Boreal and John Grey Season 1 (23 page)

“I thought you said he was fine by now,” Dave said dryly.

“Honestly?” Ella muttered, furious. “He’s had a concussion, cracked ribs and lost lots of blood. He shouldn’t have come in today.” She turned to Finn, met him glare for glare. “Told you to stay home.”

“I’m your partner,” Finn ground out. “Not your servant.” If he was dizzy, he didn’t show it — then again, with Finn it was hard to tell.

“Sorry, Dave.” Ella put a hand on Finn’s arm, and felt him tense under her touch. “We’ll talk about this later. Could you give me a printout of Simon’s notes?”

He slid a piece of paper across his polished desk. “That’s all we could retrieve. Read it and see if it triggers any memories, what you make of it.”

“Thanks.” She grabbed it, folded it and shoved it into her pocket.

“This information stays between us,” Dave grumbled. “It was a confidential discussion,” he sent Finn a pointed look, “so please let’s keep it that way.”

“As I’ve told you many times before, we’re in this together,” Ella said, guiding Finn to the door. “What I know, he knows.”

Without waiting for Dave’s surely nasty comeback, she pulled Finn outside and let the door close behind them.

***

“Are you okay?” She attempted to get Finn into the car but he resisted, a dark frown on his face. “Hey, only trying to help.”

“I’m okay.” Snapped without a hint of weakness.

“You said you didn’t feel well.”

Finn said nothing. Giving up, she left him to his own devices and went around the car to take the wheel. The drive back home was spent in buzzing silence. She kept glancing at Finn who was busy glaring a hole into the windshield.
Okay, what the hell?
He didn’t look pale or shaky.

Parking in front of their building, she turned to demand an explanation and Finn cut her a sideways look.

“I’m fine,” he said, a flush coloring his cheekbones. “I said it to draw you away from there.”

“Dammit, have you any idea how worried—” She bit her lip and clenched her hands on the wheel. “Okay, what’s going on?”

“You were going to give that man information you hadn’t planned on giving.”

“That man? Are you talking about our boss?”

Finn shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t trust him.”

From the way Dave acted, she’d say the feeling was mutual. “He said Simon wasn’t who we thought he was. That he watched me grow and took notes. That he met me, and I can’t remember any of it.” It left a bad taste in her mouth, it felt like a violation, that she couldn’t remember these things — and just how old was Simon, for Christ’s sake? “I talk to Dave because you don’t talk to me.”
Hint, hint, Finn
. “I can’t figure this out on my own.”

“What do you remember?” Finn asked quietly.

“Spirals. I see them in my nightmares.”

Finn nodded, face grim.

“What does it mean?”

“
Duergr
,” Finn spat. “If you saw spirals... You saw a Guardian.”

Hadn’t Simon’s girlfriend, Sarah, mentioned that word? “What are Guardians?”

“Servants of the Dark elves.”

Silence fell as she tried to digest this new bit of info. “You heard what Dave said about my supposed abilities?”

“I heard.”

Of course he did. Elvish ears weren’t pointed for nothing; probably as good as a cat’s. “The only thing I’ve proven good at, so far, is destroying my family and fighting Shades.” She turned off the engine, sat in the quiet. “But what if Dave is right? He knows more about these things than I do, that’s for sure.”

“I don’t trust him,” Finn said again, stubbornly. Not that she expected anything less.

“I know.” She hadn’t either, had thought Simon felt the same way — but if Simon had been the one lying all along? He’d kept things from her: his girlfriend, the book, knowledge of her dreams, and now maybe much more. Who could she trust? Finn had revealed he was a Boreal, the enemy, and she couldn’t rule out the possibility he was spying for the other side. Maybe she could talk to Mike.

“Ella?”

“Sorry.” Staring into the void again.
Sure sign of a healthy mind
. “Will you tell me about the dark elves and the Guardians?”

Finn stilled, then nodded.

“Good.” She tried for a lighter tone. “I think we need hot tea and cookies for this conversation.”

Finn opened his door, letting in an icy breeze. The snow hadn’t melted and it made iridescent lines dance on his face and hands. Goddammit, she shared an apartment with an
aelfr
— an alien being who’d crossed the Veil from another world where people had magic and rode dragons and fought scaly wolves. But when he glanced at her, a faint smile on his lips, he was just Finn, the man she trusted with her life.

How had she gotten into this mess?

She watched as he climbed out with a grunt and leaned against the car. His leg probably giving him trouble.

Getting out, she glanced over at him, found him blinking dazedly. He wasn’t pretending this time, she could tell, but as soon as he caught her gaze, he straightened and pushed off the car.

Stubborn, stubborn...

Waiting for him to make his limping way to the building, staying back so she wouldn’t be tempted to help him, she pulled out the piece of paper from her pocket and scanned the page Dave had given her.

Damned abbreviations
. Assuming ‘E’ stood for ‘Ella’, and the numbers for dates... Seeing things. Right. ‘9/8. E saw glimmer and rocks. Said looked like snow.’ ‘12/4. E scared. Said she saw a shiny monster and a woman.’ ‘10/7. E saw trees.’

Nothing about spirals. This made no sense.

When she looked up again, Finn had reached the building entrance. Making a mental list of goals for the day, she jogged to catch up, shoving the paper back into her pocket. Besides deciphering the damn paper, if it had any meaning, she would feed Finn and made sure he rested, then grill him until he told her all he knew. Then check on Missy, go through the rest of the book and have a talk with Mike. 

Who knew lack of attacks could prove so exhausting?

As for Simon... Her heart clenched. She thought she’d known him, that they’d been friends, but as it turned out, she’d known exactly
nothing
.

***

As expected, her plan didn’t pan out — foremost because someone had broken into the apartment and turned everything inside out. 

The apartment lock had been smashed. She stood in the living room and stared at the upended carton boxes with her meager belongings strewn across the floor, the drawers of the cabinet donated by Mike’s mother lying broken, their contents spilled.

She put a hand on her bag, felt the book inside, a hard, sinister presence. Was that what they were after? Could it be Simon had left some reference to it in his electronic files? That would have led them to the library, and then right to her. 

One of the armchairs had been smashed against the wall. An act of rage because they hadn't found the book? Or an act of rage because they hadn't found her or Finn?

She turned in a circle.

Finn returned from checking the bedrooms and entered the living room, his gun cocked and held in both hands.

“Clear?” she asked.

His face was drawn in worried lines. “Not sure.”

That had her pulling out her gun, too. “Is someone here?”

“No.” His gaze darted from wall to wall. “But the Veil is thinning.”

“Here, now?”
Shit
. “Will we get a warning this time?”

In reply, Finn raised his gun and took aim at the far wall. Turning, she saw a familiar mist rising and cursed.

The first Shade jumped out, a huge troll, running at them. Her gun and Finn’s fired at the same time. The Shade jerked backward and fizzled before it hit the floor.

Two more emerged, and Ella had the time to see horns and mottled hides before she aimed and took a shot, Finn’s gun going off a second later.

Then something knocked into her from behind, and she went down, flailing, dropping her gun. Her elbows knocked into the rug and pain raced up her arms.

Finn shouted her name and another shot cracked. Blinking black spots from her eyes, she rolled over, grabbing her gun from the floor. “Finn?”

He was on top of a nasty goblin, riding on its back, legs wrapped around the creature’s torso. He brandished one of his Bowie knives, his lips pulled back in a snarl. Drawing back his hand, he plunged the blade into the goblin’s chest.

The Shade wavered, then began to crumble. It fizzled out and Finn dropped to the floor in a crouch, the knife still held in his hand, dripping ichor. He turned, his gaze finding her, and some of the tension left his body.

“You’re all right,” he muttered.

A bang jerked him upright. It’d come from next door.

“Mike,” Ella whispered, and then they were both running outside.

Mike’s door was closed but unlocked. Damn man would never learn to be careful, would he? Ella pushed it open and they burst inside.

A kobold held Mike by the neck, long claws digging into his flesh. Blood dribbled down Mike’s throat, soaking his white t-shirt. Ella stood frozen, her gun in hand, when another sound came from the doorway to what had to be the bedroom. Was Scott in there?

Finn started toward the bedroom, a knife in each hand, and she turned back to Mike, holstering her gun and drawing her shuriken. Safer. In one smooth movement, she threw one at the kobold’s legs, and then the other. The creature flinched, turning, Mike still in its hold, then a surprised expression flitted over its leathery face. It wavered, half in and half out of reality, and then faded, dropping Mike to the floor.