Chapter 71 #11
“You’re in early,” he said as he studied her.
“I gave the commander your letter of resignation. He didn’t have any trouble taking it, but he’s not sure about you working out your two-week notice.
You haven’t been here long enough to have any time coming to you that you can use in lieu of the notice, but he’s going to talk to human resources.
After yesterday, the powers that be aren’t thrilled to have a precinct under siege because of one junior detective. ”
“I have a way to fix the problem.” Beth held out her gun and holster.
When he didn’t take it, she laid it on the big table where they reviewed evidence.
“The Arcana have agreed to help me with the search for Yaron Kali and the other people who recently went to Wyrd and disappeared, but I’ll need to be over there to accomplish anything.
I can’t take a weapon with me. I can lock it in a drawer in my desk, or you can take it. Whichever you prefer.”
“How long will you be gone?” Castelletti asked.
“Three or four days. A car is waiting to take me to the ferry. I’ll go over today and start the search.”
“You’ll report in?”
“When I can. There are places in Wyrd that don’t have cell service—or phones of any kind.”
“I’ll authorize you going over to participate in a cooperative effort to search for the missing people. That way you’ll be officially on duty…”
“But out of sight,” Beth finished.
Castelletti nodded. “I’ll secure your weapon until you get back.”
“I’d better get going.”
“Good hunting.”
On her way out, she nodded to Ian Kuhn, who was on his way in. No one else greeted her, and she couldn’t blame them. Bonnie’s accusations had smeared all of them at the 13th.
As the car headed for the ferry’s pier, she wondered if that had been Bonnie’s intention. And she wondered how everyone’s fate might change because of it.
51
Colin stepped out of the trading post. The language lessons were still interesting, and the weaving was interesting because Mom would be excited to hear about it when he got home, but the chores he did at the trading post were leaning toward boring now that the excitement of being in Llamalidia was wearing off.
Then he noticed Tia Downing standing near the road, looking at the sky in a way that made him uneasy. “Tia? Is something wrong?”
“Storm’s coming.”
“The sky looks clear.”
“Not that kind of storm.” She turned toward him.
“You need to leave while there’s still a chance of you getting home, so you finish up and pack up today.
Tomorrow we’ll take the bus to the town I told you about.
We’ll eat hamburgers and fries and see a movie.
The day after, you’ll get on a bus for Destiny Park—and you’ll stay focused on needing to reach the park. ”
“What’s happening?”
“I’ve told you Wyrd isn’t the only place in the world that is a convergence of the uncanny, and each of those places has a Sorcerer King.”
“Gender prejudice.”
That made her smile. “Not really. Some of them are female, but all of them are called kings.” Tia rubbed a hand over her short hair.
“Llamalidia is a neighborhood that moves between two convergences, and when that happens, the Llamalidians and I are safe in both of those places. But sometimes something stirs things up in a way that provokes the Sorcerer Kings, and then it’s like surviving a bad storm and being tossed onto an unfamiliar, and potentially dangerous, shore.
Usually, the Sorcerer King who rules over Wyrd can hold his own against such disturbances, but if someone stronger is trying to shake up the world—or alter the fate of a lot of people—it can be bad for all of us.
That’s why you need to get to a place that is anchored in Wyrd, a place where you can reach your home and family. ”
Colin rubbed his chest, trying to ease muscle tension. “I’d better get to my lesson. At least I’ll have one place mat finished today to bring home to my mom.”
Tia went back to looking at the sky.
Colin hurried to reach the cria and tell the adults he was leaving tomorrow. He should have had weeks left to live among the Llamalidians. Since that couldn’t happen, he was going to say goodbye to his friends and then focus his intentions on getting home.
52
Beth wasn’t sure what Jack Frost meant when he’d told her to bring what she would usually use during a workday, but she filled her large purse with a travel kit of toiletries, her wallet, tissues, and a paperback. If asked, she would explain that it was something to read during her lunch break.
She had no idea if she would get a lunch break once she officially started working for the Arcana.
She’d been given a room in the private wing of the hotel. The banker’s box that held her laptop and e-reader was stored in the closet. All her other things were in a secure storage space in the hotel so that she could take her time choosing which cottage she wanted for her own.
But that was something she would consider after this assignment. Right now, she had to meet Jack at the pavilion.
The Ladies Three weren’t in their room yet, but Jack was there, standing near the dark archway that led to the armory.
“This way,” Jack said, leading her into the room that held cases of weapons that had been used for centuries and still couldn’t be traced.
Ethan stood behind one of the cases and gave her a careful study. “Your police weapon. Nine millimeter?”
“Yes, but I didn’t bring it,” Beth replied.
“Wouldn’t do you any good here if you did,” Jack said. “But for what we’re doing, you need a weapon, and it’s better if it’s one you’re comfortable handling.”
“Nine mil it is.” Ethan opened a case and took out a gun and a clip. “Full clip, but there isn’t a round in the chamber.”
Beth shook her head, thinking of the man who died after firing three bullets from one of these ghost guns. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” Ethan said. “The Ladies Three have decided that there is no cost to you for the use of the gun, and the cost of every bullet you use is one day of your life. However, if you fire the weapon in self-defense or to protect someone else, there is no cost at all. Since you’ll be going with Jack, it’s unlikely you’ll need to draw your weapon, but Lucas requires that you have one, just in case there’s trouble.
” He holstered the weapon and handed it to Beth.
She took it and attached the holster to her belt. It felt like her police issue weapon, but it felt like something else too. Something more. She wondered if she would need to bring it back at the end of the day, or if it would return to its spot in the case on its own.
Leaving Ethan, Jack headed back to the hotel, giving Beth a look that made her think he saw her as a frisky puppy he was saddled with for a day.
“Have you eaten?” Jack asked.
“Not hungry.” She’d been too unsettled to eat much since she saw Bonnie on the news.
A huff of annoyance. “Put something in your belly before we go, and take care of any personal things you need to do. Today we’ll be driving on the road that circles Wyrd and checking the static neighborhoods, so there should be places where we can stop to eat and eliminate”—Beth felt her face heat, but she realized Jack wasn’t being crude; he was providing information he felt she needed—“but the distance between them can be farther than you would expect.”
“Right. When do you want to leave?”
“In an hour. Someone will show you the way to the vehicle we’ll be using.”
Beth learned there were plates with covers that residents and staff used when they wanted a private meal, so she made her selection from the hotel’s buffet and added a mug of hot chocolate instead of coffee. Back in her room, she ate while she considered what she was doing—and why.
She wanted to do one good thing while she was still on the police force in Penwych. And she wanted to show the leaders in Wyrd that she could do the job they needed her to do.
She wanted to find Yaron Kali. She wanted to bring someone home.
And she wondered if Jack held the same, if opposite, prejudices about her that her colleagues at the 13th precinct held, and thought she was a little too human to be useful.
53
“Rahele?” Lucas called.
Rachel ignored him. She was out on the perch instead of sulking in her cage, wasn’t she? She was cleaning her feathers like she was supposed to, wasn’t she?
Lucas had no right to give her a disapproving look just because she still felt sad.
“You have a letter,” Lucas said.
Probably from her agent. Apparently, an author disappearing boosted book sales, and there was talk of new cover designs for her books and various “first in a series” sales.
Ashley reviewed all of those e-mails, as well as sending a “Rachel is doing fine” weekly report.
It wasn’t like in TV cop shows where a photo was sent with the person holding a newspaper to show the date for proof of life.
She could imagine the reaction from people if a picture was sent of her in this form standing on top of a newspaper.
“It looks like it’s from Faulkner.”
Faulkner sent her a letter?
Rachel launched herself off the perch and flew into Lucas’s office.
She hadn’t been flying in place or flying outside for several days, and realized the exercise phrase “use it or lose it” also applied to flight muscles.
She aimed for Lucas’s shoulder but didn’t have the height.
Smacking into his arm, she got her nails into the fabric of his shirt and, using nails and beak, climbed up to his shoulder, twittering excitedly.
Lucas jerked his head. “You don’t have to twitter so loud. Your head is right next to my ear.”
She preened a few of his hairs as an apology, then pressed her head against his cheek.
“Would you like me to read it to you?”