And what was Elizabetta gaining from this? There had been nothing suspicious financially. They’d gone over everything of hers with a fine-tooth comb, as well as the financials of everyone near Elizabetta. If it wasn’t monetary – and it wasn’t fame, this opera would make her famous beyond belief and she was totally apathetic – then what could be driving her?
Frustrated with this line of thought, Aletta scowled and turned her attention back to Stern. If Elizabetta had access, then why would they need Stern? Anonymity was all well and good, but it was useless if there wasn’t a deeper motive behind it. What was Stern’s motive? If anything, his presence reminded her of Druery’s in her and Lirim’s first case. The hands that carried out the head’s dirty work. Although in that case, Druery had been after the dryads because of the golden apple.
Aletta froze, the costumes falling from her suddenly numb grasp. The missing piece finally clicked and everything fell into place. She should’ve seen it the first day after meeting with DuPont. She’d even sketched it. They weren’t after the play or any of the cast, they were after the golden apple that Paris would present.
Elizabetta was supposed to have gotten the apple from DuPont, but had been unable to get to it. Stern must’ve been sent as backup. It should’ve been easy for them to access the apple, but DuPont had had it hidden away, saying that it was a surprise. There had been all sorts of rumors going around the cast, everything from it being made of solid gold to it actually being one of the apples of immortality.
Immortality would certainly explain Elizabetta’s involvement. Who cared about money or fame when you could live forever. And the costumes? Why would those be taken?
Aletta distantly heard the music start for Paris’s decision and her heart stopped. The costumes were for in case all the other plans failed. Who would notice another actor in a costume? And today was when the special apple would be used for the first time in dress rehearsal to make sure that everything was perfect. She and Lirim had been worried about opening night, but Aletta knew in her heart that they were going to act now.
She panicked. She was too far away to stop them; she was even too far away to let Lirim know. Even if she ran, she’d be too late, but she had to try.
She’d barely taken two steps when her magic flared to life around her, responding to her distress. Feeling a tug, Aletta didn’t pause to think. She grabbed it and yanked hard. In the time it took her to blink, the hallway disappeared, and she reappeared on stage right as Paris held up the golden apple for all to see.
Almost in slow motion, she saw the spotlight begin to fall. This time, it wouldn’t miss like it had with Elizabetta, it would hit Alan square on. She yelled a warning and Lirim glanced at her, startled. However, he didn’t question her sudden appearance. He followed her gaze and saw the falling spotlight. Dashing forward, Lirim pushed Alan out of the way, but couldn’t make it out of the way in time himself.
Aletta heard a sickening thud and screamed as he collapsed, the light pinning him to the stage. Running, she reached Lirim at the same time as Alan did.
Alan dropped to his knees beside Lirim, one hand still clutching the apple. His face was bone white and he babbled, “He pushed me out of the way, I didn’t see it falling, he saved my life. Is he dead?”
Seeing Lirim take a labored breath although he was unconscious, Aletta reined in her rioting emotions. She snapped, “Give me the apple and help me get this light off of him.”
Alan did as she ordered, giving her the apple and gently lifting the light off of Lirim. He sucked in a breath when he saw the extent of the damage that Lirim had sustained. Both arms appeared broken, one hand mangled by where the light had hit it. He also appeared to have hit his head on the stage, causing his current unconsciousness.
Shoving the apple into her pocket, where it would be safe enough for the moment, Aletta focused on gently running her hands over Lirim’s arms, trying to assess the extent of the damage. Although he was alive, it would take months for the damage to heal and even longer for him to regain his weapons mastery. He would be devastated.
Moving to get up so she could get help, Aletta was surprised when her hands wouldn’t budge. Suddenly, she was aware of a tugging sensation, different from her Sheridan powers. Her Sheridan powers were like a feather light brush, just enough to let her know something was there. This tugging was like an impatient toddler, wanting her to go a certain way.
Not sure what was going on, she went with the tugging, gently placing her hands back on Lirim’s arms. The light tugging was abruptly replaced by what felt like a torrent of magic pouring out of her.
She tried to tug her hands away, but they were glued in place. She bit back a cry as an agonizing pain flared in her arms and hands. Suddenly, there was a crunch. The pain flared agonizingly bright before settling into a dull throb, then disappearing all together.
Abruptly, her hands were free again. Blinking back tears of pain, she tried to see what was happening. Please let her not have hurt him. What she saw made her swallow hard. Lirim’s arms and hand were healed, almost like he’d never been hurt in the first place.
Aletta swallowed hard again and tasted blood this time. She raised a shaky hand to her lips and drew them away bloody. She must’ve bitten her lip during whatever it was that had just happened. She swayed, feeling completely drained.
Alan dropped back to his knees beside Lirim and checked his pulse. He sighed in relief and turned to Aletta. “He should wake up in a minute. I didn’t know that you were a healer.”
Aletta shrugged and was about to reply when a gun shot rang out. She whirled in time to see Elizabetta lower the gun from where she fired at the ceiling. Aletta tried to get to her feet, but was still too drained, and collapsed back on to the stage.
Elizabetta stalked forward, all pretense of civility gone from her face. She sneered, “Touching, I’m sure. Now, if you don’t want to die, hand over the apple.”
Feeling Lirim shift slightly behind her, Aletta frantically tried to think of a way to buy time. “Why do you want this? It’s nothing special. Why did you try to kill Alan?”
Elizabetta paused a few feet away and laughed incredulously, “Don’t tell me that you don’t know?”
Aletta shook her head no and Elizabetta broke out into full blown laughter. “Oh, this is just too good. Stern thought that you’d figured it out ages ago. You had all the information you needed and you still couldn’t figure out who it was. Ah, this is too rich.”
Lirim moaned quietly but it was drowned out by the prima’s laughter. Aletta just needed to keep Elizabetta focused on her for just a little bit longer. “Why, Elizabetta? Or should I call you Milly? You were going to be rich and famous. Why do this?”
Elizabetta paced forward, her expression furious. She brought her foot down hard on Aletta’s leg. Aletta whimpered as she heard a crack and felt pain streak through her. She didn’t dare move, though, as Elizabetta kept the gun trained on her. The prima hissed, “I’m not Milly! And who wants fame and riches when I can be immortal? It’s all going to be mine!”
Aletta breathed through her nose, trying to think past the pain. “What about Stern? Isn’t he planning on taking the apple for himself and his boss? Aren’t you just a means to an end?”
Elizabetta laughed again, and Aletta could’ve sworn that she saw insanity lurking in her eyes. “Stern’s dead. He tried to dismiss me, to take it away from me. I shot him as he walked away. No one’s going to take it away from me. Now, unless you want your other leg to match this one, hand over the apple. Either that, or I shoot you and take it from you.”
Aletta looked away and reluctantly reached into her pocket, unable to stall any longer. When she looked back up, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Ely had materialized right behind Elizabetta, murder in her eyes. Elyssa swung the wooden pole hard, connecting with Elizabetta’s temple. The prima donna crumpled like a rag doll.
Dropping the pole, Ely cursed and kicked Elizabetta hard. “You ever try to hurt Alan again and I wil
l kill you.” Swooping down, she scooped up the gun and handed it to Aletta before rushing over to Alan. She started fussing over Alan, checking him for injuries.
After making sure that Elizabetta was truly unconscious, Aletta put the safety of the gun on, feeling rather dazed by the recent turn of events. Pulling out her phone, she shot a text to the task force asking them to investigate the morgue, to see whether Elizabetta was telling the truth about Stern or not.
Right then, Lirim groaned and Aletta turned to check on him, ignoring the pain in her leg. She was leaning over to check his pulse when he suddenly shot into a sitting position, his eyes wild. She barely managed to get out of the way in time. He looked at her uncomprehendingly. She was starting to worry that he had hit his head harder than she’d first believed.
His expression cleared, and he seemed to remember what had happened. His gaze flew to his arms and hand, only to widen as he saw their undamaged state. Aletta asked, “How are you feeling? You saved Alan. Oh, and Elizabetta was the guilty one.”
He finally became aware of his surroundings and scrambled to a kneeling position. He scanned the room, taking everything in. But all he asked was, “How long was I out?”
Aletta shook her head. “Not long, maybe five minutes. You saved Alan, got nailed by the spotlight. I used my healing on you. You know, my gift?”
It took a second for him to catch on, but then he nodded. “Yes, your gift. How bad was it?”
She nodded towards him, “Your arms and hand. How do they feel? You might also have a lump on your head from where you hit the stage.”
He frowned, taking inventory. “I feel okay.” Gingerly investigating the back of his skull, he winced. “You’re right about the knot. What happened after that?”
“Elizabetta lost her mind, wanted the apple. Said that she shot Stern. Ely took her out when she wasn’t paying attention.” Noticing that her vision was starting to go fuzzy around the edges, she held out the gun and apple to him. “Would you mind taking these?”
He took them, but before he could ask her any more questions, the darkness won and she promptly passed out.
* . * . *
Lirim looked down at his hand, marveling for the umpteenth time that it was whole and undamaged. There had been only moments between getting hit by the light and being knocked unconscious, but he had felt the pain from his arms and hand flare through his body, and he knew that it was a serious injury. Maybe even a career-ending injury.
It looked like his suspicions about Aletta’s secondary gift had proven true. Now if only she would wake up so he could ask her what had happened. He stared at the infirmary floor as he tried to piece together everything.
He’d been antsy all day, certain that something was going to happen. He knew that the greatest threat was on opening night but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going down today.
Everything had been going well; the rehearsal was going smoothly and he was beginning to think that they might make it through the day unscathed. He remembered being uneasy because he hadn’t seen Aletta for a while, but knew that she was busy with wardrobe so she should be all right.
Next thing he knew, she had just appeared on stage, calling out a warning. He’d seen the light falling, pushed Alan out of the way, and then nothing. By the time he’d woken up, everything was over.
Before he could find his bearings, Aletta had handed him the gun and apple and promptly passed out. He’d barely caught her before she’d hit the ground. He was just glad the safety was on the gun, because he’d had to drop it to catch her.
As soon as she had passed out, chaos had broken out. Alan had come over and helped ease Aletta to the ground while Ely went over and started tying up Elizabetta. When he’d asked Alan what happened, Alan had given him a quick replay of events and then went to help Elyssa.
Feeling a sense of déjà vu, he’d called HSI for an ambulance. Alan had said that Elizabetta had broken Aletta’s leg, and Lirim suspected that she was also suffering from magical exhaustion. If he was right, she’d awoken not one, but two new aspects of her magic.
Now he was just waiting for her to wake up. CSI techs had the apple but, it seemed just to be a golden apple, albeit a twenty-four carat one. Also, he’d gotten a text from Watkins saying that they’d managed to find the elusive John Stern in the morgue just as Aletta had told them to check for. He’d been shot twice in the back. Lirim didn’t know where that left the investigation.
Right then, Aletta groaned and shifted restlessly. Without opening her eyes, she asked, “Did you get the number of the bus that hit me?”
He chuckled softly, sighing in relief. “I didn’t get the number, but you are grounded. You get into way too much trouble.”
Her eyes fluttered open and she winced at the harsh light. Glancing around, she groaned again. “Don’t tell me I’m back in the infirmary.”
“Yep, magical depletion and a broken leg courtesy of psycho diva. You’ll just have to rest for the magic, and the leg has been put in a cast and will have to heal normally.”
She sighed, “You know, you’re lucky my magic decided to play nice, otherwise you’d be in the bed beside me. Help me sit up?”
An old pro, he quickly adjusted the bed. “Not that I’m not grateful, but how did you heal me?”
She shrugged. “Not sure. I was going to go get help when my magic just tugged at me. Before I knew it, pouf. You were healed.”
He settled into the chair. “Pouf?”
She nodded emphatically. “Pouf.”
Shaking his head, he decided to let it go. “Well, you were right, Elizabetta was behind it. She’s been healed and is now being interrogated by Isenton police. However, there’s not much hope there. It appears that she’s lost her mind. She seems to be completely insane.”
Aletta nodded thoughtfully, “She seemed to believe that the apple was one of the golden apples that grant immortality. Don’t know if it’s true or not, didn’t really get a chance to examine it closely.”
Lirim shook his head, “Nope, just a plain old apple made of gold. How did you put it all together?”
Aletta fidgeted, weaving and unweaving her fingers. “I was trying to figure out why Stern and Elizabetta would be chosen for this task. I eventually decided that Stern was for anonymity and Elizabetta for access. However, it didn’t really click until I compared Stern’s job to Druery’s. Then everything fell into place. Any sign of Stern yet? He has to know that Elizabetta failed.”
Lirim sighed, “Actually, he’s dead. They found him listed as a John Doe in the city morgue. Shot twice in the back.”
Aletta winced, “So Milly really did lose her mind. All of this in search of some mythical apple. I wouldn’t want to live forever. It takes all the joy out of living.”
He nodded eagerly. “I agree. It’s the unpredictability that makes life interesting.”
They both fell silent for several minutes, turning everything that had happened over in their minds. Finally, Aletta drew both of them from their reverie. Her voice hesitant, she said, “Lirim, I need a favor.”
Seventeen
The car ride was silent. Aletta fiddled with the hem of the oversized sweatshirt that Cy had loaned her. Lirim was silently fuming as he drove. He didn’t agree with her decision to leave the infirmary but the healers had agreed that she was well enough. And it was either he drove her where she needed to go or she would make her way on her own.
That was totally unacceptable, so here they were, making their way across town towards Lena’s hospital.
The tension in the car was high but Aletta couldn’t bring herself to apologize. Something in her was telling her that it had to be tonight.
She couldn’t contain her sigh of relief when they reached the hospital. Lirim left her alone so he could grab a wheelchair and she took the opportunity to compose herself. Something on her face must’ve given her away when he returned. He softened and gently helped her into the wheelchair.
He murmured, “I’m sorry,
I don’t mean to make this harder. I’m just worried about you. Can’t this wait?”
She shook her head and offered him a strained smile. “I wish I could, but it has to be tonight. I’ll need your help. I’m tapped out.”
He sighed and started pushing the chair. “You have it, you don’t even have to ask.”
The lobby was quiet; even the night traffic was distant and muted. The night receptionist looked startled to see her in a wheelchair but waved them through. The ride to the third floor was silent. Aletta was glad that they weren’t subjected to the awful elevator music so many other buildings had.
They paused at the doorway and Lirim murmured, “Ready?”
Her throat scratchy, she whispered back, “Yes.” It was time to do this.
He wheeled her over to the side of the bed and Aletta just took a moment to examine Lena. Her friend lay there quietly, her only movement the gentle rise and fall of her breathing.
Aletta held out her hand and Lirim clasped it gently. Taking a deep breath, she took Lena’s hand and closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes, she was sitting in an opera house. She looked around, but Lirim wasn’t present. A sound brought her attention to the stage. Her eyes widened before her face softened into a smile.
Lena was standing center stage, dressed in finery as if she was ready to perform. However, when she opened her mouth to sing, nothing came out.
Aletta called out, “Lena?”
Lena turned towards her, relief suffusing her face. Gathering up her voluminous skirts, she dashed over and threw her arms around Aletta. “Aly! Thank goodness! I can’t remember my song. I knew that you would come and help me.”
Aletta wrapped her arms gently around her and squeezed her. “You’re not supposed to be here. That’s why your song is missing.”
Lena leaned back and frowned at her. “What do you mean? The opera is our dream! Why wouldn’t I be here?”
In Search of Healing Page 18