by T. A. White
The heavy thud of footsteps sounded from above us as I found myself in a bathroom much like the one we'd just left.
"Where are we?" I asked.
Both pixies shushed me. Lowen pointed upward and then curled his fingers and pointed to his ears.
"I don't know what you're trying to say," I told him. His movements made no sense and had nothing in common with the nonverbal communication I'd dealt with in the past.
"Be quiet, you idiot, or they'll hear you," Inara hissed, zooming close to bat me on the nose. I jerked back in reflex even though her tap hadn't really hurt. It was surprising, more than anything else.
I looked up, as indistinct voices drifted down from above us. I couldn't make out the words, but I thought one voice sounded very similar to Liam's. Pushing the bike off myself, I stood and stared around in disbelief before tilting my head to look up again.
She wouldn't have. The guilty look on Lowen's face and the crafty one on Inara's said she very much would. I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. How was I going to explain this to the current tenant? I wasn't an expert on such things, but I was pretty sure he was going to flip when he came in here to use the bathroom and found a woman with a bike standing here.
A flick to the top part of my ear sent pain shooting down it. I cradled the offended appendage and glared at the over-sized insect hovering next to me as she held one finger to her lip in the universal sign of hush. She, at least, understood nonverbal cues.
I nodded and bent a nasty glare her way before flipping down the lid to the toilet and taking a seat. If we were going to be stuck here for a while, I might as well make myself comfortable, or as comfortable as I was likely to get, sitting in a stranger's bathroom with two pixies.
I turned my eyes to the ceiling, listening as the boards above creaked and groaned as Liam and his men moved around. It took over an hour before they gave up; much longer than I thought necessary, given how tiny my place was. Did they think I was hiding in a dresser drawer or something?
Even after the apartment above fell silent, we remained motionless. Liam was a tricky vampire, and I wouldn't put it past him to have stationed someone in my apartment in case I turned up.
The bathroom door creaked open, startling me into standing. A tall man with shoulder-length copper hair and a face full of hard plains slouched against the door frame, observing us. He held a coffee mug in one hand and raised it to take a long slip, not taking his eyes off me.
I watched him with mouth slightly agape, speechless for once. It crossed my mind to say this wasn't what it looked like, but the shock of his presence had frozen me in place, stealing my words and making even a pretty lie impossible.
His lips quirked at some hidden amusement, and he straightened before turning and disappearing into the apartment. I stared at the door he'd left ajar for a long moment, fighting the urge to hyperventilate. I was pretty sure Liam or one of his guys were still hanging around somewhere, and a cop car showing up to arrest me would probably call their attention in a big way.
"Inara," I said in warning.
She fluttered out of the room without answering. Lowen rose from the sink, hovering before me. "It'll be fine. You'll see."
He followed the other pixie.
How could it be fine when they'd involved a normal in spook business?
Alone in the bathroom, I dropped my head into my hands and groaned, running the events of the night back in my head and trying to figure out a way I might have made this end differently. If only time machines were real, along with magic.
Well, it did nothing to postpone the inevitable. Might as well get this over.
I stood, grabbing the bike and maneuvering it carefully out of the bathroom, careful not to scratch the walls. Bad enough I was trespassing where I didn't belong, no need to damage their home as well.
The apartment had the same set up as mine, so it only took a few steps until I was in the kitchen and living room area. The man who'd found us in the bathroom stood in the middle of the space, coffee mug in his hand. Another man with eyes of the brightest green, the type you find in spring after weeks of rain, sat in an armchair near him. His hair was ash-blond, and his features delicate where the other man's were hard.
Inara and Lowen perched on a set of floating shelves that had been screwed into the wall, various types of potted plants dotting the space.
All eyes were on me. Again, I wished for a time machine or a way to gracefully exit without ever having to speak. Even now, my mind was blank.
"Your guests have mostly left," the blond said, his lips curving in a charming smile. "Although they have left sentries across the street who are on the lookout for your return."
I blinked at the statement and looked between the two again, noticing for the first time that Lowen and Inara had made no attempt to disguise their presence and that the two strangers did not look particularly surprised to see pixies flying about.
Obviously, they weren't human, but I didn't have enough information to guess what they might be. When the two men had moved in at the beginning of the summer, I remember suspecting they might be spooks but had somehow managed to forget in the months since. That wasn't like me, and I had to wonder if maybe I'd had a little help in forgetting.
I turned a troubled gaze on Inara and Lowen where they swung their tiny feet as they watched the room with curious eyes. Could pixies affect memory? It would make sense, given how they liked to play pranks on anything bigger than them. If they had messed with my memory, their time as my roommates was about to come to a very violent end. I had enough troubles without bringing a spotty memory into it.
"That's good to know," I finally said. It was the only thing I could think of, given the circumstances. Whether they were human or not, I was still an unexpected visitor, one who hadn't received permission before I'd appeared in their bathroom. If it'd been my apartment and one of them had appeared unannounced, I would have attacked before they even cleared the bathroom door and asked questions later.
There was another awkward silence.
"This is Cadell," the blond said, gesturing at his copper haired friend. "I am Niall."
"Aileen." I fidgeted with the bike handlebars, my eyes going between the two.
Niall and Cadell shared a look that was hard to interpret. Niall's gaze held meaning as Cadell shook his head slightly before he looked away, his lips tightening.
Niall gave me a small smile. "You're welcome to stay here until it’s safe to leave."
I stared at him for a moment, considering. The people watching my apartment were unlikely to leave anytime soon. I had a feeling they were there until I was located. It's how I would have done it, had I the resources and desire to find someone so I could lock them up.
"I doubt they're going anywhere. Is there a back way out of this place?" I asked.
Cadell moved, seeming to uncoil from where he stood. "Yes, the downstairs apartments all have a front and back door."
That's what I figured. The apartments on the bottom had a few more amenities than the ones on the top, which was why my little place was significantly cheaper.
I hesitated to follow him to the back door, curious about them and how they seemed to know Inara and Lowen—because they did know the two pixies. I was willing to say quite well, given the familiarity Inara and Lowen treated the space with.
As I turned, I noticed an item on their kitchen counter, a piece of paper bent in complicated folds until it formed a crane.
"Caroline was here," I said. She was the only person I knew who folded paper into weird shapes when she was stressed. She'd picked up the habit after reading an origami book when we were kids.
I turned back to Cadell and Niall, fire in my eyes and ready to do some damage. "Where is she?"
"For someone we did a favor for, you're awfully demanding," Cadell said, his chin tilted down and his body posed to intercept me should I offer violence.
I regarded them with narrow eyes. That was not the answer I was looking for.<
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"Inara?" My voice cracked through the air like a whip. She or Lowen were the ones responsible for this. There was no doubt in my mind.
"She got here the same way you did," Inara said after a pregnant pause and a look from Niall. He was clearly the one in charge.
"Why?"
Inara shrugged. "The wolves were at the door, and she was frantic to get out without them catching her. I just facilitated the escape."
I closed my eyes and dropped my head. I'd missed her by minutes when Brax pounded on my door. "When did she leave?"
"That night. A few hours after you did," Niall said.
I sighed. So close. If only I'd remained at home, I might know where she was right now, and this whole situation could be resolved.
"Did she tell you where she was going?" I asked, hoping, but knowing it was probably a futile question.
He shook his head. "Nothing beyond what your pixies have already told you."
"They're not mine," I said, shooting the two in question a dark look.
"It is considered an honor to have a pixie queen and her consort deem you an acceptable companion," Cadell said in a stiff voice.
I arched an eyebrow and shot Inara a considering look. "A pixie queen?"
Yeah, I could see that. She had the air of royalty and certainly treated others with the attitude I'd expect of a queen. And now I owed that queen a favor. When would I learn?
"How did Caroline seem when she left?" I asked, turning the conversation back to what was important at the moment. I'd worry about unnamed favors later. Perhaps when that favor was being called in.
"Upset. Anxious," Niall said. "Her control over her second form is still shaky. We gave her a glamor to help, but it will not last long and won’t keep her from the change in the event of strong emotions."
"Glamor? You're fey?" I didn't know much about the fey, but I seemed to remember that you weren't supposed to say thank you unless you wanted to owe a huge debt they could call in, however they wanted. I tried to remember if those words had crossed my lips tonight.
"Sidth," Cadell snapped, his eyes flashing dangerously.
I held up my hand. "Okay, sidth."
I didn't know the difference between fey and sidth or why he seemed to dislike the first term. I'd always thought fey covered all the categories in their brand of spook. Guess not. That was good to know, if only so I didn't step on any land mines with my customers in the future.
"Your information has been helpful," I said stiffly, trying to express my gratitude while not getting too close to the sentiment.
Niall's eyes flashed with amusement as he hid a small smile. Yeah, yeah, I bet it was funny watching the vampire turn into an awkward idiot because she didn't know the rules of etiquette for the sidth.
"Cadell will see you out so you can continue your search for the mac tire dorcha."
I nodded, letting Cadell pass before beginning the awkward maneuver of turning my bike around in the small place. Inara zipped over to land on my handlebars, perching on them as I wheeled the bike after Cadell. It took only moments to reach the back door.
Cadell went out first, stopping and peering around with eyes that saw much more than any human's. I suspected given the way he looked at the shadows that his night vision was as good as mine.
Inara lifted off the bike as I wheeled it outside. "Be careful with your friend, Aileen. She's different than you remember. Treat her with extreme caution."
For once, Inara seemed serious and without the chip on her shoulder that normally characterized our interactions. I gave her warning the respect it deserved and nodded. Lowen had similar reservations before; it was disturbing to hear her echo the sentiment.
Cadell contented himself with watching the shadows as I wheeled past.
“See you soon, vampire." The words were soft and had an edge of finality to them as the night engulfed me. Had I not been a vampire, I doubted I would have heard the send-off.
CHAPTER TEN
MY FIRST STOP after leaving my neighbors’ apartment was not far, and had me heading to the strip of city lying between Columbus and the edge of Grandview. Columbus was a weird city that had townships woven throughout its border. On a map, it looked like several Pac-Men had eaten away at its edges to carve out individual townships that made up the surrounding area. It's why, although the area I was in was technically Columbus—paying Columbus taxes—to locals, it was considered the less-nice section of Grandview and came with the perk of Grandview schools.
Caroline's mother lived in a townhome there and had since before Caroline and I graduated high school. One of the few good things Mrs. Bradley had done for her daughter was remain in Grandview so Caroline could finish her schooling without having to transfer.
Caroline was closer to her dad, but he had business in Germany and spent a good part of his time there. Her mom was her only family in the area. While I knew Caroline was unlikely to go to her mother's condo, I was hoping Mrs. Bradley would at least have an idea of where Caroline might have gone. My information on Caroline's habits was a few years out of date.
Mrs. Bradley's townhome was in a small building that contained three other townhomes. The complex was sandwiched between Fifth and King, two streets that saw a lot of traffic. Close to the university, she was surrounded by college kids on either side. Her place wasn't quite as rundown as mine and had a spacious backyard to make up for the lack of curb appeal from the front.
I wheeled the bike to a stop against the side of the building, out of sight in case Brax or Liam sent any of their people to do a drive by of the area. I'd spent the last thirty minutes making sure there were no hidden watchers, so I felt reasonably safe walking up to her front door and knocking.
No answer. I waited several seconds and knocked again. "Mrs. Bradley, it's Aileen. I need to ask you about Caroline."
I heard movement inside and stepped back from the door, waiting until it opened. Mrs. Bradley peered through the crack, her eyes red-rimmed and her nose bright red from crying.
"Mrs. Bradley, are you okay?" I asked, concern in my voice.
"Aileen, do you know where my baby is?" she asked, her voice thick. "I know something is wrong."
The smell of booze wafted out, making sense of her state. Mrs. Bradley, for as long as I'd known her, had a bit of a drinking problem. She'd hidden it rather well when we were kids, and the only way we'd known she wasn't like the other moms was because we discovered her stash of empty bottles. After the divorce, she didn't bother hiding it anymore.
"Why do you think something is wrong?" I asked. I knew what was wrong, but it surprised me that she did. She existed in a fog and rarely noticed the world around her, or if she did, she forgot any hard truths shortly after learning them.
"Caro hasn't been by to see me in a long time." Her eyes were watery, and she was the picture of a broken woman, her hair lank and unwashed around her face, wearing sweats with food stains on them. She was a far cry from the fashion plate of our childhood. I'd known she had problems, but the extent managed to shock me. "She usually stops in every other week to help me clean and make sure I have everything I need."
Mrs. Bradley left the door open as she shuffled back to her seat in front of the TV. I hovered on the edge of the doorway, conscious of the fact that I couldn't enter unless she gave me express permission.
"Mrs. Bradley, how about you invite me in and I ask you a few questions about Caroline?" I asked, giving her a hopeful smile.
The fog cleared from her face for a moment, and she looked at me with something like fear. "I can't do that. Only the monsters need an invitation into your home."
My smile faded, my expression turning thoughtful. Two years ago, I would have thought such a statement necessitated a visit to a mental health facility. Now, I had to wonder if there might be something more to Mrs. Bradley that I had never seen before.
Suspicion joined the fear on Mrs. Bradley's face, and she clutched at something. My gaze dropped to the fire poker that now rested across her
lap. It looked like cast iron, heavy enough that a blow from it would hurt if it landed.
"Are you a monster, Aileen?" she asked.
"Of course not, Mrs. Bradley." I kept my voice calm, not wanting to send her into a rage that could cause her to harm herself or me. "You've known me for many years. I used to spend the night at your house near that park. Do you remember? You had a cherry blossom tree in your front yard. We took pictures in front of it on the first day of school every year."
Her grip on the poker relaxed and her focus turned inward. "Yes, I do remember that."
My shoulders loosened, and I felt relief.
"Caro said you haven't been yourself since coming back," Mrs. Bradley said, her gaze suddenly direct as if it could see straight through me. I fought a sense of unease. "You might not be Aileen anymore."
There was a depth of knowledge on her face that gave me chills. Yes, I think there was more to Mrs. Bradley and the housewife I'd always assumed her to be. I don't think either Caroline or I had ever given her enough credit.
Her hands tightened on the poker, and I took a step back.
"Aileen?" a familiar voice asked from the sidewalk behind me.
"Mom?" I blinked at my mother, standing there watching me with surprised eyes and clutching several bags of groceries. "What are you doing here?"
"Caroline asked me to look after her mom while she was away on a research trip." My mom joined me at the door. She was shorter than me, with warm brown eyes and blond hair that had reddish highlights when the sun hit it just right. She was a bundle of energy wrapped in a small package that belied the backbone of steel she possessed. She aimed a kind smile at Caroline's mother. "Hello, Grace, I have the groceries you asked for."
"Who’s that?" Mrs. Bradley asked, squinting at my mom.
My mom's sigh was quiet and sad. "It's Elise Travers, Aileen's mother. I was here last week."
"Last week?" It was clear by Mrs. Bradley's tone that she didn't know what my mom was talking about. She eyed my mom suspiciously.