“I never knew my mother, so I wouldn’t know.”
The pain that flickered across his face was gone before I could blink but it softened me. Despite everything, Bernard was the result of a rare vampire baby. Rare in the fact that he was a successful union, born in a test tube, from the egg and sperm of two vampires. Few survived beyond the blending in the test tube, and many more died in infancy. But Bernard had been strong enough to fight the odds growing into a pure-blood vamp. His aging was extremely slow, like many vampires, but his genetics made him a stronger vampire than those who had been changed by means of a vampire bite. Yep. The myth was true that you could turn from being bitten by a vampire. But it meant a series of blood exchanges from both sides. And it was something you needed a license for. It was also something that didn’t happen too often because of how long it took. By the time the sanction came through for the change to go ahead, the human who was to be bitten tended to have aged too much to be turned. It was a shitty process; like dangling a carrot. But it was necessary I suppose, if we didn’t want to be overrun by vampires. That’s why a lot of vampires got it on with human women, resulting in the birth of a dhampir. But even they were governed to make sure the dhampirs didn’t outnumber the vampires by too many. It made me feel grateful to be human.
From the little I knew, Bernard’s mother had been killed before he’d been born. Staked in the heart by a deranged friend who’d lost a vampire child only a month into its life. The grieving mother had lost her mind and become jealous of the vampire whose child had survived. She killed Bernard’s mother before killing herself, and Bernard was left with only his austere father to raise him. Bernard didn’t have the best of childhoods from what I could gather. You could say we were united in that regard.
“I’m sorry,” I told him, feeling guilty that I was taking my worry and anger out on him. He was only looking out for me.
“Eat your toast and you can consider it an accepted apology.” My scowl made him chuckle. “Sorry, but you need your energy today if you’re going to help find those who did this to Kaleb.” He hesitated for a moment then added, “Are you coming back to Darkwood at all?”
I didn’t reply at first. But then I shook my head as I reached for the coffee. “I can’t. Not now.” I took a drink then let out a long, deep breath. “I hit another dead end with Adalyn last night. If Romeo is hiding out in Darkwood, she isn’t aware of it.”
“Did you tell her anything about the escape?”
“No. I managed to get around that part. But she did mention Marco Perduto is someone to watch should Romeo ever get out of prison.” I hesitated over telling him about my brief meeting with Marco the day before and decided against it. “From what Adalyn said, it's because of the same reason you told me about.”
“I don’t know what he would get out of harboring Romeo, though,” Bernard wondered out loud. “Not when he pushed to rid Darkwood of him. And Romeo was a Courtier. Not someone who was particularly useful to Marco’s house.”
“Who knows?” I shrugged. “But there’s no point in me going back there to try and discover anything more if he’s as wily as you say he is. I’m needed here. I have a lead on the reptile shifter who escaped and I have to follow that. It might also lead us to who attacked Kaleb.”
Bernard was quiet for a moment, as if internally debating something before he stood up. “Alright then.” He walked toward me and put his hands on my shoulders. “Stay here, and I’ll send your things back. The request order will come through soon, hopefully. Then you can come back to Darkwood in an official capacity.” He dropped a kiss on my brow, and I leaned into it for a moment before he stepped back.
“Are you going back to Darkwood for a while?” I asked him, and he nodded.
“For a while. I’ll dig a bit deeper in your absence while you work on things here. And I’ll look out for Vienna, too. Make sure she's safe.”
“Thanks Bernard.”
“You’re welcome.” He grinned, a twinkle stirring in his eyes. “Now eat that last piece of toast before you leave. I mean it.”
I saluted and gave him a smile. “Yes, Sir.”
“Good girl.” He went to walk away then paused to look back at me. “It was good being married to you for a while, Miss Vane.
“It was great being married to you for a while, Mr. Vostreux.”
“Glad we’re on the same page.” He winked and walked out the door. But then I remembered him saying there was something he needed to tell me last night before we’d headed to the ball. He’d never gotten around to telling me.
“Wait. Bernard.” I hurried after him. “Didn’t you have something to tell me? When I got back from getting the dress last night?”
“It’s nothing. Nothing important.” He gave me a meek smile. “We’ll catch up on it all once this mess is sorted out.”
“Alright.” I nodded and he gave me a brief wave before leaving.
He wasn’t telling the truth. He was holding something back, I was sure of it. But before I could run after him to push a little harder, my watch comms buzzed. All thoughts of running after Bernard fell away from my mind as soon as I saw my boss’s transmission code flashing back at me.
It was time to go meet Cole.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
COLE AGREED TO meet me at the monorail station in the Indicium Quarter, which I was grateful for. I didn’t want him to head off to The Mutuari’s without me.
He smiled when I approached him on the platform, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He looked exhausted.
“Didn’t get much sleep?” he asked me when I got close. I figured I must have looked as bad as he did.
“How’s Kaleb?” I asked, and Cole gestured for me to start walking. I followed his lead.
“He’s still pretty much the same. Mayra came over to sit with him so I could head out for a while. She said she’ll run some tests with the healers to get an idea on how he’s mending on the inside.”
“Who thought to call Mayra when he was attacked?” I asked, and Cole seemed awkward as he walked along beside me. He must have gone to the agency to change because he was wearing a black shirt with PCA printed across the front. It was strange seeing him dressed so casually. But it was also a shift in dynamic seeing him outside the agency, walking by my side. I could understand why he was uncomfortable.
“I called Mayra,” he said as we headed for the stairs that would take us down and out from the station.
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. When they brought him to the Healer Hub, he looked as if he was already dead. I panicked. I saw how good she was when she healed you after the rogue attack.” His voice hitched, and he took a breath to steady himself. He was barely holding it together and it threw me. Cole was a control freak. More than I was. To see him this way was having a strange effect on my senses.
“You did a good thing,” I reassured him. “Especially if he was attacked by magic. She’s the best witch I know.”
“I don’t disagree with you. She saved his life.” He paused, as if he was struggling to say what was next. “One of the healers told me that something magical had latched onto his insides. It held on while it did its magic, and it was something dark. If it hadn’t been for Mayra’s quick thinking, he would have died. He wouldn’t have made it.”
My skin prickled with a chill at those words, and the image of Kaleb lying there last night, his eyes closed … I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t even go there. Life without Kaleb was unthinkable, and we’d almost lost him. We’d almost lost him because I, his partner, hadn’t been by his side. I bit down on my lower lip and let the pain of it keep me sane.
“I’ve put another push on the request order,” Cole told me when I didn’t say anything. “Can you update me on what happened in Darkwood?”
“Sure,” I said, grateful I could venture into neutral ground. Working kept my mind off the fear that had taken root inside me, forever threatening to bloom into an all-consuming state. I needed the distract
ion.
Once I’d finished updating him on all that had happened, we’d reached The Mutuari.
“It’s a shame you can’t go back there. To Darkwood," Cole told me once I’d finished. “But we don’t have the luxury of going down that road anymore.” He rubbed his face and stared down at me. “You’re right in that you need to be here to follow this through.”
I nodded, feeling relief when I saw the ‘Open’ sign hanging on the door of the Currency Hold. “I don’t know what any of this means, and they might not have anything here we can use. But I was shown The Mutuari in my vision for a reason. We need to check it out.”
“Then let’s go check it out.” Cole gave me a soft smile that helped the ice forming around my heart to crack a little. I hadn’t realized how numb I’d been feeling until this point. Yet, at the same time, inside I felt like I was in turmoil.
Pushing the door open, I led the way into the Currency Hold. The place was less like a shop and more like an old-fashioned bank on Earthside. A counter was spread across the whole breadth of the back wall, complete with bars that came down from the ceiling to the countertop. Three arched hatches had been set in the bars at regular intervals with chairs positioned behind each one. There was an employee behind one of them who smiled at our entrance.
“How can we help you today?” the woman asked. She appeared to be Fey, with exaggerated features consisting of wide, violet eyes and high cheekbones. The tunic she wore matched the color of her irises. Walking toward her, I could see her name tag read Vilotta.
“Good morning, Vilotta,” Cole said, taking the lead. He took out his badge and placed it on the counter. “We would like to ask you a few questions, if we may?”
“PCA?” she asked with a frown. “Have we done something wrong?”
“Not at all. We would like to ask you some questions around the security you have here: cameras, trip alarms, crystal beams. Anything like that.”
“Oh,” she said, her eyes widening to a point where they were almost cartoon-like. “I’m afraid I’ll have to get my boss to discuss that. Please wait a moment.”
Not taking her eyes off Cole's badge, Vilotta blindly reached for the transmission pod next to her and pushed a button. I don’t think she would have handled knowing she was talking to the Enforcer Chief of the PCA. But Cole was wise enough to keep quiet about that tidbit of information.
“Yes?” a voice snapped from the other side once she got through.
“Oh … Mr. Mutuari. I’m sorry to disturb you, Sir, but Enforcer Field Agents from the PCA are here to speak with you.”
“PCA?” the voice replied, sounding a little worried.
“Yes, Sir. Would you like me to deal with them?”
“No!” he shouted quickly. “No,” he repeated, softer this time as he realized we could hear him. “Sorry. Vilotta, I will come out and deal with them myself.” The transmission rang off, and Vilotta gave us a nervous smile. “He will be right with you.”
“Of course,” Cole said as he tucked his badge away.
Wandering away from them, I headed over to the glass cabinets that sat on the far right of the room. Positioned on the outside of them I could see buttons labeled with ‘Left’ and ‘Right'. I dared to press one.
As I did so, the tray in front of me, which held many baubles of different colors, turned over to reveal some things from Earthside. A watch on display was archaic compared to the technology used on the comms we wore around our wrists, but they sold well over here for nostalgic purposes. As I’m sure did the laser pointer and pack of baseball cards. I suppose you had to be a collector to consider those things valuable.
“Wow,” I said acting impressed as I continued to look through their display. There were little reference numbers written beneath each item. “You have a lot of cool stuff here.”
“We do,” Vilotta said nervously from her perch. “We have a lot of security, too. Safe as a button, if you ever wish to leave anything here.”
“I’ll remember that,” I said as I looked up into the corners of the room. I couldn’t see any cameras, but that didn’t mean anything. The technology was different over here, and the large cameras tended to only be a deterrent. Most places used cameras that were hidden in the walls, as tiny as a button.
“What kind of security do you have here?” Cole asked, and at that, a man of about four foot tall came running out of the side door.
“No need to answer that, Vilotta,” the short man said. He had very rounded features with a bulbous nose and ears that folded over at the ends. But he didn’t look like dwarf-kin. In fact, he looked more like the brownie folk; smaller members of the Fey who liked to keep house for people and hide in the shadows until needed.
Studying him closely, the man straightened his smart green jacket. The action made me realize that this was no brownie. Brownie’s weren’t that proud. No. This small man in front of us was a knocker: a more mischievous member of the Fey.
“Sir,” I said, knowing exactly how to deal with these slippery citizens. They liked to avoid answering questions, with eventual responses that were cryptic in a sense where it could mean one of two things. You didn’t give them an inch. “Before we reap an investigation on your property for not being forthright with your customers,” I rushed on, “customers, who I believe, put a lot of trust in your place to hold their items. Then I suggest you provide us with your security camera footage from the past few weeks. If you don’t, I will call in the two law keepers we have waiting outside to follow up on the customer complaints they've received."
“W-what?" the knocker stammered. "Law keepers? Investigation? Well, I never—”
“I don’t need you to answer any questions, Sir," I cut him off. “The only reason they’re not in here rifling through your files is because we are looking at all security data in the area that is linked to a current case of ours. While you’re a part of this investigation, they can’t come anywhere near you, so I suggest you cooperate.”
“This is ridiculous,” he said, taking a step forward as if to peer outside. I stopped him in his tracks.
“Take one more step and I will arrest you for obstruction of justice. Then the law keepers can come in and do as they please without you being able to do a damn thing about it. Now, you have five minutes to collect the data for me and put it into a memory block for us to take with us. Do you understand?” He went to answer, but I was faster. “Thank you, Sir. Please go and get me the footage. The quicker you are, the quicker we will be out of your hair, and the law keepers will be put off for a few days. I’m sure that any, shall we say, discrepancies, can be put in order by then?”
Mr. Mutuari looked as though he was about to blow a gasket. His balding head had turned the color of scarlet, and his eyes were wide and angry. But then he made a decision.
“Come with me,” he said curtly.
Cole gave me a look before we followed but I just shrugged my shoulders. So I’d lied. Big deal. I was used to working the streets. He wasn’t. And he could reprimand me for bending the rules later.
“Here we go,” Mr. Mutuari said as he shuffled along a bleak hallway that led to an office no larger than a janitor's closet. He pressed a button on his hologram pod and the female hologram image of a more, shall we say, sexier version of a knocker appeared. In a sultry voice, she said, “What can I do for you today, Snugglebottom?” The hologram chuckled, and Mr. Mutuari went bright red again.
“Ah, well, Sparkla, please could you record all security footage and data onto a memory block for the past …” he hesitated.
“Six weeks,” I told him.
“The past six weeks,” he instructed Sparkla.
“Oh,” I interrupted, “and can we take a quick look at last night’s footage while we’re here?”
He glared at me but complied. “Sparkla, please can you play the footage from last night? Show the footage from both the front and rear of the property.”
“Of course, my little Plumpuff.” She chuckled again before shimmering
away as the images swam into view.
A clear image of the rear of the Currency Hold appeared, and the timeline at the bottom sped up as it shifted through the footage. Nothing happened until around ten p.m. “Freeze frame,” I suddenly demanded. The image froze. “Rewind, and slow down the footage.”
Sparkla did as I asked, and the image of Kaleb came into focus. He was sniffing around the back of the place, as if trying to catch a scent. Then he disappeared off into the trees. The footage continued to play, and Cole asked for Sparkla to speed it up. It went by quickly, and nothing more of interest was to be seen between last night and this morning.
“Is that all?” Mr. Mutuari demanded. I glanced over at Cole.
“Can we have the rest of the data on the memory block, please, Mr. Mutuari?” Cole asked him.
“At least one of you has manners,” he huffed, and he snatched what appeared to be a circular, black magnet from the pod in front of him. “Here’s the memory block. I assume the agency will return it once you are done?”
“I will reimburse you personally should we need to keep the block for evidence. Thank you for your time.”
“And the law keepers?”
“We will keep them at bay, Mr. Mutuari,” I said quickly before Cole could dismiss my claim about the law keepers waiting outside. “For now.”
Grateful when Cole said nothing, we made our way out of the tiny space. Mr. Mutuari didn't follow, but we heard a huff of impatience as we made our way back out to the Currency Hold floor. I nodded to Vilotta as we left.
“So where now?” I asked Cole once we'd moved away from the store. He stopped in his tracks to give me a look of reprimand.
“What you just did in there …”
“Was necessary and got us what we wanted.” I snatched the memory block from his hands. “Mr. Mutuari is the kind of knocker who would have played games with you all morning if you’d let him. I didn’t let him.” I smiled before walking away. “You need to brush up on the species of Portiside, Cole.”
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