eldritch files 07 - elemental blood (3 page)

But after a few weeks, I started having nightmares. Horrible dreams where my mother called to me and I couldn't find her. I was trapped in a room with no light, no feeling, only the sound of her cries. I’d wake with Bastien beside me in wolf form and throw my arms around him as I cried.

I'd cried a lot those first few weeks.

I hadn't since.

Until now.

He brushed a tear away with his thumb. "How long?" I asked him.

"Three days." Bastien took in a quick breath, but exhaled a long sigh. "That was too long to be unconscious,
chérie
. Each time…you sleep longer. You barely breathe. It is time to go home."

"No." My answer came too fast, too forceful. "I can't. I can't let her get away with what she did, Bastien. She nearly killed me. She nearly killed—" I stopped. I hadn't mentioned
him
in a month.

"Holliard," Bastien filled in. "Lethe is after Crwys because she believes she loves him, no? She believes he is hers. She came after you because of him." He chewed on his lower lip. "I say the same thing I said a month ago. Home is where you will find her, Samantha. Not here."

:He's right. Not that you'll listen to me either.:

"Just shut the hell up," I muttered. When I looked at Bastien's face, I said, "Not you. Arcana."

"What does it say?"

"That you're right."

"I like that." He smiled. "Then we go back."

"No." I pushed my way to a sitting position, even though it took me a few minutes. Bastien tried to help, but I batted him away. I didn't want to be helped. I wanted…

I wanted my mom back. "Did you check the web for any odd sightings?" I limped over to the laptop on the standard motel room table. Notebooks, papers, pencils and left over fast food boxes littered the space around it. "If we can get another place to look, I can use my Tracking to find her again."

"
Chérie
—" Bastien stood and faced me, his arms low at his sides. He wore his standard tight jeans, white socks, and dark t-shirt. This one was logo-less. No iconic image. Just a plain, dark shirt. "Your Tracking nearly killed an innocent creature, no? You are tired. Exhausted. There is nothing here. The trail ended two states ago."

"No. I won't believe that." I plopped down in the chair and typed the password. I was more than a little irritated to see my own website pop up.
Bell, Book and Candle
. My magic and herb shop in the French Quarter. "What were you doing while I was out, Bastien?"

He didn't answer.

"What?" I asked again, but this time I didn't look at him.

"I have to go back," he said in a halting voice. "There is unrest in the pack. Ben and Jack…there is little they can do. They insist I am alive, but they are the only ones to hear me at such a great distance."

"Ben and Jack?" I blinked at the screen, not really seeing the logo and outside shot of my shop. I was trying to process those two names. Ben was older, covered in tattoos. Jack…Roberts. New. "Jack can hear you?"

"
Oui
." Bastien shrugged as I gave him a surprised look. "Ben because of his age and our friendship—this is acceptable. But Jack?
Non
. And you understand why the others are not wanting to obey them."

Yeah, I did. "Because they're both apogee."

Wolves, in this world, came as two types. Those who were born a shifter, the perigee, and the apogee, the ones who were turned by a perigee's bite. Apogee weren't known to be very strong and had little control of their shifts. They tended to remember their wolf experience at a distance, where perigee remembered everything and were in control.

The Aces, Bastien's pack in New Orleans, wasn't going to accept taking orders from two apogees for much longer. I hated to admit it, but my time with Bastien had come to an end. "You're right. You should go."

"Good, then we need to pack."

"Not we, Bastien.
You
. I'm not going back. I told you, I have a job to do."

Bastien had started moving to the closet but stopped when I told him that. I turned back to the computer and moved the browser away from the website. "I'll see about renting a car somewhere."

"
Non
."

"Yeah. You need your SUV."

"I will not leave you alone. But I will not hunt Dragons with you any longer,
chérie
." He grabbed a jacket and headed out the door. I didn't say anything—just let him leave.

So be it. He didn't want to hunt Lethe; that was fine. He'd been getting hurt a lot anyway. It was better he remain healthy so I could heal when the time came.
Arcana, gonna need you to send out feelers for me and check out the area north into Washington.

Nothing stirred inside my chest. No rustle of movement. "Arcana?" I said aloud.

Silence.

I panicked and jumped out of the chair. It fell backward against the air conditioning unit. "Arcana? I'm sorry I told you to shut up."

No answer.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm my rising panic. One breath, two. I tried to call on the Arcane Power without even thinking about what I was going to do with it. I opened my eyes and watched my hands, waiting.

Waiting.

Not even a red sparkle.

"Please!" I shouted in the room. "I'm sorry! I need you!"

-It won't do any good
,- Sionna said as she appeared in front of me. My mermaid. My Water. Her voice soothed me, somewhat.

"Why not?"

-Because she's not there. She left.-

"What do you mean left? She's bonded to me. She can't just
leave
." Anger replaced fear in the snap of a finger.

Sionna's expression was troubled as she moved back from me. -
She's not a slave, Samantha. None of us are.-

"But how…how can she leave?"

-Bonded means loyal to you, as our Wiccé, but it also gives us certain freedoms. Belenos was supposed to tell you this.-

"Well, he didn't." I was still a little unsure about my Elementals having a voice, yet at the same time, this conversation wouldn't have been possible otherwise. "Is that supposed to mean something?" Again, too harsh, Sam.

-It means if you break the bond with us, we are free to cut our ties.-

"Break…the bond?"

-Act recklessly. Endanger life. As you have been doing, Samantha. The near death of the Griffyn was too much. It…was nearly too much for all of us.-
With those words she disappeared, but I knew somehow she was still there. All of my Elementals were.

But not my Arcane. My strongest ally against Lethe was gone.

THREE

The last thing Crwys expected to see when he stepped into
Bell, Book and Candle
was an army of short men and women with horns and pointy ears. All of them wore armor of some kind, but he wasn't sure what it was made of. It all matched. The same greenish-brown hues, the style, the green leaves, the woven patches, down to what looked like stone boots on each of them. The only break in monotony was the color of their hair. Bright and beautiful, like a rainbow. Red, yellow, green, purple, blue…and they were all armed with swords, bows and shields, pointed or aimed at Ivan, Dharma and Kyle, who stood behind the counter.

Ivan stood in front of Dharma, even though a flickering blue aura covered the two of them, and Kyle had some magic mojo going, as his upheld hands flickered and arced.
Lightning? That's new.

It looked like someone mashed up
The Lord of the Rings
with Skittles.

But I'm not tasting anyone's rainbows
. Crwys thought about pulling his gun, then decided that wasn't a good idea. These were definitely not humans. In fact, he knew
exactly
what they were.

Risi.

Tas and Levi came in behind him and stopped as half of the small army of about twelve turned their aim at the three detectives.

"Halt! In the name of King Windsong!" one of them bellowed from somewhere in the crowd. It was in English, with a lilting Irish accent.

Crwys held up his hand and opened his mouth to speak, but—

"What's going on here?" Detective Damali had her hands on her hips as she moved past them to the counter. She wasn't asking the Risi, but directing her question at Kyle.

To his credit, the Hedge Witch didn't lower his crackling hands. "This…contingent of Elves showed up about five minutes ago and pointed their weapons at us. They haven't said anything else, yet, because you three walked in."

"Well, they're not Elves," Crwys said as he lowered his own hands and followed behind Tas. No one fired, but they did keep him in their sites. "Their people are known as the Nisse." He made sure to say it clearly.
NEE
-say. "These are Risi." He said this as
REE
-say.

"You know of us?" the closest one said. He was a little taller than the rest—maybe Sam's height when she was barefoot, but still shorter than Tas, Levi, and Crwys. His hair color was soft blue like a clear sky, and his eyes were a similar hue. A Risi's features were timeless, ageless, and androgynous. They could all pass for male, and they could all pass for female. The only way to tell was the tenor of their voice and their bodies. The feminine shape was a dead giveaway—but not under all that gear. His horns resembled a gazelle’s, long, spiraled and grew several inches past his temples on the sides of his head.

"Nisse? Risi?” Ivan said. Crwys glanced at him, and could tell by the faint green glow of his eyes the Cyber Witch was looking up the word on the Internet. He blinked a few times. "These are Trolls? I thought they were Elves, though the horns were throwing me off."

"We are not
Elves
," a green-haired one said.

Kyle cleared his throat. "Well, whatever you are, you need a lesson in the fine art of diplomacy because busting into an establishment owned by a Witch is just the way to get the Witch's Parliament's attention."

"We are in accord," One of the taller ones with yellow hair said as she stepped forward. Her gear was a bit toned down, her golds and greens subdued and not as flashy. "I am Yolyn, First Soldier to King Satar Windsong. I'm here on the behalf of the Risi of this province. We beseech an audience with the Arcane Wielder Witch."

Crwys pursed his lips and looked over Yolyn's head at Kyle. Kyle waved his hands a bit and the arcing ceased. Dharma kept her Water shield up around herself and Ivan.

Crwys glanced at Tas and hoped he was conveying the question,
Should you tell them or should I?
with his eyes.

Kyle said, "Put down your weapons if you want to talk. Not before."

Yolyn hesitated, then turned and raised her hand. The weapons vanished. So did half of the contingent.

"Where did they go?" Dharma asked.

Ivan shifted as he looked around, his eyes still glowing. "They're still here."

"You can see them?" Levi asked.

"I can make out their presence. Like when I sense Arcane?"

"They're made of Arcane?"

"We all are, in a way," Crwys said. "Though they are native to
this
realm."

"That explains why they're glowing green and sparkling," Ivan said. "And not red."

Crwys put his hands on his hips as he directed his attention to the First Soldier. "Why do you want to talk to Sam?"

"Sam?" Yolyn narrowed her eyes. "We beg audience with the Witch."

"The one who wields Arcane isn’t here," Kyle said. "But there are three Witches in front of you, ready to help."

"Just don't shoot us," Ivan said, then smiled.

"You don't have the mark of Dark Power." She looked at all three of them. "None of you do."

"If you mean Arcane," Ivan said, "no. Only Sam does. Her name is Samantha Hawthorne."

"And she is not here?" Yolyn sounded worried. She turned and spoke to the man…no, woman beside him. But Crwys understood it. He was wondering if the Arcane Witch was actually with his father.

Crwys cleared his throat. "Yolyn," he said, and waited for her to look his way. "Sam's not with your King. Why do you need to see her?"

Yolyn said quickly, "King Satar's been missing for over a week."

Tas stepped forward. "King Satar is missing?"

Wow…she sounded genuinely worried. "Tas? You know this Risi king?"

The detective nodded slowly, but kept her gaze focused on Yolyn. "When was the last time you saw him?"

Yolyn narrowed her eyes. "Why should I tell you? You are not a Witch." She looked at Crwys. "Nor you." Then she looked past Crwys to Levi. "You are a Vampire."

"Wow," Levi said with a snort. "Perceptive little lady."

"We do not trust the Vampires. They are deceptive and steal the bodies of our strongest."

Crwys blinked. Wow, that was the first he'd ever heard of Demons stealing Troll bodies. He always assumed they were limited to humans. Though, other than being short and having horns, pointed ears and magic, the Risi people could pass as humans. In cosplay. But given the glut of recent fantasy movies and books these days, he figured no one would really notice the pointed ears.