by Laura Wylde
I checked our trackers. The other members had arrived at their destinations and were heading back to the main chamber. We opened the cages, shooing out our captives as quickly as possible. Every second was crucial. The team was on the move. It was essential we meet in the main chambers at the same time for a smooth rescue operation.
Our fatty had the fast action of a donkey pulling a load uphill. He limped along behind the others until Todd gave him a little encouragement. By now, Todd was in his full elven form and glowing, which in its own way, was as frightening in its strangeness as being kidnapped by trolls. He trotted beside the big boy, patting him on the back until the poor fellow blubbered and found an extra bust of speed, his arms doing cartwheels. We reached the chamber just seconds behind the rest of the crew. “I was wondering if you were going to make it,” remarked Adonis.
“We got a little side-tracked,” I answered.
“How many?”
“Three.”
“Hmm. We ran into one. The gods favored you.”
The footsteps of the victims scurried down the tunnel, the echoes drifting into the chamber. It no longer mattered if we made noise. The captives were on their way to safety. We wanted the trolls to bring it on. We waited silently though, hoping the sound of the shuffling feet would be enough to drive them into the ocean.
The first wave contained about twenty to thirty trolls. The moved in from all three corridors and from the caves pocketing the walls of the main chamber. The shapeshifters waited, battling hand to hand until they had drawn the monstrosities toward the center, then soared into their phoenix form. With a triumphant shriek, they swooped down at the trolls, grasping them in their talons and stabbing them with their beaks. I went ballistics with the AK47, that did manage to do substantial damage when three or four rounds slammed into the same target.
The survivors beat a hasty retreat into the cave system, using different avenues of escape. We stuck with the agreed upon buddy system in going after them. The trolls Todd, Jamie and I were chasing were making a beeline for the bay exit. They were joined by several others who slithered along the walls and scampered toward their hopeful freedom. In the narrow passage, Todd and Jamie had to resort to their human form. It emboldened the trolls that fought back until they saw the elven weapons gleaming with magic. I opened fire and they ran for their lives.
Near the exit, the trolls met a new obstacle. An enormous gray wolf guarded the cave opening where the water dripped, and a pool rippled and dropped into the deep ocean. His hair stood up on his raised shackles and his lips pulled away from his long, canine teeth. The trolls halted, terrified. They backed up, dully remembering us when we began hacking into them. In one last desperate move, they attempted to push their way past the wolf, swinging with their deadly multi-bladed hand knives. The wolf grabbed one, then another in his teeth, snapping the neck with a ferocious shake, yet they piled on, clawing and clamoring for the sea.
We could not allow them to escape. Elven metal sang, my weapon tatted, blades flashed, the magnificent shapeshifting beast roared in the rolling mass of trolls. He began to go down, and the nasty creatures scurried over him.
We managed to kill most of them. I saw one slip into the water. As it slithered into the pool, I thought I saw two human faces stare up at me, then turn toward the troll. They grasped it in their hands and began pulling down, deeply into the depths until the troll was thrashing and struggling for air. As I looked, I no longer saw humans at all, but the fins and tails of two large fish, and air bubbles.
I blinked and turned around. The wolf was lying still and wounded, while Todd knelt over him, holding one of Thaddeus’ vials. “They nicked you good mate,” he said sympathetically, examining the silver-tipped, matted fur. “Do you have any allergies to fairy spells?”
“No, just wolfbane,” he growled, keeping his head still. Todd was dabbing a little of the tincture around one ear.
“That’s good. Don’t care much for it myself. There’s nothing a good Irish brew won’t fix.” He added more tincture to a long slash around the ribcage. He finished up by sprinkling a little of the pixie dust he had used on the cave walls. “Troll bacteria is pretty deadly. This is like applying iodine.”
The wolf remained still and quiet, his breath heaving in and out of his ribs. Slowly, his wounds began to close. With a sigh, he shapeshifted, showing us his human form. He was young, maybe twenty, with a narrow face, golden-brown eyes and a flop of straight brown hair. He grinned sheepishly. “Thanks guys. That was a little overwhelming. I don’t usually have to fight trolls.”
“They didn’t have a choice,” said Jamie. “It’s a good thing they are so terrified of you or they would have hacked you to death.”
“Are trolls afraid of wolves?” I asked.
“Oh yes,” said our wolf guy, nodding his head vigorously. “Don’t you know what guards the Set royal family? Hell hounds. Wolves remind them of hell hounds but believe me. We’re a lot nicer.”
Adrien
We flew silently, our wings tucked close to our bodies as we chased the trolls into a blind corridor. Their only means of escape was a hole gaping at one end of the wall. The hole was small enough for trolls to pass through, but not a phoenix. We shifted and drew out our knives. The Egyptian blades cast a neon glow and hummed with ancient power. I was astonished that Adonis had entrusted them to me, but his trick with those little cutting balls had blown my mind. As old as he is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew Osiris personally. He probably has lots of secret weapons up his sleeve.
The trolls had been easy to pick off the walls with our beaks and cross with our talons, but now the passage was shrinking. The ceiling was lower, the walls closer together. The trolls slid from every direction, scrambling to squeeze through the hole. We managed to kill half-a-dozen at the mouth, but another half-a-dozen had slipped through. We squeezed through the hole, ready with our blades held in front of us. I popped out first, with Lenny close behind me, and crouched, my eyes darting for black, moving shadows. Instead, I saw two bears and half-a-dozen dead trolls.
“I guess we reached the clearinghouse,” remarked Lenny, putting away his knives. “Should we go back the way we came or use this entrance?”
I looked at the map diagrams and checked them against my tracker. “Jack and Todd are already at the tunnel. Tara and her crew are half-way back. It looks like Daniel and Adonis just came out of an unmarked tunnel, so I guess they’ll be carrying a little more information. Say buddy,” I looked up at the bears. “How far to this entrance.”
The two bears shapeshifted. They were both women, which astonished me somewhat; not just that they were women, but they were warrior women. They were tall, with Amazon type builds and thick, wavy hair. Their skin was golden-brown, and their features sharply planed, like Native Americans. “This passage only runs another two hundred feet than opens up close to the castle. I know how you phoenixes like dry land. It’s a short distance from here to there as the crow flies.”
She didn’t smile much when she spoke. “No webbed feet,” I told her, wanting her to like me a little. “You bears are fortunate. You can swim among icebergs.”
She did crack a smile then. It was a luxurious arrangement of pearly white teeth. “I’m just saying, it will be faster for you if you fly.” She picked up the staff she carried in human form and leaned against it. “It’s been fun working for your department, but I’ve got to say, next time, send something more formidable our way. I almost felt sorry for the little buggers.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t think the royal family is finished with us yet. Maybe you’ll get to fight a gorgon. I heard Set IV has been breeding them.”
As we walked toward the entrance, I heard the other one call out, “Adios, my fine-feathered friends. May your silver spoon always contain honey.”
The tunnel emptied out just where the bears said it would, in the shadow of the brooding castle. It was a dark, isolated spot in rugged terrain, barely noticeable among the bristling underbrus
h and rock cropping’s. We shifted and flew to the copse of trees close to Turtle Pond and walked out in time to see the last of the crew emerge from the water. Tara was handling the press that had finally been set loose as soon as the last ambulance swished away from the recovery site.
“Wow,” I whispered. “Did you know the identity of the bears?”
Lenny shrugged. “They’re fish and game. They usually work upstate. Adonis must have some pull to get them.”
We heard a press member ask, “What type of organization were you dealing with down there? Were they a cult? A group of terrorists?”
He leaned toward me. “Don’t say anything to Tanya about them. She would love to meet them. She has an incomplete bear profile. She, um, insulted the bears in her early research days and hasn’t been able to get on their good side since.”
“I’ll let you know if I get on their good side,” I whispered back.
Tara’s voice carried firmly and clearly over the microphone. “The group we were dealing with was not affiliated with any known political or religious organization. They were a cult of serial killers who murdered for their own pleasure. We believe they gathered together from areas around the world to use New York City’s Central Park and its elaborate tunnel system as their staging ground.”
“How many serial killers were involved?”
“We do not have that information at this time.”
We listened to her continue to field questions as we made our way back to our crew for debriefing. Adonis’ face was a little tense, but it relaxed when he saw us coming. “You took the long way around,” he said bluntly.
I looked at the ground, waiting for that fatherly scolding. “We came out below the castle, so we flew.” Reluctantly, I slipped from my belt the two sheathed daggers and handed them to him.
He pushed my hand back. “Keep them, kid. You’ve earned them.”
All the snarky things I ever thought or said about Adonis suddenly melted away. If he wanted to play the dad role with me, he was welcome to it. What with being raised by guardians from the time I could stretch my wings, Adonis was as good a father-image as it gets. I thought my chest was going to burst, it puffed up so proudly.
Daniel didn’t give Lenny any daggers, but he did put his hand on my buddy’s shoulders and say, “good job, son.” This was part of our bonding. We were both the youngest members of our team, consequently, the others all felt they had to behave as fathers or uncles. The praise was good enough for Lenny. His chest began bursting as well.
His hand continued to stay on Lenny’s shoulder. “Lenny, the rest of us are going back inside the tunnels with the mop up crew to clear all troll evidence. I want you to go back to the station and file the report. Co-ordinate with Tara on the official story and code-command the unofficial story to the commissioner. Add recommendation. Tara Winslow, lead investigator for newly formed federal bureau department of interdimensional criminal activities.”
He removed the hand to swing it around and shake Adonis’. “I enjoyed working with your team. You and Thaddeus have some advanced hand-to-hand combat skills. We could learn from you. Lenny, I’ll meet you at the station.”
“Wait,” said Adonis. “If Lenny is returning to the station with us, why don’t we all meet at Murray’s Pub for a wrap-up celebration? Have you ever had a beer blessed by a leprechaun?”
“No, the closest I’ve come was a woodland fairy. She was a wicked little thing. Her brew made me want to just sit around in a meadow all day, listening to butterflies flap their wings and crickets chatter.”
“That’s close enough, but we’ll tell Todd to take it easy. You have a low tolerance.”
Lenny had his own vehicle; a Triumph Rocket 3TFC. It was hot. Jaw-dropping hot, gleaming in black, fiery metal. I was jealous. “C’mon,” he urged. “Hop on back. It’s only a few blocks.”
It was flying without wings and I could have kept it up forever, but as he said, it was only a few blocks. “Lenny,” I asked as I was taking off my helmet. “The F.B.I. is creating a department?”
He nodded, kicking the stand into place. “It became necessary.”
We were the first to arrive at the station. There was a bustle of excitement in the main lobby and the island where officers peered around from their cubbyholes or stopped in their transition from one desk to another. There was a lot of handshaking and calls of congratulations. I can’t say I was completely cool with it. It had been a long day and we still had some ends to tie up, especially Lenny, who needed to file the police report for his precinct. I was still a little stunned by what he had told me. A special department with the federal bureau meant there were people high up the government ladder who knew the interdimensional community was widespread, and that some were becoming a problem to the basic concepts of law and order. I couldn’t think of anyone better to head it than Tara.
Struggling through our well-wishers to reach the privacy of Adonis’ office was almost as difficult as wading through trolls. At least with the trolls, all we had to do was cut their heads off. It would not be acceptable with fellow police officers, and a bit extreme, but I think for a moment, we almost suffocated. We’ve never had much of a fan club and had no idea how to be diplomatic with admirers. Somehow, we staggered into the office without hurting any sensitivities. As soon as I closed the door, I saw a blonde bombshell leap from Adonis’ sacred desk chair and wrap herself in Lenny’s arms.
More accurately, she wrapped her whole body around him. She was tall, nearly as tall as he was and had these extra-long legs that couldn’t be hidden under a gunny sack. She wore a flouncy skirt that came to her knees and a top that showed every inch of her magnificent shoulders. She squealed when she kissed him. “I’ve been so worried! I talked with Henry, who verified my research on Set IV trolls. Did you know, he’s an absolute fountain of information?”
He interrupted her to introduce us. “Adrien, meet Tanya.”
“Oh,” she said, slipping her hand into mine for two Luke-warm seconds, then slipping it out again. “The computer whiz. We should compare notes some time. Maybe you can help me cross-reference my research.”
“I could,” I agreed, appraising her. Tanya genuinely liked people; all kinds of people. It was easy to see why people liked her. She was comfortable with the multi-dimensional world. She was bright, well-educated, kind… but he still liked their firebrand, Tara, better. It’s a matter of preferring sugar or spice. “I would if you’ll introduce me to Bunny.”
She didn’t even try to stifle her laugh. “She’ll throw you out the window.”
“Even if I dress nice?”
“She’ll throw you out the window, bro,” said Lenny. “She doesn’t like birds.”
“She doesn’t like parrots,” explained Tanya. “She thinks phoenixes smell like them. She even thinks I own parrots because she can smell my team members on me.”
“Do you believe she killed a Gollum or a rat?”
“Bunny? She has killed a couple of Gollum. She says they smell bad. You know, if she didn’t hate men so much, she’d make a great ally.”
I would have added more to this conversation about a species whose appetites included human males and who had a general hatred of everybody, but just then, Adonis, Todd, Thaddeus and Tara arrived. Tara looked even more strained from wading through the fan base than Lenny and I felt. Her battle had been with the press, a merciless, persistent lot who never knew when to stop asking questions so people can just do their jobs.
Adonis was all business. He deposited Tara in his desk chair, and personally brought over another for Lenny. He motioned to the rest of us. “Ready room, go. These two have work to do.”
In the ready room, it took Tanya ten seconds to size up our remaining team members and figure out which one was Todd. She buttonholed him in a corner, much to his glittery delight. She looked at him from all angles. “Can you shapeshift into a leprechaun?”
“Blimey, lass. This is me face. Maybe you don’t recognize it without a green top h
at.”
“He looks more elven when he’s holding his sword,” I explained. “Pointed ears. Long chin. He stands on air.”
“Can I see it?” She asked eagerly and circled Todd again. “Can I see you holding your sword?”
“Well, now. That just wouldn’t be polite,” he said slowly.
He laughed heartily when she blushed, the color running all the way below her loose neckline. “I would, lovey, but if I draw the Elven sword, I must use it. Elven power isn’t to be taken lightly. You can’t just store it up like charging a battery and use it whenever you like.”
Not long after Lenny and Tara sent off their combined reports, Daniel and his remaining members returned. He picked up the desk phone, punched the direct line to the commissioner’s office and spoke two words. “It’s done.”
Murray’s was rocking that night. As the host for the two combined special units, Todd outdid himself. We landed at the pub when the music was just warming up and the sound of billiard balls clattering was muffled under tapping boots and clinking glasses. Todd’s Uncle Joe and Aunt Edie Murray shoved three tables close together near the stage so the whole gang could receive special treatment.
Todd did that thing with elven dust that made everyone feel like they were enclosed in a special bubble of sunshine. He called it ambience, which is a good word. Most people struggle to create it, always looking for the right touch, the master appeal. The Murray’s didn’t have to. They turned it on and off as they pleased. It was in their pores. If you looked closely, you could see it. It looked like gold dust, but most people simply relished the atmosphere and never bothered to ask why Murray’s drew them like magnets.