Department 57: Bloody Crystal

by Lynne Connolly

  “Want me to take the order?” Dave asked her quietly so no one else would hear.

  She shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. They’re okay—just a bit stuck-up.”

  Dave glanced at the silver-haired dude. “He’s a big one.”

  “He wouldn’t waste himself on me.”

  Dave laughed. “You’re probably right. Okay, but I’ll keep an eye on you.”

  She took the drinks over. The silver-haired guy pushed out a spare chair. “Sit.”

  “I can’t. I’m working.”

  He nodded. “Very well. We need to speak to you about Rhodri Tryfanwy.”

  It wasn’t as if she hadn’t expected that. After all, why else would a couple of Department operatives turn up and seek her out? But hearing that quiet, cultured voice articulate his name startled her. To hear it outside her own imagination, as if she hadn’t conjured him up. “Do you know him?”

  “We’re friends. I’m Kai Murdoch, and this is Esti Hart.”

  She knew those names. “Are you here for the security check?”

  The woman spoke straight into her mind, her voice light, but it sounded like shattering ice. “We’re here to find out how well you know him. Rhodri Tryfanwy has disappeared.”

  She went through the rest of her shift in a daze. They couldn’t say too much, but she arranged to meet them at the Excalibur later. They left shortly after, and both drank their whiskies. So that meant they weren’t vampires. She didn’t have enough experience to tell what kind of Talents they were, but powerful would describe them perfectly. Strangely she didn’t feel any danger from them toward her, although she felt plenty of menace. Just not directed to her.

  “Glad they’re gone,” Dave commented after they left. “Gave me the willies, those two.”

  “They left a nice tip.” They’d left her a five-pound note. Not bad for a few minutes’ work. She put it in the jar, although she knew some of the other staff kept the bigger tips for themselves. If they got caught, Dave showed them the door, but they rarely got caught. On a Saturday night, drunks would leave stupidly big tips. But this wasn’t a Saturday night. It wasn’t even a Friday night, another good night, and they weren’t drunk. They were relatively sober.

  At closing time, after they’d cleared the glasses, stacked the machines, and replenished the optics, Dave mentioned it again. “Do you want me to walk you back to your place?”

  Cerys was so startled she almost dropped the pint glass in her hand. Dave hadn’t asked her that in a long time, since he’d seen her dispatch a drunk from the bar on her own. She’d used her usual explanation, about practicing her martial arts, and prayed Dave didn’t know any. Otherwise he’d guess that her “martial arts” moves were pretty basic, used only to cover her real strength. “I’ll be fine. I’m walking along the front. It’s well lit, and I never take any diversions at this time of night. It’s not far. But thanks,” she remembered to say.

  Dave shrugged. “I just didn’t like the look of those two jokers earlier. Take care, will you? And keep your hand on your phone.”

  She grinned. “Sure. I promise.”

  She had to look behind a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t following her. Passing her flat, she continued to the Excalibur. Its cream exterior, with white columns and window trims, only enhanced its similarity to a giant wedding cake.

  Inside, the lobby was old-fashioned, gleaming mahogany and brass, with neatly uniformed staff waiting behind the desk and around the entrance. She hadn’t noticed the usual porter outside, uniformed as some kind of valet or footman, but perhaps he didn’t work this late. She wondered if the Talents did, as it was two a.m. now. She’d had to ring a bell to be allowed in, but maybe a small blonde woman didn’t look like a threat. Small blonde women could still carry big guns under their jackets. It just showed how quaintly old-fashioned Llandudno was.

  She murmured to the woman behind the desk, who called up and then said, “You can go up,” although she gave Cerys a glare that said she’d better not be on call. Llandudno wasn’t that far behind the times that a receptionist wouldn’t suspect a woman on call.

  A man stopped her before she got into the elevators. “Excuse me, madam. Do you have any identification?”

  She had her driving license, but the implication angered her. Instead of reaching inside her pocket, she decided to do it the easy way. She opened her mind enough to project gentle persuasion into the man’s mind. “Let me go. I’m fine.”

  But it never reached the guard. She found her thought bounced back to her with a strength that temporarily stunned her. Instead the doors to the elevator opened and a man stepped out. Kai. Immediately he enveloped Cerys in a giant bear hug. “How lovely to see you, cousin!” and at the same time, “Play along.”

  “You did that? Sent my thought back?”

  “Esti did it.”

  “Kai, it’s been a long time,” she said obediently. “Why won’t you let me project?” He gave her the answer almost before she’d asked him.

  “It could be dangerous. Talent to Talent won’t leave a ripple. Sending a persuasion will send a jolt of power that any other Talent could pick up.” “Come upstairs; we’re dying to catch up. Sorry your boss makes you work so late. Don’t you get tired of it?”

  She didn’t have to answer because the elevator doors had closed. Instead she turned on him. “What’s all this about?”

  “Wait, mignonne. We’ve secured the suite.”

  Typical. They had a suite. Good job in being circumspect. Appearing looking stunningly unforgettable, and then booking a suite.

  “Security is more important than circumspection at this stage.”

  “Can you hear what I’m thinking? I thought I did a good job at hiding.” She’d hidden her Talent all her life. How could he penetrate so easily?

  “Esti is an exceptional Talent. She’s a Sorcerer, one of the strongest we have.” He glanced at the screen and tapped his foot. “How long does it take to ride seven floors?”

  Her mind reeled. “A Sorcerer?”

  He turned to her, frowning. “A mistress of the psi Talents. She can move heavy objects, project into minds. Her telepathy can travel for miles. Since Rhodri evidently gave you our sigils, I assumed he told you about us. Otherwise you wouldn’t have accepted us so readily, I hope.”

  “No, I wouldn’t. But he just gave me your names, not your Talent. A Sorcerer? You make her sound like a pier act.” She bit her lip. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that.

  But to her surprise, he cracked a smile. “Now that is an image worth treasuring.”

  The doors opened, and he put a hand to the small of her back to usher her out. She felt no thrill, not like Rhodri’s touch had always given her. The door opened just before they reached it, and they went inside.

  A comfortable suite greeted her eyes, with brocade-upholstered sofas, a flickering fire effect in the grate, a dining table even. The woman, Esti, sat on one of the sofas, a laptop open on the coffee table in front of her. Cerys sat on the sofa opposite, and Kai sat next to her, but at the other end, not touching her. She felt a warm pressure in her mind.

  Esti wanted ingress. “If you resist,” she said, “it will hurt.”

  “Esti, please. Let the woman tell us herself. Do you have to go for the jugular all the time?”

  Cerys flinched. The metaphor was unfortunately apt. “You know what I am?”

  “A vampire,” Esti said. The pressure disappeared, but Esti didn’t. Somehow she knew that if the Sorcerer wanted to monitor her unobserved, she could. But this was a courtesy, she guessed. “She’s what Rhodri said she was.”

  Kai gave a deep sigh. “I’m sorry, in a way. It means she had nothing to do with his disappearance, and we have a longer job ahead of us. My wife and my husband will have to manage without me for a while. At least Tyler can look after Zoe properly. That’s one worry I don’t have.” He got to his feet and crossed to the bar. “Can I offer you a drink, Cerys?”

  “Hello, vampire?” She rarely d
rank while she was working, and then usually made it something long and cold, but this was way after sundown. She hadn’t drunk tonight. She needed all her wits about her. Wife? Husband? How the fuck did that work?

  Kai grinned and shrugged. “Sorry.” He fixed a soft drink for himself, poured in a tall glass with lots of ice. Esti refused the refreshment with a small shake of her head. “We’re working on the same assignment as Rhodri. Did he tell you much about it?”

  “Only that he was chasing someone who’d done a lot of harm to the Talented community, and he wanted to settle that first.”

  Kai crooked a brow. They were light brown, darker than his amazing silver hair. It didn’t look age-related or dyed, and it rippled all the way down his back to touch the top of his backside. “First?”

  She swallowed. “He said he was coming back, but he left without a word. Didn’t leave a note, even. I thought he’d had second thoughts or something, because he hasn’t been in touch since.” She tried not to look needy, although she felt it. “He said my anonymity was my best protection.”

  Kai and Esti exchanged a glance. “I think we might have compromised that,” Kai said. “I’m sorry. We’ll check before we leave, do our best to minimize it.”

  “The staff downstairs—”

  “I’ll take care of them.” Esti dismissed them with a wave of one perfectly manicured hand. “They won’t remember your visit. We need to know as much as we can because Rhodri has disappeared. Gone off the face of the earth, it seems. We need to find him.”

  Cerys caught her breath. She should have believed his promises, should have tried harder to find him, should have contacted someone. “He spoke to his boss.”

  “Will Grady. Yes, we know about that.” Kai crossed his legs. He wore jeans, and she’d bet they were designer. They fit him perfectly, outlining every muscle of his long legs. “That’s one reason we’re here. Grady tried to contact him and found his mobile phone wasn’t working. Then he asked Esti here to trace him. She can’t find him.” He drew a deep breath and let it out in another sigh. “We think someone took him.”

  “Took him where?”

  “Kidnapped him. Captured him.”

  “Oh no!” Her first wild thought was, how could they? She’d seen him in action. Day or night, Rhodri wouldn’t be an easy man to overcome. “What makes you think that?” Her heart beating fast, she needed to listen so she could control her raging thoughts.

  Esti fixed her with a cold stare. “We were in a holding pattern with Wilkinson, and the backroom geeks were doing their job. After our last operation, he said he had personal business to deal with, so he came here and promised to remain on call. That means leaving part of his mind open to me and keeping his mobile phone on. He contacted Grady about something that bothered him. Do you know what that was?”

  “He wanted to check on my parents for me. They were killed during a demo in London, and the Department looked after them.”

  “The problem is,” Kai said, “the Department has no record of that happening.”

  Cerys listened to him dully, knowing she needed to process all this fast.

  Kai spoke steadily and to the point. “Rhodri called Grady about your parents, and he did some research. We’ve since researched in more depth. The Department didn’t pick them up, and they didn’t appear in any of the hospitals dedicated to the treatment of Talents. Just to make sure, we searched the records of all the hospitals at that time, in case they were brought in off the street. No sign. Cerys, it’s likely that they were captured too. You know about the labs?”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “They told me that was one reason they wanted me to keep very quiet about what I was. That people experimented on Talents.” And Rhodri had reinforced that warning.

  “Admirable,” Kai murmured. “Are you up to this? It’s a lot to take in all at once, but we need some things from you, and we need them fast.”

  “What?”

  “Esti needs to search your mind. We’d examine all the memories of Rhodri that you have, and all the ones of your parents too. If it helps, Esti is in the nature of a doctor here. Anything not specifically relevant to the information we need is safe with her. She won’t disclose it to anyone.”

  “Anything,” was her first response. “Do anything you need to do.” They could tear her apart if they liked. Guilt ripped through her brain. Had Rhodri somehow initiated his own capture by making inquiries about her parents? “Before Rhodri arrived, nobody knew I was a real child of my parents. They formally adopted me, even though I’m the only child of their blood. They said it was safer, and people might think I wasn’t a vampire, just an adopted mortal. Another smokescreen, they said.”

  “They took great care of you,” Esti said. Cerys was only beginning to understand how much care they’d taken. The nomadic existence, everything designed to obfuscate her, to shelter her and keep her safe. She hadn’t thought she could miss them any more than she did. She was wrong.

  Esti leaned forward, gazing at her. “If you relax, it won’t hurt as much, but I have to penetrate deep, and it might be painful. I don’t want to do it tonight, because you are in possession of your full powers. Tomorrow when you’re in human form would be better. Your barriers will be easier for me to get into, and I won’t give you as much pain.”

  Cerys got to her feet. “I can’t believe this happened and he didn’t call out. He just—wasn’t there. I thought he’d gone. We didn’t know each other for long.”

  Kai rose too, towering over her. He had to be six feet four at least. “I will take you back to your flat. You need your sleep.”

  Esti nodded. “If you could come back tomorrow, I’ll examine you, and then we’ll know what to do.”

  *

  On the way back, Cerys couldn’t resist. “You said husband and wife?”

  He grinned. “Yes. Many merpeople are bisexual, and we often live in ménage relationships.”

  “Merpeople?” She stopped and stared at him in shock.

  He faced her, the grin still present. “You’ve never met one before?” He motioned toward the sea. “I refuse to believe that none of my kind has settled in this pretty town. I’m tempted to bring Tyler and Zoe for a visit when we’ve sorted out our current problems.”

  She swallowed. “Wow.” She turned and continued to walk, although she could have stared at him for much longer. He didn’t look “normal,” whatever that was. With that hair and the light blue eyes, he could never be anything but striking, but she hadn’t received a merman vibe off him.

  She was dying to ask what a threesome was like. Who decided who did what? She decided on a different tack. “Don’t you get jealous?”

  “Of what?” He frowned. “I love Tyler, and I love Zoe. I’m very lucky. I was in a relationship before, but it became clear that the other two loved each other more than they did me. I was tired of being the third. I wanted an equal relationship, be that with a man, a woman, or both.”

  “Wow,” she said again.

  “It is also useful at times like these.” He frowned. “Our adversary attacks those of us on his case by taking our loved ones, the weaker part of the relationship, or so he thinks. So I’m fortunate in that Tyler can safeguard Zoe when I’m away. She’s newly converted, so she’s still finding her way.”

  “Rhodri is converted,” she said abruptly.

  “Yes, he is.” His expression turned grim, his mobile mouth in a tight, straight line.

  “And you’re part of the team?”

  “Indeed I am. Either we were dragged in or assigned. We worked out of London originally, but Wilkinson moves. He went to Italy for a time. Now we believe he’s back in Britain somewhere. He leads. We chase. But it will stop, and soon.”

  The way he was speaking, she was sure of it.

  He regarded her. “We want to ensure that nobody is watching you or following you. We won’t leave you unprotected, not until we’ve rooted the bastard out. And destroyed him.”

  He said the last
part so matter-of-factly that she almost missed it. She paused, thought it over. “Destroyed him?”

  “He’s injured and killed too many Talents to be allowed to continue. We have the tacit permission of the agency we work for. It means that if we’re caught, we’re breaking the law, but the agency will extricate us.” He bared his teeth. “Or we’ll do it ourselves.”

  “He’s irredeemable?” She hated to think that anyone was past saving.

  “Yes.”

  They’d arrived at her flat. She turned to thank him, but although she felt the strong waves of his power emanating from him, he had none of the appeal Rhodri held for her. That relieved her. She’d wondered if part of Rhodri’s attraction was that he was another Talent when she was starved for them. But now, meeting this admittedly attractive man, one who fascinated her at an intellectual level, she recognized her feelings for Rhodri were more than that.

  Kai shook his head. “You should ask Esti to teach you how to mask your feelings better. You love him, don’t you?”

  Hearing her inner thoughts articulated could get old really fast. She grimaced. “I think so.”

  “And you communicated. How deeply, I wonder?” A thoughtful look crossed his face. “He must have trusted you to let you in so far.” He shrugged. “No matter. Not tonight. Sleep well, Cerys. Are you working tomorrow?”

  “Not until late. I’m on late shift all this week.”

  He nodded. “Call us when you wake up. Just open your mind to Esti. We’ll come for you.”

  “I could come to the hotel.”

  “Not until we know more. Please. This man is dangerous. I’d rather take extra precautions than lose you.”

  Lose her? Cerys shuddered and reached in her pocket for her keys. “Okay. I’m on the top floor. If you come around at noon, I’ll be up.”