by Martha Carr
“I can’t promise anything,” Brittany teased. “You want me to walk you out?”
“Nah, I think I got this.”
Correk tapped his hands on the table and lumbered back through the diner, pausing for a moment to consider a milkshake. He decided he’d better just get back. He left the way he had come, grabbing a fry off the plate and nodding at the cooks. They raised their spatulas and continued cooking as Correk pushed open the back door, almost tripping over a bucket of grease.
He headed into the alley, looking at either a small cat or very big rat scurrying along the edges through the garbage. Correk wasn’t even sure what city he was in, but at that point he really didn’t care. It probably had no bearing on where the Professor was located anyway. He didn’t seem the type of man to talk business where he worked, especially given the top-secret nature of it all. As Correk meandered back toward the shadows, he couldn’t stop thinking about the similarities he saw between Brittany and Leira.
It was like being in a room with her alter-personality. Brittany seemed a bit wilder, less bolted down by the rules and regulations Leira had learned and come to love. She was a bit of a loose cannon, but he had seen her fight and knew she could handle herself. Correk stopped and look curiously back at the door of the diner. He had sensed her magic, but he still wasn’t able to peg what kind of elf she was. If he was going to be working with her in that capacity, he wanted to know all he could about her.
Correk centered himself, closing his eyes and gathering energy from the ground beneath him. He could feel the heat of the magic as symbols began to appear on his neck and down his arms. He opened his eyes, the glow shining brightly from them and let out a stream of white light that blanketed the ground in front of him. He viewed the trails of magic from throughout the day, surprised at how many magical beings actually went to that diner—and through the back door, nonetheless.
Finally, he found his own magical imprint. He followed it until it approached Brittany’s and bent down to study the bright twisted vines of magic she’d left behind. Correk straightened and blinked, pushing the magic back down inside. He shook his head, looking up the alley and back down at the place he had just examined. The signs were unmistakable. He had only seen that trail on two other people, and they were the only two he knew with that magical signature.
This makes no sense. Jasper Elf. How could this be?
23
“Thanks,” Yumfuck exclaimed enthusiastically, throwing a five-dollar bill in the jar.
The man behind the counter smiled and waved as the three-foot-tall troll scurried out the door holding the box of donuts tightly in his hands. He made his way to the closest Starbucks and edged around a group of thirty-somethings talking loudly about their jobs to enter the building. The tall blonde looked at the troll as he hurried toward the bathroom hall. She raised an eyebrow and looked back at the group.
“You know, I changed my mind. Maybe I will take that weekend in the wine country with you people. I think I need some relaxation. This city is starting to make me see things.”
Yumfuck hurried down the hallway, stopping for a moment as a woman exited the bathroom, not noticing him standing there. He took in the deep scent of chocolate and rushed through the invisible passageway onto the staircase. The train station was busy at that hour, but Yumfuck really didn’t want to take the regular subway and bus to Adams Morgan. It was a long trip followed by a long walk with a box of donuts. The magical train would spit him out on Columbia Pike, just a few blocks from his destination.
It was time he paid a visit to Jackson and took a load off. He was back, and Yumfuck had kept it to himself at Jackson’s more-than-pushy request. He wasn’t sure why Jackson was there or why he was hiding from Leira, but Yumfuck could tell that it was something important. Jackson really didn’t like being Earth-side. He liked the peace and tranquility of his little cottage in the woods in Oriceran, but ever since Leira had entered his life things had gotten a bit more complicated for him.
Yumfuck boarded the train and sat with the donuts in his lap, staring out the window. The train moved quickly, halting just long enough to let passengers off and on at the different stops and then speeding off again. Yumfuck looked up to find a tall dark-haired man across the aisle staring him down. The troll shifted in his seat, turning his attention away, but it was hard to miss his eyes boring a hole into Yumfuck’s skull. He didn’t know who the man was, but he could sense danger surrounding him. He had to be part of the dark families, and Yumfuck was no stranger to that kind.
He was off the clock, though, and really just wanted to make it to his stop before anything got out of hand. He sat there staring out the window until it was finally his platform. He picked up his donuts and hurried off the train, stopping at the stairs and looking back. The dark-haired man was still inside the railcar, which was already pulling away. He let out a relieved breath and started to climb the seven flights of stairs to the top. By the time he got to the Starbucks hallway he was panting, and he considered spending the next week running the treadmill with Leira.
“Maybe fewer donuts.” He groaned to himself, feeling the weight of the pastries in his hand. “Nah, who am I kidding? Donuts are life!”
“Damn straight,” a man agreed from his left.
Yumfuck gave him a thumbs-up and scampered out the door. He liked this part of town. It wasn’t as busy, especially during the day when everyone was at work. He hurried to the boardinghouse and climbed the stairs, ready to see his friend. However, the place was quiet, and Mira had left a note on the desk saying she would be back in an hour.
Yumfuck set the donuts down and climbed up on the stool, grabbing the note and a pen. He smiled as he sloppily scribbled the word motherfucker at the bottom. He read the note out loud, proud of his handiwork.
“Will be back in one hour, motherfuckers.”
Yumfuck giggled, set the note back on the desk, grabbed his donuts, and headed upstairs. He stood outside Jackson’s room and knocked loudly, but no one answered. He twisted the knob, slowly pushing the door open.
“Jackson? I brought donuts...”
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, glancing around the empty room. Jackson’s clothes still hung in the closet, so Yumfuck knew he hadn’t left for good. He shrugged and set the donuts down on the table, opening the lid and staring down at them. He had managed to hold back, only licking the chocolate off a few instead of all of them as he usually did. He tucked a napkin into his fur right below his chin, grabbed one of the pre-licked donuts, and took a big bite.
He leaned his elbows on the table and stared out the window, thinking about Austin and his friends. He really missed Hagan, and every time he got donuts it made him miss him all the more. He remembered the first time he had met Hagan and how close they had gotten. He was like family to Yumfuck, which he desperately needed since his family was back on Oriceran. Yumfuck thought Jackson might make a good Hagan substitute, or at least he hoped that he would. Of course, it would help if Jackson was not off somewhere, leaving Yumfuck alone in his room devouring donuts.
“What’s a donut amongst friends?” Yumfuck shrugged and sighed.
Yumfuck snatched another donut and scurried to the armchair, climbing up and plopping down. He picked up the remote and flipped on the television, yawning as he flipped through the channels looking for anything that might help him get his mind off his family in Austin. He found a ton of infomercials, a show about a furry alien who ate cats, and some crime show with detectives trying to solve murder cases.
Against his better judgment he went with the crime show, even though it made him miss Hagan more. He really didn’t want to watch another infomercial, and aliens who ate cats really weren’t on his list of shows to enjoy. Yumfuck finished the donut in his hand and leaned his head back, watching the cops chase bad men around the city, the homicide detective driving her unmarked car. Normally something like that would create excitement in Yumfuck’s blood, but he was just happy to be resting comf
ortably at Jackson’s place, even though he still hadn’t arrived.
The troll put his arms behind his head, closed his eyes, and thought about the tall green grasses and warm breezes of Oriceran. He could see his multitude of siblings running around, his mother in her little apron cooking all day just to feed them dinner. Cooking was pretty much all the woman did—breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and kiss sad little troll boo-boos. It was Yumfuck’s favorite thing about his mom, how caring and understanding she was.
In the process of daydreaming Yumfuck slipped off into an afternoon nap, slinking down on the chair and curling up into a ball. He tucked his arms under his head and pulled the draped throw down around him. He snuggled into the soft blanket, smacking his lips and smiling as his eyes shut. For a moment it was absolutely silent, the perfect remedy for Yumfuck’s blues—until a portal snapped open by his head, scaring the hell out of him.
Heart racing, Yumfuck jumped up into a karate stance. The fur stood up on the back of his neck and arms as he hissed, turning quickly until his eyes fell on Jackson. Apparently, Yumfuck had scared him just as much. Jackson had his hand to his chest and was leaning his arm against the chair and breathing heavily.
“You should not scare me like that,” Yumfuck scolded, releasing the tension in his body. “I could have grown and taken your head off.”
“I scared you? I might need a clean pair of shorts! I thought you were one of those Earth animals like a wombat or a puma or something.”
“They don’t have those here.”
“Oh. Well, you were furry and sleeping. By the way, your scream was probably heard in Tulsa.”
Yumfuck jumped off the chair and lumbered to the table. He opened the lid of the donuts and Jackson ran over, grabbing one and finishing it in three bites. He went for another and shook his head, still reeling from the surprise he had gotten when he came back through the portal.
“I was starving, little dude. Thanks for getting donuts.”
“Where were you? I’ve been here a little while.”
“LA, on personal business.”
Yumfuck raised an eyebrow and stared at him.
“What? That is all that I am going to tell you. You aren’t getting any more out of me.”
Yumfuck considered pressing him for answers, but he decided to let things go—at least for the moment. He was ready to relax, not fight with a grown man about where he’d been all day. He shrugged, grabbing another donut and plopping back down in the chair. Jackson raised an eyebrow, wondering if his agreeable attitude was a trap, but he figured that even if it was, he still wouldn’t give in. He might as well be stubborn with donuts in his belly. He sat down in the adjacent chair, placing the box of donuts on the small table between them.
“I got myself a job.” Yumfuck smiled. “A real one too—the kind that makes money, not just volunteering.”
“You did?” Jackson smiled, expecting it to be small and trivial but still cute for a three-foot troll.
“Mmmhmm, finding magical criminals.”
Jackson stopped mid-bite and looked at Yumfuck in surprise. “You mean like a bounty hunter of your own kind?”
Yumfuck rolled his eyes. “I mean like the Silver Griffins, but we get paid by the humans instead of being volunteers. We can work the jobs however we think appropriate and take whatever team we need, and we report back to the head man when it is all over. Leira has a list of names, ones she has to find, capture or kill, and bring back to the humans. They have all been checked and re-checked. It’s not like you’ll find Correk’s name on there.”
“It sounds to me like the humans trying to control the magical population.”
“Or trying to keep us safe. These men are the really bad ones. Some of the jobs are helping other witches and wizards like Correk does, some are retrieving artifacts, and some are literally tracking down a specific magical creature and attempting to bring them in. It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be. They know about Leira, so they run and fight back.”
“And Leira is okay with this? It seems a bit beneath her.”
“She has control over what she is doing and is getting the criminals off the streets, the ones that human cops will never be able to touch. And she can turn it down. She is okay with it, plus it pays really well, and they offered to start paying Louie and me too.”
“Louie? Well, now I’ve heard it all!” Jackson laughed. “Maybe he isn’t such a mess after all.”
24
Leira received a text that woke her just as the sun was coming up. She groaned, blinking at the coordinates. The message was simple, reading, Meet me in here. I need your help. Normally that would have trap written all over it, but the coordinates were familiar. They were to the Gardener of the Dark Forest’s sanctuary. She carefully crept out of bed, not wanting to wake Correk, and pulled some clothes out.
“Where are you going this morning?” Correk’s voice was tired.
“I got a text to meet at the sanctuary. I figure it must be important, so I’m heading over there.”
“Do you need backup?”
She smiled and kissed him on the forehead. “No, go back to sleep. I’ll be safe there. It might be the only place I am safe these days.”
“All right. You know how to get me if you need me.” Correk yawned and rolled back over, burying his face in the pillows.
Leira smiled, quickly dressing in her normal black pants and black top, lacing up her boots, and pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She normally would make time for coffee, but she knew if it was the Gardener she didn’t have time for that. The man didn’t mess around, so she stretched her arms high and opened a portal, stepping through into long, lush grass. She looked around as the portal shut behind her, watching a group of gazelles run across the field.
She had almost forgotten how beautiful it was there. How tranquil. If it weren’t so early in the morning, she would wake Hagan and have breakfast with him. She didn’t want to bother him though, since he was probably still in bed, relaxing like he should in retirement. She smiled, just thinking about him with a gardening hat, living in the sanctuary, doing normal things while the animals scurried around him. He probably hated it and yearned for donuts and handcuffs, but Leira knew it was good for him.
“Leira,” a voice called behind her.
She spun around. It was not the Gardener, but it was still familiar. She met with Lucius’ kind smile. The large elven shifter stood in the grass in his elven form. Her mouth opened slightly, surprised and thrown off-guard. She closed it and gave him a smile, slowly walking over with her arms out.
“Lucius, it’s good to see you. I thought the Gardener was summoning me.”
Lucius hugged her back and shook his head. “We thought this was the safest place to meet, so he okayed us opening portals here. I feared that someone might track you to the wolf sanctuary, and with everything going on right now with the shifters it was too dangerous to take the chance, as was me going out in public. I’m sorry to wake you so early.”
“It’s fine, but what is going on with the shifters? I heard about the one who shifted in New York, but other than that it’s been quiet on my information end.”
“Someone is trying to poison the shifters,” he told her flatly.
“What?” she shrieked.
“They are making them unstable, so they are unable to control when they shift. That is what happened to the poor man in New York, but luckily, he was old enough and experienced enough to know how to get out and call the Fixer. Correk showed up right away and cloaked him until he could get control back, but it could have been really bad.”
“That’s terrible.” Leira was shocked. “Do you know who is behind it? I mean, obviously someone who has a vendetta with the wolves, but many people fear your kind for no reason.”
“I know, and I suspect the dark families, but I am not completely sure. Their choices are completely random. The shifters aren’t in the leadership or even a threat to anyone. Most of them have been the work, go home,
and meet at the sanctuary on the weekends types. I also have no idea how they are delivering the poison. The man in New York said he got off the train, walked to his office went up the elevator, and then it happened. He hadn’t drunk or eaten anything that morning, and he didn’t talk to a soul on his way. Someone has to be helping them. This isn’t something that would go unnoticed even on the trains if it were by a dark family.”
Leira took a deep breath and looked at the rising sun. “Have you made a list of suspects?”
“I could, but there would be barely a name left off. We literally have no leads. That’s why I decided to contact you. I suspect that it’s a network of people, because it’s happening all over the country in too close a timeframe to be just one. I need your help, Leira. I know you have contacts, hear whispers, and work on your own terms. I’m afraid to bring any legal or government entity into this since I don’t think I can trust them. The Feds are terrified of us, and the Silver Griffins are not much better. On top of that, our major sources have been infiltrated.”
Leira shook her head and put her hand on Lucius’ arm. “I’ll do what I can. In the meantime, I think it would best if the shifters laid low. Anyone who can take leave from work should move to your sanctuary until we can get this under control. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt, innocent or shifter.”
“Agreed. Thank you, Leira. I’ll be in contact.” Lucius nodded and opened a portal to his sanctuary. She could see the familiar glow of yellow wolf eyes staring back as the portal slammed shut.
She stood there for a moment, trying to assimilate all that she had been told. Lucius had been straight and to the point, giving her everything he knew as fast as he could. From the speed with which he got back to his shifters, Leira could tell he didn’t feel comfortable leaving them alone on the sanctuary for very long. Her first step was to get the word out to her contacts and let something float toward her, but she knew that for information like that she was going to need some money. She opened the portal back into her house and stepped through, going to her drawer and grabbing an envelope she had saved for just that purpose.