by Sarah Noffke
The white tiger turned to gaze at Liv directly, a warning of sorts in his eyes. Suddenly, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d just signed her own death warrant.
Chapter Five
“You can’t do it!” Spittle flew from Clark’s mouth as they walked to the library, his hair a mess from running his hands through it. “It’s a trap. I’m sure of it.”
“I’ve already consented to do the case,” Liv argued. “And how is it a trap?”
“You’re just going to have to tell them that you aren’t going to do it.”
Liv halted, slapping his arm. “No. That’s just giving the Council more reasons to dislike me.”
“I thought you didn’t care about being liked,” Clark challenged.
“I don’t care if they like my attitude or the way I dress, but I don’t want anyone thinking I’m a coward.”
“Liv, you don’t understand. The House of Seven hasn’t negotiated with the fae in over a century. The first and only agreement took a long time, and in the process, Queen Visa murdered two Warriors. She’s not a stable person.”
“What?” Liv asked, continuing toward the library. “How did she get away with that?”
Clark shrugged. “She’s powerful. The Council forgave her when she finally committed to the agreement.”
“Well, then it sounds like the path has been set for me.”
Clark shook his head. “No, you’re not getting it. The first Warrior we sent? She killed him on the spot for even suggesting an agreement. The second one didn’t get much farther.”
“But the third did?”
“Well, he offered her something right off the bat.”
“Like what?”
“His first unborn child,” Clark answered. Reading the expression on her face, his forehead wrinkled. “No. Just no. There’s no way I’m going to allow you to do that.”
“Why? I wasn’t really planning on breeding anyway so the joke will be on her.”
Clark paused outside the library, his face completely serious. “You can’t. And it only worked for this particular Warrior because his first child was stillborn. Queen Visa was livid, but the agreement had been signed by then, and you know how the fae stick to those.”
Liv nodded, thinking about how she had entered into an agreement with the fae Rudolf without even realizing it, nearly committing herself to ten years of servitude.
“So she’s not going to go for your first child, and she’s going to be pissed that we’re trying to put controls on the fae. It’s a trap. She’s going to murder you before you get out a full sentence. Then Emilio will swoop in and take over. I’m sure that’s what the Council is thinking.”
“But why?” Liv asked. “I mean, I get that Adler hates me and Bianca is a stuck-up jerk, but Haro and Lorenzo want me dead? Do you think they suspect something?”
Clark opened the library door and held it for her. “I don’t think so. Warriors are expendable.” His face softened. “I’m sorry. You should never have to hear that, but it’s a common thing the councilors say among themselves. Well, not me, but you have a difficult job, and we realize you’re not always going to return from missions.”
“So I’m being used to prime the negotiations?”
“Yes, it seems like it,” Clark said in a whisper as they strode through the massive library. “But your attitude definitely hasn’t helped, I’m thinking. They did the same thing to Stefan originally; assigned him demon cases. I think Adler was hoping he’d get himself killed since he didn’t like his cocky attitude. However, Stefan proved to be particularly effective at fighting demons, surprising everyone.”
Liv searched the library, looking carefully in the least expected place for Sophia. “Well, then that’s what I’ve got to do. I’ll step up my game and rise to the challenge, surprising them all.”
A loud, frustrated sigh emerged from Clark’s mouth. “As talented as you are, I don’t think there’s a way for you to be successful here. Queen Visa will flip out when you propose that the fae cut back on seducing the mortals. The only thing that will soften her up is your death, which will prime the negotiations for when Emilio takes over.”
“Can we stop talking about my death, please?” Liv asked with a morbid laugh. “So, it sounds like this is a real case, then? Not just something they are throwing out there to get rid of me.”
Clark nodded. “Yes. It’s a growing issue. Every few decades the fae get out of control. The last time was when they started the Make Love, Not War campaign, causing tons of hippies to fall in love with them. Then when they got bored with them, the result was hazardous for the mortals, resulting in brain damage and mental disorders that we blamed on drugs in the seventies. Currently, there’s a rise in suicide rates, and we believe the fae are behind it. They get into mortals’ heads, making them lust for them, and just dispose of them when they move on to something new.”
“Then this is a worthy case,” Liv stated matter-of-factly.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I want my sister’s blood spilled for it.”
“Speaking of blood,” Liv said, pausing in an aisle. “Have you heard of the Ancient Chamber?”
Clark thought for a moment and shook his head. “What’s that?”
“I think it’s where we’ll find answers, and I think it’s over here.” She tugged him around the corner and pointed to the wall covered in the founders’ language. Her hand dropped when she noticed someone sitting nearby, reading a book in a chair.
Akio looked up, studying them.
“We can talk about this later,” Liv whispered to Clark. “Will you take over finding Sophia? I know she’s close.”
“You two are still playing that game?” Clark questioned, disapproval on his face. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. What if someone figures out that…you know.”
It was a risk, Liv realized. If anyone knew that the eight-year-old had her magic already, she’d be registered immediately and go straight into rigorous training. Liv wanted to delay that for as long as possible. Sophia deserved to be a kid. Furthermore, if anyone knew how powerful the little magician was, the Council might lock her magic. It was unprecedented in such a young child.
“Will you please just find her for me and tell her I’ll catch up with her later?” Liv asked, ushering Clark away.
He consented with a nod, his expression still serious. “Okay, but don’t go to the fae kingdom before you talk to me again. We aren’t done discussing this.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t run off and get myself murdered without letting you know first.”
“Ha-ha,” he said with no humor, striding off in the other direction.
Akio was still studying Liv as she approached him. “Are you playing that same game as before?”
“Yes. It’s sort of our thing.” She took a seat in the chair across from him. “You weren’t in the chamber earlier.”
“No, I’m doing research for a case.” Akio indicated the book in his lap. It was written in Japanese, a language she couldn’t read.
“Well, then you don’t know that the Council has assigned me to go into the fae kingdom to renegotiate the agreement we have with Queen Visa.”
“I heard,” Akio said, his face neutral.
“Your brother Haro voted for me to go. Do you know why he would do that? Does he have it in for me?” Liv asked, boldly. There was no point beating around the bush, and Akio, it seemed to her, was a very direct person.
“I don’t always know why Haro makes the decisions he does.”
“Clark seems to think that it’s a death mission,” Liv imparted.
Akio nodded. “I wouldn’t want to take on this case. However, have you considered that Haro voted for you to take the case because he thinks you can be successful at it?”
Liv shrugged. “Or I’m just setting the stage for another Warrior to take over.”
“Being a Warrior is a dangerous business. You already know that. But it’s important to remember that it’s also a very political
job. From what I’ve observed, you have a fresh perspective. Much like Haro and me, you having not been raised and trained at the House of Seven has offered you advantages. It could be possible that a new face who doesn’t act like other magicians is the right person to negotiate with Queen Visa.”
Liv hadn’t thought of it that way, and it opened up her chest slightly, taking away some of the mounting burden. “Thanks. I think that Adler still wants me out of the way. I’m sort of a pain in his ass.”
Akio chuckled slightly. “Stefan was the same way. You two will find a way to work together.”
“Speaking of training,” Liv began, “if I do return alive from the fae kingdom, I wanted to take you up on your offer of combat training.”
Liv had been sparring with Clark in her free time, but that wasn’t enough. She needed an expert. Someone who could train her, turning her into a deadly force.
For a moment, Akio didn’t say anything, only studied Liv. “I would be honored,” he finally said.
Liv didn’t know if she could trust Akio, but she needed to be trained in combat, and Rory refused to help with it. The Takahashis were legendary for their combat skills, so it only made sense to take him up on his offer, especially now that she had Bellator.
As if he’d read her thoughts, Akio asked, “First you’ll need a weapon. I can help you pick out the right one.”
Liv shook her head. “Thank you, but I already have one.”
“Very good, then,” Akio consented. “When you return, your training will start.”
If I return, Liv thought morbidly.
Chapter Six
Just before Junebug leapt off the crumbling porch into a patch of thorns, Liv caught him. Rory’s front yard was drastically different than the back, which was overflowing with lush flowers and vegetable beds and fruit trees. It was sort of ironic to her that the front yard looked so dilapidated in contrast to the back.
She held the chubby kitten above her head, allowing him to paw her nose. “You are just a troublemaker, aren’t you?”
He kicked at her hand, trying to free himself. If he had been Plato, he would have answered her, but this wasn’t that kind of feline.
She set Junebug down at the threshold of the house. He darted across the living room, tearing up the corner of the rug and sliding around the corner, his feet almost coming out from under him.
“Ummm, what are you doing?” Liv asked, taking in the scene before her. Rory was sitting in his chair, a basket of yarn beside him. He was knitting a blanket.
“I’m contemplating a new security system,” he answered, his eyes on the knitting needles in his hands. “Now that I have Turbinger, I think I need better security measures.”
“No, I meant, why are you knitting? Are you making blankets for the homeless?”
“It’s armor,” Rory lied.
Liv plopped down on the couch, lying back and watching as Buxter and Polly played with a ball of yarn in front of Rory’s feet.
“You’ve fattened the kittens up nicely. When do you plan to eat them?”
“In the spring when the zucchini squash is ripe,” Rory answered, not missing a beat.
Samson launched himself off the side of the couch, attacking Liv’s hair. She sat up, trying to wrestle the cat away from her. “Make sure I get an invite to this dinner party.”
“Speaking of food, when was the last time you ate?” Rory asked, gazing at her over his knitting. “You look a bit peckish.”
Liv threw herself back on the couch a bit dramatically. “Before I would have loved to have a four thousand calorie diet, but now it just feels like work. I can’t keep up unless I’m eating all the time.”
Rory whirled his finger in the air, and a huge slice of peanut butter pie covered in fluffy whipped cream appeared on the coffee table beside her. “It’s more about what you eat than how much. Choose high-calorie foods. Sweets are especially good for fueling your magic.”
Liv took a large bite of the pie, her eyes closing briefly in pure delight. “Wow, this is good. Did you make it?”
“Costco,” Rory lied again.
“Yeah, right. I can totally see you shopping next to soccer moms at Costco, stocking up on a hundred rolls of toilet paper and fighting for samples. How long do the jumbo packets of soap last you? One day?”
“Two,” he corrected.
Liv wagged a finger at him. “You’re a very strange giant, but I’m totally onto you.”
“There are better ways for you to spend your time.”
“Right,” Liv agreed, taking another bite. The whipped cream was definitely homemade and fresh. He’d probably made it that day. “That’s why I’m going to the fae kingdom to tell Queen Visa to make her people behave.”
Rory dropped his knitting in his lap, giving Liv a deathly serious look. “You’re kidding.”
“When have you ever known me to kid?” she joked. “And no, I’m not. The Council assigned me this case today. I know what you’re going to say, but—”
“You have to do it,” Rory interrupted.
“Okay, that was not what I thought you were going to say, actually.” Liv finished the last of the pie and eyed the plate longingly.
“If you step down from the challenge, you’ll lose the respect of the Council.”
Liv nodded, picking up the plate and licking it.
“Since they already think you have zero manners,” Rory stated, watching her with disgust.
She lowered the now-clean plate, wiping whipped cream from her nose. “Maybe I can get accepted into your Cotillion school for girls. You run that on the side, right? When you’re not feeding the homeless or helping the elderly with rent money?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rory stated, sniffing the air. “Do you smell that?”
Liv sniffed. “Yeah, it’s fire. Are you barbequing a pig in the back?”
Rory bolted out of his seat, his knitting falling on top of Buxter and Polly, who were still playing. He thundered across the living room, sticking his head out the door.
Liv followed him, identifying the source of the smell immediately. The front yard was on fire.
Chapter Seven
Rory darted out the front door, moving faster than Liv had ever seen him. He grabbed the hose from the side of the house, directing it at the fire, which strangely was circling the perimeter of the house, quickly spreading toward the center of the yard.
Liv blocked the kittens from following Rory, slamming the door and locking them in. Junebug was on the edge of the property, climbing a stick-like tree that was about to get torched. Pointing her finger at the cat, she muttered an incantation and he flew across the yard, landing safely in her hand.
As fast as she could manage, she opened the front door and gently tossed Junebug into the house, shutting the door before his brothers and sisters could escape. She was about to pitch in and help Rory put out the fire when he whipped around. “No magic! That will only make it worse. We have to put out the fire naturally.”
Liv didn’t question this, running over to the edge of the yard where the fire was lowest and daring to stomp on the flames. This worked until they were too high and she noticed rogue flames about to lick at the side of the house.
She ran over to a large empty basin beside the house. Using an elemental spell, she filled it with water that was in the ground of the yard. Then she directed it toward the fire by the house, drenching it at once. When she tried the spell again, it produced no water. That was all there had been.
Rory was mostly successful spraying down his side of the yard, but the flames by the sidewalk at the front were growing higher, fueled by the dry grass. Liv looked around, trying to figure out another option. Then she hurled herself back up on the porch, opened the door, and grabbed the large blanket off the couch. She leapt over the kittens, blocked them from getting out, and slammed the door shut again. The smoke from the fire made her cough as she ran over to the flames, whipping the blanket at them, blotting them out. It wasn
’t easy work, and she was sweating profusely by the time she put the fire entirely out.
She dropped the scorched blanket in the middle of the yard and watched Rory put out the last of the fires on the side of the house. He turned around, surveying the yard, his eyes finding the blanket immediately.
“Sorry about that,” Liv said at once. “I’ll buy you a new one.”
He mopped his forehead with a rag he’d pulled from his pocket. “You can’t. My grandmother knitted that from unicorn hair, which is why it was so effective at putting out the fire. Thanks for your help.”
Liv swallowed the guilt in her throat, looking around at the smoldering yard. “Who did this to your house?”
Rory gathered his brown curls, piling them on top of his head and wrapped a rubber band he’d pulled from his wrist around his hair, making a tiny ponytail. “It was me.”
“What?” Liv asked, sure she’d misheard him. “You set your own yard on fire?”
He shook his head, peering around protectively. “It’s part of the security system I just installed. The perimeter catches on fire if an unauthorized person steps onto the property.”
“I’m not sure I understand the reasoning here.”
“Well, I did say I needed a better system. I just threw this one up recently, thinking that I needed extra protection. The reasoning is that it’s supposed to scare away thieves. Who is going to walk through fire to trespass on a property?
“So you have a security system that uses fire, but you can’t teach me how to throw fireballs?” Liv dared to ask.
Rory let out an impatient sigh. “I already told you: that is gnome magic. This one works differently. The fire would worsen if someone tried to use magic to extinguish it, which I suspect they did.”
“It does appear to have worked,” Liv stated, looking around and not seeing a single person on the mostly deserted street.
“Yes, and that means my suspicions are correct. Someone is after the sword.”