24
Dimitri was relieved to see me. He must have been especially relieved to see Sindari, because he patted the passenger seat and gave the tiger the prime position. I sat in the back with Jennifer as we headed up I-5. With the lake and her awful experience falling behind, she managed to give us her address. She also admitted my tiger was really gucci, which I gathered was not a suggestion that he be made into a handbag.
Someone’s stomach rumbled—it might have been mine—and Dimitri handed out paper-wrapped meals of beef and rice with Nin’s trademark sauce. By the time Jennifer had eaten, she almost seemed like a normal kid. Aside from the haunted look in her eyes.
I didn’t ask what she’d gone through, but it was sure to leave lasting marks. Since I had my own issues to work through, I’d let someone more qualified help her with her emotional scars. My job—my legal, noble, and definitely not criminal job, thank you very much, Zav—was only to kill the bad guys and bring their kidnap victims home.
“I totally dug the submarine too,” Jennifer added. “But I could have swum almost as fast. I’m on the swim team at school.”
A pang went through me as I thought of Amber. I wondered if she had another meet coming up. Maybe, if I wasn’t too busy dodging the law, I could go watch. Something about everything I’d been through made me want to watch and speak with her and tell her how well she was doing. But I doubted she wanted anything to do with the mom who’d walked away all those years ago. That hurt, but I stood by my reasons. If tough-as-nails Willard had nearly been taken down by my enemies, a teenage girl wouldn’t have a chance. It was better if I stayed away.
“Are you in high school?” I asked.
If so, Jennifer was older than I’d thought, but I didn’t think the middle schools here had swim teams.
“Yeah, a freshman. I know, I’m short.”
“You ever compete against Edmonds-Woodway?”
“Of course.”
“Did you swim against Amber Stavropoulos?”
Dimitri glanced back at me but didn’t say anything. He drove us off the freeway and onto tree-lined streets full of ranchers from the 1950s.
“Yes,” Jennifer said. “Oh my gosh, she’s such an Amazon. She is not short.”
“Does that mean she beat you?”
“Yeah, but she’s already varsity. She’s on a year-round team. I just do summer league. But I still could have out-swum that… What was that thing? A giant squid?”
“More or less. You might want to avoid Lake Union for a while.”
“Or forever!” She shuddered dramatically.
We pulled over to the side of the street, the house dark. It was well past midnight. Jennifer hopped out and reached in the window to ruffle Sindari’s head before running up to the front door.
Val, I do not approve of children, Sindari informed me.
Why not? She thinks you’re gucci. Isn’t that better than being called a pet?
They are presumptuous with their hands.
It’s a sign of affection. You loomed protectively at her side while a dragon manhandled me.
Did he not give you his blood?
Yes, but he could have asked for the vial instead of freezing me to the grass and sticking his hand in my jacket. You want to talk about presumptuous—that’s presumptuous.
We waited to make sure someone came to the door and let Jennifer in—judging by the hugs I saw, she’d been missing more than a few hours—and Dimitri took off before anyone could come out and question us.
“Where to next?” he asked.
“Woodinville.”
“So dark elves can shoot crossbow quarrels at us again?”
“I think they’re going to be busy repairing their home or finding a new one. I’ve got all except one of the vials of blood that Zoltan asked for. I’m hoping we can just add Willard’s to the formula when we bring it to her instead of making two trips.” Especially since she’d mentioned being under guard.
As we drove out east, I eyed my phone, tempted to call or text Willard and check on her, but I didn’t want to get her hopes up. And a part of me worried that we might be too late. What if she was already past the point of no return? Or what if she wasn’t yet, but it would take Zoltan weeks to make his formula?
To my surprise, Zoltan was standing out in the street when we arrived, the crime scene tape and security car—and body—from the previous night gone. He held a suitcase large enough to be a portable massage table.
I slid open the van door as we pulled up. “Were you expecting us or are you waiting for any stranger to chance by and pick you up?”
He stepped in, leaned his suitcase beside the seat, and sat next to me while casting my neck an admiring look. Up front, Dimitri located his cervical collar and snapped it on.
“Many videos are already up on the internet showing a massive—” Zoltan made air quotations, “—sinkhole that opened up in Eastlake. Nobody mentioned seeing any dark elves, but someone caught some shaky footage of a dragon flying over the area and also a kraken in the water—it was termed the Loch Ness monster by those recording. I presumed that this apocalyptic chaos was your doing and that, since the dragon is your ally, you would ultimately be successful and come back in need of my services.”
“He’s not my ally. He wants me to be his slave.”
“His aura is even stronger about you than before.”
I swore. You shower, you loofah, and you douse yourself in a lake, and you still can’t get rid of dragon aura…
Zoltan leaned close and inhaled deeply. I tensed, my hand gripping the butt of my gun.
“You also have his blood. If he has made you a slave, you must be a very favored slave.”
“I’m not his slave. I told him to go screw himself.”
“Dragons, in their natural form, are not properly equipped for that.”
“He was in human form.”
“Hm, then I suppose it would depend on how excited he was by the night’s activities.” Zoltan leaned back. “You also have the kraken blood and the blood of the alchemist. Excellent. I will also need the blood of the victim.”
I winced at hearing Willard called that.
“We can go there next.” I gave Dimitri the hospital’s address. “Is there any chance that suitcase means you can make the formula on the spot?”
“It’s entirely possible if the lighting is sufficient. Or insufficient, I should say.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
Figuring something out entailed going in through a locked fire escape door—I’d returned my lock-pick charm to my necklace, along with the night-vision one—and turning out the lights so Zoltan could follow me. Dimitri waited outside in the getaway vehicle, as he insisted on calling it.
He seemed to think this whole adventure in Seattle was fun. I was too busy worrying about Willard and my future to share his enthusiasm. Every time I heard a police siren in the distance, I flinched. If Willard survived, turning myself into a criminal wanted by the law would have been worth it. But if she didn’t…
I shook my head as we climbed, not willing to contemplate that.
Sindari padded along at my side. I could have sent him back to his realm, and he was probably tired after infiltrating the dark-elf compound with me, but I was reluctant to do so. If Willard was worse off than I thought or Zoltan couldn’t do anything, I wanted to be able to lean on him and maybe cry into his fur.
There was a window on the fire escape door, so I could make sure the hallway was empty before leaning out and looking for a light switch. This late at night, I wasn’t worried about running into that many staff in this relatively quiet wing, but Willard had mentioned a guard outside her door. I could see to her door from the stairs, and there was nobody standing outside it. Did that mean the guard had taken a break? Or that she was so weak that they didn’t see a point to keeping someone here?
“I cannot go in with such blazing brightness present.” Several steps back, Zoltan had his hand up, guarding his face from
the hallway light slashing in through the window.
“I know. I’m looking for a light switch. If nothing else, you can set up on the landing down there, and I’ll go get a blood sample.” I pointed through the doorway. “Those look like switches. Halfway down. Right in front of that security camera on the wall. Well, let’s see if my charm works on technology as well as it does on magical beasties.”
I will do it, Sindari told me. Go see your boss.
Thank you. I held open the door for him. With his natural magic, he camouflaged himself from my view and probably the view of the security cameras as well. You’re a good friend.
Not just a service animal?
You are of service.
A service friend, then.
Yes.
I headed out after him, hurrying to Willard’s door. As I opened it, the hallway lights went out, save for a few indicators glowing here and there, along with the illuminated exit sign over the door. Zoltan rushed in with his big suitcase and his hood pulled low over his face. I opened the door so he could hurry inside where it was dark, aside from the glow of the monitor above Willard’s bed.
“I wouldn’t do this for someone who hadn’t just delivered five-hundred-thousand dollars in dragon blood into my hands,” Zoltan muttered as he entered.
I almost fell over. “Five hundred thousand dollars?”
“Easily. Since there haven’t been dragons on Earth for centuries, I’m not positive about the market rate. It may be much higher. Oh, the formulas I’ll be able to mix up. The world will be mine.”
“That’s not at all alarming to hear from a vampire.” I hustled in, realizing Willard was both awake and looking over at us.
“Since it’s you, Val,” she said, “I’m going to keep myself from being afraid of the vampire stalking in with a— Is that a massage table?”
“A chemistry set.” I almost asked her what she had to be afraid of at this point but caught myself. Usually, Willard appreciated my snark, but I doubted a dying woman wanted to be reminded of her fate. “He needs some of your blood to make an antidote.”
Willard was silent, and it was too dark for me to read her eyes. Did she believe it was possible? Was it possible?
“You wouldn’t believe what I had to go through to get the rest of what he needs. A dark elf used kraken blood and some other ingredients to make you sick. Sindari and I had to raid their lair, steal the alchemy components, stop a ritual sacrifice, and create a sinkhole that brought a lane of traffic in through the roof of their church. I’d say I deserve a combat bonus, but at this point, I’d be happy just to have you back on the job, my police record cleared, and Lieutenant Sudo shipped off to the worst duty station imaginable.” Since Zoltan was coming over to get his blood sample from Willard, and she might find that alarming, I kept talking to distract her. “Also, if you could finagle a car for me, that would be amazing. I got a final letter from the insurance company. They closed my case and aren’t going to give me money for the Jeep. My comprehensive coverage isn’t as comprehensive as the television ads promised. They have an Act of God clause, but a dragon flinging your vehicle into a tree doesn’t fall under it. What kind of world do we live in?”
Willard’s eyebrows twitched at this uncharacteristic chattiness, and she didn’t miss Zoltan slipping a needle into her vein. “Your hands are cold, vampire.”
“Your veins are like shriveled husks.” Zoltan gave the glowing light from the monitor a cross look. “Don’t they give you any water for hydration in this place?”
“I guess that means I’m not in danger of having him drink my blood.” Willard looked back at me. “Why did you admit that a dragon did it?”
“Because of a foolish bout of honesty. I later tried to amend my story, but that didn’t help either. I wish I’d started out saying a tornado had landed on me, but there’s a dearth of them in Oregon. Next time, I’ll go wyvern hunting in Nebraska.”
“No chance of losing your Jeep to a tree there.”
Zoltan whistled as he took his sample and headed over to the table he’d set up. The suitcase had folded out into one, but instead of holding massage implements, there was a complete chemistry lab tucked away in niches and racks. He pulled out a tiny infrared light and set it on the corner.
“Don’t vampires see in the dark?” Willard asked.
The red light showed how sunken her eyes were and how much weight she was losing. I hoped this worked.
“Certainly,” Zoltan said, his back to us as he worked. “But not well enough to read labels or the hash marks on graduated cylinders. I assume you want me to be precise.”
“I suppose.” Willard leaned her head back against her pillow.
I could tell she wanted to ask if she should get her hopes up. I wished I knew. “I think those lights are good for your skin. Maybe you should cozy up to that one, Willard.”
“What are you implying, Thorvald?”
“That the sands of time only go one way, my friend.”
“Tell me about it.”
Sindari slinked into the room, visible once again. He pushed the door shut behind him with his tail.
“If I live, I’ll do my best to clear you of trouble.” Willard closed her eyes. “You may recall that I’ve been labeled a suspect, too, but I heard a few things while Sudo was in here questioning me. More precisely, after he was done questioning me, thought I’d fallen asleep, and took a call while looking out the window over there.” She slid her phone out from under the sheets. “I recorded it.”
“Was it as incriminating as I hope?”
“More so for his superior, General Nash, someone I’ve butted heads with over this department before. Interestingly, he’s retiring this year after buying a yacht and a beautiful house on the water in Medina. Polite of Sudo to use speakerphone for his conversation. He must be one of those people afraid that cell waves irradiate the brain.”
“Medina? Isn’t that where Bill Gates has his mansion?”
“Yes, I believe it’s just down the street. Nash’s general’s retirement pay must be more substantial than anyone else’s.”
“I assume he’s being bribed?”
Generals made good money by military standards, but I was positive one couldn’t afford even the median home in Medina, much less waterfront property there. Even Seattle proper wasn’t exactly an inexpensive place to live.
Oh, wait. The dark-elf alchemist had mentioned bribing someone to close Willard’s office. That must have been Nash.
“Yes, and I can prove it.” Willard smiled and pulled something else out from under the sheets. A MacBook Air. “I’ve been doing research in between sleeping and puking. I was determined to get to the bottom of this, if only to clear your name, before I bit it.”
A lump formed in my throat at this admission, and it was a moment before I could find my voice. “Thank you. But I’m afraid there won’t be any biting here. I forbade Zoltan to unleash his fangs.”
“Given the shriveled huskiness of my veins, it didn’t sound like he was tempted.”
“I don’t know. He keeps eyeing my throat.”
“Half-elven blood is almost as good as elven blood,” Zoltan murmured without looking back. He had numerous flasks and beakers and even a recipe book out now. “And I am tempted to find out if that dragon aura would convey any extra potency to your blood.”
“Dragon aura?” Willard asked.
“It’s a long story. Tell me more about this skeevy general.”
“I sent a note to another general that oversees his division and ours. I’m hoping something will break soon. I called in favors and gathered a lot of data.” She patted the small laptop.
I eyed the sheets. “What else do you have hidden under there? A printer? A scanner? A file cabinet?”
“Just charging cords. I’ve had to be discreet. Sudo and his investigators have visited often.”
“Is he getting a house in Medina too?”
“Not that I could discover. I think he’s just one of those youn
g pups eager at the chance to take down a senior officer and make a name for himself.”
Or Sudo had simply been following Nash’s orders. A general could easily have assigned a lowly lieutenant to dig up—or make up—incriminating evidence on Willard. Enough to put suspicion on the whole office and order its closure? Maybe so.
I still didn’t know what plans Synaru-van had been referring to, plans she’d wanted me out of the way for, and I made a mental note to do some more research later. We might have taken out the alchemist and that vile priestess, but there were still the two criminals Zav was looking for and however many hundreds more dark elves lived in those tunnels. I had a feeling I hadn’t seen the last of those people.
“Also,” Willard added, “Sudo loathes you.”
“We only met once.”
“At which point you stole his car.”
“Because he wouldn’t arrange for me to borrow one when my vehicle was clearly obliterated. I’m dismayed at the all-around lack of sympathy I’m getting from people in regard to this dragon I keep having to deal with.”
Zoltan wandered around the room to poke into drawers. He found an IV bag and returned to his chemistry set to fill it with the concoction he’d made. My stomach did a nervous flip-flop at the idea of this strange person—strange undead person—siphoning some weird alchemical potion into Willard’s veins.
Judging by the skeptical curl of her lip, she wasn’t pleased by the idea either. I reminded myself that Zoltan’s advice about manticore venom clearing lungs had been accurate. If that dragon blood was as valuable as he said, he had a reason to be thankful to me, so hopefully he didn’t have any treachery planned.
“I can’t drink your concoction instead?” Willard asked as Zoltan returned to her side, preparing the IV rack already in place from some earlier fluid delivery.
“This will be far faster. Besides, my formula would find the inhospitable acid of your stomach a challenge to deal with.”
“This vampire thinks everything about me is unappealing,” Willard told me.
“Next time I see the dragon, I can have him rub some of his aura on you if you want. Zoltan is into that.”
Sinister Magic: An Urban Fantasy Dragon Series (Death Before Dragons Book 1) Page 25