24. Incriminating evidence
Shandy woke so late the next morning that Fred had already brought home some breakfast, eaten his, then hers, and was starting to get hungry for lunch. She was finally woken up by her phone ringing.
“That was Bob!” she said, when Fred came into the bedroom, where she was already throwing on some clothes. “He told me that Foxy’s found something. He wants us over at The Rock Tavern ASAP!”
“I think I might have no pure human left in me now!” Shandy boasted, as Fred drove as quickly as he could through the busy streets. “I’m not sure how Bob will take that! Maybe I should show off my skills!” She put her hands into firing position.
“Maybe wait to test that out at the gym tonight!” Fred said, eyes wide. “Anyway, you got that from Dina, not me.”
“Well, Dina, via you!” Shandy giggled.
“Maybe you should work on other types of attack too though. Fire won’t always be the answer. For a start, if we are up against the Dragon Lord, I don’t think fire would do much.”
“I hope we’re not!” Shandy shuddered. “Sounds scary!”
Part of Fred wanted to agree, but more of him was ready now for whatever fight was on the cards.
The bar was closed, and Bob had set up his makeshift office at the corner table again. Foxy smiled at them both, but the concern in her eyes prevented her smile from reaching them.
“Hey!” she said, weakly. “Let me show you what I’ve found so far.” She turned Bob’s laptop towards them, to show an image of Cara’s car. “Watch carefully.”
The first time they watched through, all they really noticed was a woman walking past, peering in through the front window, but passing on.
“This time, look behind the car, just after that woman goes past. Look out for the red car.”
They watched again.
“That’s Dina’s car!” Fred said, slamming his fist on the table.
“Now let me show you that bit frame by frame.” Foxy paused the video and they could clearly see an object flying from the passing red car. “I am fairly sure that was a mobile phone,” she said, her brow furrowing as she looked up at them.
“So Dina was involved in making Cara disappear?” Shandy asked. “I can understand her being jealous, but that’s ridiculous!”
“That’s only part of the story,” Bob added, glowering and turning the laptop round to face him.
“I’ve been looking into the magic readings around London,” he said, turning the screen back towards them.
“And while the concentrations of magic are normal, with a peak around the Dragon Lord’s Lair, as would be expected…
if you zoom in further… you find the normal dragon magic is mixed with a tiny percentage of elven magic! ”
“Cara!” Fred growled. “They must be holding her there and she’s trying to use her magic to escape!”
“I don’t like to jump to conclusions,” Bob answered, “but that does seem to be the case.”
“The fox network also noticed some unusual comings and goings, around the time of Cara’s disappearance,” Foxy added, “but without the context, they didn’t set off any alarm bells. If the Dragon Lord has taken Cara, it’s been done subtly enough to help prevent a sudden reaction on our part.”
Fred felt anger run through him. His fists balled, and the power that had been building in each magical, sexual encounter, throbbed to be released. He ached to release this tension, preferably was a fist into the face of whoever was to blame for taking Cara from him.
“I think we’ll have to start with the normal diplomatic avenues” Bob said. “If we jump in too fast the whole of magical London will be in an uproar. We can’t disrupt the ever-fragile peace without reasonable justification.”
Fred glared at Bob. “So, are you saying we should do nothing? What if Cara’s in danger?”
“We have to do something,” Bob agreed, “but it has to be the right something. I will organise an audience with the Dragon Lord. Maybe you two could have a word with Dina. You’ll be going to the gym again tonight, I assume?
Chester told me how well you did yesterday,” Bob added, with a nod towards Shandy.
“I suggested the two of you might want a longer session today, if Shandy’s making such good progress. ”
While Shandy went to pack more clothes to take round to Fred’s, so he wouldn’t have to drive her home to The Rock Tavern after the gym, Fred took himself out for a walk.
He followed the tow path along the canal to distance himself from the cheerful crowds in the market and around the pubs.
His physical presence demanded the same respect as usual, but today his scowl made anyone coming towards him give him an extra wide berth.
He wished for a moment that he had Dina’s wings, or her ability to disappear, so he could soar above it all, and maybe even find Cara in the process.
Thanks to his walk, by the time he was driving back to his apartment with Shandy, his anger had dulled a little. His soul was still twisted with the need to act, but he could convince himself that confronting Dina would satisfy that urge, at least for now.
“It sounds like you were right about the Dragon Lord,” Shandy said softly, placing a hand on Fred’s knee. “Tonight, I think we should focus on something other than flames. I bet Dina’s fireproof.”
“If the Dragon Lord’s got her, I’m guessing Dina is the least of our problems,” Fred mused. “I mean, she seems pretty powerful to me, but her boss has got to be a lot worse!”
“I thought I knew plenty about the magical underworld of London from Bob,” Shandy said, “but now I feel like he was shielding me from a lot of it. I only got involved with the light and fluffy side of things, helping magical immigrants settle in and the like. And now I find out there are all these tensions under the surface! I feel like he was lying to me all along!”
Fred put his hand over Shandy’s. Bob was the closest thing she had to a father figure, and now he was proving himself unworthy of that trust. At least his father had shown his true colours from the start. Fred fumed on her behalf.
In the time they had before Chester would be ready for them at the gym, Fred and Shandy ordered in burgers.
“I can’t imagine sitting in a restaurant right now!” Shandy said. “I feel like anyone could be against us now. For all we know, the guy delivering the burger was a dragon too!”
“Hopefully we’ll find out what’s going on soon, get Cara back, and things can go back to normal,” Fred said.
He hoped there was conviction his voice, because there was none in his heart. If he got Cara back, he wouldn’t feel safe with things going back to normal. Whatever happened next would have to be different.
“I should probably go to a casino with you again!” Shandy grinned. “But this time you’ll feel brave enough to snog me when you win! And maybe we can get to know that cabaret performer a little better.”
Fred chose not to rain on Shandy’s parade, but he couldn’t envisage that scenario either. Right now he wanted to whisk them both off to a cabin in the woods, preferably with a gun or two like the farmer had fired at them.
I can’t feel free here anymore! Did the Portal Pill pick up on something else I wanted? That shouldn’t be possible! And no one would want this!
When they parked at the gym, Fred was disappointed not to see Dina’s car.
“We are early,” Shandy reassured him. “Maybe she’ll be along later.”
The gym was still welcoming humans, so, while Fred recognised some faces, anything fantastical was missing from their bodies.
They went straight to the studio, accompanied by Chester.
“If you associate anger and your fire power, it might be best to call on other powers by using other emotions,” Chester explained.
“Are you expecting Dina tonight?” Fred asked. “Maybe we should wait and get any anger out of the way before we start.”
“Funnily enough, she just called to pause her gym membership,” Chester answered, grimacing. “So you can get any anger out of your systems now!”
“Guilty conscience or what?” Shandy fumed. “She didn’t dare show her face!”
“Even more reason to focus on something other than fire magic tonight then!” Chester added. “You might get the satisfaction of using it on Dina herself!”
Anger stabbed through Fred’s chest. Dina? All the evidence pointed towards her, but he still didn’t want to believe. She liked him, didn’t she? Right from his first moments on Earth, she had liked him.
“So what emotions should I try to use then?” Shandy was asking, as Fred pulled his mind away from his own, dark thoughts.
“They reckon love is as strong as anger,” Chester grinned, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Maybe Fred could help you with that one too.”
Fred leant down to whisper in Shandy’s ear again, breathing in her perfume, letting his lips graze her neck. She sighed with pleasure and his anger melted enough for him to find his voice again.
“Shandy, you are amazing. I’ve wanted you since the very first day I arrived on Earth.
I kept wishing I knew if you liked me, but nothing ever seemed enough.
I watched you, I saw how kind and funny you were.
You did everything you could to help me, never asking for anything in return.
Being with you was a dream I thought would never come true. ”
As Fred spoke, Shandy focused on her hand. Twinkles of blue spiralled upwards from her palm as Fred channeled his emotions into words. She turned towards Fred and a smile lit up her pretty face.
“Thank you, my love!” she whispered. “Now let’s see what our love can do!”
Shandy let the Elven magic kindle between her hands and then flung it towards the target at the other end of the room. Where the magic made contact, the effect was less stunning and immediate than it had been with her flames of rage, but it slowly and steadily ate away at its inanimate victim.
“Excellent!” Chester bellowed. “Now try mixing in some extra emotions, for a little more oomph! Pride maybe? Or a little lust?”
Shandy threw a mischievous grin at Fred’s groin, making his cock lurch in appreciation. Her next blast sizzled quickly through the target.
“That’s it!” Chester said. “Honestly, I’m impressed! Plenty of born magic users can’t master their powers this fast. You’re a natural!”
Fred pulled Shandy close and she tipped her head back for a kiss. Happiness flooded through him as her soft lips moulded to his.
As the training session progressed, Shandy mastered quick blasts that burrowed straight through the target, and slow rolling balls of power that shattered on contact and devoured the target in one blow.
As Shandy grew ever more jubilant and exhausted, Fred flicked back and forth between pride in her progress and fear at the thought of her being in battle. A burning ache to protect her had been kindled in his chest.
Just as they were winding down the session, Chester’s mobile began to buzz, and he excused himself to his office to answer. The moment he was out of the room, Shandy jumped up to throw her arms round Fred’s neck, and he lifted her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around him and clung on tight.
“I’m exhausted,” she whispered in his ear, “but maybe you could use some magic to revive me?”
Fred’s cock lurched at the thought. She was right. A little magic could help them both. Their lips met, and he felt his heart soar and his fears subside.
When Chester came back in, frowning, the kiss ended and Fred dropped Shandy gently to the ground, and those fears returned.
“That was Bob. We meet with the Dragon Lord tomorrow,” Chester said.
Fred drove a sleeping Shandy back to the penthouse. He lifted her out of the car, careful not to wake her, and carried her into the building.
She can’t come with us tomorrow, Fred thought, looking at her peaceful form reflected in the mirrored walls of the elevator. She is too precious to me. I can’t be distracted from saving Cara by trying to keep her safe!
He lay her down in his bed, pulled the covers over her, and left her to sleep.