by Martha Carr
The elf chuckled and took a gulp of his beer. “Better hurry if you want to save his bacon. Trevilsom prison leaves a scar even after one day.”
Leira shook her thoughts away. “So, you think that whoever picked him up is taking him to prison?”
The elf nodded, his eyes fixed on the liquor bottles on the shelf. “I know humans are laughed at for conspiracy theories, but this situation has one written all over it. This gnome was being hunted from both sides, and whoever took him didn’t want him to say a word. Or, whoever took him had no idea he was working with the good guys. Either way, he’s in a hell of a lot of trouble.”
Leira let out a sigh. “Who’s behind Humans First?”
The elf shuddered at the question. “A human being, of course.”
Leira narrowed her eyes and grasped the back of his neck. She sent pulses of energy through him, a warning to let him know what she was capable of. If he hadn’t heard about her powers by that point, then those shots of her pure light magic would make it very clear.
The elf held up his hands, choking on the sip of beer he took. “Okay, okay!”
Leira released his neck and leaned back in the bench. He rolled his shoulders and gave her a nasty look. She returned it by lifting her eyebrows and tapping her fingers on the table. He cleared his throat and returned his gaze to the bottles. “We have called him a prophet, but I think the humans or you magical beings from Earth call them politicians? It’s a senator from the mountains. That’s all I know.”
Leira narrowed her eyes at the elf for just a moment. She could tell he didn’t know any more than that. She tossed the bag of gold in front of him and patted him on the back. “Might be enough.”
23
Leira scuffed her foot over a large stain on the floor of room 302 in the Driskill Hotel. She glanced around, noting what had changed from the last time that she was there. She assumed that they’d stopped replacing the carpet every time the goo fell on it and just cleaned it as best they could. From what she understood, they never rented out that room anyway, not unless someone requested it.
Lois stood nervously at the window as Louie and Patsy took their places on the edge of the bed. Lois pushed her glasses up. “Thanks for the invite. We don’t get out as often as we used too. I have to admit that I miss field work.”
Patsy stood up from the bed and walked nervously across the room. “I miss field work too, but I don’t miss almost getting killed. That was never fun. Hey, look, there’re snacks in the fridge.”
Lois lifted an eyebrow and walked over, peering inside. “I wish Earl would bring me to a place like this. They got candy bars in the fridge.”
“And M&Ms!” Patsy was excited.
Lois took a Snickers. “For later. You know how a good fight works up an appetite—not that I expect us to be fighting anything. Hell, who am I kidding? Every time we get around this chick, we end up battling to the death. No offense, Leira. It’s not a complaint, it’s a pat on the back.”
Leira looked over her shoulder and chuckled at Lois. The faint ding of the elevator caught her attention, and she hurried over to open the door. Leira’s eyes lit up, and she found herself being smothered by her mother, Eirika. “Leira! I’m so glad to see you! I’m sorry it’s for this kind of thing, but you know I’ll always be there for you.”
Mara tapped Eirika on the shoulder. “Good gracious, let the girl breathe. Hello, dear. You look skinny. You need to eat something.”
Leira laughed and kissed her grandmother on the cheek. Yumfuck trilled, holding tightly to Mara as he rode her shoulders into the room. Mara let him down onto the bed and looked at Patsy, smiling and shaking her hand. “It’s good to see you, too. I’m just glad I can finally pay this forward. I was in that place far too long.”
Leira stepped to the side as a young wizard with dark hair and a silver streak walked into the room. He looked at Leira and nodded. “Ernie. Nice to meet you.”
Leira smiled. “Nice to meet you. Thank you for coming.”
“Ernie! It’s my lucky fucking day!” Louie walked over and shook Ernie’s hand, pulling him close.
“Louie! I didn’t know you were going to be here. Freaking good to see you. I never got to thank you properly for getting me out of that damnable place.”
Louie patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t mention it. We do that for each other.”
Correk rounded the corner and gave Leira a kiss on the cheek. “I hope I’m not late. I brought some friends.”
Leira watched as their neighbors from the brownstone in DC piled into the room. They were all excited and looked around the room as they came in. They were talking to each other and to Yumfuck, who had jumped to the floor and run over to them to greet them. “Aloha, motherfuckers!”
Several of them laughed. “Aloha, Yumfuck!”
Yumfuck held his arms wide. “Welcome to Austin, Texas. Keep it weird, Austin!”
The ladies giggled at the saying. “We’ve always wanted to come to Austin.”
Yumfuck took their hands and led them over to Patsy and Lois. “These are my good friends and cohorts. This is Lois and Patsy. They are super-stealth undercover agents. They get us information on anything we need.”
Lois tilted her head back and laughed loudly. “I don’t know about super-stealth, but we can pretty much find you any information you need on magical beings.”
Patsy nodded and swallowed her M&Ms. “Yep! Like she said. Stealth really isn’t the way I roll. Now, give me a computer and some symbols, and I can tell you just about anything happening on this planet.”
All the neighbors looked impressed, and immediately surrounded Lois and Patsy and talked their ears off. Next, Hagan lumbered in the door and closed it behind him. He gave Leira a hug. “Good to see you. Good to be part of something again.”
Leira smiled with her face pressed against his chest. “Do you know everything about what we’re going to do? It may be dangerous for you. You’ll be the only human.”
Hagan pulled back. “Yumfuck caught me up. I’m ready. I can do it.”
Leira lifted an eyebrow. “Rose knows?”
Hagan put his hand on his stomach and laughed, belly shaking. “Are you kidding me? Do you think I would do something like this behind her back? I fear that woman more than the dark families. Rose insisted, and she would be here if she could. She’s cooking up a storm for the afterparty.”
Hagan waggled his fingers in the air. “Let’s get our magic on.”
Leira snorted and threw her head back, laughing. “Still no.”
Hagan wiggled them faster. “No? No magic hands?”
Leira straightened her face and gave him a dead-fish look, but couldn’t hold it for very long, breaking into a smile. “Glad you’re here. Couldn’t do this without you, partner.”
Hagan nodded and draped his arm around Leira. “As it should be. Okay, come on. Let’s go.”
Leira chuckled. “You’ve been here five minutes, and you’re already barking orders.”
Hagan puffed out his chest. “Like it or not, chickie, I’m still a senior here, and I’ve been in the field a lot longer than you.”
Leira raised her eyebrow. “Senior citizen, maybe.”
Hagan faked a laugh. “You got jokes. I see what kind of night it’s gonna be.”
Leira put her finger in the air. “And technically, because we aren’t doing normal detective stuff, I’m the superior here. Well, Correk, Patsy, and Lois are probably the superiors, but out of the two of us, I got you.”
Hagan attempted to give her a dead-fish look, but he had never been very good at it. Leira snorted and shook her head, walking away. Hagan put his hands up. “What? I can give you a serious look.”
Hagan walked over to Lois and Patsy and hugged them. “Not really the circumstances that I want to see you under, but happy to see you nonetheless.”
Both ladies groaned while being squeezed by Hagan. “You too, and good to see you’re still shapely for us. We were worried that you would become skinny
and frail in retirement.”
Hagan stepped back and puffed out his chest. “Not me. Keep myself busy helping the Gardener.”
Patsy smirked. “By the Gardener, do you mean your wife or the actual Gardener?”
Hagan chuckled. “These days it’s both. I don’t mind, though. Keeps me young and agile so that I can come out here and help you guys whenever you need it.”
The elevator’s ding rang out and Leira hurried over, pulling open the door and peering around the corner. To her surprise, as the doors opened all the regulars from the Jackalope—Toni, Jack, and the others—poured out. Leira stepped into the hall and held her arms out, happy to see them.
Toni hugged her tightly, her soft halo of hair bobbing back and forth. “Dear sweet Larry would’ve loved this kind of reunion.”
Jack shook his head and patted Leira on the shoulder. “No fucking kidding. We get together for parties and ripping people out of the World in Between. Yep, sounds about right. Either way, it’s good to see you, Leira.”
Leira smiled at the others and held Toni’s hand. “It’s not really an occasion where I want to say I had a reunion with my friends, but it’s so good to see all of you. Thank you for coming out for this. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
Jack chuckled. “That’s hard to believe, Leira. You can do anything you put your mind to.”
Toni held back a tear and squeezed Leira’s hand. “We will always be here when you need something, especially if it’s to take care of something like this. I didn’t know the girl, but there’s no way I could allow her to stay in the World in Between. It’s just so tragic.”
Leira nodded and pushed the door open, letting the group pile into the room. Yumfuck ran over and hugged Toni’s leg tightly. “Aloha, motherfucker!”
Toni leaned her head back and laughed loudly. “Oh, Yumfuck. I’ve missed your furry ass.”
Mara came around the corner from the bathroom and tapped the others on the shoulders. They looked at each other with sympathy and understanding. “I’m so glad all of you came. It means a great deal to me that so many people would get together to help this young woman. Everyone helped get me out, and if you weren’t there at the time, I know you would’ve helped if you had known.”
Eirika chuckled and took her mom’s hand. “Mom, you’re starting to get over-emotional. Save it for later. You need all your strength.”
Mara nodded. “You’re right. We can’t let any emotion get involved in this. That world is vicious, and it will suck it right out of you. We can’t let that happen to anyone in this room.”
Leira locked the door, figuring that was everyone. Correk walked over and rubbed his hand up her back, leaning toward her. “The turnout is amazing, and I know for a fact that more are coming. They are coming with Perrom, who’s going to be shocked by all the people who are here to support him and Ossonia.”
Leira ran her hand down Correk’s arm. “We have some good friends and some very good allies.”
The room held an air of anticipation. No one could really believe they were about to attempt this for the second time. This was something it was generally believed couldn’t be done, but they knew that wasn’t true because Mara Berens was standing there as proof. They talked quietly to each other, introducing those who didn’t know each other and getting ready for the task. The sound of a portal cracking open in the center of the room caught their attention, and Turner Underwood stepped out.
He had a smile on his face. “Fucking fantastic! I’m not too late.”
Just then another portal opened, and Turner moved quickly across the room in time to reach his hand out to Queen Saria. She elegantly stepped into the hotel room, wearing her silver crown in the shape of a thin, twisting vine. She winked at Leira, moving to the side.
Correk bowed as the king climbed through behind her, followed by Perrom and Jackson. Perrom walked over to Correk and shook his hand, glancing around the room at everyone who had assembled. The king and queen stood to the side speaking with Turner Underwood. Leira kissed her dad on the cheek as he made his way to Eirika and Mara.
Eirika looked at him with a half-smile. “You made it.”
Jackson lifted an eyebrow at her. “’Course I did. I came for Ossonia, Perrom, and my daughter. I told her I would always be there if she needed my help. Now, that being said…”
Mara sighed. “I knew that wasn’t going to be it. It was too good to be true.”
Jackson shook his head. “I think this is dangerous. It’s not that I don’t feel for her, but doing this could unleash all kinds of things on this world, not to mention that it could pull all of us into the World in Between. I don’t agree with what we’re doing, but I’m here to support Leira.”
Eirika waved her hand in his face. “Just stop. Think about if it was you or Leira stuck in there. You wouldn’t think twice about pulling everyone together to get her out. If you can’t do it because we’re getting Ossonia out of the World in Between, then just know that this has to be done, and we’re here to support our daughter. I think she has shown enough strength and valor in the last several years for you to be able to trust her judgment.”
Jackson wrinkled his nose. “Fine, but if you get sucked in, you better not pull me in with you.”
Eirika elbowed him in the side and smirked. “The World in Between would be hell enough. I don’t think I would make it worse by bringing you with me.”
Leira took a deep breath and walked to the center of the room. “First, I want to thank you all for coming. It’s touching both personally and on behalf of Ossonia that you came to help us with this. Ossonia was pulled into the World in Between because of an act of love. I was about to get sucked in and she pulled me out, but I couldn’t save her. I promised Perrom and Ossonia that one day we would get her back, and that’s what we’re doing here today. We are making good on a promise and bringing back a very good woman and ally to our cause. I promise that when we’re finished with this, you’ll see how much brighter the world is with her smile in it.”
Leira looked at Perrom and gave him a wink and a smile. He nodded seriously and put his shoulders back, ready for the action to happen. Leira looked around the room and began to point in different directions. “What I need you all to do is arrange yourselves into a circle. Make it as wide as you need to be stretched from the sitting room into the bedroom. Hold hands, connected in a way that cannot be undone. We are showing solidarity, and our magic will flow through each other.”
Everyone moved into position around the sitting area and into the bedroom. They walked in front of the bed holding hands and stood anxiously waiting for the next instruction. Leira created a circle in the middle of the room, hoping it was enough.
Toni could see the hesitation and worry on Leira’s face, so she stepped closer and took Leira’s cheeks in her hands, looking deep into her eyes. “We pulled this off once before. We’ll do it again.”
Leira nodded and patted Toni’s hand. Toni inched back into place, and Leira prepared herself for the next step. Just as she was about to start, there was a loud crack, and a large portal opened right behind Leira. She spun and backed up as Lucius stepped through in full battle gear. Gasps sounded around the room, and everyone stood still and tense.
Leira smirked, thinking about how gruff he could be but how good a man he was. It was the second time within a month that he’d scared the crap out of her unintentionally. She shook his hand with a smile. The whole room watched with bated breath as the giant elf shifter clanked around in his armor.
Patsy leaned toward Lois and whispered, “Awkward…”
Leira reached over and pulled Correk forward. Correk looked at Lucius. “Lucius, old friend, thank you for coming.”
Lucius stood tall but gave Correk a kind look. “Of course. Leira has been beside us from the beginning. She stood by the shifters and protected us even when no one else believed. She is one of ours, and we will always be beside her, just as if she were one of the pack. If one of her friends is lost in
a world that I know too much about, there was no way that I could stand by and not offer my assistance. The World in Between is a dreadful place, even for a man like me. I cannot imagine a young woman, even one brave enough to forfeit her life for Leira’s, being trapped there. The past is the past, and the future holds brotherhood with you and the rest of your people.”
Correk chuckled and slapped him on the arm, his hand tingling from the armor. “You always had a way of making things more serious than any of us thought, but you are right. We are all brothers and sisters, and we will stand next to each other and fight for our own. We only wish that we had gotten to you sooner and that you didn’t have to make your way out on your own.”
Lucius nodded in appreciation. “It’s probably better that I did. I would not have made it this far otherwise. The World in Between does something inexplicable to a man. The dark mist forever lingers in my soul, and when my head first appeared above water, gasping on this very carpet, all I felt was hate. It took time and some very good friends to remind me of the man I am.”
Correk looked into his eyes. “The warrior you are.”
Correk and Lucius clasped arms and patted each other hard on the back. Leira was glad to see old friendships reemerging, and she knew Lucius was important to the fight ahead of them.
Leira looped her arm through Lucius’ and looked down for a moment, surprised by his rock-solid muscles. “Come with me. I think you know Turner well enough.”
Turner glared at Leira for a moment, but then remembered what he was there for and took Lucius’ hand without hesitation. “Welcome back to the fold.”
The king took Lucius’ other hand. “Like old times. We stand together in battle once again.”
Lucius looked at them both and let out a loud growl followed by a howl, rocking his head back. He cleared his throat again and yelled, “Tonight, we fight with honor to the end!”
The king, Perrom, and Turner put their hands in the air. “Tonight, we fight with honor to the end!”
Correk stepped back into place and wrapped his hand around his old friend’s shoulder, where biotech had now replaced the old arm. Perrom gazed at him with worry on his face, but Correk sent a warm burst of energy to let him know everything would turn out fine.