A Brush With Death

by Stokes, S. C.

  “Money buys all our favorite things. We spend more time in your realm than our own.”

  “Then what do other people call you?” Kasey asked, rubbing at her thighs in attempt to encourage the circulation.

  “Smith and Wesson,” the gnome replied, laying the gun back on his lap. “I am Smith.”

  Savage Garden, Smith & Wesson. If these two gnomes hadn't been in the process of selling her to the Feudal Court, Kasey might've been inclined to like them.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Smith,” Kasey replied. “Do you mind if I stand up? I'm quite literally freezing my ass off.”

  “By all means,” he replied. “Just remember, no running. It's bad for your health.”

  Kasey stood up, her legs protesting all the way. She took a few tentative steps to get the circulation moving and turned back to Smith. She had already got one yes out of him. Perhaps it was time to try her luck.

  “I don't suppose I could persuade you not to hand me over to the Feudal Court?”

  “Sure you can,” Smith replied. “All you need to do is beat their bid.”

  Kasey let out a low sigh. If she was alive on delivery, the bounty was a cool seven million dollars. That wasn't going to happen.

  “Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of cash. This hero gig doesn't pay nearly as well as you would think. Maybe I should have been a bounty hunter.”

  The creature raised a hand. “Perhaps. You also wouldn't have angered the Feudal Court.”

  “I didn't start that,” Kasey replied. “They took my friend. I took him back. The consequences are on them.”

  “An interesting philosophical point,” Smith said, crossing one leg over the other. “I don't think the Feudal King will think much of it though. You might want to work on it some more.”

  “Let's not get ahead of ourselves,” the second gnome, Wesson, replied. He was still typing hurriedly on the laptop.

  “What do you mean?” Kasey asked.

  “I mean, we have conflicting bidders, and the vampire is furious.”

  Smith shrugged. “He's a vampire. They are always angry.”

  “That they are,” Wesson replied. “I don't think he's used to losing.”

  “Losing?” Smith replied, his voice growing higher.

  “Yes, the newcomer has deep pockets. Very deep.”

  Kasey's heart skipped a beat. Someone else was trying to buy her off the bounty hunters. On a normal day, the concept might offend her but given the alternative was being fed to a vampire, she was willing to entertain, even encourage, the prospect.

  Who might have the money to manage such a feat? Perhaps it was the council? Sanders would certainly move heaven and earth to try and get her back, but that was a lot of money, and she doubted the bureaucracy of the Council could move so swiftly. It seemed far more likely that it was someone else. Probably Hades. He was the only person Kasey knew with that kind of money. Maybe Bishop had made it out of the church and called him. That thought cheered her up a little. Bishop looked pretty bad when she had last seen her, but Bishop was a fighter, not the sort to stay down for long.

  The thought of Hades buying her freedom brought with it its own issues. What would the Crime Lord want in exchange for such a price? She hesitated to even think about it.

  “The vampire king is not pleased,” Wesson reported. “He insists that he had an accord with the preacher.”

  Smith shook his head. “That is not how these things are done. Until the bounty is paid, the target is fair game. If the preacher cannot hold his prey, that is no problem of ours.”

  “Agreed,” Wesson replied, “but he will be angry all the same. I believe he intends to pressure us into surrendering the target. It has become clear that he cannot compete with the new bidder.”

  Cannot compete? How much money did Hades have? By all accounts, the vampire court had the resources of a small country.

  “Sever communications before he gets too carried away. If we don't hear the threat, perhaps he will not feel the need to carry it out,” Smith replied.

  “You are quite optimistic,” Wesson replied.

  “If worst comes to worst, we can simply retreat beyond the veil. The vampires cannot hunt us there. We can give him a decade or two to settle down. Angry or not, he will realize our services far outweigh any singular inconvenience.”

  “For this kind of money,” Wesson replied, “it will have been worth it.”

  “Not in front of her,” Smith replied. “Take the payment and arrange for them to come here. With the Feudal Court on the warpath, I don't want to risk moving her again.”

  Wesson's fingers danced over the keyboard and then he waited. “It is acceptable. She is on her way.”

  She? Her benefactor was a woman? That changed things considerably. Hades wouldn't bother to use an intermediary for a transaction of this importance.

  Someone else had interceded.

  “This is your lucky day, Miss Chase,” Wesson said. “She seems considerably better disposed to you than the vampire was. Most insistent that you are not to be harmed.”

  Wesson stood up, packed up the laptop, and put it in a carry bag.

  Smith's hands wandered to the pistol. “So please don't give us any reason to disappoint her. A few more minutes and this will all be over.”

  Kasey wasn't so sure about that. She had no idea who this new benefactor was and there was always a chance that the gnomes were simply lying to her to keep her under control, to keep her from causing trouble.

  Kasey looked around her surroundings. The warehouse was closed, and she had no idea where she was. She may not even still be in New York City for all she knew. With the explosive device, there seemed little chance to make a run for it without her head being reduced to a fine red mist. Whether the gnomes were lying about her benefactor or not, the explosives seemed even less likely to be a bluff. The gnomes had already used explosives to blow up her car and the church. It was not hard to believe they could wire the neck piece as they had promised.

  Even if Kasey somehow managed to incapacitate both the gnomes, the troll creature was still unaccounted for. If it was in the warehouse, she ought to be able to smell it, so it had to be waiting outside somewhere. An uncomfortable situation, to be sure.

  As much as Kasey didn't like to sit idly waiting for her fate to find her, for now it seemed the safer choice.

  She shivered and she wasn't entirely clear whether it was a product of the cold or the precarious position she found herself in.

  Being rescued by an unknown benefactor made it difficult to determine whether she was being rescued at all or simply jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. With the way her day had gone so far, it was difficult to be optimistic, but at this rate, she would have to burn down that bridge when she came to it.

  Kasey’s mother was serious about trying to discourage further attempts by bounty hunters, but it seemed more likely that the boldest of them would keep coming anyway. Somewhere out there, the Feudal Court was using her ancestor's tome to do who knew what.

  Given their track record, it was safe to assume they intended to use it to devastating effect. The preacher had said something about destroying the city. If they were using one of Carys' rituals, they could well have the means to do so.

  Cal's warning about a midnight appointment seemed all the more ominous now. Was it possible that they were already in position?

  Kasey didn't want to believe it, but the Court had been quiet for weeks. Was this what they had been building up to?

  Kasey almost wore a groove in the concrete as she paced back and forth.

  “She's here!” Wesson said.

  Smith pulled a remote out of his pocket and pressed the button. A garage door on the right-hand wall of the warehouse began to rise.

  A convoy of black SUVs rolled through the open door and slowed to a halt. The doors opened and a dozen men filed out, taking up positions around the vehicles. One of the soldiers strode to the middle SUV and opened the rear door.


  A tall woman with shoulder length black hair and an elegant form-fitting black dress emerged from the rear of the vehicle. She looked at Kasey and gave her one of those small waves that the queen liked to use.

  It was Kendra Harrington.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kasey had to work to contain the laughter that threatened to boil up within her. Kendra Harrington. It had been almost a year since Kasey had crawled out of the wreckage of Harrington Manor and frankly, she had been happy to put the entire disaster behind her.

  With everything that had happened there, and her subsequent transfer to the Ninth Precinct, Kasey hadn't given a whole lot of thought to what might have become of the Harrington heir.

  Life, it seemed, had been very good to Kendra Harrington. Gone was the haunted look that had plagued her features when they had last met. Now there was only a confident, self-assured woman who walked with purpose as she approached the two gnomes.

  Whether it was her fortune, or the small army that accompanied her, she seemed unfazed by the weapon-toting winter Fae.

  “Ms. Harrington, I must say we were pleasantly surprised to receive your offer. It has been years since a contract came our way from Harrington Industries.”

  Kendra smiled; it was a broad and disarming gesture. One that no doubt ensured few people ever said no to her, and even fewer said no to her money.

  The Harrington dynasty was in a class of its own. Their colossal family fortune would have made Scrooge McDuck wilt with envy and explained the vampire king's frustration.

  Trying to bid against Kendra would have been an exercise in futility. Her father had been one of the world's richest men before his passing, and the chaos his death had unleashed had ensured that only one of his children would survive to spend it. To Kendra, the five-million-dollar bounty was little more than pocket change.

  “Well, gentlemen, times change, as has the leadership of Harrington Industries. We lost my father last year, in an unfortunate incident,” Kendra said.

  Lester Harrington's murder was a well-kept secret. Of the people who knew what truly happened, only Kendra, Kasey, and perhaps a handful of staff at the manor had any idea.

  “We were sorry to hear of it. He was a shrewd businessman,” Smith replied. “We might have had a conflict of interests on the East Coast Acquisition, but we never wished him ill.”

  “You'll find my agenda differs from his considerably,” Kendra replied, “and after your service today, you can consider me a friend.”

  The gnomes regarded Kendra before nodding. The Fae took their obligations seriously. It was practically hardwired into their very being. Kendra had chosen her words carefully so as to be polite but not leave any impression of a debt.

  “You paid a heavy price to secure this troublemaker,” Wesson said. He stood unsteadily on the leg Bishop had put a round through.

  “She is also a friend,” Kendra replied. “I treat my friends well and it is no less than she deserves. She saved my life.”

  Smith studied Kendra, a gesture that required him to tilt his head up at an almost uncomfortable angle. “Ah. A debt to be repaid. That we can understand. You have made an enemy of the Feudal Court, should they discover it was you who intervened.”

  “I trust our transaction will be kept anonymous, as requested?” Kendra asked.

  “Of course,” Smith replied, adjusting the grey cap that rested on his head. “Our reputation hinges on our discretion. He won't find out from us.”

  “Excellent. Now if you wouldn't mind, could you please remove that device from my friend's neck? It won't be necessary.”

  Wesson produced a set of keys from his belt and hobbled over to Kasey. “Are you sure? She has quite the temper.”

  “She won't harm you while she's my guest,” Kendra replied, “but if you make another attempt on her life, I can give you no such assurance.”

  “Your intermediary was quite clear. Our payment is contingent on us abandoning the contract and taking no further action against Miss Chase.”

  “Then go right ahead. Kasey, please ignore your destructive tendencies until we have cleared the building.”

  Kasey let out a mock sigh. “If you insist.”

  Wesson stood in front of Kasey and looked up at her. “You can wait all day, but I'm not getting any taller.”

  Kasey let out a laugh. He had a point. There was no way the little guy was reaching whatever locking mechanism the collar was fitted with.

  Kasey squatted down and pulled her hair out of the way.

  Wesson walked around behind her, slid a key into the collar, and the lock popped free. Kasey felt the release of the weight as the collar came away.

  “If there is nothing else,” Kendra asked, “we will be on our way.”

  “We best be on our way as well,” Wesson replied. “Rhain made it abundantly clear what would happen if his minions got their hands on us.”

  Kendra put one hand on Kasey's back and pointed to the SUV. “After you.”

  Kasey headed for the vehicle, doing her best not to walk too swiftly. She didn't want to give the impression of being nervous. It never paid to show weakness to a predator. And no matter how diminutive the pair of gnomes might be, they were certainly predators.

  As Kasey reached the vehicle, one of Kendra's men opened the rear door for her.

  “Thanks,” Kasey said as she slid into the seat. The man closed the door behind her and Kendra joined her from the other side. The guards all clambered back into their vehicles and the convoy rolled out the same doors they had entered through, and into the night.

  As soon as they were clear of the warehouse, Kasey turned to Kendra. “Thanks for saving my bacon.”

  Kendra looked at Kasey and smiled. “It really was the least I could do after everything you did for me.”

  Kasey had had no notion of repayment when she had saved Kendra's life. It was simply the right thing to do, so she had done it.

  Of course, doing the right thing wasn't always easy to discern. She had spent most of that day trying to save Kendra's younger sister only to discover she had been protecting a killer.

  “If you don't mind me asking, how did you even find out that I was in trouble?” Kasey asked.

  Kendra crossed one leg over the other. “I saw the footage of you from the attack last December, the video of you fighting that wizard to save the city. I have been following your career ever since. “

  “Following?” Kasey asked, folding her arms.

  “With enthusiasm,” Kendra replied. “You saved my life and the city. Your well-being is clearly a good investment. When I learned of the bounty the Feudal Court placed on your head, I knew there would be trouble. As soon as I saw your interview I came to intervene. Unfortunately, the gnomes beat me to it.”

  “It’s a good thing they did,” Kasey replied. “That preacher is a charlatan who was working for the Feudal Court. He was holding me until his masters could arrive, but the gnomes spoiled his day. How did you find out they had me?”

  “One of my men saw them escape the church and I was able to make contact with them and negotiate for your release.”

  Kacey winced. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I’m afraid I can’t really afford to pay you back for that one. Council pay is okay, but it’s not ransoming-a-witch money, if you know what I mean?”

  Kendra laughed as she waved a hand dismissively. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d already be dead, Kasey. It was the least I could do.”

  “It was millions of dollars,” Kasey replied.

  Kendra nodded. “More than ten. But knowing I got to stick it to Rhain, priceless.”

  “You know him?” Kasey asked.

  “I know of him,” Kendra replied. “I’ve never had the misfortune of dealing with him myself, but Harrington Industries does business in Europe and Rhain has a habit of throwing his weight around by interfering in our transactions. I would have liked to see the look on his face, when the gnomes told him he had been outbid. He’d have been livid.”

&nb
sp; “It seems like the vampires have plans for the city,” Kasey replied. “His minions have been stirring up trouble here for months.”

  “But what did you do to get under his skin? That size bounty is personal,” Kendra said, as she reached for a bottle of water in her door’s compartment. It was one of those fancy brands Kasey had seen on TV. The bottle itself was made of glass rather than plastic. Kendra undid the lid and took a sip.

  “I killed his son,” Kasey replied. “I didn’t know who he was at the time, but honestly it wouldn’t have changed things if I did.”

  Kendra’s hand tightened around the glass bottle. “His son was here? In New York?”

  “Yes, running a high-end organ transplant scheme. He took my friend as an unwilling donor. I objected, vigorously.”

  Kendra's smile widened. She had seen Kasey in action and knew first-hand the destructive power she could unleash. When Kasey had left the Villa Maria, the Harrington's family estate, it had been a smoking ruin. Sure, some of Kendra's siblings had helped, but Kasey had been in the thick of things.

  “I'm sure you did,” Kendra replied. “Tell me more about this organ scheme.”

  A shiver ran up Kasey's spine. The thought of what they have been doing still featured in some of her nightmares. “They built a high-end private hospital and were using it to provide unauthorized transplants to wealthy patients. Those who might never make the top of the list could simply buy what they wanted from the Court. New heart, new liver, no problems. As long as your bank balance could afford it, the Feudal Court would rent you an organ.”

  “Rent?” Kendra asked.

  “Indeed. I attended the scene of a victim who was unable to make his repayments. One of the vampires had torn his heart out and used it to do an Impressionist's piece on the wall of his office. Apparently they wanted to send a message to anyone else who thought they might default on their payments.”

  “And the organs, they came from people like your friend?” Kendra asked.

  “Exactly,” Kasey replied, “so we torched the place and put a stop to it.”

  “What about all the organs that had already been placed?” Kendra asked, and then took another sip from her bottle.