Arcane Solutions (5 page)

Five

Everyone arrived more or less at the same time the next morning, so once we poured our coffees, Mr. Whitehaven called a meeting to issue our pay stubs. Our checks were direct deposited; I think he was just old-fashioned enough to like to hand out envelopes.

Slipping hers into a pocket of her ruby red, Fifties-style cap-sleeved dress, Kate asked, “What did you discover yesterday?”

“
A vampire lord named Derrick who doesn’t care for telepathic interlopers.”

Nick jumped in.
“He must be powerful. Cordi was scared enough to call it a day.”

“
Wary enough. It was dusk by then.” They ignored my correction.

Mr. Whitehaven sat back, hands dropping from desktop to arm rests.
“Did you locate the missing child?”

“
She’s a teenager. No. I couldn’t scan this vampire’s estate.” Before he asked, I checked the shimmer for the third time since I’d woken up. “She’s still alive. Oh, and there was another thing.” I described the meeting with the elf, watching as the boss’s face settled into blandness.

Since I didn’t pry unless necessary in the line of work, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling. The boss never leaked thoughts. As far as I knew, elves weren’t clients the agency had taken on before.

“We’ll see if he calls.” Whitehaven left it at that.

“
Kate, can you try and find out about Zoe’s father? I’m curious as to why he wasn’t here yesterday.” Surely, someone had informed the man about her disappearance. My father would have been all over anything that involved my disappearance, driving people to drink until I was found.

“
I’ll do my best.” She frowned. Searches weren’t her forte, but Whitehaven hadn’t found someone to hire as a specialist just yet. “I’ll also see what I can uncover on this Derrick.”

“
Thanks. Will you be up to try locating her again?”

“
Yes, this afternoon. I have a client coming in, and a lunch date. You need to call Mr. Fent, and set up another appointment to search for his aliens.” She was also our acting receptionist to atone for her familiar’s tendency to crap on select individuals, a habit that had driven the last one out the door.

“
Right.” The meeting was adjourned, and learning that Nick hadn’t gotten a tour of the office, I took care of that before making the necessary call.

We took lunch early, Kate disappearing to meet her mysterious boyfriend, while Nick and I settled for burgers just down the block from the office.

Popping a fry in his mouth, he chewed while watching me douse mine in ketchup and pepper. “You’re a fan of tomatoes in all their forms, aren’t you?”

“
You bet. I have tomato sauce running through my veins. Dad’s family came over from Italy.” The opening to tell each other about our families was there, but Nick didn’t take it.

He changed the subject.
“I’d like to take you out for dinner after work.”

“
That sounds like a plan,” I agreed, picking at my fries and slightly regretting my leap of lust the night before.

We each ate a few bites before he spoke up again.
“Sorry I had to take off like that last night.”

“
It's okay. Did everything work out all right?”

“
Yeah.” The shifter didn't offer any explanation, but whatever it had been probably wasn't my business anyway. We finished eating and walked back to the office to see a limo waiting in the parking lot.

I wasn’t too surprised to find Thorandryll in the reception area. Just by lounging on the harvest gold two-seat sofa he turned our mellow reassure-the-clients-we’re-sane atmosphere into a kindergarten art project. Damn gorgeous elves. Then again, arrogance like Thorandryll’s kind of cut through the glamour. Nick’s polite nod was ignored, and with a little helpful direction from my finger poking his ribs, he headed for Kate’s office.

Left alone with the elf, I smiled. “Have you been waiting long?”

“
Not at all. Your employer and I finished our conversation only a few minutes ago.” He’d risen from his seat when we walked in, and began to offer his hand, but dropped it.

So, Whitehaven had given him the zoo speech. It was actually a ‘don’t touch the psychic unless she offers first’ speech, but it reminded me of the signs on certain cages at the zoo. ‘Don’t feed the monkeys’ or ‘Don’t touch the tiger’s glass’.
“Good. If you’ll follow me, we can talk in my office.”

“
Certainly. It’s a pleasure to see you again, Miss Jones.” He followed, taking a seat when I gestured toward the chairs while shutting the door.

Once seated behind my desk, I asked,
“What is it that you need me to find?”

“
An item has gone missing from my library.”

“
So you want me to find a book?” Sitting back as he nodded, I thought he looked fantastic in the black slacks and a soft-looking green pullover he was wearing. Cashmere, I bet. Or thistle silk spun at midnight on a unicorn spindle and knitted by moths. He was having a terrible influence on me, if I was thinking things like that. “What kind of book?”

“
It’s an ancient tome, over two thousand years old.”

“
They had books back then? Wow.”

“
Yes, some did.” His tone indicated sudden second thoughts about hiring me. I hid a grin, meeting those wintry blue eyes with what I hoped was an innocent expression.

“
How long has it been missing?”

“
Three days.”

“
Okay. Do you have a photo of it?”

“
No.”

Not helpful.
“How about the title and author’s name?”

“
It’s a journal, Miss Jones, so has neither stamped upon its cover nor written inside.”

That was even less helpful.
“Could you describe it, or better yet, visualize it and let me see it?”

“
Your employer strictly forbade any attempts to mentally share information.” He frowned, obviously not understanding Whitehaven’s rule.

“
Oh.” I'd had some freaky episodes after mental contact with centuries-old vampires, hence that particular rule. The boss did the forbidding when a client was over a century old. The rule had come into play after I’d tried to bite him one evening. Even second-hand, the vampiric hunger for blood is a bitch. “Okay, do you have anything I can attempt to get some information from?”

“
It's a large tome. The cover is lightly tanned leather. There aren't any symbols stamped upon it.” The elf gestured with long-fingered hands. When he finished, a square of crimson silk formed in mid-air, then whispered down to pool on my desk's top. “The book was wrapped in that for the past three decades. Will it suffice?”

“
Yeah, it should.” I looked at the silk. It was older than I was by almost a decade. “No idea who stole it?”

“
If I knew that, I wouldn't be here and the book would already have been returned to its place.” He glared through me, jaw clenching and lips thinning. There was no trouble imagining him with a sword in hand, dressed in elaborate armor, and charging into battle.

“
Aside from its age, what's important about it? Why would someone want to steal it? Is it worth a lot?”

“
Only to a few, with myself being one of them.” He smiled, not a confident curve of lips, but something cute and slightly crooked that called to mind little boys up to mischief. My brain stuttered to a halt. I didn't think he was using glamour to improve his looks, but that wasn't the only thing elves could do with that particular ability.

A quick knock on the door and Kate poked her head in. Her familiar, a parrot named Percival, stood on her left shoulder and Nick was behind her. The shifter focused on Thorandryll after a quick glance at me. Kate ignored the elf in favor of informing me,
“I’m ready to try another location spell, Jones.”

“
Okay, just a minute.” Their appearance broke the haze. I summoned up a professional smile, aiming it at the elf. “I'll let you know as soon as I come up with anything, and keep you updated on my progress as often as possible.”

Both golden eyebrows rose.
“You're not going to attempt psychometry now?”

I wondered if he'd been researching psychic abilities while answering,
“I have a previous case to wrap up.”

“
I see.” He nodded, gave another brief, devastatingly gorgeous smile and rose from his seat. I shadowed the move, stepping out from around my desk to offer a hand. Thorandryll didn’t shake it. Too common, I suppose. He raised it with a quarter bow, breath and lips oh-so-briefly warming my knuckles. My skin tingled in reaction. “I look forward to hearing from you, Miss Jones.”

“
Merde
,” Percy remarked, turning his head and rustling a wing. “
Il la veut pour lui-même
.”

“
Is that so?” Kate asked, eyebrows drawing down and green eyes locking on the elf's face as he turned toward the door.

“
Oui
. Asshole.” The parrot chortled. Nick's lips twitched before he stepped out of sight.

Rolling my eyes, I pointed at Percy.
“Manners, bird brain.”

“
Cordi, Cordi, Cordi,” the parrot warbled in his Frank Sinatra imitation. “That's
amour
!”

“
You have an interesting pet,” Thorandryll remarked, walking toward the door. Kate stayed put, blocking it. Percy snickered as the elf was forced to halt.

“
He's my familiar,” she said, challenge gleaming in her eyes.

“
My apologies.” The elf inclined his head, and I sincerely wished I could see his face. Kate held position for a second longer before moving. Percy snickered again, one black eye watching the elf leave.

“
What did he say? Was it rude?” I demanded, pointing at her familiar. “Aside from the obvious?”

“
Only on the elf's part. Let’s try the spell. I have a coven meeting this evening.” She spun and headed for her office, Percy softly crooning in her ear.

Nick stepped up beside me.
“Now that was funny.”

“
He's a client. Percy needs to show some manners.”

“
He is an asshole.” Catching hold of my hand, the shifter tugged me into walking. His thumb slipped over my knuckles in quick sweeps as we followed the witch. “We’re still on for dinner, right?”

“
Absolutely.” I was gearing up for another trip to the Barrows, hoping this time it would end with possession of Zoe, and complete avoidance of the telepathic vampire.

Unfortunately, Kate wasn’t able to locate the girl, in spite of trying for a couple of hours amidst swearing and Percy’s crooning impression of Sinatra to calm her down.

“Are you certain she’s still alive?” Kate eventually demanded, putting the pendant down oh-so-carefully and rubbing the mark the chain had left across her palm.

A check of the filed shimmer gave confidence to my response.
“Yes.”

She sighed, flipping strands of hair from one cheek.
“Well, I’m getting absolutely nothing here.”

I had a reprieve, so it was guilt-flavored relief flowing through my veins as I stood up.
“Try again tomorrow?”

“
Definitely.”

“
Thanks, Kate.” Nick followed me out of her office, brow creased in thought.

Six

“I'm starving.” Constantly checking the Zoe shimmer was picking at my energy levels.

Ushering me out into the parking lot, Nick asked,
“What do you want to eat?”

“
Something heavy. Italian sound okay? I'll buy this time.” Hunger was overriding tiredness. It demanded satisfaction loudly, my stomach issuing a ferocious growl.

Nick chuckled.
“I invited you. Do you have a place in mind?”

“
Yeah. Did you want to drive?”

Of course he did, given the opportunity. I kept a straight face at his quick
“Sure.”

Once we were in his truck, he started digging for information.
“I get the impression you’re not very fond of vampires.”

“
I’m not. One turned my best friend two years ago. She couldn't take it and asked me to stake her.”

Nick quietly whistled.
“Did you?”

“
Yeah.” I'd also paid for her funeral. Ginger hadn't been a vampire long enough to turn to ash.  She’d just looked dead.

“
That had to have been really hard.”

“
Let's talk about something else, please.”

“
Sure.” He was silent for a minute. “So, what kind of music do you like?”

That and other general topics carried us through dinner, since he avoided any of my attempts to get him to open up on more personal subjects.

It was dark when we left the restaurant, and I looked around while we walked to his truck. The vampire whose mind had brushed mine still worried me.

Nick asked,
“Would it be all right if I drove you home and stayed the night?”

“
Hm,” I pretended to think about it, and then grinned. “Yes.”

***

“I'll drop you off at work, then run home and change,” Nick said after swallowing the last bite of his omelet the next morning.

“
No, that's okay. I can teleport to the office.” I took a sip of my coffee. I'd slept well, snuggled close to him all night long.

“
Well, I guess if you're sure?” Nick waited until I nodded. “Okay, I'll see you there in a little while. Thanks for breakfast, Cordi.”

“
You're welcome. See you there.” He rose from his seat and bent, depositing a quick kiss on my cheek. We traded smiles and he left.

God, how domestic
. Shaking off the bemusement, I followed to re-lock the door. It wasn’t really safe even in the daylight, because vampires collect humans more than happy to do their dirty work.

Personally, I don't get the attraction of dying and returning to suck blood, never able to see the sun again. Don't get me wrong
—the night can be beautiful. But watching the sun rise, chasing away black and gray with wide sweeps of pinks, purples, reds, and finally gold wasn't something I'd want to live centuries without ever seeing again.

I think they miss it, if vampires miss anything about being human. Most vampire-owned establishments have at least one, if not dozens, of sunrise landscapes hanging on their walls. Since I can't quite see them having such images around as a reminder of the limitation of their powers, it makes sense that they miss seeing sunrises.

Collecting our breakfast dishes, I frowned. This Derrick, what time was his deady-bye? Rinsing the dishes and loading them into the dishwasher, I made a note to do some research. If I've learned anything during the year I've been a private investigator, it's that no one is truly an expert about anything to do with the supernatural races.

They can surprise you, and those surprises are always nasty. My first nasty surprise had been learning vampires only needed six hours to recharge.

Retrieving my favorite pair of boots from under my bed, I slipped on the dark brown aviator-styled footwear and gave myself a once-over in the full-length, iron-framed mirror set in the corner of my bedroom.

Hip-hugging jeans, a wide belt in matching dark brown leather and a cropped, three-quarters length sleeved shirt in soft teal was the uniform of the day. I looked good, but after a quick application of black eyeliner, mascara, and pale rose lipstick, I looked even better.

Dropping phone, car keys, and slim card case into the inside pocket of my leather bomber’s jacket, I slung it over a shoulder.

Satisfied I was as ready for the day as possible, I teleported to work.

***

I'd been studiously ignoring the red silk puddled on my desk while typing the initial case report for the elf’s book. Hitting save and emailing a copy of the file to my boss, I sat back to stare at it.

Some might think being able to pick up impressions from objects, animals, and people is an awesome ability. Getting
whammied by the memory of someone being messily killed proves how completely uncool psychometry really is.

I wore gloves for a long time after the first time it showed up in my arsenal of psychic abilities. That one was rather spectacular, involving a used sedan my mom was thinking of buying to replace her worn-out station wagon.

It was the first time I aided the police in an investigation, which led to meeting Damian and ultimately, Mr. Whitehaven. On bad nights, the memory of the victim and that gleaming, old-fashioned straight razor dripping with blood can bring me screaming awake.

Because that happens, my doctor diagnosed me with PTSD, and I have a couple of bottles of pills sitting in my medicine cabinet. After I lay trapped for hours, re-living one particularly brutal murder, I decided those pills weren't my friends and haven't touched them since.

I don't black out. It's not my memories that I flash back to in the dark of night. I wasn't there when any of those events took place.

The things I have witnessed firsthand don't haunt me the way those transferred memories do. Yeah, they bother me, but only during my waking hours and if I think about them.

So I don't as much as possible.

I reached for the silk, but a knock on my office door stopped my hand a scant inch from making contact.
“Yeah?”

It opened to reveal Nick.
“How's it going?”

“
Good. Finished a report and I'm ready to rock on this.” I pointed at the silk.

“
Can I watch? I should probably learn as much as I can about how your abilities work, being your partner and all.”

Nice of him to keep things professional at the office.
“Sure. Come on in.”

Stepping inside, Nick shut the door and chose one of the chairs in front of my desk. He sat down.
“Thanks. So what is it that you're going to do?”

“
It's called psychometry. The theory is that the energy of something is affected by the energy of whatever comes into contact with it.” I paused to see if he was following along so far. Nick looked interested. “It can be a fluid change that isn't retained for long, or it can be a permanent change.”

The shifter nodded.
“Kind of like meeting people? Some barely register and you forget them immediately. Others make a lasting impression.”

He was quick on the uptake – when he wanted to be.
“Yeah, exactly.”

“
How do you keep it from happening all the time?”

“
I block it. I had to learn how and practice, and still get taken by surprise sometimes.” Hence the
no touchee the psychic
rule.

“
Does it work instantly? I mean, do you not block, touch something and boom! See stuff?”

“
Sometimes. Other times, I can handle whatever it is several times before getting anything. Or nothing at all, no matter how often I try.” I shrugged.

“
You can't really control it as much as ignore it when you need to. Except when it decides to surprise you.” He was proving to be the Master of Summing Things Up. “Okay. Do I need to move back or anything?”

“
No. Just be still and quiet, please.”

“
Wait,” he said as I began to reach for the silk. “How does this help you find stuff? Won't you just see the elf's library?”

“
Possibly, but I might also see the person who took the book. Plus, there's another ability that could kick in. It’s like a tracking sense.” I paused, but explained when he gestured for more. “Sometimes when I handle objects, it gives me a sort of sense of the owner, or people who’ve touched it. When I get close to the person, it can lock on and lead me straight to them.” The tracking was still a mystery of sorts to me. It didn't always work.

“
Okay. Sorry I interrupted.” Nick settled back, arms crossing, and gaze focusing on my hands as I again reached for the silk.

Today was a good day, and it was eager to show what it found embedded in the silk's ’memory’.

A narrow, reddish view of a room. A clear view of Thorandryll’s back and the legs of a woman circling his waist. Moans of pleasure from the woman he was making love to, her dark hair just visible above his shoulder. My face burned as I dropped the silk. The heat was so scalding that I knew it was probably as red as the silk. “Damn.”

“
What did you see?” Nick's question was a half whisper.

“
Something I wasn’t expecting to, not in a library.” I had to fan my face, unable to banish the image of the elf's sleek backside steadily flexing. A sniff from Nick's direction drew my attention to him.

He was grinning.
“It must've been something really good.”

I silently agreed, realizing then that my panties were a little damp.
“Um, I'll try again.”

The shifter nodded. Taking a deep breath, I reclaimed the silk and images flashed through my mind.

Thorandryll and other elves, and all of them were doing normal library things. Browsing books, talking quietly, and reading.

As those faded, a feeling of heavy menace began to grow. The reddish haze faded to black. I sensed movement then the silk slipped to the floor, someone trampling it.

Wincing, I carefully folded it before placing it on my desk. “I couldn't see the thief. It was too dark.”

“
I've never seen that much red disappear so fast, Cordi. You've gone dead white.” Uncrossing his arms, Nick leaned forward. “Are you okay?”

“
Yeah. Whoever he is, he's a scary dude,” I admitted, before attempting a careless grin. “Hey, bet you earn your paycheck on this one.”

His return smile wasn't a happy one. Since psychic tracking didn't twinge, I checked the time.
“I’m due out at Mr. Fent’s in thirty minutes. Let’s go.”

***

“It's not really aliens, but Mr. Fent doesn't come into town very often. He hasn't had much contact with supernatural types, so he calls them aliens.” Filling Nick in while zipping from lane to lane was fun. The shifter looked torn between listening and trying to figure out the best way to brace for the impact he seemed certain would occur.

I hadn't been joking about being able to drive blind-folded. It was another unnamed ability. I just knew what other drivers would do or how they'd react when behind the wheel of my car. Damian and his partner, Schumacher, had been the only two brave enough to ride with me during the blindfold test.

It was an extremely useful ability, one of my favorites once I'd grown accustomed to it. After all, it let me scare the pants off my passengers. And when the pants in question belonged to Nick, well… I pulled my mind out of the gutter before the car ended up crashed there, too.

“
I don't know what they are because I haven't managed to spot one yet,” I said. “Think I've tromped over all his land at least a thousand times, and gotten nothing except vague impressions that don't make any sense to me.”

“
What are they doing? Stealing stuff? Killing his chickens?” Nick’s voice rose to a squeak when I accelerated to pass a big rig. “Do you always drive this fast?”

“
Yup.” I grinned. “Well, some things have come up missing, but not anything of value, from what I've gathered. Junk mostly. But one of the barn cats was attacked.”

Nick pulled his wide-eyed gaze away from the windshield with an effort.
“How badly? Was it killed?”

“
Nope, a little scratched up. I'm not sure that it was really attacked, but Mr. Fent insists that it was. I think the cat just scratched its nose on a wire or something.” Shrugging, I signaled right to exit.

Nick relaxed as we left the heavy traffic behind.
“You're probably right, but it's possible some of the smaller races may have decided that city life isn't to their liking. Some are small enough for a cat to be a danger to.”

“
Like what?”

“
Pixies, brownies, gnomes, and leprechauns.”