The Silver Thread (11 page)

“Perhaps you should put it back on,” he suggested. “It has been imbued with many valuable attributes. Nikola never takes his off.”

“Who’s Nikola?” asked James with piqued interest. His eyes had widened in curiosity, especially at seeing the subtle changes in everyone’s demeanor at the mere mention of this person’s name. Who was this absent person who was able to make Chivanni’s wings flutter, Annika’s cheeks blush, and Talvi’s eyes flash?

“Oh, Nikola is the sweetest boy…” the fairy began, clasping his hands together and getting a starry look in his eyes. “He is so kind and thoughtful. He rides an elk and can shape shift into a wolf, and he can make it rain on command. He even saved Annika’s life.”

“Reeeeaaaally?” A wide grin had spread across James’s face. “Annika has never mentioned any of this to me. How could you hold out on me like that?”

“Because you didn’t believe my story to begin with, so why would you believe that I was attacked by a vampire and then rescued by a druid?” There was more than a little sharpness in the tone of her voice.

“It wasn’t that I thought you were lying, Annika,” said James quietly. “I just found your story pretty difficult to believe. It’s kind of
out there
, you know?”

“Well, I was attacked by the vampire
twice
, but Nikola got rid of him for good.”

“Nikola was simply in the right place at the right time,” Talvi sneered, clenching his teeth in anger. “I would have loved nothing more than to rip that vampire’s throat out with my bare hands when I had the chance. However, it is in poor taste to do that sort of thing in front of one’s birthday guests.”

James started to say something, then stopped, then started again, but stopped. For being a person with an opinion about everything, he suddenly didn’t know how he felt about that last statement. Talvi looked like he meant business.

“I must say, I am glad that you didn’t lose such a precious gift,” Chivanni said, and carefully lifted the amulet out of James’s hand. He slipped the thin silver chain over Annika’s head, and let the amulet settle itself against her chest for the first time in three months.

“Nikola said you weren’t supposed to take it off. No wonder you were feeling so dreadful all this time.” He gave her a little kiss on the cheek and smiled sweetly at her.

“What? You can read minds like Talvi does?” Annika asked.

“Not exactly. It’s more of seeing auras and sensing the energy around someone,” he said, placing his dainty hand on his hip. His large eyes grew very sympathetic and concerned as they scanned the space around her. “James mentioned to me at the grocery store that you haven’t been yourself since you returned.”

“And you really think that my necklace has something to do with how I’ve been feeling?”

“Of
course
it has something to do with it, love,” Talvi said, gazing at the sparkling garnet and sapphire embedded in silver. He hated to admit, but it was a beautiful necklace, and it probably wouldn’t be the last time that someone other than him would give his wife such lovely gifts. “You’ll feel better soon, I’m certain. Did you stop wearing it when you left us?”

“Well, yeah.” Annika seemed stunned, and it occurred to Talvi that perhaps she had never considered there was such a strong connection between her and her amulet.

“I recall Nikola saying that there would be an adjustment period while the amulet got to know you a little better,” said Talvi. “Perhaps there was a withdrawal effect when you took it off. Powerful forces will sometimes do that to you. Why, they can even drain you a bit.”

“He did say it was meant for me,” Annika admitted, touching the amulet. It felt slightly warm on her chest, as if it were radiating its own heat. “And he said it would be stupid to take it off, but I just thought he meant in your world, not mine. I mean, it’s not like there’s anything around here that I need to worry about.”

“Oh, my little dove, you have so much to learn,” Talvi snickered, and put his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. “This amulet of yours will maintain the same qualities, regardless of which realm you find yourself in. The parallel worlds of Earth and Eritähti mirror one another very closely, and all of us are connected to everything, whether we care to admit it or not.”

“So, you mean there isn’t anything really separating our worlds, besides, oh, say,
time
and
distance
?” Annika joked.

“Just like the silver threads in the rings we wear, our two worlds are much more interwoven than they appear,” Talvi affirmed. “It will do you well to remember that more often.”

The light of a television flickered in the dark hotel room, making everything appear more garish than it really was. The curtains had been drawn back from the windows, and outside only the last bit of indigo remained in the sky over Prague’s oldest quarter. Soon the moon would rise above the city, and it would be time to go out yet again to soothe this discomfort that could only be described as an unquenchable thirst. Yuri could feel the gnashing in her veins, the crawling of her skin; it was a sensation that mystified any worthy description, other than the worst hangover of her life. Her body hurt, her aching head was sluggish, and her mouth was dry. She craved only one thing, and lying in bed all night was only going to make it worse. She sat up in the king-sized bed and focused her eyes on the television while she pulled on her boots one at a time.

“What’s that on the animals?” she asked the figure standing beside the window, seeing a close up shot of birds suffocating in a thick, tar-like substance.

“There was another oil spill,” came the reply in a Slavic accent as thick as the oil on the birds on the television. Konstantin had remained as still as a statue, watching the twilight shift into night over the city below. Now he turned his green eyes toward the flashing screen, watching with disdain as the footage switched to beached dolphins and sea turtles, dead or dying on the stained sand. “Another casualty of the modern world. It never…
ends
,” he said, shaking his head slowly. His long blond hair barely moved as he stepped closer to where Yuri sat on the side of the bed. She changed the channel and was met with a view of soldiers hiding behind rubble, throwing a grenade. She changed the channel again to see an enormous man stuffing chicken wings into his mouth with his fat, greasy fingers. One more channel flip, and they were watching a middle-aged couple embracing as an announcer read off the list of unpleasant side effects that could be caused by taking this male enhancement prescription.

Konstantin reached over to take the remote from her, and turned the television off, leaving the two of them to sit in silent darkness. Only the sounds of the city streets crept in the windows from below.

“One day, humans shall be wiped from the surface of the Earth as steam is wiped from glass,” he mused. “But until that day comes, we feast. Shall we?” he asked, reaching out his hands for Yuri’s. She took them, noticing that he didn’t seem cold to her anymore.

“Could we stay a bit closer this evening? I’m so tired,” she pouted as he pulled her to her feet. Her head was throbbing, and there was no way she wanted a repeat of the previous evenings. She’d had her fill of stoned and drunk young backpackers, picked up from hostels around the city. It was remarkable, how many of them smelled so strongly of patchouli that she could taste it through their unwashed clothes. It made Yuri want to wring their necks, which was what ended up happening more often than not after she had swallowed their tainted blood. While Konstantin had disposed of their bodies, she had been his lookout, but the smell of hippie still clung to her like barnacles on a boat.

“You’re only tired because you’re so young,” Konstantin assured her, and helped her into her long red wool coat. “Over time, you will require less rest, and begin to rise earlier. And vampire or not, it’s rarely wise to dine in the same place as where you rest. You’ll get crumbs in the bed.”

“I don’t think I can tolerate another young tourist,” Yuri said, wrinkling her nose while Konstantin fastened up her buttons. The thirst was starting to scream inside of her.

“Leave it to my future bride to have such refined taste,” he said, kissing her so passionately that she forgot all about her headache. “I have a better idea for breakfast tonight, if you think you can control yourself this time, my Scorpio sphinx. We are running out of good places to hide bodies.”

“I promise, I won’t kill anyone else,” Yuri said with a little smirk. “As long as they’re not hippies. I don’t know if you noticed, but I
hate
hippies.”

“What if you could taste the blood of a young man who ate only strawberries for a month, hmmm?” Konstantin said, letting his green eyes shine in anticipation as he brushed a bit of lint from the front of her coat. “What if you could drink from a woman who tasted like Brazilian rum? Would you enjoy that, Yuri? Could you mind your manners well enough to not kill them this time?”

“Yes,” she whispered, consumed by the thought of quenching her thirst in such a divine way.

“Then prepare to fall in love with me all over again,” he said, and offered her his arm.

Now they were walking through the door of an upscale restaurant, but instead of the pungent and nauseating scent of cooking food, Yuri only smelled different types of alcohol, and above everything else, fresh blood. Her pulse quickened and her breath deepened as Konstantin helped her out of her coat. She lifted her nose to the air, catching hints of fruit, spices, and flowers. It felt like she had been starving for weeks, and now there was a smorgasbord of delights awaiting her just around the corner. When he handed Yuri’s coat to the host at the door, the discerning male vampire did not immediately hang it up as expected. Instead, he watched Yuri’s reaction to the tantalizing scents, and then focused his eyes upward onto Konstantin.

“You can’t dine here. No children under ten years allowed. You know the regulations on that.”

Konstantin smiled kindly at the man, trying not to look too condescending.

“I
do
know the regulations on that,” he said patiently. “But surely you know that you can make an exception for us.”

“I don’t care who you are, or who you are escorting. No children under
ten
,” the host snapped back in frustration. “There is a saying where I’m from; ‘The guest who seeks special attention muddies the host’s tea.’”

Konstantin’s green eyes flickered brightly in disapproval, but he gave a soft smile.

“I appreciate that you are following orders, however, we are not ordinary guests. Please allow me to introduce myself,” he said to the man with an air of amusement. “I am Konstantin, underboss to Vladislav, of
la familia Vladislava
. This is my future bride, Yuri Marinossian. Now, tell me your name, so I know what vampire enforces the regulations of
la familia Vladislava
so obediently.”

Their host bowed his benevolent head and replied in the most submissive voice, “My name is Phillip, your excellency. Please, accept my deepest apologies for my unparalleled ignorance.”

“I am not the one you must seek forgiveness from,” Konstantin answered, still looking amused as he glanced at Yuri. “My bride to be is the daughter of Vladislav’s right hand. I am merely the left hand.”

Yuri gazed into Konstantin’s glittering green eyes, at his high cheekbones, and his straight, blond hair that fell to his elbows. He could have already sucked their host dry and left his head on a platter, but he possessed an unusual measure of self-control. Indeed, she was falling in love with him all over again, exactly as he had promised.

“Of course,” Phillip said, still bowing his head. “Miss Marinossian, however can I repeal this injustice I’ve done to you?”

“You can start by hanging up my coat,” she replied, and watched with satisfaction as Phillip beckoned for Konstantin’s coat as well. He dashed away with them, and when he returned, he grabbed two menus and led them to a table nestled in a private corner, away from the commotion of the kitchen or the clatter of the bar.

“It would be my pleasure if you would allow me to pay for your meal this evening,” Phillip said to Yuri. She smiled to herself, and then turned her dark brown eyes up to him.

“I may be Konstantin’s future bride, but I am eternally my father’s daughter,” she informed him. “He is known for being exceptionally honorable and just in his rulings. I know my beloved would enjoy nothing more than to treat me to a fine meal, but I see no reason why you couldn’t bring us a complimentary dessert afterward.”

“Of course, as you wish,” Phillip said with a gracious nod of his head.

“Oh, and Phillip…” Yuri said, just as he was about to turn away and leave them in privacy. “There’s a saying where I’m from as well,” she said, staring into his eyes, into the core of his being.

“Never mess with a Marinossian.”

“Patti knows that our reservation is for eight sharp, right?” Charlie asked anxiously from the passenger seat of James’s car. “Maybe I should call and check in with her.”

“Oh my god, Charlie, she knows what time to meet us! I’ve already confirmed with her twice!” exclaimed James from behind the wheel as he concentrated on the road in front of him. The cold rain was coming down harder than the usual Portland drizzle, and he had his windshield wiper blades running at full speed. “Hey, screw
you
, buddy!” He waved his middle finger to the driver who had just cut him off. “I friggin’ hate Friday night traffic downtown!”

“I was wondering who exactly this Patti is,” Talvi asked from the back seat where he sat beside Annika. “Though now I believe she’s Charlie’s girlfriend. Have I got it sussed or what?”

“I don’t know what ‘sussing’ is.” Charlie said, ignoring his insinuation.

“It means having something figured out,” Talvi explained.

“What’s up with the English accent anyway?” Charlie asked, trying to change the subject. “You’re not from there.”

“No, but my father used to work in London quite often, so that’s where I learned the language. While I was in Cornwall, I picked up Fae from the fairies as well,” Talvi boasted. “Chivanni says my accent is hysterical, since his tribe speaks a completely different dialect.” At that, the winged fairy in the back seat snickered loudly in agreement.

“It’s true…” Chivanni said, nearly shouting to make his small voice heard. “He sounds like he’s got marbles in his mouth when he speaks Fae back home.”

“So what else did you do in England, besides have tea parties with Cornish fairies?” Charlie snorted in amusement.

“Oh, my mother typically would plan something very educational for us children whilst our father was in meetings,” Talvi started to explain, allowing himself to take in the view of the city as they crossed the Burnside bridge. The high rise buildings shot up from the west bank of the Willamette, glittering and wet underneath the low, dark clouds, while the rain drops reflected the traffic lights.

“We usually visited museums and galleries of all sorts, and monuments or sacred spots like Stonehenge, but I always loved it when Father took us to football games at Old Trafford.”

“Old Trafford?” Charlie asked, sounding bewildered. “You like soccer?”

“No. I like
football
,” Talvi grinned. “I might be Manchester United’s oldest fan, with the exception of my brother and father. We were cheering them on back when they were still called Newton Heath.”

“But that was like, a really long time ago,” Charlie said slowly. “Like when people still rode around in carriages. Or I suppose that since you’re an elf, you’re really old and have super powers just like Chivanni’s?”

“How very astute of you Charlie. You’re catching onto things rather quickly,” Talvi remarked, wiggling his fingers at him. “So when are you going to tell me about your girlfriend Patti, or shall I simply use my super powers to read your thoughts about her?”

“What? You can’t do that,” Charlie argued, turning around in his seat to look at Talvi.

“Well I see what draws you to her…she’s a lovely girl,” the elf said, looking smug. “Her hair is rather short for my taste, however. Is she really as clumsy as a three-legged giraffe?”

James let out an unabashed guffaw, and even Annika couldn’t help laughing. She loved her friend Patti dearly, but it was true that she was one of those tall, gangly tomboys that never seemed to grow gracefully into her body.

“How do you know that when you’ve never met her? Who told you?”

“No one told me, Charlie; it’s my super powers,” Talvi said with a sly grin. “Why don’t you just tell her that you fancy her and get on with it?”

“She’s not into me like that. We’re just friends,” Charlie said, before facing forward in his seat.

“Perhaps you simply haven’t discovered what it takes to win her affections.”

“If you’re thinking of wine and roses and candlelit dinners, forget it. She’s not that kind of girl.”

“I’ve never known a lady who didn’t appreciate the red carpet treatment,” Talvi said with authority. “See, the trick is to figure out which direction to unroll that carpet, and then you offer your arm and escort her along the way.”

“You make it sound like a cake walk,” Charlie argued. “It’s not that easy to figure out what a chick wants.”

“Nor is it as difficult as you make it to be,” Talvi explained patiently. “You simply have to decide if she’s a vixen you’d like to pursue. And if she is, then you might have to get off your foxy bum and actually woo the lady, Charlie. If she’s interested, wooing becomes rather enjoyable.” Talvi paused, and a wicked grin spread across his face. “And if she’s
not
interested, wooing can become great sport.”

“
Wooing
her? That sounds so cheesy,” Charlie said sarcastically.

“Ah, but it works,” Talvi said with a wink. “I had to woo your sister here nonstop for a full two weeks before she finally—before she was wooed.”

“You don’t really think what you did is considered ‘wooing a lady,’ do you?” Annika howled.

“Come off it, love. You relished every second,” Talvi snickered. It was true; he had said and done some outrageous things to her when they first met. There were too many for Annika to remember them all, and the methods he’d used certainly weren’t going to be found in any books on chivalry. She recalled how he had introduced himself to her. He had knelt down on one knee, taken her right hand in his, and then given it more foreplay than she’d had in a year.

“Okay, okay,” Annika finally admitted as James turned into a parking garage. “I agreed to marry you, so obviously something you did worked.”

“If you want a woman’s attention, Charlie, do something unique and memorable for her,” said Talvi, squeezing his wife’s hand. “If I only ever give you one bit of advice about the fairer sex, it’s this: Venus favors the bold.”

James parked the car, but he didn’t get out with the others.

“For shit’s sake, I can’t find my phone!” he said, feeling along the floor of the car. “I know I had it with me when we left.”

“We’ll help you look,” Talvi offered. “Why don’t you two go on ahead?”

As they made their way down the stairwell to the sidewalk outside, Charlie asked his sister, “Do you, um, do you really think I should take any advice from Talvi?” Annika pulled the hood of her coat over her head, but Charlie wasn’t as concerned about keeping his hair dry. “I don’t want to screw things up with Patti just because your husband gave me a bad tip, you know what I mean?”

“Well, he does know what he’s talking about,” she said, hopping over a puddle on the sidewalk. “I know he dated a lot of girls before he met me. He’s kind of well-known for that back where he’s from.”

“Yeah, and you also hinted that he acted like a jerk,” he reminded her. “I don’t want to treat Patti like that.”

“Oh, I was just being mean,” Annika excused, although she knew there were plenty of people who probably agreed with her brother. “He just, well, he said things to me that no one has ever said to me before. But you know me. I wouldn’t go and marry the first guy that said what I wanted to hear.”

“I didn’t think you would just go and marry any guy at all, no matter what he said, without any of us getting to know him first,” Charlie said, looking at her curiously. “And it’s so soon after breaking up with Danny. It takes time to get to know people, Ani. It’s like you’re a different person now.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, looking over her shoulder for her husband. He and James were almost a block behind them. Annika picked up her pace a little to keep up with Charlie’s longer legs. He wasn’t nearly as tall as Talvi, but anyone over five feet seemed tall to Annika.

“You’re completely in your own little world,” Charlie said, facing forward, “and you’ve gotten a lot better, but you don’t know how hard it was to listen to your story when you got back. What did you expect, when you told us a story about being trapped on the other side of a broken portal with elves and fairies? We thought you were
nuts
! I had to constantly lie to Mom and Dad, and tell them you were doing okay when you were anything but okay. I’ve never seen you so depressed before, and I know you haven’t been totally honest with anyone about what exactly happened while you were gone. I didn’t tell Mom and Dad about the drinking, but they know you weren’t working or paying your bills. I told them you had mono. When I asked Danny what to do, he said you really needed to see a psychiatrist and get on some kind of anti-psychotic meds, but he didn’t think you’d do it.”

“You talked to Danny about whether or not to put me on anti-psychotics?” she cried, aghast. “You had no right!”

“Of course I did! He’s my friend, and you freaked us all out!” Charlie snapped, walking faster. It was the first time in ages that Annika had seen her brother so genuinely upset. “And given that I see him every Saturday at practice, it’s kind of impossible not to talk to him.”

“Well you could have made something up,” she muttered.

“Well I guess I was just sick of lying so much,” he grumbled, and slowed his pace considerably. “You don’t know how hard it was to have Saturday brunch at Mom and Dad’s and look at their faces. It was bad enough watching Mom cry every day while you were missing. The search parties never found a single clue after you went on that hike and didn’t come back, and, well, all we could do was hope for the best.”

Charlie stopped walking, and turned to look at his little sister. There were tears in his eyes that he was trying to blink away. Seeing him like this made Annika’s heart break a little, and she felt guilty to have been the cause of so much pain for so many people. She could catch a glimpse of what life must have been like while she was missing; Saturday brunches with her chair sitting empty, and probably not much fun because her dad and brother were too sad to crack jokes throughout the whole meal like they always did. She didn’t know how to tell anyone about the battle that had occurred, or about being married to an elf, because they wouldn’t understand. She kept waiting for the right moment, but it never arrived.

“I’m not mad at you, Ani. No one is,” her brother went on. “We’re so happy that you’re home safe, but no one was ready for the crazy tale you told when you came back. I mean, James and I can’t argue for a second about that wacko Fairy Poppins box that Talvi keeps all his shit in, and you can’t really ignore Chivanni’s wings or him levitating dishes around the house, but I guess I’m still not used to the fact that you married someone so soon after breaking up with Danny. We don’t even
know
Talvi. For all we know, he kidnapped you and you’ve got Stockholm Syndrome. I don’t really think that, and James seems to like him alright. It’s just…it’s just a big adjustment.”

Annika looked at her brother and took a deep breath. She wanted to say something wise to alleviate his fears, something profound about how when you know you’re supposed to be with someone, that you just
know
, but she couldn’t force the words out. It was all a big adjustment for her, too. It was one thing to wear a ring and tell James and Charlie stories about her elven husband from a parallel world, and it was another to have this elven husband appear unannounced after being separated for three months. That left a lot of wide open space between them…and a lot of room for doubts to creep in. But for the moment the doubts were far, far away.

Charlie ducked under the awning of the classy bistro they had their reservation at, and opened the door for his sister, ushering her out of the cold rain.

Annika was unprepared for the sensations that met her inside the restaurant. She hadn’t left her house much since her return, other than her recent return to work. It was one thing, to spend her time at a music store, where she was the new girl. That meant she got stuck with the day shifts, which didn’t make her much as far as commissions went, but it also didn’t make as much noise either.

In comparison, the restaurant was insane and chaotic. A wine rack ran up to the ceiling and there were lockers built into the walls bearing the names of diners who obviously visited so often that they needed their own lockers. The dim lighting and exposed brick complimented the sleek lines of the tables and booths, but it wasn’t the chic atmosphere that caught her off guard. It was how strong and intoxicating the sounds and smells were, as though everything was amplified a by a dozen. It was stronger than she remembered from her days as a waitress. She was inundated by what smelled like a hundred ingredients bombarding her nose, and what sounded like a hundred conversations all happening in her head. Her eyes darted around, trying to find a face to match each random voice.

I’m going to be so pissed if that busser doesn’t have their table set,
their hostess was thinking as Charlie inquired about their table reservation.
Oh, good, some of their party is already
seated.

Maybe I should get a paternity test before I tell her?
came from a man sitting across from a beautiful woman. It sounded like he was saying this right there in the lobby, but the couple was sitting at a table in the middle of the dining room.