Zombies Sold Separately (23 page)

With the power of the protection, I also didn’t think any of my friends could get in easily. Joshua was a Shadow Shifter who could slip into any crack or opening, but could he get past the wardings? Could Ice find his way inside as a mouse? No, they’d be detected the moment they took human form. I was on my own.

Coercion wasn’t likely an option, so I’d try another tactic.

I walked up to the elegant desk Sun Lee was sitting behind. She raised her head the moment she realized I was coming toward her. Tension radiated off her along with a good dose of irritation. Guess she didn’t like the fact that I was armed and right then I probably didn’t look like someone who could afford anything in the gallery.

“I’d like to purchase that large painting by Desmond,” I said as I approached her.
“Worlds Intertwine.”

“Oh, really.” Her tone was one of amusement, as if she found something about my request for that painting funny. She looked over my appearance then met my gaze again. “It’s ten thousand dollars. Will you be paying by cash or credit?”

A Sorcerer who commanded that kind of price—amazing as well as surprising. Although in the paranorm world, I shouldn’t have been surprised at all.

“If you can arrange a meeting with the artist, I’ll pay you now and use a card.” I dug the wallet out of my pocket, opened it, and chose my American Express. “I’m a huge fan of Desmond’s work and I would love the opportunity to see the man behind the art.”

She stared at me in total surprise and I smiled in return.

I’m a Drow princess. There isn’t much that I can’t afford considering the size of diamonds and other precious gemstones that Dark Elves mine, not to mention all of the different metals. I was also paid very well as a Tracker and as a PI.

“I can bring you cash in the morning if you prefer.” She was Fae—you never knew what the Fae would like. I held out my card to her. “I just don’t happen to carry that many hundred-dollar bills in my pocket.”

“No, of course not.” Sun Lee had regained her composure and reached for my AmEx. “I’ll put it on your card now.”

“As long as I get to meet the artist,” I said, holding her gaze.

“This is a favored painting of his, so I believe I can arrange it.” Sun Lee looked at the card, which was under the name Nicole Carter. I handed her my ID with my picture and the same name as well.

The moment the charge went through, she asked if I would like it delivered. I told her I would schedule my own pickup tomorrow. I wasn’t about to give out my real address. I’d call my friend James. He and Derek would be glad to help me out. They were awesome that way.

“Did you drive or may I call you a cab?” she asked as I signed her copy of the receipt that her credit card machine had spit out. She certainly was anxious to please now.

I gave my most sincere smile. “That would be so kind of you.” Not a hint of sarcasm in my voice. Really.

She picked up a cell phone from on top of her desk and hit a speed dial number. I’d bet that Desmond’s number was on her phone. If anything happened to interfere with her arranging a meeting with him, I’d track her down and take her phone one way or another.

“It’s so lovely.” I looked up at the painting. It truly was and it had a way of making me feel at peace. Every time I studied it, I swore it looked a little different. Like a new ripple in the pond, a strand of her dark hair let loose in the wind, eyes blinking slowly.

“Desmond’s work is quite incredible,” Sun Lee said.

“I’m very excited to bring it into my home,” I said as she walked me to the gallery’s entrance. “I know exactly where I’ll put it.”

“I thought perhaps because of the gun you carry that you are a police officer,” she said as we stopped at the door. “I am … uncomfortable with weapons.”

“How did you know?” I feigned ignorance. She was testing me and likely knew I wasn’t human and she had just as much of an idea of what I am as I did her. Which meant she probably didn’t have a clue that I’m Drow. “I carry one for protection. One never knows in this city.”

“So true,” she said with a bow of her head as she let me out the door. A cab had already pulled up. “Thank you, Ms. Carter. I will be calling you.”

“I appreciate it, Sun Lee.” I walked down the front steps and to the waiting taxi.

My belly twisted a little at the thought of meeting the Sorcerer.

I drew my phone out of my pocket and called my friend James to ask him to pick up the painting for me tomorrow. I had a feeling I was going to be too busy to worry about it for a while.

TWENTY

Colin and I left the Pit after the Tracker meeting and headed for the Bronx, the area he and I were covering tonight.

Thoughts of Zombies wouldn’t leave my mind.

I wore black leather like most Trackers did when we went out at night. The leather was enough to chase away what little chill would bother me. I’d tucked the stone into a pouch on my weapons belt next to one of my Dragon-claw daggers.

“How long have you been in New York City?” I asked him as we headed up the street in the direction we needed to go to eventually make it to the Bronx.

“Not long.” Colin had an Otherworldly hint of an accent to his voice.

We came to a stop at the light. “Two years ago for me.”

At the Tracker meeting tonight I’d doled out all kinds of information about the attacks in Otherworld, but I didn’t mention the stone my father had given me.

The other Trackers were ordered to avoid touching any “Sentients” that might be carrying “stones” or the stones themselves. I described them as best I could without actually saying I’d seen one, and though I mentioned having met a Seer I avoided saying that she was a Magi.

I’d explained that we had been told by the “Seer” to not kill Sentients or Hosts, yet it was okay to kill Zombies, but we weren’t clear about what the Seer had meant. How could we tell the difference?

Of course I hadn’t shown the stone I hid in the pouch on my weapons belt. For one, I didn’t want to touch it, and two, the Magi said not to let anyone know I carried it with me. No matter that they were all fellow Trackers, every one of them someone I’d trust at my back, times were a little strange right now. And the Magi. I needed to heed the Magi.

When Colin changed the conversation it caught me off guard. “I was in another part of Otherworld when the Elvin people were being murdered and taken,” he said. “I heard of what was happening and that other races of beings intended to rally together to help the Light and Dark Elves. But the threat was gone before they were organized enough to aid them.”

“I didn’t know that other beings had been planning on helping,” I said. “I’ve always thought that we’d been left to our own fate while Fae and Other alike went on with their lives.”

“How old were you?” Colin asked as he met my gaze. “It surprises me that you weren’t aware of that.”

“Five.” I brushed a strand of hair from my face. “Too young for my father to have shared that kind of information with me,” I said. “But it’s good to know that there were those who’d planned to help.” Unfortunately it had been too late.

“You were just a babe.” Colin gave me a smile that was drop-dead spectacular. I wondered if his Dragon charm was on auto, but realized the flip in my belly was purely a reaction to his natural male magnetism.

I knew better than to ask, but I still said, “Oh, and how old are you?”

“If your father wasn’t King of the Drow and as old as Elves are young, I’d say I’m old enough to be your father.” Colin laughed. “As it is, I’m only a youngling in comparison to him.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And that is…?”

“Tell you what.” His grin turned devious. “I’ll make a bet with you. We’ll have a little race.”

“Oh?” I managed to keep a straight face even though his naughty little boy expression made me want to laugh.

“If you win, I’ll tell you how old I am,” he said. “If I win, you’ll buy me a beer when we’re done with tracking for the night.”

“You’ve got it.” I shook hands with him. With my air element to help me, I’m faster than a cheetah. However, I have endurance where a cheetah is only good at his maximum speed for short sprints.

“We just need to go somewhere not in the zones with the high number of attacks and disappearances,” I said. I had my team focusing on areas with the most instances. “I need to be able to do a little exploration with my elements and it’ll be much safer in a place with no people.”

“I have a great idea.” His smile was like a man who knew he had it in the bag, which made me want to win even more. “Beat me to the Bronx Zoo entrance. I’ll even give you a head—”

I was gone before he finished the end of the sentence.

He was waiting for me when I got there.

I put my hands on my hips and walked to where he was standing, beneath the Bronx Zoo sign. “How did you beat me?”

“You owe me a beer,” he said.

The zoo animals sounded a little agitated. I wondered if they could scent a Dragon.

“How about best two out of three?” I wasn’t ready to give up that easily.

He shrugged. “I’ll just win again.”

That remark made me want to beat him even more.

“Which Seer did you go to?” Colin asked as a monkey shrieked from inside the zoo.

“Guess we all have our secrets,” I said, teasing him back.

During the Tracker meeting, I hadn’t mentioned that the Seer Angel and I had visited was a Magi because paranorm leadership wanted to keep the Magi as safe as possible. That included not mentioning them in combination with anything they might have assisted with.

“Fair is fair.” He acknowledged me with a nod. Then he said, “What you talked about in the meeting tonight. Do you have any other theories as to what the Seer meant when she warned that we can only kill Zombies, not Sentients and Hosts?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.” During the meeting there’d been some speculation based on what other Trackers had seen during attacks they’d fought off, but it was all only speculation.

I’d mentioned that the Seer told us to find a certain Sorcerer in the city and I’d explained that I was attempting to locate him now. I managed to avoid naming him.

There were a few other things I’d kept to Rodán, Angel, and myself because the information seemed too important to release on a broad basis.

That included the fact that I’d located the Sorcerer and hopefully would have a meeting with him tomorrow. For ten thousand dollars I certainly hoped so.

I really did love the painting.

“You didn’t mention the Sorcerer Desmond’s name to all of the Trackers,” Colin said. “Just to the team members.”

“It was an executive decision.” I tilted my head back and felt the soft fall of snow on my face. “The fewer who know that detail, the better. Once we have more information, we’ll share it with all of our Trackers.”

A big cat, possibly a lion, gave a low rumble from inside the zoo.

Colin’s amazing burnished gold eyes studied me. “What do you think about Lawan having been missing for a couple of days? Is that why you held back on the Sorcerer’s name?”

“She’s one reason why we didn’t share everything tonight. We need to be careful.” We started to walk away from the zoo entrance. “Although she sure seemed like herself tonight.” I frowned. “But the day before she went missing she thought someone was watching her.”

“Has Rodán considered taking her off duty?” he asked.

“Yes.” I thought about the conversation I’d had with him earlier. “But there’s no proof, and no reason to. Lawan’s twin sister, Malee, did arrive from Thailand like Lawan said. We’re just being cautious for now.”

Colin nodded. “Cautious is good.”

“Let’s see what we can locate.” I took a deep breath. “We need to see if there’s any Zombie activity going on around here.” I looked at him. “You’ve got my back?”

Colin gave a nod but didn’t say anything. He watched as I stood with my feet shoulder-width apart, my hands at my sides. I took another deep breath and closed my eyes.

I sent out my elemental magic. I couldn’t use too much at one time without weakening myself, so I used what would take the least amount of energy. When there was snow, it was one time of the year when I could use my water magic easily to explore.

At the same time I let my water elemental cover the ground through the snow, I released my air magic and sent it searching.

I searched for any imprints of beings that did not belong and for activity that might be wrong. Behind my eyelids, I saw flashes of people and streets and cars and businesses closed for the night. Nothing wrong or out of the ordinary.

No Zombies.

The magic I used to search such a large area put a strain on my body and I knew I needed to reel myself back in.

I gasped as I came fully back to myself as if I hadn’t been breathing the entire time my essence was traveling with my elemental magic.

“Nothing right now,” I said when my gaze met Colin’s. “All’s quiet for the time being.”

Snow had started to fall thicker and I noticed Colin shiver. Unlike other Trackers, Colin wasn’t wearing leather. He wore jeans and a T-shirt beneath a dark blue jacket that looked warm and comfortable. He’d pushed his long blond hair over his shoulders away from his face, and his nose and cheeks appeared a little ruddy from the chill.