Zombies Sold Separately (8 page)

Hector was stomping into the room behind the bar just as Colin finished his act.

Lawan took a sip of her drink. “It’s good. I’ve never heard of the flower you talked of.”

“Elderflower.” I felt the intoxicating, mesmerized feeling ease away after my first swallow. “In this Earth Otherworld, for only a few days in late spring, the flower blooms in the Alps. They’re gathered very quickly because the blooms lose their potency within a couple of days.”

In the time it took me to explain what elderflower liqueur was made from, Lawan had drained her glass. “How do you know all of this?” she asked as she set her glass on the bar.

Hector jogged out of the back room, another growl rising from his throat as he started pouring shots of St. Germaine across the bar to counteract the Dragon-thrall.

“The plants are common in Otherworld,” I told her as dazed women started stumbling toward us. I drew Lawan out of the way so we wouldn’t be trampled. “When a few Dragons started coming to this Otherworld centuries ago, Gnomes were hired and given the task of planting the flowers here. It took some time before they discovered that the only place the flowers will grow is in the Alps.”

“I would prefer not to meet another Dragon,” Lawan said as a Mage-mime took the stage. Lawan touched the hilt of her Krabi. “I may have to kill him.”

I grinned as we started to make our way to the corner where the Trackers lounged on large overstuffed black leather chairs and couches. It was rare to make Lawan mad, but I thought the Dragon male had just done a good job of it.

As the Mage—dressed in black but with white gloves and his face painted white—performed his act as a mime, the crowd surged, forcing me to come to a stop. I couldn’t see Lawan anymore.

Before I could try to make my way through, a hand grasped my upper arm.

EIGHT

I jerked my arm away from the grip and felt nails scratch my skin.

My Tom Collins splashed onto my bare belly. At the same time my free hand automatically shot for the hilt of one of my Dragon-claw daggers. I whirled to see who had grabbed my arm.

“My sincerest apologies.” Council Chief Leticia snatched her hand away from me and I saw the long, sculpted nails that had scraped me. “Such a large crowd. A group of Fae bumped into me and I caught your arm to steady myself, only more tightly than I had intended.”

I froze in mid-motion and just stared at the Doppler who happened to be one of the most powerful females in the paranorm world. I had no idea what to say. The most respected paranorm representative had just scratched my arm with her nails and she looked upset at having done so.

She easily composed herself, appearing sophisticated and refined as she took a step back with such grace she could have been Doppler royalty. For all I knew, she was.

“Come.” She gave a little wave of her hand, indicating I should follow.

It was an order, not an invitation, but I paused and glanced at the Tracker corner before looking back at Leticia. I still had time before the meeting to see what the council chief had to say.

Leticia turned away from me and the lighting gleamed on her silver hair that was smoothed away from her unlined face and pulled back in a chignon. I downed my elderflower Tom Collins, set my glass on a table, and followed.

She headed toward the elevated floor where paranorms played billiards along with games like pinball and air hockey. All of the games had some kind of paranorm twist that norms wouldn’t understand. Like the Brownie pinball game where the Brownie inside fought back by knocking the metal pinball away from the bonus points. Made it a lot harder to win.

Billiards is the best game ever invented and we play it like norms do—no magic involved. No one ever beat me at pool, but I was afraid I was going to lose my edge if I didn’t start playing more often. I’d rarely had time to indulge since the Demons had almost destroyed New York City not all that long ago.

I rubbed my upper arm where Leticia had scratched it and frowned as I trailed after her. To my right was the stage. The mime was already gone, and now a comedian I’d never seen was performing impersonations of both famous norms and well-known paranorms. I wondered if he’d have the guts to do an impression of the almighty Great Guardian. I would love to have seen it.

Leticia directed us to a dark alcove on the main floor, past the stairs that led to the gaming level. Drow see well in the darkness, and I didn’t have to blink to get accustomed to how little light actually penetrated the corner we were headed to.

The council chief sank into an overstuffed chair and looked at me. “That seat will be fine.” She gestured to the straight-back chair closest to her and I took it. “There. Perfect,” she said.

The whole situation made me feel a little off-kilter. Leticia, a very sophisticated elderly female, was in the Pit of all places. The nightclub, which was a pretty nice place, looked almost primitive compared to her elegant appearance.

I had never seen her outside the Paranorm Council’s chambers, not even off the throne she perched on at the center of the crescent-shaped council table. The only thing I’d seen her in before now was a set of brilliant yellow robes.

Tonight she wore an elegant black dress that I thought might be a Dior and it fit her slender frame as if it had been tailored for her. She wore classic low heels that had to have been Burberrys and she held a Fendi clutch in her lap. At least she had good taste.

Around her neck hung a large glittering blue sapphire pendant on a long, delicate chain made from a metal that couldn’t be found on the Earth Otherworld. I know because I’m Drow. Dark Elves mine ores and gemstones deep beneath the surface of Otherworld and we’re born with an innate sense for anything to do with metals and precious gems. The pendant glittered like that only when worn by the person it rightfully belongs to.

The chain Leticia wore had to have been a gift because the metal is beyond special and Dark Elves hate to part with anything so precious. It was made from the same material as my collar, a metal normally only worn by Drow royalty.

Leticia crossed her legs at her knees and leaned forward, her hands clasped on her lap. “I am so glad to see you, Nyx. I contacted Rodán and he told me when you would be at his nightclub tonight so that I could call on you personally.”

I tried to smile but had a hard time. What did the council want with me now?

“It is my desire to express my sincere gratitude and that of the council as well.” Leticia’s statement caught me off guard. They were thanking me?

I did my best to hide my surprise as she continued. “Why council members understated that kind of horror I’ll never understand. It wasn’t just a ‘situation’ but a series of devastating tragedies and near tragedies.”

Heat began to burn beneath my skin and I felt a flush rising to my face.

“What you did for all paranormkind almost cost you your life.” She placed her hand on my knee as she continued. “All members of the Paranorm Council shall never forget your sacrifices. No one should.”

My face felt even hotter now and I wished I was off fighting a Demon instead of receiving praise I didn’t deserve.

“I was doing my job.” I tried not to squirm in my seat. “I’m a Night Tracker and I was only doing what I’ve been trained to do.”

Leticia gave me what amounted to a patient look, as if I was a child and she was trying to make me understand something. “The council plans to honor your heroics with a special award. We are requesting your presence in one week’s time when we have our last meeting before the New Year begins.”

“No.” I straightened in my seat and there must have been an expression of shock on my face, because that’s exactly what I felt.

The council chief looked surprised at my immediate refusal.

“I mean, thank you.” I tried my best to sound appreciative. “But I can’t accept any kind of award. All of the Trackers deserve recognition, not just me.”

Leticia removed her hand from my knee. “You are far too modest, Nyx Ciar.”

She stood in such a graceful movement I knew at that moment her Doppler animal form was some kind of large cat.

A lioness. With her regal bearing and commanding presence it became obvious to me. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t realized it earlier.

I stood, too. “It’s not right that I should be given recognition and not the rest of the team.”

“Accept the award on behalf of your brethren, if you wish.” The expression in Leticia’s eyes was both warm and firm, which I wasn’t sure many could pull off. “But accept it you will.”

I groaned out loud as the council chief walked away from me, toward the exit. Not that my groan could be heard over the laughter that erupted in the room. I looked at the stage in time to see a ventriloquist’s dummy walking across the stage taking bows—while the Doppler ventriloquist remained seated on his stool.

I wondered if the audience even knew that the Doppler’s dummy was actually a Brownie. An exceptionally ugly one at that.

My thoughts turned immediately back to my little meeting with Leticia. How embarrassing. And how very wrong. I almost died because of my own stupidity. My team members were the real heroes. Especially the Sprite named Negel.

Rodán had to get me out of this one.

The crowd seemed even thicker now and I shoved my way through the hoard of paranorms and toward the Tracker corner. I was just in time to see everyone leaving and heading into the meeting room. Good, I wasn’t late.

I followed Tracey, the Romanian Sânzian˘a Fae, and Hades, a Shifter, into the conference room. When I entered I did a quick scan and saw that all twenty-two other Trackers were there. I closed behind me one of the two doors leading into the conference room. The place was filled with the hum and buzz of conversation as I walked to the conference room table.

Ice, a Shifter born in Manhattan, was lucky that Mandisa, a very dangerous Abatwa Fae from South Africa, didn’t shoot him with a poison-tipped arrow when he made a smart-mouthed comment to her. I grimaced, but she just gave him one of her deadly stares. I so never wanted to be on the receiving end of that look from her.

Kelly and Fere—my two least favorite Trackers—were arguing over something, but I couldn’t catch more than a few words that didn’t make any sense out of context.

Olivia, the only human Tracker, was talking with Lawan. I was so happy to see Olivia wasn’t in the middle of some debate with one of the other beings in our crew.

We were by no means a quiet, peaceable, humble, much less diplomatic bunch. The team was made up of just about every type of personality and paranorm race, but when it came to being Trackers for the most part we were alphas.

We were tough, take charge, and kickass all the way. Even though there were the two Trackers I didn’t get along with—putting it mildly—I would still trust them at my back any day.

At the large conference table that could seat as many as twenty-six, I slid into a chair. I was sitting with Joshua, a Shadow Shifter from Australia on one side of me and on the other side was one of my best friends, Nadia, a Siren from the Bermuda Triangle.

Joshua turned his head and gave me a grin and a wink before looking away and continuing his conversation with Nakano, a Japanese Shifter.

It would have been easy to be offended by Joshua’s arrogant demeanor and what seemed like a cocky attitude, but I’d learned to appreciate him a lot over the past two cases. That despite his making a few sexist comments that almost had Angel removing his head with the barbed whip she carried at her side.

“Hi, Nyx.” Nadia scooted her chair a little to the right so that I could get to my seat more easily.

“Do you know what’s up?” I asked her. It was kind of a dumb question because I was so close to Rodán that no one else in our group found out about something relating to our work before I did. Rodán was one of my closest friends.

So it wasn’t a surprise when she shook her head. “Do you know?”

I leaned back in my chair that both rocked and swiveled. “I talked with Rodán this morning and I’m assuming this has to do with something that’s been attacking norms as well as paranorms.”

Nadia looked concerned and her thick red hair fell over her shoulder as she leaned toward me. “What is it?”

“No idea.” I kept my voice low. “Hopefully Rodán knows more now than we did when we talked.”

“After what everyone went through with the Vampires, we really need a break. Especially you.” She frowned. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Vampires, does it?”

“We’re pretty sure it doesn’t,” I said. “No doubt Rodán will be filling everyone in.”

“Hmmm…” Nadia tipped her head to the side and gave a teasing grin. “At least you got to vacation in Belize with Adam Boyd.”

A smile crept over my face. “Yes, at least we had that.”

“Where are you tracking tonight?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Rodán will no doubt make assignments whenever he gets here.”

Not having a set territory anymore felt more freeing and I didn’t miss it. Out of the twenty-three Trackers in New York City, fifteen had their own territories that they covered each night. The other eight were either rovers or special teams. We could really use more Trackers, but the Great Guardian apparently didn’t think the same.