Authors: Kate Pearce
“I noticed, but what I need to understand is
why
.” Anna looked away and Ella tried again. “I don’t want to cause you pain, but I really need to know.”
“Something happened to me in the first year of college. I lost my abilities.”
“Did you tangle with the Fae?”
“Oh no, I went to a party, got drunk and when I woke up, I was in an Otherworld hospital in terrible pain.”
“Do you remember anything else?”
“Only that they had to operate to relieve pressure on my brain. Someone had tried to destroy my hippocampus. Luckily for me they made a real botch job of it.”
“Oh my God.” Ella almost stopped breathing. “Did they ever find out who did it?”
“How could they? I was at a party with about forty other empaths. The doctors suggested that maybe some kind of Fae had literally decided to mess with my head, but they never caught anyone.”
“That’s terrible.” Ella reached out for Anna’s hand.
“I thought so at the time, but over the years I’ve changed my mind. Working here I’ve seen so many empaths die young or go insane. I’ve been spared that at least.” She squeezed Ella’s fingers. “Really, I mean it. I’m married to a really nice Fae male, we have two kids and I’m happy here.”
Ella used her abilities to search Anna’s mind, but found nothing but truth in her words.
“Thank you for your time.”
“Have I helped you at all?”
“Yes, you have.” Ella rose. “If Liz Smith from the SBLE turns up, would you do me an enormous favor and tell her what you told me? It’s very important to our investigation.”
Anna stood too. “I’m glad to have helped.”
“And I’m glad I met you again.” Ella smiled. “There is only one more member of our incoming class I need to track down. Tell Liz I’ll be at the Merton record office.”
* * *
Vadim stared at his cup of black coffee and took another three painkillers. He could magic himself up a potion and get rid of his hangover, but he almost preferred to suffer. It made him feel more human, something that had begun to escape him again when Ella Walsh took over his life. He wasn’t proud of what he’d said to her the previous day, but she needed to know the truth. He was
mated
to her. He needed her whether he liked it or not. What he couldn’t understand was why she refused to believe it too.
He took another gulp of coffee and shuddered at the bitter taste. She had no idea how damned hard he had to work to stay out of her way, and to conceal his natural desire to protect her from
everything
. Females of his line were considered so precious that they spent most of their lives in seclusion—unless they developed a taste for power when all hell broke loose. He had no idea how they’d react to Ella, either kill her or love her, he wasn’t sure, but there wouldn’t be anything weak about the response.
“Hey.”
Vadim looked up at Alexei, who had started to adopt the more casual dress of those around them and today wore khakis and an open-neck blue shirt.
“Good morning.”
“Drinking alone isn’t good for you.”
Vadim held up his mug. “You want to share?”
“I’m not talking about now. I’m talking about last night.”
“Spying on me again?”
Alexei frowned. “It’s my job. You know that.”
“Hopefully it will soon be over, and you can return to your lover and whisper sweet nothings in her ear about me.”
“What makes you think Madame and I are lovers?” Vadim just stared at Alexei who eventually shrugged. “So what if we are?”
“Doesn’t that compromise your objectivity in this case?”
“Why should that bother you? You lost your objectivity the minute you fucked Ella Walsh.”
Vadim stared at Alexei. “Whatever you think you know is probably incorrect. I suggest you don’t pass it on to Madame. She won’t thank you.”
“I know the truth. You’re so desperate not to fail again that you’d do anything to keep Ella Walsh happy and she’s been dying to get into your pants since you got here.”
“My reasons are my own. Keep your remarks about Ms. Walsh out of it.”
Alexei shook his head. “You’re hosed, Vadim, whatever way you look at it. What’s wrong with you? Did you think you could fuck Ella before she goes nuts and no one would know or care? Madame Dubinsky cares and she won’t like the fact that you probably used your magical power to enthrall Ella.”
Vadim found himself smiling. “That’s right. Ms. Walsh is so easy to overpower.”
“Empaths of her age are notoriously easy.” Alexei closed the door and came back to sit on the edge of Vadim’s desk. “I have to report back to Madame about you. She has me over a barrel.”
“And do you like it?”
“She says if I don’t complete my job here to her satisfaction, she will expose our relationship.”
“But won’t that hurt her?”
“Not the way she intends to spin it.” Alexei shrugged. “Let’s just say I come out of it looking like a psychotic, deranged blackmailer and she a pure white dove.” He hesitated. “I haven’t told her about your physical relationship with Ella yet.”
Vadim searched Alexei’s gaze and then skimmed his mind. Since mating with Ella he was getting far better at sensing the subtle nuances of the flow of people’s emotion.
“I appreciate that.”
“Depending on how Drew Spencer’s plan goes, I might not have to.”
“You mean if Ms. Walsh dies?”
“It seems likely, doesn’t it? The good thing for you is that if Spencer’s plan doesn’t work, the blame will be on him and not you.”
“And Ms. Walsh will be dead.”
Alexei waved a casual hand. “Collateral damage, my friend.”
Vadim looked down at his coffee and concentrated on not annihilating his old associate. It was surprisingly hard. He thought about Ella instead. She’d asked him to go to Otherworld with her and immediately retracted her request when he’d seemed reluctant. Why was he afraid to go to Otherworld now? What else could go wrong? He’d already been punished. He pushed back his chair.
“Have you seen Ms. Walsh since the meeting?”
“She was in her office with Liz for a while. I have no idea whether they are still there.”
He had a bad feeling he knew the answer to that. Her helpful attitude toward Spencer in the meeting hadn’t fooled him at all. She was up to something.
“I’ll go and check.”
Would Ella see his offer to come with her to Otherworld as him trying to overprotect her, or as a symbol of his desire to protect her over himself? Would she even see the difference? The only way to know would be to ask. He knocked on her office door and then knocked again. He opened the door and looked inside. There was no sign of her or Liz.
Trying to look casual, he checked Liz’s cubicle and then wandered out into the main office. He couldn’t sense Ella anywhere. His gut tightened as he considered what that meant and he kept walking until he reached the main lobby.
“Peach, have you seen Liz or Ms. Walsh go by?”
“Good morning, Mr. Morosov. Yes I have. They left about half an hour ago.”
“I don’t suppose they mentioned where they were going, did they?”
“They didn’t, but I did notice Ella had her cell out and was checking for portals.”
Damn
. She’d gone without him. Of
course
she had. “Thanks, that’s very helpful.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Morosov. Do you want me to tell you when they come back?”
“That would be great.” He smiled at her and she turned a delicious shade of pink. Just as he was about to call the elevator to go down to the SBLE floors, Doug Smith came in through the revolving doors. Vadim froze, his finger poised over the button.
“Doug? What’s wrong?”
Doug ran a hand through his already disordered hair. “Hey, Vad. Something’s up with Liz. I feel it in my gut.”
“As far as I know she’s out with Ms. Walsh. Did she tell you where they were going?”
“Nope. I just know something’s wrong.” He shivered. “I felt her scream.”
“Peach thought they might be going to Otherworld.”
Doug raised his gaze to Vadim’s. His eyes looked more wolf than human. “Can we find out? I need to get to her.”
“We can certainly try.” Vadim hurried Doug into the elevator and followed him in, his mind working furiously. When they reached their level, he went straight to his own office.
“Alexei, you know Doug. Can you locate Liz? Doug thinks she’s in trouble.”
“I’ll do my best.” Alexei’s Fae-Web surrounded him. “She’s...unclear.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Doug snarled.
“She’s neither here nor quite in Otherworld.” Alexei frowned at Vadim. “How weird is that? She’s not dead though.” He held up his hand. “Hold on, I’m getting a sense of portal disruption. Did the one by the bay move or something?”
“Hopefully not when Liz was in it,” Vadim muttered. He set himself to locating the portals. “Yes, it’s definitely moved. It’s closer now, by the clock tower at the Ferry building.” He looked at Doug. “What do you want to do?”
“It depends what has happened to her. Is she hurt?”
“I don’t know. As Alexei said, she is alive. Do you want to come with me and find out?”
Alexei stared at Vadim. “You’re going to Otherworld?”
“I have no choice. Liz wasn’t the only one on the way to Otherworld. I’m getting no sense of Ms. Walsh either.”
* * *
Ella walked into the public office of the Merton records office and found that nothing had changed. There was no one around, the clock on the counter continued to tick away the seconds, and the sense of being in another century deepened. She put her backpack on the countertop and fished for the OCOS form she’d completed that morning. She put it in the wire IN tray and then turned her attention to writing out a request form.
As she thought how to pose her question, she bit the end of the pencil. What did she need to know about Geoffrey White? She decided to keep it simple and just ask for current information as to his address and occupation. Was he the empath who had damaged Anna Wheeler at that party? Had the college discovered his identity and gotten rid of him or had he left? If he was the man calling himself the Siren, she needed to get answers as quickly as possible.
She finished writing her note and read it through before placing it on top of her OCOS letter. According to the clock, there was another fifteen minutes before someone would be by to pick up the information. Ella picked up the silver bell that set next to it. Engraved around the outside of the bell were the words, “For EMERGENCIES only.”
This was a fucking emergency.
She rang the bell and the sweet sound echoed through the joyless room. No one came and Ella considered leaping over the countertop, running to the door at the back and doing some good old-fashioned hollering. She picked up her backpack and dumped it on the nearest chair.
“
Ms
.
Walsh
,
where
are
you
?”
At the sound of Vadim’s voice, she almost dropped her backpack.
“
I’m
at
the
records
office
in
Otherworld
.
How
the
hell
are
you
talking
to
me
here
?”
“
I’m
on
my
way
.
Is
Liz
with
you
?”
“
No
,
the
portal
shifted
when
we
were
in
it
.
Liz
ended
up
about
twenty
miles
away
in
a
place
called
Netherfield
.
She’s
going
to
join
me
here
as
soon
as
she
can
.” From the corner of her eye she saw the door at the back of the office start to open. “
I’ve
got
to
go
.
The
guy’s
coming
to
pick
up
the
paperwork
.”
“
What
paperwork
?
Ella
,
listen
to
me
,
don’t
do
anything
until
I
get
there
.
Sit
tight
,
talk
to
no
one
.”
“
Yeah
right
,
like
I’m
going
to
be
attacked
by
a
mild
-
mannered
civil
servant
.”
“
Fuck
it
,
Ella
,
listen
to
me
,
I
...”
She frowned as she caught a hint of fear in his voice. “
What’s
wrong
,
Morosov
,
what
...”
It was the same nondescript guy who’d picked up the paperwork before. Ella nodded at him. “Thanks, could you make it snappy? I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
He stared at her for a long moment and then reset the clock, scooped up the paperwork and left her alone again. She slumped back in her chair, drumming her fingers on the wooden desk in front of her.
“
Morosov
?”
Her thought echoed weirdly inside her own head and bounced back. Where had Vadim gone? Had someone detected their communication and shut them down? Considering his reluctance to enter Otherworld it wasn’t surprising. But why had Vadim come after her? And why was he so uncharacteristically afraid?