Keeper of the Dawn

There’s me—because, for some reason, you’re obsessed with me, Alessande thought.

“You’re both going to be getting callbacks,” he went on.

“That’s great,” she said. “Thank you.”

She didn’t know how to end the conversation and leave, but she definitely thought it was time to go. After speaking with him, she was pretty sure he was entirely innocent. There was a way to make sure, of course. She was worried, though, about leading him on or appearing flirtatious.

Still, it had to be done.

She smiled and stared directly into his eyes, and concentrated on listening to the words that were in his mind rather than those he spoke.

* * *

Mark and Brodie’s first stop was the hospital, where they were able to see Chelsea Rose.

She was weak and looked as frail as the delicate rose petal her name invoked as she lay in her hospital bed.

She offered a tiny smile when she saw them. “You’re the detectives who saved my life,” she said. “Thank you.”

“We’re glad to see you awake and still here with us,” Brodie told her.

“Thank you,” she said.

It disturbed Mark to realize just how blonde and blue-eyed she was. He knew instantly that she wasn’t Elven—but with her looks, she could have been. And that made him worry more about Alessande.

But Alessande was in a public place and surrounded by friends. He had to trust in them to keep her safe. He knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier.

“Chelsea, can you tell us anything that might help us find the people selling the drug that nearly killed you?” Mark asked her.

She frowned. “I saw the newspaper today. It sounds like the man who was behind it is dead. James someone—a butler. I didn’t even know people still had butlers. And that the guy who actually sold us the pill was killed, too.”

“That’s the problem, Chelsea,” Mark said. “Digger—the dealer—was killed after James Laughton was already dead. That means that someone else is still out there. And that someone is the person in charge. James wasn’t in charge. He was working for someone else, just like Digger was, and Digger wasn’t about to fall on his sword.”

Her mind was obviously still working slowly. “He had a sword?” she asked.

Brodie and Mark exchanged a stunned glance, then Brodie took the question. “That’s just an expression, Chelsea. It means someone is either so afraid of or so loyal to his boss that he’s willing to die rather than risk a police interrogation and possibly give something away.”

“Oh!” she said, blushing.

Mark took the chair at her bedside and glanced out to the hallway. The police guard was in his chair, reading the paper. There were no nurses or doctors in sight.

“Chelsea, look at me, please,” Mark said. He stared at her intently. “Just relax and think about everything you did that night. Try to picture the street when you two ran into Digger. Tell me everything you saw.”

She stared back at him. She didn’t blink.

“Easy...just let your mind go back,” he said.

“We wanted a high, something fun. I remember telling Terry that night that L.A. can be so random. Like, you have the Snake Pit, but you turn a few corners and it’s all crack houses. He said that was great for us, because we could score but still be kind of safe. I didn’t feel very safe, though, and I just wanted to go back, but by then we were lost. We saw a few really grungy people, but we didn’t even speak to them, but then that man— Digger—came up to us. He told us he could get us to a safer street. And then he asked if we were looking to get high and said he had just what we wanted, and offered us that pill. He said only one of us should take it, because whoever took it would get really, well, horny, so the other one needed to be more with it. Terry...he always wants to have sex, like...day and night...and I work and sometimes I’m tired and not so into it. So I took the pill....”

She paused; her eyes never left Mark’s, but something seemed to strike her from deep in her memory. “I remember the sound,” she said.

“What sound?” Mark asked.

“Whoosh,” she said.

“Whoosh?” he prodded.

“Yes, a whoosh. I thought it was weird, because I didn’t see any birds, but it sounded like...something flying by. Like wings. I said something about it, but Terry didn’t hear it. I had taken the pill by then, though, so maybe that was it.”

“And then?” Mark pressed.

“Then...I woke up here, in the hospital.”

It was clearly all he was going to get. Mark made a point of blinking to release her from his hold. “Thank you, Chelsea.”

“Is Terry okay?” she asked anxiously.

“He’s fine,” Mark assured her.

“Can I see him?” she asked.

“Sure, we’ll make it happen,” Brodie said. “We’ll see what we can do, say, later this afternoon or tonight.”

She blinked and frowned, confused. “How odd,” she said.

“What’s that?” Mark asked.

“I hadn’t remembered that until you asked me, but it felt like there were birds all around in the sky, but I couldn’t see them. I actually looked—and there were no birds.”

“Thank you, Chelsea,” Mark said. “You’ve been very helpful.”

They left the hospital. It was still early, but Mark was anxious. “I’d asked earlier for a search warrant for the Hildegard house. Let’s pick that up and then head over there.”

“We have to run by the station and coordinate,” Brodie reminded him.

“Why? They could meet us—”

“Edwards left a message on my cell while we were in with Chelsea. He wants to talk to us,” Brodie said.

Mark groaned. “Something isn’t right, then. Let’s get moving. The more time that passes, the more time the Hildegards have to hide whatever they’ve been up to.”

* * *

Alessande sat in the backseat wedged between Sailor and Barrie.

“So...I don’t understand exactly what happened,” Declan said from behind the wheel. “You read his mind, he didn’t look away, but you didn’t get anything.”

“I got some things,” she said. “Just nothing exactly...useful. Mainly, he was wondering what his next move should be to get me into bed.”

“At least he wasn’t thinking about killing you,” Sailor said.

“Maybe he is just a pawn in the big game,” Barrie suggested.

“I don’t know. All I got was what was foremost in his brain. Oh, Sailor—he knows you’re the better actress, but he also knows that you’re with Declan and he still believes he’s got a shot with me. If the movie does happen —”

Sailor laughed. “I’m sure there are still other contenders for the role, and anyway, last time I thought I’d get a break, it turned out I was dealing with a bunch of criminals and killers—just like might be happening now. Not to mention that my agent turned out to...well, let’s not go back there. Alessande, please don’t worry. I have faith in myself. I love acting, and I will get my breakout part. So let’s use his interest in you until we get what we need, okay?”

“I just don’t know if we will get what we need,” Alessande said. “If the real players are Others, they know how to hide their thoughts—how to avoid an Elven’s eyes....” She let her voice trail