“Of course, Eric. I respect that. You have my number, should you need my assistance. And, please, do take care of yourself. Rumor has it that you've been selected as a new Knight.” He smiled. “Be careful. A witch is a terrible thing to waste.”
I watched as he turned around and opened the door. “Nick?” He looked back over his shoulder. “Thanks for the candy. Very appreciated.”
“It was my pleasure.” He said, and inclined his head just slightly. “You're in good hands with Amy, despite our dislike of each other. She'll protect you, don't you worry about that.” He said, and he walked out.
Chapter 28
I was walking in a few days. I went home on Saturday, with orders for bed rest and to take it easy. They'd never seen someone with my injuries heal that fast, which I had attributed to Amy's abilities. By the time I got home, I had a few dozen voice mails from my friends at work, Terry, and some from Teresa. I ignored them for the moment, and slumped down onto my couch.
Amy, who had helped me up to the apartment, shut the door. “The doctors said you are to have bed rest, and that you should not go back to work for at least a few more weeks.” She said. “But I expect you to be fit again in a week or so.”
“So, how does this all work? How are you healing me?” I asked.
“A transition of energy.” She explained. “It is a...power. Not unlike magic, but a gift much more defined. The energy speeds up the natural recovery of your body. I cannot cure things, but I can speed various processes up.”
“Huh,” I thought about that for a moment. “And is this something you do for all your wards?” I stared at the ceiling, not really wanting to do anything for the moment.
“To be honest, Eric, you are the first person I have ever guarded like this.”
I opened my eyes, and shifted to look at her. My chest ached in pain as I moved. “You're serious? Why didn't you tell me?”
“I did not wish to alarm you. I have worked with protecting people before, but never in such an involved manner.”
I nodded. “I see.” I thought back on the hospital now. “I should tell you, I had a visit from two cops while I was in the hospital.”
“Really?” She moved to sit at my kitchen table.
“Yea, they were inquiring about what happened with those Bliss dealers, but that's not the big thing.” I thought about it for a moment about how to voice my concern. “One of them wasn't human.”
“Not human.” Amy looked at me. “How could you tell?”
“She wasn't a vampire or were, but she could tell I was a witch.” I explained. “Listen, there was something about her. She was just really...I don't know, empty.”
“Describe the woman.” Amy instructed.
“Her name was Inspector Li. She was about five-four, Asian, dark hair. Her eyes...dark, large, and I don't know, something missing from them. She didn't seem human.”
“Fascinating.” She furrowed her brow in thought.
“What is it, got any ideas?” I asked her, thinking back on anything else. Nothing really popped out in my memory, besides just a sense of emptiness. There was something was wrong, missing from her.
She shook her head. “It is nothing that I can think of. Perhaps there is something in your mother's notes regarding one like her.”
“I hope so. I don't know, she just rubbed me the really wrong way. I think she might be a potential threat.”
“Then we will be cautious.” We were interrupted by a knock on the door. “I will get it.” She said, and opened the door. “Hello,” She said to whoever it was.
“Yea, this is Eric Carpenter's place, right?” At Amy's nod, our visitor continued. She had a soft voice, feminine. “I'm Rebbecca Young. You guys were at Rico's place, and you carried me out?”
“Yes, indeed.” Amy smiled. “Please, come in.” She said, stepping aside.
Becca was a woman of average height. She was up on her feet, which was something, though her pretty face was gaunt. Her hair was pulled back, only accentuating that gauntness. She was dressed in a black blouse and a pair of jeans. “Mister Carpenter? Are you still recovering from the Bliss?”
“Uh, no,” I shook my head. “I'm just a victim of my own Quixotic desires.”
“I don't follow.” The were female furrowed her brow.
I shook my head. “Forget it. This is totally unrelated to what happened with the Bliss, trust me.”
“All right,” Becca fidgeted with herself a moment before continuing. “I wanted to thank you, the both of you, for coming to help me. You didn't even know me.”
I shrugged, feeling a little singe of pain from my ribs. “I'm just in it to help people.”
“Even still, I'm impressed.” The dark-haired woman said. “If you ever need anything, I'm in your debt.”
I shook my head. “It's not really necessary. How did you even get into that situation?”
“What, getting hooked on Bliss?” She sighed, and looked to Amy, then back to me before continuing. “College. Ended up in a bad sorority, bad peer pressure, and, well, here I am. I met Rico one or two months ago, and well, Julia was a really bad influence.”
“The female vampire.” I recalled. “Yea, she seemed really weird. What was her deal?”
“Wish I could tell you. She was just very...I don't know, odd. Territorial, aggressive.”
Amy nodded. “I know the type. They pop up in vampire females often. It is some sort of perversion of a nesting syndrome.”
“Yea.” I nodded. “Well, Becca, we're here to help. If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to call, all right?”
“Yes, you're the Knight of the Bay now, right?” Becca said. “So I guess I would call on you for help.”
“Doesn't have to be as the Knight.” I told her. “If you need it not to be official, just give me a ring around here. You got that?”
She smiled widely. “Yea, thanks, Mister Carpenter. I should be going now. Tyler wants to chat, and I need to see that my stuff hasn't been repo'd or anything.”
“Uh, Amy can show you to the door. I'm going to just lie down and try to ignore my cracked ribs.”
She winced. “Uh, get well soon.” She said as I flopped onto my back. Amy walked her to the door.
When Becca was gone, Amy turned back to me. “You are a stupid, stupid witch.”
“Why, because I got raised with outdated concepts of chivalry? I'm trying to help people. Granted, I really don't think I could even help myself right now, but I'll be back to tip-top shape soon, right?”
“Indeed.” She sighed. “I just do not want you dragging yourself into situations which you cannot get out of.”
“That's something I just never hope to get into. I'm not going to run off and go fight all the vampires in San Francisco. You happy?”
“Not really, but it will have to do.”
The next week was anything but resting. I was up on my feet after a few more days, though the doctors all told me to take it easy, and not move much.
Thanks to a bit of Amy’s weird “powers,” I was moving about pretty easily by the time that we were summoned to Pax. The meeting was set during the day, a bit of an oddity, considering that Arcanes seemed to be, for the most part, nocturnal.
Pax’s parking lot was practically empty when we got there. It was also empty when we entered. There apparently wasn’t a noon rush.
Teresa and Ishmael sat at a table. I moved to join them. “Hello, Count, Teresa.” I nodded to each of them. “Ishmael, thanks for the gift. It was…well, thoughtful.” I honestly loved it. How many people could say they had such an early print of Moby Dick?
“It was my pleasure. I trust you are doing well?”
“Better. I’m on the way to recovery, thanks to Amy.”
Amy only nodded to them. She’d worn a jean jacket over a simple black Beatles t-shirt, and sensible slacks.
“Amy, is it?” Ishmael smiled politely. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Amy.”
“And the same.” She said. Amy’s voice was
a bit stiff. She turned to me. “I’ll be out in the car. This is your hour.”
“All right, thanks for the lift.” I said, and moved to sit down at the table as Amy left. “So, who are the other leaders?”
“Well, there are three other leaders. The first we don’t have to worry about. Lord Gawyn only ever abstains from voting, if he shows. The Fae do not interfere in our manners often.”
“Okay,” I nodded. “Then who are the other two?”
“The first is the leader of the weres, Finnegan.” Teresa supplied.
“Yea, we met, and he sure didn’t like me.”
‘He will have even less reason to like you in this case. Finnegan remembers the Emissaries, and he does not like them.” Ishmael said
“One of them crawled up his butt and died?” I deadpanned.
“No, but he’s lost pack mates to them before, back when the Emissaries were still a force. The weres often believe that they can govern themselves, but don’t hold themselves accountable for their own when they hurt others.”
I nodded. “So, he’ll be against us. Who’s the tie-breaker?”
“The leader of the Red Angels.” Teresa said. “Queen Catherine. She’s four-hundred years old, Venetian by birth. She is…well, fickle. We can only hope she likes you. Reds are a mysterious folk, and they don’t necessarily have any single set of goals. Where as a vampire respects order, Reds really only care about one thing and one thing only.”
“What’s that?”
“Growing. They’ll only agree to this if they see that returning the Emissaries will be of a benefit to the Red Angels.” The way Teresa said it, she did not enjoy the prospect of that.
“Lucien was Venetian too. Will she have a beef with me for killing him?”
Teresa chuckled. “Hardly. She and Lucien were not exactly close. Red Angels appreciate culture and class, something that Lucien distinctly lacked.”
“All right. So, I have to convince her that I’m worth keeping. How long until they get here?”
“They should arrive soon.” Ishmael said. “I just wished to brief you beforehand, so you might be prepared.”
“Oh, just one thing.” I said. “Why are you all Lords and Counts, but why is Catherine, the Red, a Queen?”
“Because,” said a feminine voice behind me. “Each Queen is a mother to her kind, and only a mother could be so kind as to rule Red Angels.”
I turned around. Standing in the doorway was a woman I could only assume was the Red Angel. She was beautiful. Not just a ‘girl next door’ pretty, but an absolutely gorgeous woman. She stood tall, though I’m sure her suicide heels did something for that. She wore a pencil skirt and blouse, both complimenting her long legs and fair skin. Her hair was worn in loose waves of brown hair, cascading over her shoulders.
I stood and bowed politely. “Queen Catherine, a pleasure to meet you.”
“Please, just Catherine.” She approached me, and offered her hand. “You must be Eric Carpenter.”
“I'm honored you know my name.” I saw that her hand was offered palm down. I took the hint, and took her hand in mine, kissing it lightly before standing back up. My ribs did not like that. I kept the poker face on, though.
“A gentleman too. Such a rarity.” Catherine flashed a bright smile at Ishmael. “I like this one. But enough to be Knight to all of us? We shall see.”
She sat down at the table, while I stayed standing. There was only one more seat at the table, and I didn’t think to presume to take it. I’d let Finnegan take it.
Finnegan turned out to be late. He walked through the door, two weres in tow. One of them was Jackson, who joined me sitting at the bar. The other were, a skinny little man, hung by the door.
“Hey, man,” Jackson nodded to me. “Heard you took on a master vampire and won.”
“Word gets around.” I grinned. “I like to think I did the community a service.”
“If half of what they said about Lucien was true? Hell yea.” He nodded.
Teresa cleared her throat, bringing silence to the room. “Welcome, esteemed rulers of the Arcane for this little slice of the world.” She said. “Today, we bring forth a proposition that has not been submitted in some time.”
“For good reason.” Finnegan grunted.
Teresa went on without even acknowledging him. “We are here to submit that the witch, Eric Carpenter, be confirmed as the Knight of the Bay, assigned to this region as a justice, a peace, and a mediator. The noble Count Ishmael, ruler of the vampire courts.”
Ishmael spoke when Teresa finished. “Thank you, Teresa. Eric Carpenter offers a solution to a problem. Arcanes have lacked any sort of method of interacting with each other peacefully for some time. We have also lacked anyway to help the police in making sure we are governed.”
“Why do the police even need to help us in governing?” Finnegan asked.
Ishmael gave him a cold look. “Your people are not any more innocent than mine. The random killing happens. Do we want a hunt for shadows, so that they can pin the blame on whatever is convenient? Would you prefer that the police just simply round us up? Freedom is a right, but rights can be taken away if they are abused.”
“And what does the little squirt offer us?”
“I’m neutral.” I said. “I’m not a cop, and I’m not one of you. At least, I'm not a vamp, were, or Red Angel. I don’t work for any of you, and I’m just interested in helping people.”
“He doesn’t work for any of us.” Finnegan snorted. “Yea, right. You’re the vampire’s puppet.”
“A vamp bit me, attacked me in an alley, Finnegan, and another kidnapped an old friend of mine. I don’t harbor any more love for them than I do for you.” I shot back. “What I want is to see to it that people are protected. You think Lucien was an isolated incident? In the past week, we've had an abduction, gang warfare, a rogue vampire, and more. Things need to settle down, and badly.”
Catherine nodded. “The witch speaks wisdom.” She said. “And, it begs the question, young witch, what is your lineage?”
“My mother was Victoria Torres.” I said. “She was a witch, but she has passed on.”
“Torres. I know this name.” She nodded solemnly. “Thank you. I believe that we should take our vote?”
Ishmael nodded. “I vote for the elevation of Eric Carpenter to the rank of Knight of our fair territory.”
“As its sole member so you can have a pawn, you mean.” Finnegan growled. “I vote against. Catherine, how do you vote?”
The dark-haired woman was silent for a moment. “Mister Carpenter is an anomaly. I can count the number of witches I have seen in the past two hundred years on one hand. This is not something to be considered lightly. Were it up to me, I would lock him up so his race wouldn’t end. Of course, that would be rather selfish of me. However, he was able to defeat Lucien. Lucien was a powerful vampire, and a rather disreputable one. Mister Carpenter wishes to help people, and I think he could do a great deal of help in his position.”
She looked me straight in the eye. Her eyes were violet, like Emily Dupont's had been, and they flickered with an intrigue of their own. “I vote yes.”
Teresa nodded. “And so it is confirmed. Eric Carpenter, you are the Knight of the Bay. Serve us, and we shall serve you.”
After I was inducted, there were handshakes all around, and I got contact numbers from Finnegan and Catherine, and they got mine. I really didn't want to give them my personal number, but I also didn't want vampires and werewolves showing up at the bar. I'd get a pager or something for this, I told myself.
After about half an hour of talking, I finally left the bar. The other Arcane leaders were still in the meeting, talking over other issues. Amy was standing next to the car, next to Sasha. They both saw me, and smiles crossed their faces.
“Well, well,” Sasha greeted me. “If it isn't the first Knight of the Bay to be appointed in a century.”
“Thanks, I guess.” I said. “If people had told me, two weeks ago, that I
was going to be the supernatural lawman around town, I probably would have laughed at them and told them they were ridiculously crazy.”
“I still think you are crazy.” Amy said. “This will not be safe.”
“If I was going for safe, I'd be working in an office doing some drone's job.”
Sasha looked at me for a moment, pondering. “He would look rather good in a suit, I think.” I thought of Teresa, and wondered what the preoccupation was with female vampires and suits.
“Men typically do.” Amy remarked. “Objectively speaking, of course.”
“Then you should get him to wear them. After all, he is a Knight. He should look the part.”
I rolled my eyes. “Great, I haven't even officially had this gig for an hour, and you two are already telling me how I should do the job.”
“Get used to it.” Sasha advised. “You're about to become very popular. They might not know what you are, but you are the Knight still. That's something. People know what this means, and people are used to going to you with their problems.”
“Tell me I didn't just sign up to get vampire cats out of trees.”
Amy shook her head. “That is not quite how mundane it is, but you should brush up on various supernatural customs, learn how Arcane law works.”
“Arcane law?” I sighed. “Great.”
“That's not too hard, Eric,” Sasha said. “You keep coming to Pax, and I'll give you some pointers.”
“Thanks, Sasha.” I offered her a smile. “Amy, I think we should get going. I've got something I want to discuss with you.”
Sasha bowed her head politely. “Until next time, Eric, Amy.” She walked back into the bar, leaving the two of us and the Jeep.
When we got in, Amy spoke. “So, what did you wish to discuss?”
“You remember that cop who I told you wasn't quite human?”
“Indeed. Detective-Inspector Li, correct?”
“Right.” I said. “I want to try to figure out what she is, to maybe see if she's been watching me before this.”
“And how do you propose we do this?” She asked.
West Coast Witch Page 22