Chapter 1 #2
I lead us over the sidewalk and up the short flight of steps to the weathered porch. Before I even reach the gate, Ms. Stryker opens the front door.
She looks just like she did before she stepped into the portal yesterday, still armored up in her black leather. But now she appears fully rested. If anything, her dark brown skin glows. No go-bag, though.
Her brilliant white teeth shine in a grin. “Alvin! Good.” Her eyes flick over to Rafa, and the smile falters. “And you brought a friend.”
Crap. I didn’t give her any heads-up about Rafa. And she did say not to talk to anyone. I really need to not screw this up any more than I have.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Stryker. This is Rafa. He’s a Monster Hunter, and he knows as much about the vampires as I do. More, actually. He’s, uh, been helping me with this from the start.”
Her eyes narrow, but her nod is indulgent. “Then I suppose you should both come in.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Rafa says, head bowed slightly, sounding like the most polite guy on Earth.
Smart move.
She unlatches the security gate and waves us inside.
As I pass the threshold, I expect the sour apple of protective wards, but there’s nothing.
A hint of acid in the air, but at best, it’s just residue.
Maybe she needed to take down the protections because of the “help” she said was on the way.
Or maybe she’s just so badass, she doesn’t need wards when she’s home.
A burgundy three-seater couch upholstered in plush velvet takes up most of the far wall of the small living room.
A long coffee table made from a single slab of oak rests in front, adorned with a small scorch mark in one corner next to two partially filled ceramic mugs of straight black coffee.
Under the bay window, a simple round cherrywood pedestal supports a lamp with a cream linen shade.
It casts a warm glow that doesn’t quite reach the corners of the room.
There’s a high-backed recliner, also in burgundy velvet with wooden armrests, next to a wall-mounted gas heater, and a chest-height bookshelf lined with pristine leather-bound hardcovers.
Off to the left, away from the window, a simple arch leads into an uncluttered white laminate kitchen.
There is no TV. The style is spartan, the furniture is from the 1980s, but somehow it still comes off classy.
Ms. Stryker directs us to sit on the couch. She takes the armchair, dragging it around so she can face us. I put the first aid kit on the heavy wooden table now between us, sliding the box toward Rafa. He ignores it, keeping his eyes on my boss.
“So,” she says, leaning toward me. “Tell me everything.”
Her intense, piercing eyes fix me in place, and I swallow hard.
“Well, first, you should know a bunch of kids are in big trouble right now.” I sneak a guilty peek at the Hunter.
“Rafa and I just riled up a whole nest of vampires, who are probably totally bloodlusted. More than a dozen young teens are in cages, they’ve already been fed on, and before we do anything else, we need to get back there—”
“Whoa!” She throws up her palm between us, stopping me. Her voice is stern, even a little impatient. “We’re not going anywhere. I can tell you’re upset, but if I’m going to help you, I need you to slow down and start from the beginning.”
“But the kids—!”
“—Will be fine,” she finishes. “Trust me. This is connected to the case I’m already working, and I have information you don’t.
” Her eyes narrow, her tone turning even more grave.
“The most important thing you can do for those children is to get me fully up to speed. Don’t leave out a single detail. It literally could mean life or death.”
Uff. I suppose it was unrealistic to expect her to spring into action on my say-so. She barely trusts me to get her morning brew, and I actually failed at the last attempt. Fine—I’ll just need to get through this as fast as possible, so we can get to the part where she saves the day.
There’s no point in bringing up the elf blackmailing me, so I decide to start with Nicole coming into the office and asking for help. I stick to the facts and keep my story all about rescuing Emma, which is a great plan—until I get to the mansion where I met Rafa and first encountered the vampires.
“Hold on.” Ms. Stryker raises a finger and scrunches her brow. “How did you even know to go to that house?”
Crap! I should have expected that question.
It will definitely lead to other questions I don’t want to answer and don’t have time to answer.
Ideally, I would have rehearsed what I was going to say on the way, but I was much too busy getting caught up in my own personal drama.
Typical. Now even Rafa’s looking at me with curiosity.
I swallow hard, but luckily, before I can even break a sweat, Collin is right there, doing his Cyrano de Bergerac thing. In an eyeblink, he’s shifted from across the room to the couch next to me, his shoulder warmly pressing into mine.
“Alvin, you’ve got this. Tell her that in researching the Benevolent Society on the Internet, the city records showed they had been paying the property taxes on a house on Lake Street. You figured if there was anywhere they’d be hiding Emma, it would be there.”
Is it actually true that the Benevolent Society was paying those taxes? (Possibly.) Is it likely that I’d be smart enough to do that kind of research? (Clearly not.) This will be me lying to her. Again. But I roll with it and repeat Collin’s words—which lets him save my bacon, yet again.
Ms. Striker’s lips curve appreciatively, even slyly. “I’m impressed, Alvin. But not surprised. Fine detective work. Go on.”
I myself am surprised by the compliment. She’s not exactly free with those. But it’s certainly better than the alternative!
The goal now is to lie as little as possible and motor through until we get to the kids.
I tell her I found the front door of the house on Lake Street unlocked, that I looked around a bit, heard the vampires come in, and then Rafa had to save me from them.
(I focus a little more on that part, because it takes the spotlight off myself.) I’m just about ready to move on when she interrupts again.
“And so you didn’t find anything in the house? It was a total bust?” Her eyes are shrewd, the corner of her mouth quirking down.
That makes me realize the next huge flaw in my story.
Assuming Rafa’s willing to let me skip over the part where I got attacked by an elf in my apartment and stole a car, there’s still the stuff I did in the Benevolent Society.
I’m going to have to claim all kinds of abilities and skills that she knows I don’t have.
Maybe Rafa was willing to accept that I have a way to “talk to spirits,” but Ms. Stryker will know that’s bullshit.
And even if I came clean as a paranormal (dangerous, because she also hunts monsters!), it still wouldn’t account for how I knew exactly where Emma was, how I found the secret passage into the Society from the sewers, how I thought I could pick military-grade locks…
Collin can only prompt me so well—the lies would be too big.
I have to tell her about the watch.
“No,” I say. “You know I can detect magic. When I was in the house, there was a big bright flare of power on the second floor. It led me to an enchanted artifact.” I glance over at Collin, who looks uneasy but doesn’t say anything.
“A watch that contains a spirit. The Avatar of Knowledge. It’s how I was able to find the kids. ”
This, of course, is not just new information for Ms. Stryker. Rafa’s shoulders stiffen next to me.
“Sorry, Rafa.” I wince. “This is one of the things I wanted to tell you earlier.”
He nods, frowning only a little.
But he’s not the only one that’s frowning. “I’ve heard of this artifact.” Ms. Stryker’s voice is measured. “May I see it?”
I give Collin one more look. He eyes Ms. Stryker, wary. He looks vulnerable. Maybe even a little scared.
But my boss is one of the most powerful and accomplished paranormal investigators in the world, not to mention a true hero. She literally saved my life on the day we met. Collin has to know I can’t refuse her.
He rests his fingers on my forearm.
“I’ll see you soon, Alvin, right?” His bright blue eyes are fixed on mine. Still looking nervous.
I give him a reassuring nod, then remove the watch from my back pocket. He disappears immediately.
Stryker crosses the short distance, slides the coffee table toward Rafa, and kneels down in front of me. Again, I’m struck by how luminous her skin is. She’s probably gotten even less sleep than I have, and she looks like a million bucks.
She studies the decorative metalwork of the artifact in my palm, and her lips thin. “This is ancient druid magic. Very powerful. I’m sure with your abilities, you can recognize that.”
“Yeah,” I say, squinting a bit against its blaring, brain-freezing iciness. “If I deliberately look for magic, it’s like I’m holding a flare in my palm.”
“And… you used its power?”
I can tell from her tone that she doesn’t think that was a great idea. But there’s no point in lying about this, either.
“I have. The spirit can answer pretty much any question. He’s who helped me get into the vampire lair and then helped us get out in one piece.” I picture the Irish boy’s roundish cheeks and his tousled mop of golden hair and can’t help smiling. “His name is Collin.”
Stryker’s eyes widen. “Is that so? A very modern name for an ancient spirit.”
“Yeah. He, um, looks like a guy my age.” I shift uncomfortably, reminded of my conversation with Tara, where she made a similar observation.
“He’s also in trouble, so I told him I’d try to find some way to free him.
Maybe after you save the children, you can, uh, help with that, too…
” That last part comes out as a mumble. I realize I’m piling on the requests for favors.