Into the Twilight: a Between the Worlds Novel

by Morgan Daimler

  “You mean that’s why Allie found the book, and was kidnapped, and was drawn to the second killer, and all that?” Jason asked.

  “Her fate is interwoven with the coven’s, yes, whether she or we knew it or not.”

  “What does that mean in practical terms for us now?” Riordan asked.

  “Allie has always been the key to solving this. We must allow synchronicity to work in our favor to find the last few pieces of this puzzle,” Zarethyn said.

  “What does that mean?” Smythe asked, clearly frustrated at whet seemed to be a series of non-answers to him.

  The elven captain sighed. “It means that we must continue to give Allie her head and follow where she leads, trusting her to bring us where we need to be.”

  The police frowned but the elves were all nodding. Allie felt her poor, battered stomach fluttering nervously. She did not like the idea that everything rested on her randomly bumbling her way to the right solution, but she also couldn’t argue that it was a method that had gotten them where they were today. She hadn’t believed in synchronicity before, not really, but she had to admit now that so much of what happened that should have been unrelated was actually part of this bigger plot that it was hard to deny a larger force moving in it all. I just hope Liz and I survive this Allie thought I’ve almost died three times now. I should have died this last time, and I don’t think it was synchronicity that I didn’t. I think I should be dead right now and I’m not… Allie cleared her throat. “Ummm, about that. I agree about the synchronicity. There’s no other reason for me to be so in the middle of all of this. But I don’t think that’s going to take us any further.”

  Zarethyn tilted his head to the side, gazing at her intently. “Why should it not?”

  “Because…and I’m not sure I can explain this exactly…but because I think I was supposed to die a couple days ago. I think when I was poisoned that should have been it. The - I don’t know whatever you want to call it with this case – karma? Fate? Connection? Whatever it was through my grandmother that created the synchronicity with all of this, I think part of that was that I was meant to die when I was poisoned. Because she really wasn’t trying to kill me, but that’s what would have happened.”

  “But you lived.” Riordan said, frowning as he tried to wrap his head around elven metaphysics. The elves were all contemplating her words in silence.

  “Right, but only because of an, ummm, exceptional intervention. Something that shouldn’t have been possible and relied on things completely unrelated to this case,” Allie said, thinking as she spoke. “I’ve almost died three times because of this. That third time should have been it. But I lived. I just feel like from this point out my synchronicity with this situation has run its course. Because I shouldn’t even be here anymore.”

  “What does that mean though?” Smythe repeated, irritated, his frown matching his partner’s.

  “It means that you can’t count on me to come through with some lucky connection or to just randomly be in the exact right place at the right time,” Allie said, letting go of the hands she was holding to rub her eyes. “It also means, if Liz and I have some kind of inverse or mirror synchronicity going with this that her life is in great danger right now.”

  “You think she’ll be killed?” Jess asked, his voice flat. She could feel his eagerness though and it made her flinch behind the cover of her hands.

  “I think that maybe we were both meant to die at the end of all of this,” Allie said, lowering her hands and looking around the room. “I didn’t so maybe she won’t either. I don’t know.”

  “Well, elven synchronicity or not I can see her life being in danger just from the situation,” Riordan said. “This group is going through members pretty quickly and until we know for sure who killed the woman who shot you we shouldn’t assume they aren’t willing to get rid of their own loose ends.”

  Smythe nodded in support. “And this close to finishing they’ll be desperate not to get caught. If they think she’s talking to anyone outside the group they could decide she’s dangerous to them.”

  “Then it is imperative we find her quickly,” Mariniessa said, speaking for the first time.

  “Yes, and in that Allie you can still aid us,” Zarethyn said. “You know her well. What do you think she is most likely to do?”

  “I don’t know how well I really know her if I never suspected she was part of all of this,” Allie protested weakly. “But if she’s not here or at work…I guess I’d talk with her boyfriend, Fred. He works in town hall.”

  “Are we sure she is still in Ashwood?” Smythe asked.

  “Not positive, no,” Allie said. “But the way she was talking on the phone made it sound like she was still trying to help complete the ritual. I’m pretty sure she’s still here.”

  Riordan nodded pulling his notebook out of his pocket. “What’s her full name?”

  “Elizabeth Anne McCarthy.”

  He wrote quickly. “I’ll get an APB out and notify the bridge not to let her pass through to mortal earth.”

  “So you have the same last name?” Smythe said. “You’re fathers were brothers?”

  “Ummm, no,” Allie said. “My father was her mother’s brother.”

  Riordan stopped writing and glanced up. “Then why do you have the same last name?”

  “What is this about?” Zarethyn asked before she could answer.

  Allie sighed. Elves didn’t use last names and, of course, being matrilineal, clan names passed through women’s lines. To the elves Allie and her cousin having the same last name as their grandmother had a certain logic to it. “McCarthy wasn’t her original last name but my grandmother changed it when she adopted Liz and her brother after their parents died.”

  Riordan looked at her sharply. “What’s her original last name?”

  Allie had to stop and think about that for a minute. “Tavish. Her father’s name was Miles Tavish. So that must have been her original last name.”

  Riordan wrote that down. “Okay. She might be using that name now, if she thinks we’re looking for her.”

  “She certainly knows we seek her detective,” Jess said.

  Riordan shrugged. “Any chance she may have contacted her brother?”

  “I don’t know,” Allie said. “If you’d asked me a few days ago I would have said no. They haven’t spoken in decades. My cousin, my other cousin, ran away as a teenager and has been estranged from the family since then. I’ve never spoken to or met him myself. But at this point I’m not sure I can say anything about Liz with certainty.”

  “Alright,” Smythe said looking at the elves. “Then if it’s okay with everyone let’s do this. It seems that this new coven has more than one tie to the old. I think we need to track down all the descendants of the original members and vet them. We can also check out Ms. McCarthy – Liz McCarthy’s – boyfriend and see if she’s hiding with him or if he knows where she is.”

  Zarethyn nodded. “Be very careful detectives. We must assume that these people are all mages or witches, and as such they should be considered quite dangerous.”

  “Yes,” Sam said suddenly. “I should probably go with you when you question people. Just to be safe. If this group feels its back is against a wall at this point there’s no telling what they may do.”

  “Will they try to kill Ms. McCarthy – Allie – again, do you think?” Smythe asked. Ciaran looked at the human with narrowed eyes, and Allie realized that this was the first time in the entire conversation that the kelpie had been truly interested in what was being said.

  “It’s impossible to predict,” Zarethyn said. “I agree with her that her part in this may finally have run its course, but whether or not the group believes that is a different matter. To be certain we will leave a Guard with her.”

  “There was an incident at the hospital this morning,” Riordan said, frowning as if he were thinking hard. “I hadn’t thought about it until now, but if these people are all witches…”

  �
��What happened?” Bleidd said, his voice tense.

  “A nurse killed himself,” Smythe said. “Jumped off the roof.”

  “Seemed straightforward,” Riordan added. “It’s tragic but these things do happen sometimes. But now I’m wondering.”

  “How would that connect to me?” Allie asked unhappily.

  “I’m not sure, but it happened while you were there. And everyone swore the guy had no reason to jump and no indications he was depressed. Makes me wonder now if someone made him do it, with magic.”

  “But why?” Allie said again.

  “Maybe trying to get to you, or even just get information about you,” Riordan said, thoughtfully.

  Allie inhaled sharply, even as the elves all looked at her. “Jess? Could it have been the Dark court elves?”

  “It could. They are capable of such. If they used glamour on the man, the only way to hide the evidence of it would be to kill him,” Jess thought back unhappily.

  “It makes sense,” Bleidd thought, his voice grim. “If they still hunt her and knew she had been taken to the clinic they may have sought to find out if she could be taken from there.”

  Allie felt something pass between the two elves then, something she didn’t understand. Bleidd nodded, the barest downward movement of his head and Jess returned the gesture. Oh crap Allie thought to herself, carefully blocking her thoughts from the other two I am so outnumbered here. Whatever they are up to they don’t want me to know about it. The temptation to read their thoughts was tremendous but she managed to resist. Forcing herself to focus all her attention on the conversation between Zarethyn and Riordan, who were arguing details of strategy.

  “Alright,” Riordan said. “Let’s get moving then. We’ll get all the old records to you for your people to go through to track down the descendants. We’ll find Liz McCarthy’s boyfriend and talk to him while you see if there’s anything here you can use to track her magically.”

  Allie swallowed, hearing that last. The elves were not playing around if they meant to use spell-tracking to try to find Liz. Clearly Allie had underestimated how much of a threat they felt Liz and the dark coven actually were. The rest of the group were nodding and breaking up, except for Jason and Shawn who looked a bit shell-shocked. Bleidd stood up, his hand caressing her arm as he rose, and then walked over to talk to Ciaran before the kelpie could slip out. Jess stood as well, intending to head over to where the other Guard were standing and Allie struggled to her feet with him.

  “Sit and rest my love,” he said, gesturing for her to return to her position on the couch. “I must speak with Zarethyn briefly but I will be back.”

  “I know, I just…are they really going to…” Allie swallowed hard, feeling anger at her cousin and worry for her safety in equal measure. “Are they so worried about what Liz might do, or this group, that they’re really going to use the major tracking spells to find her?”

  He looked at her in genuine surprise, his expression almost comical. “Allie, you are a member of the Elven Guard. She tried to kill you, and in a manner that is considered the most painful way any elf can die. For the sake of the justice you deserve we will do whatever must be done to find her.”

  “Oh,” Allie said, stunned. It was hard for her to wrap her head around the idea that the Guard was going to such extreme lengths for her sake. Magical tracking spells were a high level magic that required an adept mage, an item from the person being tracked which contained their essence – usually something of deep personal significance – and a huge amount of magical energy. They were rarely used because the success rate was only about fifty percent and the effort needed was so high.

  She stood there, still trying to process that as Jess walked over to his brother.

  “I’m sorry Allie,” Jason said quietly, coming up next to her in the chaos of everyone else leaving.

  She looked at him, sensing his sympathy hanging between them heavy with his own grief about the situation, and nodded stiffly. “Thanks Jase.”

  “I just can’t believe it. I mean if you’d said anyone else I could maybe see it, but Liz? That just seems impossible. She acts more like your mom than a cousin. I just can’t get my head around the idea of her hurting you at all never mind trying to kill you.”

  “Yeah, well,” Allie mumbled, looking away. Her eyes roamed to where Jess was talking to the police and then over to Bleidd who was still with Ciaran. He’d been acting odd since she’d woken in the hospital; staying with her as she’d asked but clearly pulling away as much as possible. Every now and then a bit of the old Bleidd would shine through with some innuendo or teasing, but much of the time he seemed to be trying to treat her with a politeness that made her feel as if she’d offended him somehow. Syndra had accused Allie of playing with his heart but she felt like it was hers that was being played with now, which made her feel guilty since she still couldn’t offer him anything but friendship. Even if she wanted to. Even if she kept thinking that there was no reason not to anymore. In the hospital Jess had subtly encouraged her to spend time alone with Bleidd, even when Jess was there, finding excuses to step out for periods of time, but nothing had happened between them. It left Allie feeling unsure and vulnerable, afraid of his rejection, and equally afraid to simply ask Jess what his thoughts were on the situation so she had distracted herself with trying to keep helping the police and the Guard. Jason was still waiting for her to say something so she made herself add, “I didn’t want to believe it either but she called me at the clinic and admitted it. I don’t think she was trying to kill me though. I really don’t, and Bleidd doesn’t either. I think, I mean I’m sure, that she just wanted me to get sick.”

  She glanced back at Jason, and realized he was watching her watching Bleidd. She pulled her eyes away from the elf and focused on Jason. He nodded. “I’d believe that before I’d believe she was trying to kill you. I mean Liz can be a bit overbearing, and she can be blunt, and she really doesn’t like elves, but she was always nice to me. She made me feel welcome here and we had fun when we hung out. And we talked a lot, enough that I know she really does love you. I can’t imagine her poisoning you, unless it was just to make you sick.”

  Allie relaxed slightly, relieved that Jason wasn’t flatly condemning Liz. “Yeah, I really think that’s what happened. I think she just underestimated how strongly it would affect me.”

  “I can understand that,” he said wincing. “No offense Allie, but you really do look pretty human. It’s easy to forget sometimes that you aren’t, even though I know you aren’t. And it seems like iron does hit you as hard as the full elves.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Allie said, embarrassed. She intentionally tried to pass as human most of the time, but it was awkward to hear Jason saying she did it so well even he forgot she wasn't. Maybe that was how Liz convinced herself that Allie was exempt from the coven’s worldview….Allie’s eyes tracked to Bleidd again, distracted. I wish I knew how to handle this, she thought. What should I do? Act on what I want because it seems okay with Jess now? Talk to Jess first? What if Bleidd isn’t interested anymore? That thought was as embarrassing as Jason’s comment; she didn’t want to admit her desire to Jess and risk then having to tell him she’d been rejected…

  “I hope it doesn’t bother you, me saying that,” Jason said.

  “No,” Allie said, shaking her head. “I understand what you mean.”

  “Okay, spill it,” Jason said, peering at her closely.

  “Spill what?”

  “What is going on with you and Bleidd?” he asked, and she could feel his worry, his emotions held out by her shields but still with the unusual intensity that only Jason had.

  “Ummm,” Allie mumbled, her eyes automatically going back to Bleidd, then flinching away when she realized she was staring. “Well…it’s kind of complicated…”

  “Allie!” Jason cut in, grabbing her wrist and squeezing lightly. “I’m not blind. Something weird is going on. I can see it. I know he’s totally freaked that you almost d
ied, but it’s more than that.”

  “Yeah, see it’s just…” she faltered, then pulled him across the room into the corner, trying to get some privacy. “I was dying Jason. Really dying. Brynneth couldn’t help me.”

  She felt his shock like a wave of cold air, making the hair on her arms go up. His grip tightened on her arm. She forced herself to continue. “And Jess thought there was a chance I could heal myself, or at least enough to save me from dying and let Brynneth help me, if I could just use his emotions. So he tried but it wasn’t enough.”

  “I would have helped too,” Jason said, his voice subdued.

  “I know you would have but, ummmm,” she could feel herself blushing now and looked down to try to hide it, aware that the room was still full of people, including Shawn who was now talking to detective Smythe and looking like he might pass out. “Ummm. Unless you’ve developed an interest in girls in the last few days I don’t know about you couldn’t have helped.”

  “Oh,” Jason said frowning. Then, as her words really sunk in, “Oh!”

  “Right. So he, ummm…and that did help but not enough and he asked Bleidd to…”

  “Holy shit,” Jason whispered, his eyes cutting over to where Bleidd was standing.

  “Right,” Allie said again, feeling like she was explaining this badly. “And he did – help I mean. And it saved my life. He saved my life. But I, ummm, the thing is, I was pretty out of it and I could sense him, his emotions but I couldn’t connect enough, so I, ahhh, well, I ended up creating the same kind of spellbond with him that I have with Jess.”

  Jason’s mouth fell open and he stood and gaped at her. She shifted nervously from one foot to the other, the silence starting to freak her out. Finally she burst out with, “You think I’m a terrible person don’t you?”

  “What?” Jason said. “No. No, of course not. That’s just, wow Allie that’s a lot to take in. Are you…I mean, are you okay about it? About what happened?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ummm. Does it bother you that you were out of it and they…”