by T. G. Ayer
Chloe shook her head, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the desk as though need a different kind of support. A lock of her auburn hair had escaped her elegant chignon and now trailed her cheek. For once, Chloe the mindmage was out of her element and I wasn’t enjoying the view.
“No clue,” she said softly, regret giving her voice a husky edge. “I never read anything about anyone actually going there and coming back alive to tell the why and the how of it. You’re probably the best person to answer that question considering....”
I rolled my eyes even as she studied my expression a little too intently. “I told you already, Doc. It was just there. I didn’t ask it to appear.”
She smiled, her lips thin and emotionless now. “Okay, so you created a portal to Axiat out of instinct. How did you get free of the plane, Mel?"
There was more than shock and curiosity in Chloe's eyes now and I began to worry again that I'd confided in her too quickly. But was I concerned she was going to be vulnerable knowing my secrets or that she was going to ask way too many questions?
But I couldn't back out of telling her the story now so I filled her in on the sparsest of details. "So Saleem helped, and to be honest I'd be pretty much stuck there if it wasn't for him."
She tilted her head. "So how exactly did you conjure up this portal, Mel? It's not something you've done before it is?"
"Nope. Not ever," I said, pursing my lips, tone hard and almost angry at the new turn my life had taken. "And for the record I don't think I could have created it if I wasn't under such pressure. I was being chased down on the highway while heading to Elite HQ."
"Chased?" Chloe's hand went to her throat now, the other remaining fisted on the desk.
"Yeah,” I replied, smiling to take the edge off the seriousness of near-death. “Black SUV, headlights in my eyes, tailgating me at top speed. I kinda freaked out, wanted to escape, and the next thing I knew I was flying down this tunnel of darkness. But the bad guys, well, they didn't get the memo. They just followed me inside the tunnel. Little did I know they weren't tailing me for shits and giggles. They wanted me dead."
"What?" Her voice broke as she shrieked the word at me, her fingers going taut on her neck as she stiffened.
I sighed and shook my head. "See? This,” I waved a hand across the desk at her stricken face, “is what I wanted to avoid."
Chloe just waved her own hand at me airily and forced a smile. "Don't even think that. I'm fine. Just a teensy bit much to absorb but I'm fine. So, tell me what happened to these bad guys."
"I killed one and the other one Saleem dealt with."
"So they're both dead?" she asked sharply, ask if she wanted to confirm them both dead or she’d go find them and finish the job for me. Chloe had always been protective of me.
I simply nodded, keeping my expression neutral. I didn't think it was necessary to clue Chloe in on exactly what happened when we tried to talk to the dead bad guy. She already had more than enough information on her plate and from the grey tinge to her skin she was going to need some time to take it in.
"You need a drink or something, Doc?" I asked, only half-joking.
Chloe blinked and met my gaze, her expression serious. "I'd say yes but I have to meet a patient soon. Have to say I really could have done with two fingers of good scotch right this minute."
I chuckled and got to my feet, my tense muscles screaming as I moved. "I'm sorry again. This is a lot to dump on you and then run off, but that's exactly what I have to do. I have a team debrief and a bunch of other things that I need to deal with today. And then I get to fess up to Steph."
"What did you do that's going to get you in trouble with Steph?" she asked as she walked around the desk.
I raised an eyebrow, studying her face. "What makes you think I'm going to be in trouble? Did she say anything to you?"
Chloe laughed and shook her head. "No, dear. You have that tremble in your voice when you're about to face the music. Usually that means you know you're guilty and now you're going to have to reap the consequences."
I scowled. The woman had certainly paid a close eye on me all these years if she knew the nuances of my speech that indicated guilt and trepidation. I rolled my shoulders. "Well, there is the small issue of the fact that I was driving Stephs mini when I opened up the portal."
"Don't tell me that when you left Axiat, you left the Mini behind?" CHloe's eyes were wide, her expression partly shocked and partly amused.
"You think this is funny? The little human is going to kill me." I folded my arms and glared at Chloe.
She stepped closer and patted my arm. "Oh, my dear girl. I really wish I could be there to see it when you break the news to Steph, but it's probably best there are no witnesses."
"Why? Because you think I don't want anyone to see me getting my ass handed to me by a vanilla human?"
"That, and so she can hide the body where nobody will find it and then get away with murder."
"Probably wouldn’t be murder in her eyes."
"Yeah, I'd call it revenge." She smirked, eyes shimmering with amusement.
"You're not helping, Chloe. I'm worried enough as it is."
She sighed. "I'm sorry, dear. I wish I could help you but you have to man up and face the music."
I gave a soft whistle. "Well, if I don't message you back by tomorrow then you know where to send the coroner."
I was fading away as I jumped home and got the last part of Chloe's response. "No point. If I know Steph at all, they’ll never find the body.”
19
I jumped home, even though I dreaded bumping into Steph. My confession had to be made and I knew it. I just preferred to avoid it as long as I was able to.
In the end, the decision was made for.
I materialised in the hallway in front of the kitchen where Steph was standing at the table staring at a takeout menu, glasses sitting precariously on the tip of her nose. Her hair appeared golden in the light from the window and I realised it was the middle of the day and I still had a crapload of things to do.
I'd had zero progress with Horner, and that whole conversation with my boss only managed to worry me instead of help take my concerns away. Saleem and Nerina were not going to be impressed at my failure to dig up more about Axiat but I did have a little infor courtesy of Chloe to offer.
I hesitated in the hall, tempted to jump to my bedroom and pretend I didn't notice Steph, but she turned at that very second and caught me standing there.
She frowned over her glasses. "Mel? What's wrong?"
I shrugged. "Nothing. What could possibly be wrong?" I asked, keeping my tone light.
Steph's eyes darkened and she slapped the takeout menu on the counter before stalking toward me, her spine stiff. She stopped in front of me and raised her hand, and I almost flinched, thinking for sure she was going to punch my lights out. Maybe she had a GPS tracker on her Mini and saw when it went off radar the moment I drove it into the hell of hells to disappear forever.
Eyes half-closed, I waited as she curled her fingers to the side of my neck, touched my skin, then drew her hand back. Then she studied her fingertips which were bright red with blood.
When she looked up at me her eyes were filled with hurt. "So now you're hiding more stuff from me?" she asked softly, her voice trembling.
She'd been so angry with me when I'd left her behind to go on the mission to Mithras. We'd left all the younger team members behind because of the price the Sharaita had asked, and in the end we'd also understood we didn't really need a large contingent because the Rebel army had it under control.
But despite the fact that she had company in her misery in the form of Lily and Baz, Steph seemed to be holding onto her hurt with a death grip. And I'd let her be, hoping she'd come around. This little evasion of mine hadn't helped.
I sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise that's what you meant."
Steph blinked and straightened, her fingers held in the air between us like a sacrificial offering. Then s
he looked down at the blood again and said, "How did you get hurt?" she asked her tone too calm.
A car hit me on the back of the head.
When I didn't reply, she frowned and asked, "Do I need to call a doctor?"
I shook my head, winced and then said, "It's ok. You can play nurse. I don't think it's as bad as it looks."
Steph snorted. "Blood is usually as bad as it looks, Mel." She turned on her heel to fetch the first-aid kit from the kitchen cupboard, then set it on the table. Then she pointed to the chair in front of her before rummaging inside the box for iodine and swabs.
I took a seat in silence, decided it was safer to obey her for now. She's going to be furious soon enough.
I leaned forward as Steph parted my hair and exposed the injury. "Fuck, Mel. This isn't nothing."
"Really?" I asked trying to straighten.
"Stay still. What are you trying to turn around for? Like you're going to be able to see the back of your head?" Steph snapped.
I turned in the seat and faced forward, waiting in silence as she cleaned the wound. Then she grunted. "How the hell do you put a bandage on this thing?"
I shrugged. "Any Bio-heal in there? I think Kai threw an extra bottle in the kit just in case."
"Oh, right," she replied. Plastic crinkled and scraped, and then she said, "Bingo. I love this stuff. Pity it's not readily available to everyone yet." There was a hint of something in her tone but she fell silent.
"Yeah. But I thought there was something already on the market for sealing injuries. A sticky liquid plaster," I rambled, trying to fill the dead air in the kitchen.
Steph huffed. "I think it's still only accessible to the medical field, like hospitals and doctors. This stuff though looks way better. And it heals you up faster."
"Yep. Advantages of working for a secret agency, right?" I muttered as she slathered a layer of BioHeal onto my scalp. The liquid healing plaster worked well but it was going to be hell to take out of my hair when it begins to break apart.
Steph sighed and stepped around me to take the empty seat next to mine. "Now that I'm done plugging you head and saving you from spilling your brains all over the kitchen floor, care to tell me what happened to cause that injury?"
Even if I had wanted to evade her interrogation, Steph's hard expression was enough to confirm I shouldn't be playing around with her feelings right now. I only wanted to protect her, but avoiding the truth would only make our relationship worse.
I nodded slowly. "I guess someone needs to know. I should have a concussion after that blow but I'm totally fine, which Saleem can confirm."
Steph's eyes narrowed at the mention of Saleem’s name. "I do have a few questions but I'll wait until you're done talking."
I smiled. Steph could be scary for a little blond mortal. "Okay. In answer to your first question, I got hit by a car. A black SUV to be specific."
"Hold up just one goddamned second." Steph raised her hand and I stopped talking. "Did you just say you were hit in the head by a black SUV?"
"That's exactly what I said." I maintained a placid expression, trying hard not to fiddle with the detritus of blood-soaked swabs and torn plastic bags.
"And why are you alive after and frickin’ SUV conked you on the bloody head? Did you jump to safety?"
I stiffened. Why hadn't I just jumped to safety in the first place when I’d first spotted those assholes following me. And then I knew why. Steph’s precious car.
"Mel?" Steph was waving her hand in front of my face.
I blinked and straightened. "Oh, sorry. Right. So where was I?"
"Why didn't you jump home?"
I swallowed hard. "Well...I was driving the Mini. I didn't want to jump and leave it to drive itself into a ditch or something."
"That's the best excuse you have?" Steph asked, hands on her hips now even though she was still sitting down.
"It's the only one I have, Steph."
Her hard expression faded somewhat. "Okay, so what happened then. Black SUV's chasing you, then hitting you in the head." She made a rolling motion with her hand to suggest I continue.
"That came after."
"What came after?" Steph’s eyes narrowed.
“The hitting on the head."
"Oh?” Steph’s eyebrows rose. “Came after what exactly?" she asked, her tone cool.
I hesitated and then gave up and described the appearance of the portal and then crashing into the dark tunnel. And I fell silent.
"Mel? What are you not telling me?" Steph leaned closer to study my face.
I looked up to meet her eyes. "I'm really, really sorry, Steph. There wasn't a thing I could do. I swear if I could have gone back in, I would have."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Steph yelled, throwing her hands in the air.
"Your Mini."
Silence filled the room for a few taut seconds.
"What about it?" Steph asked, her voice gritty.
"It's...I'm really sorry, Steph. I promise I tried to be careful."
She eyed me now, expression dark. "What happened, Mel? You're not making sense. What does my car have to do with all this?"
I let out a slow breath and gathered energy to me, hoping it would help boost my courage. "I was driving it when I entered the portal. And the guys in the SUV followed me inside and shot at me and I lost track of things."
"Mel? What are you telling me?" Steph asked slowly.
I looked over at her, eyes burning with tears which I blinked away. "Your car, Steph. It's gone. Disappeared into the dark tunnel thingie. I don't think I can get it back." I reached out to hold her arm, to offer some comfort.
"What?" Steph slapped my hand away and stood up so fast that her chair fell to the floor behind her and the takeout menu flew off the table and fluttered to the tiles. "What did you say?" she said, her voice shaking.
Goddess save me.
I knew Steph was going to be upset. I cleared my throat. "I lost the car inside the tunnel, Steph. Once we had those assholes under control I would have gone--" I stopped speaking as Steph leaned over and slammed her fist onto the kitchen table.
When I looked up at her, worried she was about to lose her temper, Steph was shaking her head. She opened her mouth to speak.
And instead burst into tears.
20
I sat there stunned as Steph cried, great fat tears sliding down her pale cheeks, and I recognised the anger in her sobs. But I didn't say a word. Knowing my luck, I'd end up saying something to set her off again.
Or worse, make her even more angry with me.
At last she sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Her pink tee was dotted with irregular spots or darker pink where her tears had landed. She sniffed again and cleared her throat. "I don't give a shit about the damned car if it meant your life was in danger."
I remained silent, shocked to the core at her words. I'd been going full tilt, making a joke about how Steph would murder me if her precious car was endangered in any way, and all Steph cared about was my safety?
What an asshole I was.
I shifted in my seat. "You're not angry with me because of the car?"
She shook her head, avoiding my gaze as tears filled her eyes again. "You just don't get it, do you?"
I stared at her face, again totally unsure what to say to her.
Steph swiped away her tears with her fingers and looked back at me. "I fucking loved that car and you know it. But I love you more, Mel. You're my friend, and you may as well be my sister with everything you do for me. How could you think I'd put the car before your life?"
I shook my head. "Honestly Steph, I wasn't even thinking about myself. All I knew was that the car was gone and I had no idea how to get it back. And I knew how much you loved that Mini. And to be fair, I'm fine. I survived."
"With Saleem's help?" she asked, archly, blue eyes sparking with anger now.
"Touche," I replied.
Then I took a deep breath. But before I could speak,
Steph said, "Don't you dare say that you're going to try to get the car back for me."
I bit my lip and swallowed my words. She hadn't been far wrong.
Then she sighed and pressed her fingers to her temple. "Look. I'm sorry I was so angry. I just lost my shit when I heard you were almost killed."
I reached for her hand. "But Steph, I do a lot of dangerous work. It hasn't bothered you so much before. What's bugging you now?"
She shook her head. "It's not anything specific. I'm just tired of being left out of the loop just because I don't have powers."
I rolled my eyes. "That is so not the reason you were left out of the mission to get Saleem back, and you know it. Are Baz and Lily just as pissed off?"
She shrugged. "Baz is okay, but Lily is still angry, I think. But she'll get over it. We will all get over it, okay? We were just angry because you guys get to go all-in and we don't."
All the tension in me fled as I listened to her words and her emotions which swirled around her in all their convoluted glory. I understood where she was coming from, but she just wasn’t in the position to contribute more than what she already was. Plus, there was the while Ni’amh issue that still needed to be discussed, which when it did, I expect Kai would also get flack from Lily and Baz, just like I expected to receive from Steph.
I let out a low sigh, tamping down the urge to groan and bang my head on the table. "All-in means putting your lives in danger, Steph. And believe me, you not being supernatural has nothing to do with it. Kai would do just about anything to keep Lily safe, just as I would with you. And I'm pretty sure I have endangered your life on one or two occasions when you accompanied me on missions."
Steph rolled her eyes. "That doesn't count."
I squeezed her arm. "Is something else the matter? You know you can talk to me, right?"
She shrugged but didn't reply.
"If not me, then the gargoyle has good listening skills," I suggested lightly.
"If he's not around to talk to, then how can he listen?" she replied, pouting.