by Chloe Garner
“Sorry,” Samantha said, blinking at the mirror quickly and turning to face Maryann. “I’m sorry. What is it?”
“I found it,” Maryann said.
“Found what?” Samantha asked.
“The statue.”
“What?” Samantha asked.
“Was I not supposed to?” Maryann asked.
“Already?” Samantha asked.
“Do you want me to come back?” Maryann asked.
“No,” Samantha said, trying to come back from whatever it had been she was thinking about in the mirror. “No. Where is it?”
“L.A.,” Maryann said. “It’s sitting next to a pool.”
“How did you find it?” Samantha asked. Maryann’s brow creased hard.
“Do you really want me to tell you?” she asked.
“Do you hesitate because you did something bad, or because it’s a very long, very boring story?”
“That one,” Maryann said.
“All right,” Samantha said. “Give me the address.”
“Do you want me to steal it?” Maryann asked.
“You couldn’t,” Samantha said. “Plus, I don’t want you handling it.”
Maryann gave her a street number, and Samantha repeated it three times back to her.
“Yes,” Maryann said. Samantha nodded, sticking her head around the wall between the beds and the bathroom.
“Pack it up,” she said. “We’re getting on a plane.”
Jason’s eyes found her with a seriousness she hadn’t anticipated, one that gave her a sinking feeling in her stomach, but she shook it off.
“I want you back looking for the hellfactory,” she said to Maryann. “Be safe.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
The wisp of a demon vanished, and Samantha pushed at her hair with her hands, wishing she could calm herself.
Los Angeles, with Sam in New York. She wouldn’t be able to pull her hair pin even just for a moment to say hello. The shock of that much distance… She didn’t want to think about it.
“Jason?” she called.
“Yeah, Sam,” he answered.
“Can you call Sam and tell him we’re going?”
“California?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“You sure you don’t want to talk to him?” Jason asked.
“I can’t,” she said. “I’m going to go get Kelly.”
“Yeah,” Jason said.
His voice was chilling.
<><><>
She bought tickets for the three of them, giving Kelly instructions on where to meet them on the other side, and she tried to sleep on the way there. Kara and Jason sat in the row behind her, talking most of the flight about things they’d done in the past. Laughing.
It calmed her some, but she was still overly-vigilant of the rest of the people on the plane.
They’d checked most of their useful weapons. She wore Lahn and Jason was sitting with Anadidd’na resting between his knees. Once more, she was grateful for the powerful magic on the two swords, strong enough to bypass not only humans’ notice, but machines’.
She had to leave most of her magic stuff behind, for fear of triggering an inspection from drug dogs and having to explain any of it. She could buy some of it in L.A., but most of it was hard to find, that far west. The strange agnosticism in California inoculated it from some of the more intense communities of practitioners, and the mysticism of the place diluted it further with a rush of people who would try anything, and the scammers who would sell it to her. Ian would know where to shop, there, but Samantha didn’t. She could make a killing selling to mages in San Francisco, if she ever cared to do it, but not L.A. It was just a strange place.
She rented a car, a giant pickup that only just fit the four of them, and plugged the address into the GPS.
An hour and a half later, they pulled up out front of a large, gated property mostly obscured by tropical plants. Samantha pulled up to the gate and pushed the buzzer after considering a couple of different ways to get in. Having Kelly sitting in the seat behind her opened certain possibilities, but she didn’t feel right using an angel to break into a house.
“What is it?” a man’s voice answered.
“We’re here to look at the art,” Samantha answered.
“I remember this,” Jason said.
“Don’t tell me about it,” Samantha said quietly.
“No, thank you,” the man on the speaker said.
“I find that the potential of a very large check changes most people’s minds,” Samantha said.
“It’s a private collection,” the man said.
“Offering to buy public art is considered a bribe,” Samantha said. “I know it’s private. And you have a piece I want to see.”
There was a long pause. A very, very long pause.
“Where did you hear about us?” a woman asked. There was the voice of authority.
“A friend,” Samantha said. “She said you had a piece I’ve been looking for.”
“And which one would that be?” the woman asked.
“I don’t know what name it goes by,” Samantha said. “It’s a woman, life-sized, and she said it’s by your pool.”
There was a soft snort.
“I don’t even know which one you’re talking about,” the woman said. “We aren’t interested in selling any of our pieces, thank you.”
“I know the family that the piece belonged to for most of its history,” Samantha said. “I’m just trying to reunite them.”
“I said no thank you,” the woman said.
“I’m prepared to offer you seven-hundred-thousand dollars for it,” Samantha said.
The pause this time was even longer.
“I’m not sure you know the statue you’re talking about,” the woman said.
“I’m not sure you do,” Samantha answered.
“Where did seven hundred grand come from?” Kara whispered.
“Not a clue,” Jason answered.
“It’s culturally significant,” the woman said.
“It’s very, very significant,” Samantha agreed.
“Let me call my husband,” the woman said.
“Take your time,” Samantha answered, rolling up her window.
“Why not a million?” Jason asked.
“Too generic,” Samantha said. “If I wanted to sound serious, I needed a real number. Everyone uses a million dollars when they aren’t serious.”
“Why not two?” Kara asked with sardonic humor. “If you’re just talking your way in.”
“I can get three quarters of a million,” Samantha said. “Two starts to be a stretch.”
“You what?” Kara asked.
“Yeah,” Jason said, stretching out the syllable. “Sam’s got a wad.”
“I thought you were over-paying at the market,” Kara said. “You really have money like that?”
“I spend twenty grand at a market without thinking about it,” Samantha said absently, watching the speaker. After another couple of minutes, it lit again, and she rolled her window down.
“My husband is on his way home. He’s bringing his lawyer,” the woman said.
“We’ll be here,” Samantha answered, rolling her window back up again and leaning back in her seat.
“I need you to go back to the mansion,” Samantha said over her shoulder to Kelly. “I didn’t think of it before we left, but I’m going to need to set up a wire transfer to do this. Abby can get the right people involved.”
Kelly vanished and Kara leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling with a laugh.
“I didn’t see that one coming,” she said.
“Hm?” Samantha asked. The other woman shook her head out and turned to lean her shoulders against the other window to face Samantha.
“I’ve gotten used to you with a sword, but you just order up a check that big, and no one even thinks twice about it.”
“Carter once used a million dollar potion so I could have a conversation without a
nyone eavesdropping,” Samantha said. “There’s a lot of money in the world. People with access to power tend to end up with a lot of it.”
“Must have been a good conversation,” Kara said.
“It was,” Samantha answered.
They were quiet for a few minutes, and then Kara spoke again.
“I want to ask you how you could stand to hang with us. You’re slumming it in every possible sense of the word, but… This isn’t home for you.”
“Neither was that,” Jason said from the back seat. Kara shook her head.
“No, I see that.”
Samantha turned her face away, embarrassed and at a loss.
“I’m glad they found you,” Kara said.
“Me, too,” Samantha answered quietly.
They sat for another ten minutes before Kelly returned.
“She’s working on it,” he said. “What’d I miss?”
“Nothing,” Jason said. “We’re just sitting here.”
Three seconds, maybe.
“Why?” Kelly asked.
“What else would we be doing?” Jason asked.
“I don’t know,” Kelly said. “Something important? Or exciting? Or something?”
“Sometimes we just sit,” Jason said.
“No, you don’t,” Kelly said. “That’s what I do.”
Samantha twisted in her seat.
“What do you mean?”
Kelly looked like he was struggling to find words.
“I don’t know. I sit. You never just sit. You all always do something.”
“Like what?” she pressed.
“You sing,” he finally said. “I don’t know.”
“We’re just sitting, now,” Jason said.
“How long on the transfer?” Samantha asked.
“She’ll have someone at the bank with the authorizations done in twenty minutes, she said,” Kelly said. “Then you just have to tell her where to send it.”
Samantha nodded. It would be a little tricky, but she could make it work.
“Good to have an angel on the team,” Jason said to the window. She smiled and sat back in her seat.
“You ever miss just walking up and killing something?” Kara asked.
“What? A black and white world?” Samantha asked. “All the time.”
Kara grinned and undid her seatbelt, spinning to stand on her knees looking back at Jason.
“Want to play a game?”
“We left all the booze in New York,” he answered.
“I can make it worth your while, anyway,” she said.
“I’m leaving,” Kelly said. Samantha laughed.
“No, you’re not.”
“Toughest kill to make if you had one hand tied behind your back,” Kara said.
“Interesting,” Jason said. “What weapon?”
“Told you you don’t do nothing,” Kelly murmured, and Samantha snuck a wink over her shoulder, pulling her knees up to rest on the steering wheel while she waited.
<><><>
Thirty minutes later, a black sedan slid into the driveway and rolled down a window.
Kara rolled her window down and leaned back so Samantha could see the man in the other car.
“You’re serious about wanting the Elegance piece?” the man asked.
“If that’s the one I’m looking for, yes,” Samantha said.
“Come on in,” he said. “I have thirty minutes, then I need to go.”
She followed him up a short driveway and got out, shaking hands with the man, Gerald, and his lawyer, who mentioned a name, but Samantha didn’t catch it.
“My wife, there she is, Jennifer, this is Sam,” they all paused while Samantha shook hands with a tall woman with waist-length straight blonde hair, “She said you were looking for a specific piece on behalf of a family?”
“Something like that,” Samantha said. “It would be to return it to them, but they don’t know I’ve found it.”
He nodded.
“A gift then.”
“Something like that,” Samantha said. “Can we see it?”
“How did you say you found us?” Gerald asked.
“A friend saw it,” Samantha said.
He gave her a sly smile.
“We don’t have many pool parties. It’s a pretty intimate list. Which one of them tipped you off?”
“I’d rather she remain nameless,” Samantha said. He shook his head.
“Someone at the auction house in Crete tipped you off, didn’t they?”
“Maybe,” Samantha said. It was possible that was how Maryann had ended up here.
He ran his fingers through slicked hair.
“I knew I couldn’t trust those bastards. Discrete my ass.”
“I assume my offer is enough to get your attention, though,” Samantha said.
“You know how much I paid?” Gerald asked.
“No, but I know you keep her outside,” Samantha said. “If you’d paid much more than a million, she’d be in air conditioning.”
“Must be a good friend,” Gerald said.
“Yes,” Samantha said. “Very important to me.”
“Crap,” she heard Jason say, and she turned. “Sorry,” he continued. “I just… remembered something.”
She looked at Kelly, who shook his head. She shrugged at Kara and kept walking.
The pool came into sight and she saw Isobel’s statue in a topiary with three others. Isobel had her face slightly downcast, her arms out from her waist and fingers lax, the folds of her gown and hair that swept the ground caught up in a wind that had died thousands of years ago.
“Elegance,” Samantha said.
“Indeed,” Gerald said. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Historically important, as well. I’m told that her clothes are atypical for the time period, as is the style of sculpture. It’s aged remarkably well, given the climate, don’t you think?”
“Beautiful,” Samantha said, the urge to run forward and touch the stone almost overcoming her. “That’s the one. I’ll reiterate my offer. Seven-hundred thousand.”
“We can draw up the contracts at my office,” the lawyer said. “I would need three percent in earnest money up front…”
“I want to do a wire transfer. Today.”
The lawyer murmured into Gerald’s ear and Gerald shook his head.
“I didn’t expect that,” Gerald said. “You’re in a hurry?”
“I want to take it with me today,” Samantha said.
“How would you do that?” Gerald asked. “It took them a week to pack her for transit out of Crete.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Samantha said.
Gerald looked at the statue.
“I’m pretty tied to her,” he said. “I’d hate to see you damage it in a rush.”
Samantha smiled.
“You’re just trying to drive up the price.”
He laughed.
“I mean it,” he said. “If you’re just going to turn her into gravel, I’d rather keep her.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Samantha said.
“You’re gonna need a fork lift to move her,” he said.
“It’s on its way,” Samantha said. “Seven hundred.”
He winced, considering.
“Eight.”
“Seven-fifty.”
“Done,” he said. She nodded.
“Jason, can you get Abby on the phone for me? Kara, would you go wait for the movers? Kelly, I need you to take a close look at the statue for me. Anything you notice, I want to know about.”
“Sure,” Kelly said. Samantha looked at the lawyer.
“Where do you want me to send the money?”
“We have an escrow account we can use,” he said. “I’ll get the number.”
“All right,” Samantha said, waiting for Jason.
“She says the movers are ten minutes out,” he said, twisting the phone away from his mouth. “And that she’s ready to do the transfer.”
“Thank you, Abby,�
� Samantha breathed.
It was important. The things she relied on Abby for usually were, but the woman always came through for her.
It was comforting to know that her friend watched over her that consistently.
And a bit unnerving.
The lawyer came back with a piece of paper.
“This is the routing number for the escrow account,” he said. “I’ve got an assistant at the firm drawing up papers. If we can use your fax?” He directed the last question at Gerald, who nodded.
“You know where it is.”
The lawyer left, and Kelly waved.
“Came take a look at this,” he called. Jason handed the cell phone to Samantha and followed her around the edge of the pool toward Kelly. An instant before the splash, Samantha sensed that Jason wasn’t right behind her any more.
Jason came up sputtering, treading water with limited success, in his clothes and shoes. He swam for the edge, and Samantha stooped to give him a hand up out of the water.
“This is ten,” she said. “You broke time…”
“Can you at least let me get dry first?” he asked, peeling his jacket off and shaking it. “Where are we?”
She looked at Kelly, who was still bent over, looking at the statue. Back at Jason.
“Around the side of the house,” she said. “Kara is with the truck parked out front. You tell her, first thing, to give you the speech, okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” he said, flicking water off his hands again. “Yeah.”
She watched him disappear around the corner, then went to stand next to Kelly.
“What do you see?”
“This mark,” Kelly said, pointing at a vague symbol in the stone. She squinted.
“I know the words, but I don’t know the mark,” she said. He nodded.
“I’ve never seen one.”
“You know what it is?”
“No,” he said, standing, “but you do.”
“It’s an angel mark,” she said. “He tied her to himself so she couldn’t die.”
“That would be my guess,” Kelly said, looking carefully at her. “How are you going to use it?”
“I don’t know yet,” Samantha said. “I was hoping you’d have a stroke of inspiration.”
“I can’t help,” he said.
“Why?” Samantha asked, unable to find a rule it violated.
“When he fell,” Kelly said. “His magic changed. It isn’t the same as mine any more. And it’s forbidden to me.”