“We are here,” Kyran said as I let my body get accustomed to this new place. It was warm here; while back in Western Woods the weather had been in the high thirties, here it had to be in the mid-seventies. A salty breeze reached my nostrils, and I looked around to see that we were surrounded by whitewashed buildings on what appeared to be a tropical island.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“Isisopolis is a paranormal town on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean, halfway between what you would call Greece and Egypt.”
“Wow,” I said, my mouth dropping open as I looked around. “This place is insane.”
“Yeah. It’s actually quite big by paranormal town standards, too. There are about thirty thousand different paranormals who live here, of the same species that live in Western Woods.”
We were sitting on a large rock, and a lion shifter came up to us nicely.
“Hello, welcome to Isisopolis,” she greeted us. “Is it your first time on the island?”
“It’s not, but thank you,” Kyran replied. “We’re here to hire the services of Kilmordir the elf. Is he around at the moment?”
“I believe he is,” the shifter replied. “I walked past him just this morning. Do you know the way to his office?”
“We do, thank you,” Kyran said, motioning for me to follow him as we made our way away from the beach and toward the houses.
“Have a great stay!” the shifter told us, and I smiled at her.
“Thanks, have a nice day,” I told her as I followed after my elf companion. As the warm sun beat down on my face, I suddenly realized why people went to tropical destinations in the middle of winter. It really felt good after a few weeks of thinking it would never be warm again to feel the hot sun on my face. I took off my sweater and wrapped it around my waist, since I was definitely overdressed for this weather.
As we left the beach and made our way into town, I discovered that Isisopolis’s streets were made of cobblestone, all narrow walkways where paranormals of all types wandered and not a car in sight. I wasn’t too surprised to notice that there wasn’t a vampire to be seen; I imagined in this kind of climate they had to be pretty rare, or nocturnal. The sun was just too strong.
“What coven lives here?” I asked as a witch walked past us, her long, curly black hair falling down her back.
“The coven of Isis, naturally,” Kyran grinned at me. “While in the human world, Isis is now linked more with the moon, traditionally she was a goddess of the sun, and her temple at Philae in Egypt correctly has her worshipped as a sun deity. This is where members of the coven of the sun live, and Isis is their ruler.”
“Wow,” I said, impressed.
“Yes, the coven of the sun is one of the oldest witch covens in history,” Kyran explained. “They can trace their ancestry back thousands of years, further than almost any coven. Their magic is old—and powerful.”
“And so I assume the elves who live here are also old, even by elf standards?”
“Definitely,” Kyran nodded. “Kilmordir is possibly tens of thousands of years old. No one knows. I’m not certain even he knows.”
That was absolutely insane. I mulled over that thought until we reached a door that looked, well, frankly, like all the other doors here: a gorgeous, deep blue color, surrounded by whitewashed walls.
A small sign above read Kilmordir Law. I followed after Kyran, not really expecting much inside given the rather plain-looking exterior of the building. However, as soon as we entered, my mouth dropped open.
Chapter 13
We had climbed up a hill to get here, and it was obvious as soon as we walked in. On the far end of the entryway there was no wall at all, rather, the building opened up to the most incredible view I had ever seen in my life. No wonder they had left out the wall; the white walls overlooked the perfect blue water of the Mediterranean, the gorgeous sand, and the other beautiful rustic white buildings lower down on the hill. It was like something out of a brochure for a five-star hotel that cost hundreds of dollars a night to stay in.
At first I didn’t even notice the sleek, modern desk behind which sat a fairy with short dark hair and thick glasses.
“Good morning, do you have an appointment?”
“I’m afraid we don’t, but we need to see Kilmordir now.”
The fairy gave us an apologetic smile that I could tell she had practiced plenty of times before.
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid Kilmordir isn’t available for walk-ins at the moment. If you would like to make an appointment for a future date, I can happily accommodate you.”
“Please tell him Kyrandir is here; I’m sure he’ll make an exception,” Kyran told her politely with a smile. His quiet confidence obviously had an effect, as the lady smiled and told us to have a seat. “It’s very important. Please let him know quickly that I’m here to see him.”
Kyran and I made our way over to a couple of overstuffed leather chairs that overlooked the view of the sea, and I tried not to fidget too much as we waited to see if the elf lawyer would see us. On the bright side, the fairy seemed to pick up her phone almost immediately, so it looked like she was actually going to check and see if Kilmordir would see us.
“Who is this guy?” I asked. “I’ve never heard of him. But then again, I guess that doesn’t say very much.”
Kyran smiled. “He’s probably the best lawyer on the planet now,” he replied. “He’s been practicing law for thousands of years and knows the ins and outs of virtually every single town’s laws. He’s a generalist with no particular specialty in criminal or civil law, but he’s a specialist in the sense that he knows exactly what the relevant laws are in almost every single case. If we want the best, we need him.”
“I’m not sure we can afford him,” I said quietly. “He sounds expensive.”
“He is expensive,” Kyran said. “But don’t worry. He owes me a favor or two, so payment won’t be a problem.”
“I get the feeling there are a lot of people in the paranormal world who owe you a favor or two,” I said, giving Kyran the side-eye as he grinned at me.
“It’s a lot easier living in the shadows when people owe you,” Kyran replied. Before I managed to get anything else out of him, however, the fairy at the reception desk called us over.
“Kilmordir is able to carve out a few minutes to speak to you,” she announced. “Please, follow me.”
The fairy fluttered into the air and toward an open hallway that seemed to go on for longer than was necessary, but she eventually stopped in front of a large door and knocked twice before opening.
“Kilmordir, I have Kyrandir to see you.”
Kyran and I stepped past her and into the room, which, like the reception area, had no far wall and displayed a gorgeous view over the ocean.
Kilmordir looked like, well, he looked a lot like Kyran, I had to admit. They had the same eyes the color of ice, the same high-cheekboned face, and the same mouth that almost seemed stuck in a permanent smirk. The only difference was their hair: while Kyran’s was brown and had a permanent just-got-out-of-bed look to it, Kilmordir’s hair was pure white, which, when coupled with the almost-white of his eyes, gave him a bit of a creepy look.
I could definitely believe that this elf was thousands of years old. There was something about him, something in his eyes maybe that showed that he had seen more than anybody else could imagine. He looked up at us, his eyes gleaming suddenly with an emotion that I couldn’t quite place.
“Kyrandir. I did not expect to see you here today.”
“Well, I didn’t expect to come here today.”
“You have a friend who is in trouble. No, the witch who is with you has a friend who is in trouble.”
Right. It was always super creepy when elves used their powers to sense what was happening. I knew they couldn’t technically read my mind, but sometimes it certainly felt like they could.
“Yes. She’s suspected of committing a murder in Western Woods that she is innocent o
f, and she was taken for interrogation by the Chief Enforcer there this morning.”
The older elf raised his eyebrows slightly. “And for that, you came here to ask for my help? This witch who is with you, who is she?”
“My name is Tina White,” I replied, a little bit annoyed at the fact that Kilmordir kept talking about me to Kyran as if I wasn’t in the room. “I live in Western Woods, and I’m a friend of the woman who is being interrogated.”
“Tina White,” Kilmordir said, mulling the name around a little bit. “That is not a surname that belongs to any coven that I know of.”
“I grew up in the human world,” I explained. “White was my surname there. I only found out a couple of months ago that I have magical powers.”
“Now that is interesting,” Kilmordir said. “Are you not aware of the reputation that my son has in the paranormal world?”
My son. Of course. That explained the similar look. Kilmordir was Kyran’s father.
“I am. I also don’t believe that shoehorning paranormals into roles for which they’re not suited is the best course of action.”
I might’ve been mistaken, but I could’ve sworn the corner of Kilmordir’s mouth curled up into a smile. “I can see why my son has taken a liking to you. Alright. I will come, and I will represent this friend of yours.”
I tried not to look surprised—or feel surprised—but instead smiled at the elf.
“Thank you so much,” I told him. “This really means a lot.”
“How can I say no to my only son?” Kilmordir asked. “She is in Western Woods?”
“Yes, at the main City Hall. Her name is Ellie Graham,” I explained.
“Right. I will go to see her now.”
With a curt nod to both of us and nothing more, Kilmordir strode out of the room, the picture of elven elegance.
“You didn’t say anything about him being your dad,” I said to Kyran.
“He must’ve been in a good mood; sometimes he likes to pretend that we’re not related, so I didn’t tell you in case this was a bad day.”
I didn’t know how true what Kyran was saying was, but my heart still broke for him. I knew he had trouble with his family, especially given the fact that he didn’t choose to go into a traditional elven job like all the others.
“So that thing about him knowing you a favor?”
“Well, technically it’s not entirely true, but my father knows that I won’t come to him for anything that’s not actually important.”
“Thank you for doing this,” I said quietly. “I really do appreciate it, and I know Ellie will as well.”
Kyran nodded. “I didn’t do it for Ellie.”
A blush crawled up my face as we left the law firm, the fairy at reception frantically making phone calls, cancelling appointments Kilmordir had scheduled for that afternoon.
I sent a quick text to Amy, telling her that there was a lawyer on the way, when Kyran turned to face me.
“Have you ever been to this part of the world, in the human world, I mean?”
I shook my head. “No, never. I never travelled. Not really. My parents weren’t really into that sort of thing, and after they died, I just never had the money to.”
“Travelling is one of the most important things a person can do,” Kyran said. “Come with me. Ellie is in good hands, and there’s nothing else you can do for her now. Why don’t we just spend the afternoon here?”
The sun was already approaching the horizon here; what with the Mediterranean being several hours ahead of the Pacific Northwest, day was coming to an end.
This wasn’t the sort of thing that I did. I wasn’t the sort of girl who had ever let herself get swept off her feet by a man, but there was something about Kyran that just made me want to spend all of my time with him.
“Okay,” I finally replied with a smile. “Let’s do it.” After all, I was on the middle of a tropical island with an elf that made my heart flutter, and he had asked me to spend some time with him.
The worst thing I could do was say something stupid that messed it up forever. So why not go for it?
Chapter 14
We made our way back down the hill in silence. I was afraid of saying something stupid that was going to ruin things, and the narrow cobblestone streets made it hard to walk side-by-side without constantly having to move out of the way of people coming the other way. By the time we made our way to the beach, however, Kyran smiled at me. The afternoon sun was fading, but its residual heat still lived in the sand, and I took my shoes off to walk barefoot through it, enjoying the warmth between my toes.
“Why doesn’t your father live in Western Woods?” I asked, inwardly wincing. We could be having a romantic walk along the beach and I had to start talking about Kyran’s father? This was exactly what I was afraid of. Me sticking my foot in it. Still, the question was out there.
“Take a look around and have a guess,” Kyran grinned. I supposed he had a point there. “My father actually grew up here. There were very few paranormal communities in North America when he was born; they were mostly in this part of the world. There were people in North America, of course, but the paranormal communities that had started in Africa hadn’t quite made it that far yet.”
“So how did he end up in Western Woods?”
“I think he just got bored, really. And he did love to travel. Since he made interparanormal world law his specialty, he did need to travel for work. So he moved a lot, and he just happened to be living in Western Woods when I was born. He only moved back to Isisopolis about a hundred years ago.”
“Right. Only. How old does that make you, then?”
Kyran grinned at me. “You mean you can’t guess from my youthful good looks?”
“I can’t guess anything about elves,” I said, throwing my hands up in the air. “I swear, you’re the most inscrutable race of paranormals there is.”
“I’m definitely taking that as a compliment. Pompous inscrutability is basically the goal of every elf.”
I rolled my eyes at Kyran. “Right. That definitely feels like the emotion you’re going for.”
“How about you? Have you discovered any more about what coven you’re actually from?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “We found a book in the library that we had hoped could help, but it turned out to be fairly useless as well.”
“That’s too bad,” Kyran said softly. “I’m sure you’ll find out eventually.”
“I hope so,” I said. “It’s funny. When I lived in the human world, I never had any desire to know where my parents came from. I mean, ok, maybe there was a little tiny part of me that wouldn’t have said no if someone offered me the information, but there wasn’t this dying need to know. I think it was easier when everyone knew there was no way to know. After all, I had been abandoned as a baby. There was no trace of my birth parents, and certainly no way to track them down. But now, now that I live in Western Woods, and that I’m a witch, I really do want to know, you know?”
“I understand,” Kyran replied. “Things are different now. Your parents—your adoptive parents—are dead, and you don’t have anything connecting you to the human world anymore. And while you’ve been welcomed into the coven of Jupiter, I imagine there’s a part of you that doesn’t feel quite at home there, either.”
“Exactly. I mean, I love the girls, and I wouldn’t give up living with them for anything, but I still feel a little bit like an outsider because of that. Even simple things like not being able to use the Jupiter’s spell books makes me feel like I’m not really one of them, you know?”
“Would you want to meet your family, assuming there’s some of them still around, when you find your coven?” Kyran asked.
The sun chose that moment to dip down over the horizon, and a pale shadow cast over me as I considered his words.
“I don’t know,” I replied slowly. “I honestly haven’t really considered it. I think a part of me is refusing to hope, simply because I’ve lived my entire
life without that hope so far, and I don’t want to be disappointed. And I think the odds that I do have living relatives are pretty low. I mean, what kind of witch abandons her child in a random city in the human world? Chances are things were not good for her in the paranormal world for her to go to those lengths. I mean, sure, I’m new here and stuff, but it feels like covens are very close, and that if there were issues, someone would have jumped in to help if needed.”
Kyran nodded. “I agree. Having known quite a large number of witches in my time, and seeing how the covens operate, I think for a witch to have gone to those sorts of lengths to hide her child, there had to be something strange going on.”
I sighed. “You wouldn’t happen to know about any covens that were in the middle of some civil war about thirty years ago, would you? Don’t tell me I’m the real version of Harry Potter. That would suck. I liked Ron a lot more, anyway.”
“Ha. I enjoyed Fred and George.”
“You would.”
As the sun set, the windows in the town began to light up with a warm glow, casting a bit of light onto the beach.
“Should we grab some food before heading back to Western Woods?” Kyran asked. “After all, it would be a shame to come to this part of the world and not enjoy some of the best the culinary universe has to offer.”
“That sounds nice,” I said with a smile. This wasn’t a date—or was it? I wasn’t sure what this was, really—but it was sweet. I enjoyed spending time with Kyran, and I certainly wasn’t about to say no to dinner in this sort of atmosphere. When I lived in Seattle I had loved Greek and Arabian food, and so I imagined the real thing had to be pretty good.
Kyran led me to a small restaurant about halfway up the hill that overlooked the water. It was small with about a dozen tables all packed closely together, but not so closely that private conversation was impossible. A waiter came by a few minutes later and spoke to Kyran in a language I didn’t understand—I supposed it was Greek—and he replied fluently.
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