Athens, Greece – June, 1961
Once I was close to the airport, I pulled the dèideag dìon out to see if they had any instructions, but they gave me nothing.
The Seer had mentioned a bar, and it seemed likely that people flying to America would have drinks at their hotel. I drove toward the airport until I saw a couple of Wonders standing in front of a small hotel. Perfect.
After I parked, I pulled the dèideag dìon out again. “Is this the right place?”
They did not respond.
Sighing, I put them back in the rucksack.
I was about to get out of the car, but I hesitated.
I’d been sleeping rough for several days now, and I looked it.
I hadn’t bothered shaving, and my shirt was dirty and stained.
But the luchd-òl fola I’d killed two weeks ago had been carrying fat wallets.
Might as well get a room and take a bath.
Maybe the hotel offered laundry service.
I stuffed as many of my clothes as I could into a carryall, then I strode into the lobby, booked a room, and arranged for my things to be laundered as if I did it all the time.
The clerk even pointed me at a barber shop across the street.
I tipped him well, so hopefully I merely came across as eccentric.
Three more Wonders were sitting in the lobby, and we exchanged nods as I walked to the lift.
Most Wonders and magic carriers assumed I was a type of Wonder they’d never encountered before.
Which, once I thought about it, was true.
Those of us non-Elves who worked around the palace tended to think of ourselves as separate from the Wonders, but we really weren’t.
I wasn’t an Elf, and I wasn’t a magic carrier. I was a Wonder.
They were my people now.
Putting on my cleanest clothes, I left the rest stacked on the bed as instructed, ready to be laundered.
I took my rucksack with me to the barber, and the dèideag dìon didn’t make any movements.
Hair trimmed and beard shaved off, I felt more like someone who could talk a stranger into taking an Elven-created being across the ocean with them.
The bar wasn’t too crowded, so I took a seat on a stool where I could see the entire place at a glance. No fox shifters were here yet, but it was still early.
I nursed two Sidecars before the bartender, who’d been impressed with my mastery of the Greek language, encouraged me to order some food. The kleftiko was delicious, and I was scraping the last of the sauce off the plate when someone appeared at my elbow.
“Man, you can get food here? Seems like you enjoyed it. What was it?”
I looked up, feeling an odd combination of certainty, dread, and anticipation when I locked eyes with a fox shifter. He appeared to be around thirty years old, but he was probably a lot older. He had tousled reddish hair and a roguish grin.
I smiled politely. “I had the kleftiko. Lamb marinated in garlic and lemon with potatoes.” I tilted my head toward the bartender. “He can set you up.”
The bartender, used to tourists, spoke enough English to take the man’s food and drink order, so I didn’t need to translate. I’d put my rucksack on the floor between my feet, and I nudged it to see if the dèideag dìon was moving, but I didn’t feel anything.
The fox shifter leaned on the bar and eyed me up and down. He glanced at the bartender, who was helping a customer several stools away, before turning back to me. “I’m Jimmy.”
“Simon.”
“Nice to meet you, Simon. Sorry for staring, but your magic looks familiar, though I can’t place it.”
I twisted to face him more fully. Could he have seen some of the luchd-òl fola? Might as well find out what the truth got me. “Vampire.”
He froze, his drink halfway to his mouth. Then he narrowed his eyes. “I thought all of you went... away when the portal closed.” This last was said in a whisper.
I blinked. “Most people don’t know about us. Only the Earth myths.”
He grinned. “I’m a pilot. I flew some Elves back and forth across the Atlantic during the war.”
“Interesting. You weren’t conscripted to the U.S. Air Force?”
After another quick look around, he held out his hand and began a partial shift. His fingers fused together, but he was able to stop the transformation there. “Sadly I was born with a congenital issue that didn’t allow me to serve.”
I raised my glass. “Smart.”
He sipped his own. “I’m not a joiner, but I did do my part.
Which is how the Elves found me. I was transporting some Jewish kids out of France, and they were trying to do the same thing.
I met a couple of vampires on one of my flights.
They were talking about going home. Didn’t you want to go back too? ”
Time to try some honesty again. “Right before the portal closed we discovered some Wonders were being kidnapped. I stayed behind to track down the people responsible.”
His eyes went wide. “Did you find them?”
The bartender put the guy’s dinner down on the bar, so I waited until he left to reply. “Some of them. I’m still chasing the rest. Have you heard of any Wonders going missing recently?”
He frowned down at his food, then he pointed his fork at me. “I was about to say no, but I was just in Patras, and a banshee was complaining that her no-good son had run off.” He shrugged. “Might be something, might be nothing.”
I nodded. “I don’t have any other leads right now, so it’s worth checking out. Thanks.” I sipped my Sidecar and gave him a few minutes to eat in peace. When he slowed down and started picking at his food, I began the conversation I’d come here for. “What are you doing now that the war’s over?”
He lifted one shoulder. “Moved on to transporting packages, products for companies and such. All on the up and up of course.” He winked.
I smirked. “Of course. Are you in Athens long?”
The bartender came by to refresh our drinks and we thanked him.
The fox shifter clinked his glass with mine. “To successful journeys.”
“To successful journeys.”
He sipped and then put his glass down. “I’m headed home in the morning. New York City.”
“No kidding? I haven’t been there yet.” The King had kept to Scotland for the most part, which as the head of his Royal Guard, I appreciated.
But it meant I hadn’t been able to see much of Earth.
Until the portal closed, of course. I rubbed my finger along the bar top.
“Like I said, I’ve never been to New York, but I wonder if I could engage your services to take a. .. friend back with you.”
He leaned one elbow on the bar. “It’s not cheap.”
“I have twenty British pounds.”
He smiled. “I’m listening. Tell me about your friend.”
I picked up my rucksack and opened it. After giving my own glance around the room, I pulled out the dèideag dìon.
The fox shifter’s eyebrows went up. “Not a very talkative friend.”
I ran my fingers over the runes on the dèideag dìon’s back, and they sparkled.
“Shit!” He looked around, but no one was paying attention.
I put them back in the bag. “They’re sentient. The Elves created them. They can take different forms, and if you know Elvish, they can communicate through the runes.”
His eyebrows drew together. “You’re sending them to someone in New York?”
I shook my head. “They asked to go. No specific destination yet.”
He sat back in his chair, running his hand over his stubbled jaw. “Okay, so say I take them with me. Then what?”
I smiled. “Well, they might stay with you, in which case you’ll have acquired a hell of a protector for your family. They love children. Or they’ll make it known to you that they need to be given over to someone else.” I spread my hands out. “It’s up to them.”
He eyed my rucksack before meeting my gaze, one eyebrow raised in challenge. “What if I sell them?”
I shrugged. “They have some foresight skills. They asked to be brought here and to fly away. Whatever you do with them, they’ll already know it’ll happen.”
He cursed under his breath and leaned back on his stool. After taking a hefty swallow of his drink, he turned back to me and nodded. “I don’t have a family of my own yet, but I like the sound of a protector for my loved ones. You’ve got a deal.”
“Thank you.” I was relieved the dèideag dìon would be on the path they were meant to take, but I dreaded losing the only companion I’d had for the last fifteen years. I’d have to remember to take a photo of them before they left.
Jimmy gave me another up and down look, but this one was much flirtier. “The vampires I met during the war, they told me if I let them feed from me, it would be... pleasurable.”
I gave him a once-over back. “It can be.”
He drained his drink. “Prove it.”