“Your boss?” Vantana inquired.
“Lief Eklund.”
“Of Eklund Energy?” Vance asked. The guard nodded. “I reckon he’s Pearl’s worried father?”
“That’s correct,” the guard answered. “Follow us.” The doctor nodded and motioned for Sam and Tashi to come along.
As the trio walked a few steps behind the security guards, Vantana whispered. “I don’t buy the crazed fan excuse,” he said. “Not with a selkie. Water creatures in general are not fans of humanity. I wonder if the father knows something but doesn’t realize it. Or maybe we can talk to the girl. She might have an answer,” Vance speculated. “We’re going to need a cover story,” he added quickly. “Something simple.”
“Like what?” Sam asked.
“We’ll tell him we’re just tourists, in for the day,” the doctor suggested. “We came upon the scene, saw the man run, and decided to be good citizens.”
“That is the lamest cover story ever,” Sam concluded. Even Tashi nodded in agreement.
“Well, we can’t exactly be fashion reporters, now, can we?” Vance replied.
“No,” Sam said.
“Then tourists it is, unless you have something better.”
Sam instantly realized why Dr. Vantana needed him on this case. Cover stories like the one he was proposing would not get them very far, and the information they needed could only come from Pearl Eklund—after all, she was the one the selkie was targeting. But why would she talk to a few tourists about it? Of course, they couldn’t pose as law enforcement or reveal that the man who attacked her was a mythical creature, because that would be earth-shattering. But they still needed a cover that fit into Pearl’s world. As the three were led to a black SUV, Sam thought about it further. Then—
“I have something better,” he announced quietly. “But Tashi isn’t going to like it,” he added. Tashi gave Sam a side glance as the doctor leaned in to listen.
* * *
* * *
The gleaming tower that housed Eklund Energy’s San Francisco office was just a short distance from the pier. As Sam, Tashi, and Dr. Vantana were escorted to the lobby, they maneuvered around workers who were moving office furniture into the building, along with a giant Eklund Energy sign that was apparently meant for the lobby. The guard noted that the building had just been purchased by Mr. Eklund a month earlier. Once inside, they were approached by a man in his fifties who looked the part of an old sea captain. He had salt-and-pepper hair, and a beard and mustache that had gone almost entirely gray. He wore an impeccably tailored suit and exuded wealth.
“Thanks for coming. I’m Lief Eklund,” the man said.
“The name’s Vance Vantana. I’m with the U.S. government. Here acting as a liaison. Part of a cultural exchange,” Vance said, offering his hand, which Lief shook heartily.
“Cultural exchange?” Lief inquired curiously.
“That’s right.” Then, with a flourish of his hand, Vantana announced, “I’d like to introduce Tashi of Tibet, the international fashion phenom.” Tashi stood stoically next to the doctor.
Sam nudged her with his elbow, and she smiled faintly and offered her hand to Lief Eklund. “It is—is an honor,” Tashi stuttered, pretending her English was poor. This was a suggestion Sam had given her on the way over to help sell their cover. Lief shook her hand gently.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Lief said, then shifted his attention to Sam. “And you are?”
“I’m Tashi’s interpreter,” Sam added helpfully.
“A little young to be an interpreter,” Lief noted as he eyed Sam skeptically.
“You’re right about that,” Sam replied with a smile. “But Tashi insisted on having someone her own age speak on her behalf.”
Lief leaned over to the ranger. “Is she some sort of child prodigy?” he asked Vance quietly. “I’ve never heard of her.”
“She’s exactly that—a child prodigy,” Vance began. “And you’ve never heard of her because…” He was searching for an answer, so Sam threw him a lifeline.
“It’s why we’re—I mean, why she’s—here,” Sam explained. “Tashi is breaking into the U.S. market and thought your daughter would be—”
“Oh, I see,” said Eklund, nodding. “She wants—” he started, then turned and addressed Tashi directly. “You want Pearl to model your designs. To help with exposure.”
The Guardian nodded but said nothing. Sam leaned her way.
“Like we talked about,” he whispered. Tashi pretended to whisper back, and then Sam turned to Lief, beaming. “Tashi of Tibet says she would be greatly honored to have your daughter model her one-of-a-kind creations. And that she would experience boundless joy if this were to happen.”
Lief met Tashi’s gaze. She did not seem the type to emote boundless joy. Sam nudged her and Tashi flashed her slight smile. At least she tried, Sam thought as the smile vanished as fast as it had appeared.
“I’m afraid these sorts of things are arranged well in advance. We didn’t know you would be coming,” Lief said.
“Yes, Tashi is aware of this,” Vance replied hurriedly. “Unfortunately, we were just informed by the Chinese consulate that her message to Pearl never arrived. We were hoping to deliver the message in person when we saw your daughter get attacked.”
“Yes, it’s a dangerous world. Who knows what that maniac was capable of….My men tell me you chased him. That was quite brave of you,” Lief said, directing his comment to the doctor.
“Tashi was the one who chased him,” Sam explained. “We just followed. In her culture, bravery is instilled at a very young age.”
“Well, thank you,” Lief told her. “I hear he got away.”
Vantana nodded gravely. “We lost him at the pier. Did he give any indication as to why he grabbed Pearl?”
Lief shook his head. “Just some fanatic,” he said.
Sam nudged Tashi, who pretended to whisper again. Sam played along, nodding, then turned to Lief.
“Tashi is hoping that when Pearl feels up to it, perhaps we could arrange a meeting. She has traveled a great distance to speak with your daughter.”
“I understand completely,” Lief said. “And I’d love to make that happen, I would…but I sent Pearl home right after the incident. She’s on a plane back to Miami as we speak.”
“Miami?” Vance asked, startled.
“That’s our home. We’re in town for Fashion Week, and I had some business to attend to.” Lief gestured to his surroundings. “This just became one of our satellite corporate offices.”
“Big satellite,” Sam said, peering around the expansive lobby.
“An expensive one too,” the man added with a smile.
“I’m familiar with your company, Mr. Eklund,” the doctor said. “I admire your work in renewable energies. In fact, I just read an article about something called fire ice.”
“Methane hydrate,” Lief responded, nodding. “We believe it’s the future. Leave the earth better than we found it—for the next generation. Which reminds me, I have a launch party for a new drilling ship to plan. Nice to meet you, Tashi. And you two as well,” he said to Vance and Sam. “Best of luck. If you’re ever in Miami, we’ll set up that meeting.”
They said their goodbyes, and Lief stepped away to speak with his security detail.
“Great job with the cover story, kid,” Dr. Vantana said under his breath.
“Thanks,” Sam replied.
“Only problem is, I need to go to Miami to meet with this girl, and how exactly am I going to do that without you and Tashi?”
“I didn’t think about that,” Sam admitted. He could clearly see the predicament Vance was in, but he didn’t have a solution for him yet. When Lief finished speaking with his security, one of the guards—the tall one from earlier—approached.
“Mr. Eklund would like me to offer you a ride back to your vehicle or wherever you need to go.”
“Much appreciated,” Vance said. “But it’s not too far. We can walk.” The guard nodded and was about to walk away when Sam spoke up.
“Excuse me,” he said. “You were there when Pearl was attacked, right?”
The guard nodded. “Yes, I tried to take him down,” he replied. “Perp was a little stronger than I anticipated.”
“And you’ve been a security guard for a long time?” Sam asked, eyes widening.
“I’ve been doing this for about eighteen years. Been with the Eklunds for the last two. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just…in your experience, do you really believe it was a crazed fan?” Sam inquired. “I mean, it seems pretty random.”
The guard hesitated, then spoke a touch more quietly. “To be honest, with obsessed fans we usually see warning signs well before they try something like this—”
“And you didn’t with this guy?” the doctor followed up.
The guard shook his head. “Not that I’ve been made aware of,” the guard revealed. “But what he said to her did sound a bit…bizarre.”
“He said something?” Vantana asked. The guard nodded.
“He called her ‘Princess’ and said she had to come with him before it was ‘too late and all is lost,’ ” the guard revealed with a half smirk.
“Sounds like a crazed fan to me,” Sam agreed.
The trio left the building and headed back to the parking garage. Along the way, Vance speculated on the selkie’s motives. “Either this Maris knows something we don’t or he’s half a bubble off plumb. Whatever the case, I don’t think he’s going to stop here. He’ll try again.”
“Dr. Vantana is correct,” Tashi said. “I gazed into the selkie’s eyes. He is on a mission and will not be stopped so easily.”
“Wonderful,” the doctor said with a heap of sarcasm.
Sam knew Vance wasn’t looking forward to facing this case alone. But he also knew he couldn’t possibly concentrate on the case without handling the questions surrounding the souvenir picture frame and his father. The implications for his life were far too great to ignore.
When they climbed into the car and headed for Benicia, Sam looked up the name of the manufacturer he’d found on the picture frame. Unfortunately, the company was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, which meant its offices were likely closed already. He called their number anyway and left a few messages on their voice mail, but as it was also a Friday, Sam figured he wouldn’t hear anything until Monday at the earliest. That was if they even bothered to call back at all. He would probably have better luck if he went in person. That thought gave him an idea.
“I’ll come with you to Miami if we take a detour,” Sam offered.
“What kind of detour?” the doctor asked warily.
“Atlanta. I want to go to this company and find out about the man in the picture.”
“What happened to just asking your mom?” Vantana replied. “That’s why you wanted to go home, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Sam admitted. “But what if it is just a coincidence? I could find out and wouldn’t even have to ask her. Plus, she might wonder why I was at Pier 39 buying a picture frame on a school day.”
The doctor considered it and nodded. “All right,” Vantana said. “But we go to Miami first. I’m worried Pearl may be in danger—”
“There is nothing speculative about it,” Tashi chimed in from the passenger seat. “The girl is most certainly in danger.”
“Okay, Miami first, then,” Sam capitulated.
In his mind, Sam acknowledged that he was probably avoiding the confrontation with his mom. As much as he wanted to know the truth, he also didn’t want to believe she was capable of being dishonest with him, regardless of her motivation. The thought left a gnawing pit in his stomach. He held on to the hope that it was indeed his dad in the picture and there was a simple explanation for the way his father’s picture had wound up in hundreds, if not thousands, of souvenir frames.
* * *
* * *
Dr. Vantana turned the car north to Castle Crags, where they soon hitched a ride on a dvergen subway to Florida. Riding in the centuries-old bullet train built by dwarves was never all that enjoyable, but this trip proved more tolerable for Sam than his first one, probably because they weren’t plunging beneath the ocean floor to reach their destination. Instead the group was headed to the only dvergen subway station in the entire state of Florida, which was located in Falling Waters State Park behind the state’s highest waterfall—the aptly named Falling Waters Sink. It was a seventy-three-foot-high gentle cascade of water that flowed over a limestone ridge and emptied into a sinkhole. It wasn’t mapped yet by humans, but if it had been, they would have discovered one of the largest dvergen stations on the North American continent.
Dr. Vantana regaled Sam and Tashi with the history of how the station acted as a hub, since it was close to two major bodies of water, with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. The station had long served as a transfer point for travelers, connecting dwarves to trains that branched out in every possible direction. After only a few minutes, they arrived and stepped off into a cavernous main terminal that reminded Sam of pictures of Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The station featured carvings of dwarven warriors who Dr. Vantana noted were legends in their culture. Sam was in awe of the architectural wonders of the station but saddened by the ancient, abandoned feel of the place.
“I don’t understand why the dwarves don’t use these subways anymore. They’re amazing,” Sam said.
“Because it’d be a little conspicuous, don’t you think?” the doctor asked rhetorically. “Nope. These were banned for use centuries ago.”
“Then how come we get to use them?” Sam inquired.
“Because we’re on official business for the gryphon, and that’s sort of like a golden ticket,” Vantana explained as Sam and Tashi followed him to a spiraling staircase carved into the rock. It led to a stone door, which the doctor activated with a dwarven phrase. The door rumbled and slowly slid open, revealing a small ridge along the limestone wall. The waterfall wasn’t the rushing kind. It was more of a trickle that poured into the cylindrical sinkhole. They each stepped carefully onto the ridge and followed it to a narrow embankment that led to level ground. The sun had long ago set on the East Coast, but the moon was full and cast a bright silvery glow on the unlit park. Tashi’s shekchen was radiating with energy, which helped provide additional illumination as they headed toward the woods.
“I sent word to our contact to have transportation ready. It should be in the parking lot,” the doctor said, before crinkling his nose as if he smelled something bad.
“What’s wrong?” Sam asked. Vantana’s expression went from mild disgust to major alarm in an instant. He immediately halted and began dry-heaving, as if he were about to throw up. And then the stench that had hit Vance’s enhanced sense of smell reached Sam’s nasal passages. It was horrendous. Musky and sweet, with hints of sulfur and sewer and month-old fish left out in the searing hot sun.
“Try to—breathe through—your mouth,” Vantana suggested between heaves.
“What—is—it?” Sam asked haltingly, as he too began to feel the urge to puke.
“It can only be one thing….” And then Vance must have made the mistake of taking some of the putrid air through his nostrils. His eyes rolled back and he dropped to the ground with a thud.
“What’s going on?” a panicked Sam asked Tashi.
“It is best that you hold your breath, Sam London, or you too will succumb,” she said rapid-fire, presumably to save her breath.
“I’m not very good at that,” Sam replied, scrunching up his face. He thought about how he didn’t consider himself a particularly strong swimmer and
had never tried to improve, which meant he was average at best at holding his breath. Of course, how could he have known it was a skill that he’d need to use on land one day to save himself?
“Get good, and quickly. I am done speaking,” Tashi announced before sucking in oxygen and holding it. She then fully charged her shekchen, the staff that was a Guardian’s weapon of choice. It channeled the energy of Gaia, and Tashi rarely went anywhere without it. Sam took in a breath and held it, as directed. He wondered why the Guardian was readying her weapon. Did the odor signify the presence of some threat? The doctor had said it could only be one thing, but what?
As the need to breathe became increasingly unbearable, Sam spotted a strange green fog rolling in. It was a deep forest green, nearly black, and it crept slowly across the terrain until it surrounded them. Beyond the fog, Sam could see dozens of pairs of red eyes floating in the darkness. Soon, those eyes gave way to creatures that began emerging from the woods. They looked like walking weeping willow trees with dark reddish-brown hair instead of leaves. The bizarre figures lumbered toward Sam and Tashi, and the Guardian quickly took a position in front of Sam to protect him, while Sam stood in front of the fallen doctor. He kneeled down to try to rouse Vance back to consciousness, but the doctor wasn’t responding.
The foul-smelling fog began to rise from the ground, and Sam got back to his feet. As the creatures moved closer, Sam could discern more of their features. They were about six feet tall, with apelike faces and arms that were nearly as long as their bodies. Their hands had five pale fingers that peeked out from beneath matted, stringy coats of fur. The creatures opened their mouths, which appeared impossibly large, given the size of their heads. They let out a cry akin to a foghorn. It was overwhelming to Sam’s ears, and he quickly covered them with his hands, but the sound was growing in volume. Holding his breath coupled with the stress of the noise was too much. Sam needed oxygen. Tashi could see the weakness in his eyes. She shook her head in warning, but there was nothing he could do. Sam opened his mouth, hoping that it would be better than taking in air through his nose. But the fog that was wafting upward and enveloping Sam was like a poisonous gas. It burned the inside of his mouth and throat. Sam coughed and gagged and clutched at his neck, collapsing to the ground next to Dr. Vantana. As his world turned blurry, he watched Tashi twirl her shekchen, and then everything went black.
The Selkie of San Francisco Page 6