Layla laughed. “Someday we’ll have to try playing a real game of Twister.”
I shook my head. “With your flexibility compared to mine, I don’t think I’d stand a chance. Besides, I don’t own that game. But I think I have a game of Operation somewhere. You know, in case you’re up for playing doctor some time.”
Layla laughed. “If you touch me the wrong way, I’ll just shout, BUUUUZZZZ!”
“No loss,” I said. “Because then it would be your turn.”
“I think I’d win. So far, I haven’t found a wrong way to touch you.”
“What can I say? I’m easily pleased.”
We laid there in silence for a few minutes as I stroked her hair. I heard her start snoring.
Only Layla could make snoring cute.
I gently moved her off my chest and tucked her in beside me.
I still wasn’t tired, but I laid there, my arm across Layla’s body, just holding her.
I knew I loved her, but I didn’t realize I was in love with Layla until I thought I’d lost her.
I didn’t care what Aerin thought she was waiting for. I knew that when my relationship with Layla ran its course, we’d end up married. There was no other end-game here. I just couldn’t imagine living without her.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
My vibrating phone woke me up. Two little buzzes every text message. I could have silenced it, but with all that was going down, if something happened and either Jag or Aerin needed to reach me, I wanted to know.
I rolled over and checked my phone.
It was Philip, my bishop. I sighed.
“What is it?” Layla asked, rubbing her eyes.
“A bunch of messages from Philip. Says we need to talk.”
“Think he saw the stream of the trials?” Layla asked.
“Someone did,” I said. “I was a pretty hot topic in the denomination after the healing service.”
“A hot topic?” Layla asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve mostly been ignoring it, but apparently, about half the denomination wanted me censured after the healings made the news.”
“And the other half?” Layla asked.
I shook my head. “It’s not that simple. At least half of the other half was indifferent. Good ministers focus on helping the people in their churches, and those folks don’t care much about denominational issues. If I had any supporters at all, it was a minority.”
“And if anyone, even a single person who was aware of the controversy, saw you complete the trials?”
“I’m pretty sure Philip is trying to contact me to let me know I’ve been suspended again, if not excommunicated outright.”
“Such bullshit,” Layla said.
“I concur,” I said before calling Philip back.
“Hey, Caspar,” Philip answered after a single ring. “You home right now?”
“Coming to pick up my keys to the church?” I asked.
“We’re not having this conversation on the phone, Caspar. I owe you more than that.”
“Try to make it fast,” I said. “I have a lot going on.”
“So it seems,” Philip said. “I’ll be there in half an hour.”
I hung up. Funny that smartphones still say hang up when you click the little red phone icon. Not like the kind we used to have, back in the day. Those were the good old days. Life was simpler. At least, in retrospect. Of course, I was a kid, and life is simpler in childhood. Part of me wished I could go back. I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys”R”Us kid.
You know, back when Toys”R”Us existed.
Reminded me of another song, not a jingle: Ch-ch-ch-changes.
If only I could turn back the clock to a simpler time when the only people who believed in elves were children, and those elves didn’t fight wars or have aspirations for world domination. All they did was make toys for good little boys and girls.
And yummy cookies.
Layla and I quickly got dressed, fed Agnus, and drank Greenberry superfood protein shakes.
There was a knock on the door. It was my bishop.
“I’m sorry, Caspar, but this is beyond anything I can defend.”
I nodded. “I get it. Suspended, or…”
“Excommunicated.”
“Not even conducting an investigation this time?” I asked.
“Nothing to investigate,” Philip said. “It’s all on the video.”
“What are they saying?” I asked. “How are they explaining what happened?”
“There are two theories right now. Either it’s an elaborate Hollywood-scale hoax and you’re involved, complicit with the cult’s agenda, or it’s demons.”
I snorted. “Demons? Really?”
“A diabolical deception,” Philip said. “Demons masquerading as elves and sorcerers, intending to deceive God’s people.”
“Of course,” I said. “Because anything that doesn’t fit inside our little boxes of possibility must be demons. A convenient way to dismiss and condemn things they don’t understand.”
Philip nodded. “For what it’s worth, I don’t share their opinion.”
I scratched the back of my head. “What do you think happened last night on that stream?”
Philip replied, “It doesn’t matter. But I know you, Caspar. I don’t think you’d get involved in something like this without good reason.”
“Everything you saw was exactly as it appeared,” Layla said. “Caspar isn’t a heretic. He’s a hero.”
Philip looked at Layla. “You’re an elf?”
Layla tucked her hair behind her ears. “These ears don’t lie.”
Philip bit his lip. “And is there an elf king planning to attack the world?”
Layla nodded. “I’m sorry, but it’s true.”
Philip put his hand on my shoulder. “You may not be a pastor anymore, Caspar, at least not in our denomination, but I still believe in you. I don’t know how much it means, but my prayers will be with you.”
I nodded. “It means more than you realize.”
“I can’t fix this for you, Caspar," Philip said. “And I’m genuinely sorry it had to end this way.”
“It’s fine, Philip,” I said. “But can you promise me one thing?”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t change. Don’t stop preaching hope. Because of what’s coming, the people need hope. Just make sure the people at Holy Cross are served well by a minister who will give them that.”
“The archbishop has asked me to personally assume your ministry,” Philip said. “He wants to make sure that any errors you taught are addressed.”
“Good,” I said. “That is comforting to hear. I know you’ll do right by them.”
“I’ll make sure the soup kitchen ministry continues, too,” he said.
I nodded. “Thank you, Philip.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Layla rubbed her hand up and down my back. “You okay?”
I smiled. “I’m great. Strangely enough, I feel free. By putting the nail in the coffin of that part of my life, I’ll never have to sit through another council meeting. No more debates over trivial bullshit.”
“Just not the best time to have to start job hunting,” Layla said.
I shook my head. “I still have the bartending gig, so we won’t be homeless. And if we are hungry, I know where a great soup kitchen is. May have to cut back on those sessions with Jag, though. Fifty bucks a pop?”
Layla shrugged. “You can always work out with me.”
“Or with Tony Horton.” I smirked.
“I think you’ll like the workouts with me better,” Layla said, smiling slyly.
“Oh, really?” I asked. “Do you have a name for your routine?”
“I was thinking ‘sexercise.’”
I grinned. “You’re right. I don’t want to do that with Tony Horton.”
“We’ll get back to the routine later,” Layla said. “Right now, though, I think we need to focus on stopping my father. Since Aerin s
aid that Fred needed magic corresponding to all the elements, we know there are at least a handful of elves he’s working with.”
I shook my head. “I just wish I knew what happened to Ensley. I could use his help tracking them down. Fairies can sense when someone’s using magic. He must’ve known something was up when they unlocked those boxes.”
“But you saw him after Fred already had that magic,” Layla said. “If Ensley knew, he would have said something then.”
“That makes sense. Aerin had them under lock and key all that time. They had to have done it when she wasn’t around, and as far as I know, she has been in that cult building since she arrived in town.”
“The first trial,” Layla said. “Aerin was occupied conducting the trial of water. With all that magic swirling in the air, maybe a small amount in the back room used to open those boxes wouldn’t be enough for Ensley to notice.”
“But Fred was sitting with you the whole time," I said. “So it must’ve been other elves from your dad’s legion. They’d have to be sneaky as hell to get back there, open the locks and the magical boxes, and escape without being noticed.”
“I don’t think they were common sorcerers or legionnaires,” Layla said. “They had to be operatives or assassins. And Fred didn’t accidentally dress the same way as an elven assassin on his own. Someone was teaching him, training him.”
“Great!” I exclaimed. “Just what we needed. As if having one assassin on my tail wasn’t stressful enough.”
Layla frowned. “One assassin I can handle, provided he doesn’t take us out when we aren’t expecting it, which is possible. These operatives do their best when you don’t know they’re there. But multiple ones? At least most of the operatives aren’t any more powerful magic-wise than level two.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” I said. “Puts the magical advantage in our column.”
Layla nodded. “Yes, we do have that, but it’s not good news. If it was two assassins who together wielded all five elements, we’d have a challenge of three, including Fred, not to mention figuring out how to deal with the magic he has.”
“So, how many assassins do you think we’re dealing with?”
Layla shrugged. “At least three. I can’t imagine any of them being able to wield more than two elements. Most of them, I expect, only wield one. We didn’t have all the elementals on New Albion, so whatever abilities they’ve acquired probably aren’t refined.”
I snorted. “You mean, like my magic?”
“Right,” Layla agreed. “But you’ve already used your abilities in a combat scenario. Sort of. I don’t think the assassins are going to rely on those abilities to take us down. They have years of training in subterfuge and killing. That’s what we need to be concerned about. We probably shouldn’t go anywhere our view might be obscured.”
I scratched the back of my head. “That pretty much rules out anywhere and everywhere, Layla. There’s always an alley to duck into. I don’t know where we could go in the city that we’d be safe.”
“Our best chance is to draw them out to fight,” Layla said. “Let them think we’re bringing the war to them.”
“How are we going to do that?” I asked.
“We bring the war to them,” Layla said.
“With me and what army?”
“Do you think Aerin is a drow princess but doesn’t have a legion of her own to command?”
I tilted my head. “I hadn’t thought of that. We could bring a whole legion to the elf gate! But how am I going to open it without Ensley?”
Layla shrugged. “The same way you blew it open before.”
“When I destroyed the Blade of Echoes in the source?” I asked. “Big problem there; we already did that. No more Blade of Echoes.”
“That happened because the magical surge it caused when you did that blew the gate open. You still have magic, more than ever. You might be able to overload the ley lines.”
“If I do that,” I said, “there won’t be anything to prevent your father from coming through at any time. At least if he’s using fairy gates, he has to work to manipulate them and force them to do it. As far as we know, he’s only been able to send a small contingency of operatives to Earth.”
Layla nodded. “He’s planning to come here one way or another. If we force the issue, we draw him through when we’re ready for him.”
“It shifts the element of surprise in our direction.”
Layla nodded. “He’s expecting us to rest on our laurels. Sure, he’s been planning this forever. But Plan A was clearly for you to be eliminated before sending his legions here. Now you’re a bigger threat than you were before.”
“I’m only going to get better at wielding these powers. If he’s smart, he’ll attack sooner rather than later.”
“True,” Layla said. “But if I know my father as well as I think I do, even though he’s lied to me my entire life, I’m not sure he’s given up on Plan A yet.”
“You think he’s still going to try to take me out before he attacks?”
“Think about it,” Layla said. “He sent Fred after you. Fred. Sure, he has acquired magic that we aren’t sure how to confront, but he’s still Fred. He hasn’t spent his whole life training as an assassin. And if we’re right, if my father has other assassins already here.”
I sighed. “If we’re going to try to bait him to launch his assault now, we’re going to need help. We need to figure out who’s really on our side. Not just the drow. Jag said the cult was divided. Did my success in the trials sway anyone? If so, how much help can we expect? If the legion can wield the elements, it might not be enough for me to just neutralize what they try to do. We still have to beat them back.”
“It’s not enough to not lose the war,” Layla said. “We have to be sure we can win it.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I texted Jag to meet us at the Elf Gate Cult building. He was probably at the gym, but he knew we weren’t going to work out today. That sort of went without saying, but I had no doubt he’d be there.
I was surprised to find out he wasn’t. He was at the Elf Gate church already, and he said it would be a good idea for us to make an appearance.
After clarifying that the center area, the place where I’d fought the elementals, was clear and that I wouldn’t inadvertently portal us into someone’s body or one of the stones that were now piled in a column in the middle of the floor, I cast a portal.
Layla and I showed up in the middle of the room.
A small crowd had assembled. Not as many cultists as had been there the night before, but the out-of-towners—the Washington contingent—was there.
The second we appeared, we were greeted by raucous applause.
I looked around. No more masks. No more disguises. I recognized more than a few of the faces. Several senators, Republicans and Democrats both. It isn’t often you can convince them to unite behind any cause, but these senators, at least, were united in their belief that ceding the government to elves wasn’t a great idea.
I’d seen the Defense Secretary on television too. I think he was a general. I couldn’t remember his name. I don’t follow politics that closely. I used to, but my sobriety is important, and watching too much political news is enough to send anyone on a binge.
“Caspar! Layla!” Jag called, jogging over to us. For a big man, he could move. Unlike other bodybuilders who wobbled around the gym, their bodies so bulked up that they could barely walk like normal people due to a lack of stretching, Jag made flexibility a priority.
I grinned. “So, it looks like the folks from out of town didn’t leave after they missed the show yesterday.”
Jag shook his head. “They were mildly disappointed that things didn’t happen according to schedule. But for the most part, they’re pleased with the result.”
“For the most part?” I asked.
Jag shrugged. “Our side won, Caspar. Those who were undecided swayed our way. But others? Well, sometimes people don’t change their o
pinions no matter what evidence slaps them in the face. They just dug in their heels and left.”
“Loyal to Fred?” I asked.
Jag nodded. “I don’t know where he is, but I’m guessing they’ve followed him.”
“Where’s Aerin?” I asked.
Jag shrugged. “She left when you did.”
“Where did she go?” Layla asked.
“I haven’t the slightest clue,” Jag said. “All she said was that she had to go prepare.”
I nodded. “Understandable. It would have been nice to coordinate our efforts, though. I suppose she didn’t say when or if she’d be back?”
Jag sighed. “Not a word. But hey, I’d like to introduce you to someone who’d like to talk to you.”
I followed Jag to the man I’d recognized as the Secretary of Defense.
“General Breeland,” Jag said. “I suppose you don’t need an introduction.”
“Caspar Cruciger,” Breeland said, extending his hand. “It’s a pleasure.”
I shook his hand. “The pleasure is mine, General.”
“We need to talk,” the general said. “Is there a place where we can speak privately?”
“This way,” Jag said. We followed him to the room with the out-of-style couches.
The general sat on one of them, looking surprised when he sank in farther than he’d anticipated.
I laughed. “Sorry, General. Should have warned you about that.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “Might need a little help getting up again, but it’s sort of comfortable.”
I nodded and took a seat on one of the other couches. Layla sat beside me.
“The President believes the threat from the elven legion is real,” the general said. “And he’s inclined to offer whatever aid you might require.”
Layla and I exchanged glances. “That’s a relief to hear. Is he talking about the military?”
The general nodded. “As I said, whatever aid you might require. Including Secret Service protection.”
I snorted. “The Secret Service? Really?”
“You’re a valuable asset, Caspar. We can’t risk any harm coming to you. Just say the word, and it can be arranged.”
Three Dogma Night (The Elven Prophecy Book 3) Page 16