Moss Gate

by Alex Linwood

  “Good morning, young human,” Sergeant Lyren said.

  “It’s Portia.” She knew the sergeant was giving her a hard time, but being called young human still irritated her anyway.

  “Portia. My apologies, young human,” Sergeant Lyren said, a twinkle in her eye.

  Portia sighed heavily but gave up. It could be worse.

  “Are you ready? We are going to the inner city today, someplace apparently you’ve never been.”

  Portia turned to Sergeant Lyren, her eyes round.

  “Lucky for you, your information has proven valuable already. I was able to track down the rival to Master Mawon. We are going to his place of business. You’ll have to tell me if it is the same person who attacked you and Finrod last night.” Sergeant Lyren winked at Portia. “His business is in the inner city.”

  The inner city. Portia’s heart beat faster, but she didn’t want the officer to see her excitement so she merely nodded. Sergeant Lyren made her nervous. And she didn’t understand what the wink meant—was it a sarcastic wink? Was something bad waiting for her in the inner city? She’d feel better once she understood the law enforcement officer better.

  But one thing was clear: Sergeant Lyren was efficient. Or else she did not need much sleep, for she had gotten a lot of work done already. Portia felt uneasily that Sergeant Lyren might have extremely high standards. She hoped she could live up to them.

  They made their way through the city towards the inner red wall that marked the boundary to the inner city. There were fewer stares than the previous night when Portia had been dragging Finrod along. Most citizens saw Sergeant Lyren and moved out of her way, some even bowing respectfully as she walked by. Portia was amazed at the difference it made to be in the presence of a respected city official.

  When they reached the inner gate, Sergeant Lyren pulled out her badge and flashed the guard. The guard tried to step in front of Portia as she followed Lyren, but the sergeant saw his motion and turned on the guard, settling a fierce glare on him. He backed up slowly and nodded again at Sergeant Lyren and allowed Portia to pass. They walked through into the inner city. Portia glanced behind her at the guard who was watching them go with an unhappy look on his face.

  Portia followed Sergeant Lyren into the inner city. The streets were immaculate. There didn’t even seem to be any dirt or dust on the cobblestones. They shone under the sun. The buildings were in perfect repair, the paint jobs perfect and the plaster flawless. It was as if everything had just been constructed, or it was under some spell to keep it looking new. Even the shrubbery and plants that decorated the buildings were perfect in their symmetry. It felt both comfortable and uncomfortable to Portia. She felt dirty by comparison, even in her new clothes. She hurried to catch up to Sergeant Lyren for she was drawing a few stares from the elves inside the gates. When the watching elves saw her next to the enforcement officer, they turned away and went on with their business.

  Sergeant Lyren was oblivious to all of it. She walked on swiftly, not bothering to see if Portia was behind her.

  They made their way through the city. They passed through an impossibly neat marketplace and into the side streets reserved for large merchants and affluent businesses. Lyren stopped in front of a particularly rich-looking business. Maroon and gold paint decorated the front wall, and the roof was tiled in curving interlocking tiles. It was ostentatious and beautiful, even for this city. Portia wondered if it was real gold.

  Two guards stood on either side of the front door. They were dressed as footmen in maroon and gold to match the building, but it was clear they were actually guards. They were burly, even for elves. And they were armed with short decorative swords. But despite all their finery, the swords were real enough—Portia could see the gleam of their sharp edges. She wondered at that. Was there really a need for guards in the inner city? Or was this part of the show of wealth of the owner of the building? None of the other buildings she saw had guards.

  Sergeant Lyren flashed her badge at the guards. They bowed as a pair. One of the guards opened the door and ushered the officer in. He would have shut the door behind the sergeant, but she once again used her formidable gaze to make it clear that Portia was to follow. The guard hesitated for only a second and held the door open long enough for Portia to enter as well. Portia felt the door closing upon her heels and wondered if the guard was trying to hit her with it.

  Inside, an ornately dressed elf sat behind a secretarial desk. Portia’s mouth dropped open a bit. He was dressed as finely as royalty, yet he sat behind a desk and looked for all the world like a secretary. What was this place?

  At their entrance, the elf rose and came around the desk to greet them. He gave Sergeant Lyren a small bow but merely raised an eyebrow at Portia’s presence. Apparently a human was not worthy of even a bow.

  “We are honored with your visit. What can I do for you, Officer?” he asked.

  Sergeant Lyren snorted at that. Portia was shocked at her rudeness. The sergeant didn’t have the patience obviously to even play the game of social niceties. “I am here to speak to your master. It’s official business, of course,” she said, her voice even despite her earlier snort.

  “I’m sorry. He is busy today. Perhaps we can schedule another time,” the secretary said, then gestured towards the door, clearly wanting Portia and Sergeant Lyren to leave again.

  “Oh dear. That is unfortunate. But luckily for you, my friend, I am a patient law enforcement officer. I take my duty very seriously. And in that light, I will stay here as long as needed to see your master. I apologize that I am not able to reschedule,” Sergeant Lyren said, a small smile on her face.

  “He may not be back today,” the secretary said, forcing a smile on his face to match Sergeant Lyren’s.

  “No worries. I don’t mind sleeping on a couch, for I am under strict orders to not return until I have spoken to him. It looks like you and I might have a great deal of time to get to know each other, my dear friend,” Sergeant Lyren said then walked to the secretary and put her arm around him, giving him a friendly squeeze. His eyes opened wide at her effrontery. Portia had to choke back a giggle at his shock. Offending the secretary would not help their cause.

  “I see,” he said, extricating himself from the sergeant’s arm. “I understand your time is valuable. Let me go and make some inquiries to see if I can speed things up.” He left the room, nearly fleeing. Sergeant Lyren turned to Portia and gave her a huge grin. The elf was enjoying herself vastly.

  It was only a few moments later when the secretary returned. “We are in luck. I have received word that the master’s schedule has changed. He will be available shortly. Amazing luck, really.”

  “Amazing indeed. What are the chances of such a convenient schedule change?” Sergeant Lyren asked in a singsong tone. She stopped for a second then stared at the secretary intensely. “We need a private interview room. Just him and I. That is nonnegotiable.”

  This time the secretary didn’t even try to argue. He merely nodded and motioned for them to sit. Portia complied, but Sergeant Lyren paced back and forth in front of the secretary. He pulled some work in front of him and made a pretense of working, but Portia could see his eyes constantly jumping up to watch Sergeant Lyren.

  A few moments later, a butler appeared at the door dressed in the same maroon livery as the guards outside. He bowed at all the occupants of the room and said, “The master will see you, Sergeant.” Sergeant Lyren motioned for Portia to get up and follow her as she walked towards the butler. “Just the sergeant, please,” the butler said with a deep imposing tone.

  Lyren waved away his words. “My companion will need to at least see your master for one second, then she will be asked to exit the room,” she said, her tone brooking no argument once again. Portia was amazed how effective her manner was, for the butler did not argue but merely nodded his acquiescence. Portia wanted to learn that trick. She wanted to speak with such authority that people would just listen to her.

  He led
them up stairs that curved around a huge beautiful entryway that was just past the receiving room they had been in. Portia nearly tripped on the stairs due to staring at all the fine paintings on the wall. Each painting sat in its own carved ornate gold frame. Each showed an elf depicted more elaborately dressed than the last. This was a huge, rich family.

  They walked down a long hallway to a pair of double doors at the end. The butler opened the doors and ushered both Portia and Sergeant Lyren in. There was an elf standing in front of a large window, his back to them with his hands behind his back. He turned at their entrance.

  “The sergeant and companion,” the butler said, giving a bow then exiting.

  The elf looked at Sergeant Lyren and Portia. He seemed relaxed, but his words were tense. “What is the meaning of bringing a human here?” he asked without preamble.

  “My apologies, sir. You are quite right, what was I thinking?” Sergeant Lyren said. She turned to Portia. “Please wait outside. It is important that our audience here is uninterrupted.”

  Portia understood that meant she was to guard the door. She nodded and quickly exited, shutting the door quietly behind her. She had a good look at the elf, enough to know she had never seen him before. Certainly he was not the attacker from the previous night since he was not human, but there still had been a chance she could have seen him somewhere else. But it was not so. She hoped they weren’t wasting their time.

  The audience inside the room seemed to take forever. Portia’s back began to hurt from standing so long. She leaned against the wall, ignoring the fierce look from an attendant standing down the hallway. He was probably irate she was touching the wall. He himself was standing straight, his arms rigid at his side, only moving his head once in a while to keep an eye on her. Portia wondered why he wasn’t coming closer but figured he was probably under strict orders to stand where he was. She was surprised there were no guards by the door to the room with the master but perhaps he valued his privacy in the sanctuary of his business establishment.

  After what seemed another half hour, a thump came from within the room, followed by the sound of breaking china. Portia’s first instinct was to fling open the door and run inside, but she remembered Sergeant Lyren’s instructions. She had been very clear—she wanted uninterrupted time with the master, which meant Portia not going inside. No matter what. She’d seen enough of the Sergeant to have faith that she could take care of herself against the elf that was in there.

  But the noise had attracted the attention of the attendant down the hall. He waved to someone Portia couldn’t see then came rushing towards Portia. He was followed by three other guardsmen who must have been waiting just inside the room down the hall. Portia swallowed at their charge. They must not be allowed to enter the room.

  To make things worse, they all carried short swords. Portia hadn’t realized the attendant was armed, for his sword had been hanging on the far side of his body. She herself had her knives, but four was too many for her to take on at once, even if her long knife had almost as much reach as their swords. The only other recourse she had was her magic. Luckily, it had been a while since she had used it and she had some energy reserves.

  The first thing she did to slow them down was to ice the floor in front of them. It worked amazingly well, their legs slipping and sliding and one falling outright onto his back. It bought her a few moments.

  “She has ice magic,” one of the guards yelled, fury in his voice.

  Unfortunately, she was so focused on the four coming down the hall she didn’t realize there was another guard coming from the opposite direction. He grabbed her arm to yank her away from the door. She gave a small yelp then closed her eyes and focused on making light beams around her and in front of his face. Hopefully they would be strong enough to blind anyone else she had missed coming from the other direction.

  “Is there someone else around?” one of the guards yelled in confusion.

  “That is not an elf; she should not have more than one magic,” someone else yelled.

  By this time, several of the guards had managed to cross the ice covering the hallway and reach her. They held their stance in front of her, wary, their swords waving in front of them. A few looked around for others to be the brave one to charge her. One finally found his courage and rushed towards Portia.

  They were too close for her to make a full duplicate so Portia in desperation made duplicates of her knife arm and sent them whirling. She looked like an eight armed demon. It would take courage to attack her, even if they knew only one of the knives was real. But the guard persisted in his rush, raising his weapon to Portia. He guessed wrongly and swung wildly as the knife arm he aimed at gave way to nothingness. Portia hit him sharply with the hilt of her knife and knocked him out. He fell to the ground in front of her, forming a partial barrier to any others who would attack her.

  This infuriated the remaining guards. As a group they rushed towards her, and Portia inhaled sharply then exhaled and imagined a wave of air emanating from her, pushing all the attackers away. It worked. She managed to blow them back towards the ice, and once on it they slid down the hallway and landed with a crash at the far wall. Portia was shaking with the effort. Darkness came around the edges of her vision, and she feared she would topple over. She put a hand out to the wall, trying to steady herself without making it obvious how weakened she was.

  Luckily, just then Sergeant Lyren whipped open the door from the inside and looked out, surprised to see the scene in front of her. She took it all in then grabbed Portia and hopped over the fallen guard at their feet, dragging Portia along behind her. Portia stumbled over the guard but managed to keep her feet as Sergeant Lyren drew her down the stairs.

  “Quick,” Sergeant Lyren said. Portia needed no encouragement.

  They reached the bottom of the stairs. The secretary and butler were standing at the bottom of the stairway, their mouths open in circles of surprise. Portia looked back up the stairs behind them and saw the guards just reaching the head of the landing. With one last burst of energy she froze the stairway all the way to the top, ending with a tall ice barrier that reached from the bottom of the stairs to nearly the ceiling, sealing off the upstairs from the downstairs. Muffled shouts of anger and surprise came through the ice.

  Sergeant Lyren nodded her approval then dragged Portia out the door, past the shocked household staff still standing there.

  They exited the building quickly. Luckily, no noise from the interior had reached the guards standing outside for they let Sergeant Lyren and Portia pass. The elf and human walked several blocks quickly, putting some distance between the maroon and gold building and themselves.

  “Well, he’s not responsible for the kidnappings. I’m sure of that,” Sergeant Lyren said.

  Portia looked at her sideways. She was curious to know how Lyren was so sure, but judging by the noise from the inside was a little afraid to ask what interrogation techniques the sergeant had used. She scared Portia a little.

  “Okay, talk, young human. I counted at least three types of magic back there. The light beams were so bright they lit the room from under the door. Humans are not supposed to do that. What gives? Who are you exactly, Portia Harris?”

  Portia glanced over but Sergeant Lyren wasn’t even looking at her. Instead, she looked steadily forward and walked quickly. It was weird to hear the sergeant use her name. And it impressed Portia that Sergeant Lyren had taken in so much information in such a short time. But that also left Portia in the uncomfortable position of having to explain herself. She swallowed. Her professors had not explicitly warned her about hiding her skills in the Elven kingdom, only to other humans. At least that was what she thought. Besides, her skills were the reason she was here. It was because she was different from other humans. “I’m a Jack.”

  Sergeant Lyren gave her a glance at that. “I’ve not heard of such a thing. What is it, exactly, to be a Jack?”

  Portia could answer this one honestly. “I’m not exactly sur
e. I’m just learning myself. But I can do more magic than the average human can. At least more types of magic. I’m not all that strong. Speaking of which…” Portia said, and she stopped walking. The black was returning to her vision, and she felt faint. Rest was needed, and soon.

  Sergeant Lyren saw immediately that Portia was weak. She ushered her to sit down at the table of an outside café they were passing by. Her fierce look silenced the glare of the elf waiter standing outside.

  “Bring us some mead and some bread and cheese,” Sergeant Lyren said to the waiter. When he didn’t move, she yelled in his direction, “Now!”

  He scurried off to do as she bid.

  Portia was grateful to sit down and rest. When the mead arrived, she drank half the glass in a few long swallows. She ate the bread and cheese gratefully. Her strength slowly returned to her. Sergeant Lyren did not ask her any further questions, instead letting her eat and recover. Portia felt her stare and knew the sergeant was evaluating her, but she was too tired to care.

  When Portia was recovered, they rose from the table. Sergeant Lyren dropped a coin on the table as they left, not bothering to ask how much the bill was. Portia doubted the waiter or the establishment would challenge the officer, no matter how much she had left. But she was grateful to see it was a silver coin and knew the place had not been unfairly paid. Oddly, it gave Portia more trust in the sergeant. She’d been ripped off herself too many times in the past to want to deal with someone who was not honest.

  After they exited the inner city, Sergeant Lyren turned towards Portia as they walked. “Okay, we are away from listening ears. I want to learn more about what this Jack status means and how you came about it.”

  “I… don’t know. I think I was born this way,” Portia said.

  Any further explanation she might have had was interrupted by the man from the previous night stepping in their path. It was the same man who had tried to kidnap her and Finrod. His face was screwed up in fury. He had a black eye, which made him look even meaner. Portia wondered if he had been waiting there all day to try to ambush her again. Luckily, Finrod was nowhere in sight, and instead she was in the companionship of the sergeant, a fact the man seemed to have missed. Or else he foolishly did not care or understand what he was getting himself into.