-lived, and as a result you live with such intensity and verve. Instead of understanding that you are chattel and playthings and nothing more, our youth are marrying you, living by your rules and values.”
“So you’re trying to turn us against the Alfar.”
“Yes. Once I can force a sufficiently violent and retaliatory incident against the Alfar, I will be able to convince the Council to order all of us back to our realm. That will give us a chance to recover our past glories and inculcate our youth in their true roles and nature.”
I shook my head and gave a bitter laugh. “God, I bet if I dig deep enough I’ll find out you’re one of the major funders of Human First.”
