by A.J. Aaron
“We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them.”
Titus Livy
16
A whole month passed and no one had any idea where Leyna was. She called work the day after she left me and said she was taking a sabbatical. No one had heard from her since. Not her jeweler, any of the restaurants she went to, her favorite shoe store, not her apartment manager in the city. They said she’d paid rent for the rest of the year and left. Now what? Alexander walked in as I was looking out the window feeling helpless.
“Lord Sevilen.”
I turned to face him. “Lord?”
“Sorry, sir. Maybe I can help you find Leyna, since you are reluctant to use your new abilities to do so.”
“You can do that, too? I don’t want to use magic.”
“I meant there are people I can call, since I am fully aware of your reluctance with magic. I have friends, acquaintances that can be of assistance—people in government agencies that find information out about people. I think they would be glad to help. They can search airline databases, tell us what hotel she may be staying in and where she has been spending her money. They do it for anybody in their graces. God-like, don’t you think?”
Alexander stood there grinning after showing me the comparison and how silly I was being by not using my powers. The government pried into people’s lives every day using their own version of magic.
Alexander looked at me and waited patiently, then asked, “Can I get you some lunch, since I’m here? And tell me; is it okay if I start the ball rolling with my acquaintances? I would think you’ll have an answer in a couple of hours.”
“Alexander, please do. Both. Thanks for being patient with me.”
“No thanks necessary, Lord Sevilen.”
“Lord?”
“Forgive me, I am sorry, sir, it’s so hard not to call you that. Thank you for your patience.”
“No problem.”
Alexander kept his word. By the time I had finished lunch, he had answers. Leyna was in the Czech Republic, in Prague. She was staying at a small luxury hotel in the Stare Mesto, meaning the old part of the city, on Hastalska Street.
She frequented a nightclub there within walking distance of her hotel called “The Fragola Project”—Fragola is an Italian word meaning strawberry—on Kolkovne Street in Stare Mesto. She shopped the jewelry and clothing stores there. Why she ever went to Prague was beyond me.
“Sir, Prague is ranked in the top three places in the world to visit. The city is ancient and is rich in history. People from Russia, Germany, the UK, and the US all visit. The locals speak English well, are welcoming to Americans, and the food and drink are superb. I think she made a good choice.”
“Evidently Leyna doesn’t have any issues with her finances. Paying her city apartment rent for a year and running off to Prague to live.”
“Lady Leyna has been rich in every life since it was appropriate for women to have that kind of independent wealth. If it weren’t appropriate at the time, she connected herself to a wealthy male. She has it in her nature since it is an area she is most developed.
“Unfortunately, she has not developed the higher levels that would diminish her likelihood to be rotten, mean, and cruel. Thus, she uses her powers to berate and overpower others as a form of entertainment. Consequently, she brings herself to an early demise because of it. She only has nine months and some days before her next birthday, when the inevitable will occur.
“I suspect Prague is a wonderful playground for her to make powerful men her playthings and ruin their lives. I think, should you go there, you would find it to be the case, but you could rescue her like a knight in shining armor. Shall I charter a private jet, sir?”
“A private jet? Do you know how much that costs? Just book me a commercial flight. Coach.”
Alexander looked put aside. “Sir, please. If not the private jet, then at least go first class. Do you know how uncomfortable the nine hour flight will be in coach?”
“Alexander, I’m not a first class kind of guy.”
Alexander stood starch straight with a look of astonishment on his face. “Sir, as of today you are worth seventy-eight billion dollars. You can afford to live in the style you deserve. There is nothing wrong with being rich.”
“Next time, Alexander.”