Protect

by Laura Wylde

  Slowly, my new perceptions were being spelled out on paper. Jamie studied the new paragraphs, nodding agreement. “I knew for a long time you were studying mythology,” he admitted. “I’ve seen you a lot, at the library. I go there whenever I need to research a new creature, and you were always in the same section.”

  “Did you run a security scan on me?” I asked, only half-jokingly.

  “I didn’t need to. You smell like violets. You’re very human.”

  I supposed a phoenix would have an enhanced sense of smell. Humans are the handicapped ones in that department, yet I wondered how violets, opposed to say, roses or hyacinth would make a difference. I waited for him to explain, but he just continued standing above me with a vague smile on his face that gradually became more uncomfortable. “I probably said something inappropriate. I just meant you smell nice. You smell natural.”

  “Now that you’ve cleared that up, I think I’ll take a shower and go to bed. I only got around three hours sleep.”

  “I’ll have some pizza ready for you when you come out of the shower,” Jamie offered. “Keep your health up.”

  I agreed. I was feeling hungry, tired and ready for a long, relaxing shower. I bathed until the entire room steamed like a sauna, then slipped into a pair of green, satin pajamas and investigated the smells coming from the kitchen. The pizza was ready as promised and piled high with extra pineapple, anchovies and baby shrimp. Daniel had gotten up from his nap and joined us for dinner.

  When I was returning to my bedroom, I noticed Daniel and Jamie had switched places, with Jamie spread out on the couch while Daniel studied the data base and made phone calls. I drifted to sleep with the same feeling I had experienced before, of swimming in a warm, blue ocean, surrounded by protectors.

  Jack

  I’ve met a lot of beautiful women, both human and non-human. A lot of smart ones, too, but it takes more than beauty and brains to stand out when you’re over eight hundred years old, and Tanya had it. I knew this the first time I saw her, trying to remain brave after the most nightmarish experience of her life. I was even more charmed when she spoke. She was more worried about our well-being than her own.

  She had chutzpa. She was like a willow. She bent with the wind but didn’t break. I shoved my thoughts about her to one side. This was no time to be thinking about romance. There was a harpy on the loose and where there was one, there were others.

  At one time, we were able to keep a good control over New York’s steaming underground. Most of the illegal transits had been simple minded brutes like trolls and ogres. They were easy for our Irish flat-foots to hunt down, usually requiring no more than the assistance of a handful of elves. Elves were tricky. If you got on their bad side, you had the devil’s own time ridding yourself of the curses they gave you, which could be anything from two left feet to bedbugs. The Irish knew how to get along with the elves, though. I guess because they’ve been living alongside them for centuries. In fact, the elves reached America by stowing away on the boats with the Irish.

  New York had its own indigenous shape-shifters, but most of them were law-abiding. Our biggest concerns back then were banshees, demons and chimera. They always have been clever at slipping through the gates and they exist everywhere.

  Lenny and I had talked with Tanya about Selvestovia and its neutrality. What we didn’t tell her was that the neutrality was jeopardized in the early eighteen-hundreds by a vampire epidemic. The vampires provided an army that allowed all the worst of nether-world criminals to escape through Selvestovia. Just as it had been necessary to get rid of Selvestovia’s Nazis, it was necessary to wipe out the Selvestovia vampire nest. It was the bloodiest war we had engaged in since the Great War. In the end, we had cleaned out the cluster and restored order in the neutral zone but had not been able to lock down the fortress. It became a refuge for the survivors of the war and a main conduit for migrating species. It continues this day to be a strong-hold for the dark underworld.

  Many of those early refugees stowed away on ships leaving for America. They found New York, with its narrow alleys and crowded spaces, the busy town already digging tunnels and channels, the perfect breeding ground for vampires, harpies, sirens and serpent changelings.

  New York became the new Europe, the fashionable place for nether creatures to take up residence. They liked the fast beat of New York life. They liked high rise apartments and New York City entertainment. They liked the racy atmosphere, the dives, the vices. They liked it all.

  And New York likes its interdimensional species. You won’t hear too many saying it out loud, even among the followers, but it’s true. There is a great deal of collaboration between humans, vampires and demons, making it difficult to track the influx of new and dangerous creatures. We didn’t mention any of this to Tanya. She was already going through shell-shock. Basically, we just filled in a few blanks in her research and changed some of her ideas concerning myths. We considered it good therapy for someone who studied the ancient texts.

  The sun was beginning to set by the time we reached Central Park, which is an ideal time for paranormal investigators. The family oriented had gathered their children and gone home for dinner. The day time hustlers, pickpockets and dealers were still out, however. Although none of them had a taste for law enforcement, Lenny had a way of making them sing. He cornered Ready Freddie, the shape-shifting coyote and reminded him of his last fight-fixing stint that could still give him six months in the pen. “I swear, jefe,” pleaded Freddie. “I haven’t seen anything more than the usual crowd. You know I don’t like harpies. They’re bad for business. If my own mother was dealing with harpies, I’d turn her in.”

  “Is she still seeing old wizard lock?”

  “Locky runs a very respectable business. Women’s skin products. No steroids. No botox. An amazing, wrinkle-free you in sixty days. It works! It’s just that the effects don’t last long. As soon as you stop using it, your skin is twice as wrinkled as before.”

  “Tell your friends there’s a fifty -dollar tip riding on information. Anything unusual. An increase in vampire activity. Gollum sightings.”

  “I thought you didn’t handle vampires.”

  “I don’t but if they are allied with the harpies, I want to know.”

  Lenny was finally convinced Central Park was not an immediate threat. Coyotes are good liars, but they like to save their skins. As long as you have something to hold over them, they’ll come clean. He shrugged as we left, his hands buried in his pockets. “Where to next?” He asked.

  I frowned. “We’ll have to visit the Sphynx.”

  New York is one of only two cities in America to claim a resident sphynx. His presence isn’t common knowledge, even among shape-shifters and other mythological creatures. The first one migrated over with the Chinese to San Francisco, sometime during the railroad building days. The other came over in the first part of the twentieth century, when the Smithsonian began gathering some vital Egyptian artifacts that aid in gateway travel. Anxious to guard ancient secrets from modern day scientists, the Sphynx hitched a ride the cargo hold with two pharaohs and a shape-shifting hawk who claimed to be the son of Horus.

  As a guardian, he was a bit lazy. He snoozed for long hours of the day, letting bandits steal the nether-world’s valuable treasures without lifting a paw. However, he heard every whisper, every rumor in the wind. If the harpies had moved into town, he would know.

  We arrived at the Met just before closing, which was also perfect timing. There wouldn’t be any witnesses when we brought the sphynx to life. A living, breathing sphynx is a bit frightening for human eyes, although that wasn’t the only reason for keeping its identity secret. Humans are also very curious and would raise the sphynx if they could, which isn’t advisable. Some sphynx liked to ask a riddle before answering your question. If you get it wrong, you’re toast. The rule doesn’t apply to phoenix’s, but this sphynx still liked to play the game and would refuse to answer our question if we didn’t solve the riddle.
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  “What’s black and white and red all over?” He asked instantly when we waked him.

  “A newspaper,” I answered dryly. “Honestly, that riddle is seventy years old. You need to come up with some new ones.”

  “It’s still funny,” he chortled. “Got to zap Jimmy Hoffa with that one.”

  “I’m not surprised. Hoffa never did have a sense of humor. We got a red alert the other night concerning a harpy in the vicinity. Have you heard anything about that?”

  “I heard about the one in the subway tunnel. The victim got away?”

  “Is that what they’re saying in the streets?”

  “As incredible as it sounds, that’s what they are saying. You know the harpy will hunt that girl down just to save face.”

  “Which is why we need your help. She’s an innocent.”

  The sphynx sighed. “You phoenix’s have such a fondness for virtuous humans. Women as pure as the freshly driven snow.” He snorted.“Personally, I prefer more feline characteristics but to each his own. At least you don’t do reptilians.”

  “I don’t recall that you turned away Cleopatra’s attentions.”

  “Aw. Well, she’s the kind of woman who comes along only once every thousand years or so. You know, I helped Elizabeth Taylor prepare for the role. Does your victim look like Liz?”

  Lenny was becoming impatient. “C’mon, Spyhnxie, you’re fishing. You don’t need a description. Since when could you resist a damsel in distress?”

  “I heard a rumor there was a nest out in Bryant Park. I heard it from a gorgon, so it’s worth investigating.”

  Creature sightings weren’t unusual for Bryant Park. Back in the mid-twentieth century, it was a forgotten part of the Big Apple, rotting away from poverty and neglect. It was the dwelling place of transients, prostitutes, drug addicts and the dark underground.It didn’t start getting a facelift until the 1980’s, when we cleaned out a few night dweller nests and redirected some dim-witted ogres back to the nether-realm.

  The park is built over the underground archives of the New York City Library, and that’s where the trouble usually starts. There are too many dark, hidden passages for shadowy creatures to lurk. Only shape-shifting badgers and bears are willing to work full-time security detail in the deep recesses of New York’s tunnels. It’s not fear of the dark invaders. It’s just that most benevolent or neutral creatures willing to exist in harmony with humanity live above ground, in the water or in the air. They aren’t comfortable below ground among so many of their sworn enemies.

  I was glad it was a member of the Bear Clan and not the Badger on the evening watch. Bears can be every bit as grumpy as badgers, but only if you wake them from their sleep or they’re hungry. Most of the time, they’re cordial if not very talkative, which is much more than you can say about badgers, who can make you question your moral integrity for applying after-shave in the morning.

  Beau Shipman looked both well-rested and well-fed. Even in his human form, he wasn’t someone a shadow figure would take lightly. He had the skull of a Neanderthal, thick and wide. His sharp eyes didn’t miss a church mouse scurrying furtively along the walls on its way to its tiny home. His shoulders were so broad, they nearly popped from the sleeves of a jacket struggling to fit him in every way possible but failing to grasp the full dimensions of his arms.

  He was a professional. He continued making his rounds as we talked, without stopping for an instant. “Two badgers did a security sweep of the west end six hours ago. Vampire hunters had been through there recently. They took out a small nest and a Gollum. If there were any harpies, they made off with the hides. We didn’t see any bodies.”

  “Strange that a gorgon would repeat an unfounded rumor.”

  “Why not? You’re not exactly on their list of favorites. They feel you are far too invested in the fate of humans. But then, they never did forgive the killing of their mortal sister.”

  “To be fair, she did murder a lot of people.”

  “Maybe they deserved it. She never got a fair trial.”

  “A lot of years have passed. They should let it go.”

  “I’m just saying what I’m seeing. You asked why. There’s why. If gossip can stir up trouble, they don’t mind using it.”

  We walked with him until we had made a broad sweep of the east end. There was really no point in continuing the search. If there was any sign of trouble, Shipman would call it in, but it was quiet as a Sunday afternoon. So far, we had uncovered zilch. Until we heard back from one of our informers, there was nothing left to do except return to the precinct.

  Lenny sighed as we got into the patrol car. “I think we’ve covered half of Manhattan. There’s a cluster. I can feel it. But they’ve buried it deep.”

  “Maybe it’s in the subway.”

  “Maybe. Are the sphynx and the gorgon getting it on again?”

  I pulled into the coffee drive-through and ordered two cappuccinos. “Just hob-nobbing. There aren’t many choices for long-term relationships among immortals.”

  “I just find it strange they sent us on a wild harpy chase.”

  “Harpies are sly. They may have planted the rumor to throw us off-track.”

  I glanced over at Lenny. He was still frowning and looking fitfully at his coffee. “They didn’t sprinkle enough nutmeg,” he muttered.

  “Were you trying to pick a fight with the sphynx? You seemed a little hostile toward him in the end.”

  “He was asking questions he doesn’t need to know the answers to. He doesn’t need to know Tanya is under our protection. He doesn’t need to know what she looks like.”

  “He’s a sphynx! If it’s a beautiful woman, he thinks he should know.”

  “I think he shouldn’t. She doesn’t need to get messed up with his charms and spells. I like her the way she is, unspoiled and unpretentious.”

  “She’s a good conversationalist,” I said mildly, noticing his degree of enthusiasm and thinking I would cool it down a notch. “She listens well.”

  “She takes good notes, too. She told me she’s putting together a book.”

  I could almost hear the pat-patting of his heart. He had it bad. Considering his youthful years, this was probably his first real crush. I can’t say that I blamed him. She was hard to put aside, with hair like ripening wheat blowing in the wind, and eyes green as a forest. She was so full of life that even in sleep, her lips turned up at the ends. “Do you like smart girls, Lenny?”

  “It’s not just that she’s smart. She’s everything. Do you think she could like me?”

  “Well, you took over her television, slept on her bed, and ate all her dry cereal, yet she didn’t yell at you. I think she’s very non-judgmental.”

  “I want her to be more than non-judgmental! I want her to like me. I did replace the cereal.”

  “Yes, you did. And you kept her from leaving the apartment.”

  “She was kind of mad about that. Do you think I should clean up my act a bit? Behave more like a gentleman? Like you?”

  “Just be yourself, Lenny. She wasn’t mad at you. I think she was angrier at Daniel because he gave the order. You were just carrying it out.”

  “What if myself is not enough? I was thinking, when the investigation is over, I still want to see her. Do you think she would let me? I know I’m kind of rude and crude. I could change though. You could teach me. I want to be polite and cultured.”

  “With you, that’s not going to happen overnight. If she’s a genuine girl, she’s going to see you for who you are on the inside. If the outside is unpolished, she won’t care. A stone is just a stone until it’s a gem.”

  “You spend too much time talking to the sphynx. I just want to know if you think I have a chance?”

  I smiled to myself. I understood how he felt. Cupid must have been slinging his arrows like crazy, because I couldn’t stop myself from entertaining the possibility of a little more intimate relationship with her. Like Lenny said, she had everything. She was smart, cultivated, wit
ty and kind.

  Her only known enemy was a drunken siren. It was a weak lead, but it was a lead. If Bunny was friends with the harpy, we’d soon find out.

  We entered the precinct office and I sat down at my desk, studying the notes carefully. Something didn’t add up. Maybe we were looking for suspects in the wrong places. We had followed the red flags of suspicious activities; a badger and his drunken siren, New York’s major parks, the subway stations. Maybe our perp wasn’t in a red flag area at all. I looked at the dots on the map representing the covered territory. If not in the usual places, then where?

  Tanya

  I’m not opposed to bodyguards. In fact, if they were as hot as these police officers were, I’d recommend that every woman have a few. I value my freedom, though. As soon as I entered college, my parents released my trust fund so I could rent my own apartment and pursue a degree program. It wasn’t a lot of money, but as long as I remained within a budget, I was fine. I used the subway and busses to get around. I prepared my own meals. Once a week, I went to the Green Goose for dinner and a movie.

  It worked. I had an established routine. For three years, my life had revolved around college classes, the library and exercise that involved clocking in three running miles a day, either at one of the city parks or the college campus. I don’t like breaking my routine. I’m like one of those people who can fly anywhere in the world, see anything, do anything, but absolutely must have dinner by six p.m. Without that routine, everything falls apart and nothing makes sense.

  By the time Jack and Lenny had returned to the apartment, I was wide awake. Maybe my adrenaline was really kicking into gear because once again, I slept only a few hours yet work completely refreshed. If they could package that type of sleep into a pill, it would outsell Xanax. I was also, very diligently, rewriting some of my manuscript, based on Jamie’s corrections, and realizing the alterations could radically change the sciences in general.