Category: Avalon

Anne

Anne was letting the wild magic circle around her as she teased them with her thoughts. Veronica kept telling her that the wild magic on this side of the gate was weak compared to Avalon. Like a garden hose compared to river rapids, was the analogy Veronica used when Anne asked about the difference. Veronica looked finally satisfied enough to try a simple spell with Anne. Anne’s cell phone rang. Both women swore as Anne let go of the magic. Anne was even more irritated when she saw the number.

“Damn it Jason, this is my night off!” Anne said.

“Get to the address I’m texting to you right now,” Jason McMurty said, ignoring Anne’s protest. After three months as partners, Anne knew the tone in Jason’s voice was the one he used when dealing with very bad stuff. Before Anne thought about it, she was standing and putting on her sidearm, badge, and coat.

“Is this a special?” Anne asked, using their private code for a homicide that might have been caused by the Dark Towers or a monster on this side of the gate.

“Possibly,” Jason answered, “If not, it’s definitely in your wheelhouse. The lieutenant wants you down here.” Anne and Veronica were walking down to the common area. Samantha joined them. Normally they didn’t escort her to work. Jason was her supposed to be her protective detail while working. All of that went out the window if there was a “special” case.

“We’re on our way,” Anne said and ended the call. She looked down at the address and grimaced. Great, right smack in the middle of Riverside, not more than a dozen blocks from their apartment building. Before the turn of the century, Riverside was called Downriver. Then the previous city administration decided to “revitalize” what they saw as prime real estate. Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell the criminals that they were supposed to move out to make way for trendy apartments, restaurants, and art galleries.

“Wo ghest du hin?, I mean, where going you to?” Kurt asked stepping through the front door and seeing the trio of women. He must have been exhausted, because normally his English was perfect.

“Special case,” Anne answered.

“Where’s Erik?” Samantha asked. Kurt looked surprised.

“He’s not back? He went to go investigate some people we saw tonight,” Kurt said, “I thought he would have returned by now.”

“I’m sure he’s fine Samantha. It’s not like he’s not perfectly capable of handling himself,” Anne said, “We really need to get moving. Kurt, why don’t you go get some rest? You’ve been working all day.”

“Nein,” he said, his reply just a bit too quick and forceful, “I mean, no, I’m fine. I will escort you to the scene.” The three women traded looks, but none of them objected. It was just easier. Anne climbed into her unmarked cruiser, while the others followed in nondescript silver sedan.

Jason met Anne at the edge of the police cordon. Anne focused on the picture of the victim Jason was showing her. White female, mid-20’s, blonde, clothes and makeup said that she was going out. Clothes and jewelry were on the expensive side, but expected for this part of town. Her throat had been savagely torn out leaving a three-inch gap in the front.

“Where’s all the blood?” Anne said, zooming out. “She’s got a lot on her, but there’s not much of a pool around her. Not for that kind of wound.”

“First thing I noticed as well,” Jason said as the pair walked to the murder scene. “Of course, Welks doesn’t think it’s significant.” Anne stopped and glared at Jason.

“Welks is lead?” Anne said, barely keeping herself from yelling. Jason nodded and braced himself for the coming tirade. “Oh, hell no. There’s no way I’m helping that bastard with a damn thing! It’s my night off, and I’m going the hell home.”

“Stop,” Jason said, firmly, holding up his hand, “I know you hate him, I know why, and I know you wouldn’t have come down here if you knew he was the lead. That said, we have a dead woman with missing blood. Do you want to find out what did that to her before it starts preying on more victims in the city?” Anne glared at Jason. She hated when he refused to put up with her, and it was worse when he was right.

“Fine. Did you send this pic to the others?” Anne asked. Jason nodded. Anne tapped her head twice. At the signal, Samantha established the now familiar telepathic network between the two detectives and the Avalonians. In addition to giving the team undetectable communications, Anne instantly knew where each of the Avalonians were. Damn, they were good at hiding in a crowd. She didn’t think she would have been able to spot them before the telepathic network illuminated their positions.

“What kills like this?” Anne asked the group.

“Draks have that level of savagery, but they’ve never been seen on this side of the gate,” Samantha said, “Delvers could, but that’s usually not their style.” Anne had heard the Avalonians refer to Dark Towers’ elves as “delvers” before, but she’d never heard of draks. Her confusion must have registered over the telepathic link, because Veronica answered before Anne could ask the question.

“Draks are about the same size as goblins and hobgoblins, but look like little humanoid reptilians. Tend to run in packs of ten or more. Very nasty creatures,” Veronica reported. “If this was draks, I’d expect her to be torn limb from limb and partially eaten.”

“Anything from this side of the gate?” Kurt asked.

“Normally, I’d say vampire, but they’re supposed to be all across the pond for some big shindig in Europe,” Jason answered. Anne’s eyes widened.

“Vampires? Really?” Anne asked, “Are we talking Count Dracula or sparkly?” Anne could feel Jason’s mental groan at the question.

“Closer to Count Dracula, but that’s just their human form,” Jason answered, “Until they have to feed, and then they get monstrous. Think a seven-foot man-bat. Something’s bothering me about this though. According to task force records though, we wouldn’t find even this much blood if this was a vampire attack. Even a young vampire needs a lot of blood to survive.”

“Anything else? More werewolves?” Anne asked.

“I don’t think it’s werewolves. Everything the task force has been hearing says that all other werewolf packs are steering clear of the city. They’re scared of whatever could tear their lycanthropy out of them. I’ll ask one of the research geeks,” Jason said. Anne felt Samantha’s sudden tenseness.

“Jason, what do you know about the stories that vampires can’t have their minds read?” Samantha asked.

“Not much. Why?” he asked.

“Because I have two bystanders busily taking video of the two of you and I can’t hear their thoughts,” Samantha said. Their telepath’s anxiety pulsed through the link.

“Where?” Anne asked.

“Your five o’clock,” Samantha answered. “Kurt, Veronica, home in on me. We’ll take them quietly.”

“Hold Samantha. Kurt do you have any silver ammunition on you?” Jason asked.

“Just the magazine that you gave me,” Kurt answered.

“Don’t engage them,” Jason said, “Because unless you know how to set them on fire without anyone noticing, you’re not going to be able to do anything to them quietly.” Anne felt a blast of fear from Kurt.

“Mein Gott. Those two look like the men that Erik was following,” Kurt said. Anne casually turned, and saw the pair. Two tall men with dark hair and dressed like Euro-tourists. Almost against her will, she locked eyes with the taller of the pair. She felt a cold shiver down her spine. Then the man’s face broke into the most evil grin she’d ever seen. Fear pumped through Anne as she felt her body lock up. She couldn’t even swallow. The tall man gave her a salute by tapping his two forefingers to his head. Then the pair just disappeared. Just vanished like they’d never been standing there.

“Are you okay?” everyone asked Anne when she could finally hear the telepathic network again.

“I think so,” Anne said.

“Yep, vampires,” Jason said, and then vocally, “Damn it all to hell.”

Erik

Erik pulled his coat tighter around him as he watched his target through a pair of binoculars. Crouched next to him, Kurt was monitoring the bugs they’d placed in the target’s office earlier that night. The German didn’t seem to care about the plunging temperatures, but Erik was a native of Avalon City, which sat on his world’s equator. He’d worked in the cold many times over the course of his career, but he never enjoyed it. Maybe, if Anne would quit taunting him with “Winter is Coming!“, it wouldn’t bother him so much.

“What do you want to ask me Kurt?” Erik asked. For the past half-hour, Kurt’s emotions were roiling with anxiety as he built up his courage. Erik felt Kurt’s courage starting to falter, and their target wasn’t doing anything interesting at the moment. Perfect time to find out what was bothering his native guide.

“Scheisse,” Kurt murmured under his breath, “I need your advice. I’m thinking about asking Anne out. Formally.” Erik didn’t say anything for a moment. It wasn’t as if he was surprised. Anne and Kurt had been doing the dance since just after they’d met. Erik knew how the two of them felt about each other, even if they didn’t know how to deal with it. The curse of being an empath. Actually, if Erik was surprised about anything, it was how long Kurt had taken to come to the decision.

“Well, that certainly adds complexity to our mission,” Erik said, “Are you asking for me permission as your boss?”

“More notifying you so that you can request someone to replace me,” Kurt said. “I know what the rules are for this, but–” Kurt stopped suddenly and Erik could feel the sudden bloom of embarrassment.

“Go ahead and say what you were going to say,” Erik said.

“But I don’t want Anne and I to end you like Samantha and you,” Kurt said cautiously.

“Well, I can’t blame you for that,” Erik answered after a long moment, and he nearly laughed at the wave of relief that passed through Kurt. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any assets to replace you. With the current upswing of Dark Towers activity on this world, we need everyone in place. So, keep it discrete.”

“Isn’t that against regulations?” Kurt asked, surprised.

“Pretty much,” Erik answered with a smile. “If Lady Maritza is forced to take official notice, there’ll be hell to pay. So, do us all a favor and make sure that she doesn’t have any reason to take official notice. It’s rather obvious how the two of you feel about each other. You’re both professionals. Act like it, and there won’t be any problems.”

Kurt wanted to say something, but the door of the target’s office opened. Erik and Kurt traded questioning looks. Their target wasn’t supposed to be meeting anyone else for the night. They were just hoping to catch any phone calls before their target went home. Two tall men in matching navy blue suits walked into the office. The target paled as he looked up to see them. Erik couldn’t feel the target’s emotion at this distance, but being an empath meant Erik had learned how to read body language. The target was terrified of his new arrivals.

“I told your clan elders that I wasn’t going to be able to help you,” the target said. Well that was surprising. The target wasn’t strictly a Dark Towers agent, but more of a broker of intelligence to the Dark Towers, as well as native criminal organizations. Erik couldn’t think of a faction that the target wouldn’t deal with.

“The terms we have offered are more than generous,” the shorter of the pair said, with an accent Erik didn’t recognize. Southeastern Europe, Kurt wrote down a pad.

“Yes they are,” the target said, “Unfortunately, I have been told by one of my other clients that I cannot share that particular information upon pain of death. While your inducements are generous, they won’t provide me the protection I need.”

“The clan can protect you,” Short One replied.

“No, you can’t,” the target said, with a mirthless laugh. “Not from this client.” Then, Short One teleported next to the target and loomed over the man. Surprisingly, the target’s fear wasn’t heightened. He actually seemed to relax. Then, he opened one of his desk drawers and picked out a manilla envelope.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Short One said, “Your payment will be in your account by close of business tomorrow.” The two men left the office. Kurt and Erik exchanged puzzled glances.

“Stay here and keep an eye on the target,” Erik told Kurt, “See if he contacts anyone or is contacted by anyone. I’m going to see who those two are and what was in that envelope.”

“Lady Maritza was very clear that we were supposed to only observe the target,” Kurt reminded him as Erik stood up.

“This is what is called a target of opportunity,” Erik said, “I’m playing a hunch.” Kurt let out an exasperated sigh, which made Erik chuckle. Erik walked to the edge of the roof and perched as he waited for the pair to exit the target’s building. The two emerged from the building and walked confidently down the street. Erik pushed off with a bit of power to the next rooftop. He followed them for a few blocks until they turned into an apartment building’s courtyard. He leapt down behind them.

Both of the tall strangers spun as Erik hit the bricks. Erik couldn’t feel the emotions of either of them. That answered who they were – psychics working for the Dark Towers. So, what would a Dark Towers agent not give to Dark Towers collaborators? Erik stood up and gave the two a casual smirk. His suppressed pistol materialized in his hand.

“I would take it as a kindness if you would turn over that envelope without trouble,” Erik said, keeping his weapon visible, but not pointed at the two. The two silently traded what could charitably called bored looks. The tall one was suddenly in front of Erik. How the hell had he moved so fast? Psychics couldn’t gate. The backhand landed with the speed and fury of an orc. Erik felt his teeth rattle as he stumbled back.

“This is not your concern Avalonian,” the tall man said in a similar accent. Erik tried bringing up his pistol, but the tall man moved instantaneously and had Erik’s arm in a crushing grip. Erik let the pistol drop to the ground and the grip eased slightly. “Do not press this further or I will be forced to kill you.”

“You’re not collaborators, are you?” Erik asked, grunting back against the pain. The tall one quirked an eyebrow in confusion before letting out a harsh laugh. As soon as the tall one released Erik’s arm, the Avalonian slammed him with a blast of power. The tall one was lifted off of his feet and thrown back to his colleague. Erik picked up his pistol off of the ground and pointed it at the two of them.

“Last chance,” Erik said, “Give me the envelope.” The two men fell into fighting stances. Erik placed the sights on the tall one, but the short one was punching him before Erik could pull the trigger. Erik felt his ribs crack as the short one rained a series of blows to his torso. Erik knocked back the short one with a blast of power. Then stars erupted in his eyes as a sledgehammer blow hit him in the back of his head. Erik stumbled and a second blow knocked him to the ground. The two men spoke in a language Erik didn’t understand as he fought to remain conscious. One last trick to try.

Erik placed a thin barrier of power above him as he took several deep breaths. He would have the barest second’s worth of advantage with the way these two moved. He felt one of their hands move through the barrier. Erik pushed himself up with a burst of power as he drew Far’ling from its sheath under his jacket. The short sword gleamed brilliantly before effortlessly slicing off the tall one’s hands. The man let out an unearthly scream as his hands smoldered on the ground. Part of Erik wanted to press the attack, but he knew better. Pushing hard against the stones, Erik flew into the air. With a tendril of power, Erik managed to snag his pistol as he flew onto a nearby roof.

He laid on cold steel of the roof, gasping for breath. Whatever those men were, they weren’t anything he’d dealt with before. Erik was going to have to ask Jason about them without explaining what Kurt and he were doing. The Americans tolerated the Avalonians, but they did tend to take a dim view of actual espionage against persons nominally of American citizenship. Before Erik could come up with a decent fib, the blackness swallowed him.

Anne

“Remember to relax and concentrate on just feeling the magic,” Veronica said. The two women were sitting cross-legged across from each other. The thick carpet of Anne’s sitting room made the position slightly less uncomfortable. Anne didn’t understand why they couldn’t do this on her perfectly nice overstuffed chairs. Veronica tsked in reprimand which brought Anne’s mind back to what they were supposed to be doing. Anne tried to relax her mind to see the lines of magic. Of course, that was assuming she could relax her mind.

“You’re still not relaxed, Anne,” Samantha said from across the room. Of course, the psychic got to sit in one of the comfy chairs with a drink in her hand. Anne felt the slight pressure in the mind as Samantha scanned her surface thoughts. After three months of living with the Avalonians, Anne was used to Samantha’s casual probing. As far as they were concerned, it was no different from someone being able to read the expression on your face. “Veronica, you’re not going to get anything done today with her.”

“Why not?” Veronica asked, trying to hide her annoyance behind a facade of calm.

“Because Anne can’t concentrate on learning how to sling spells when she’s occupied with what she is planning to do tonight,” Samantha answered, smiling.

“Damn it, Samantha,” Anne said. Anne turned back to Veronica. “I was really trying. Really.” Veronica audibly sniffed and stood up with an unearthly grace.

“Very well. What is so important that you can’t concentrate during one of our few sessions?” Veronica asked. Anne felt a stab of guilt at the small woman’s glare. Anne knew these sessions were important to help her get control of her newly-discovered ability to use magic. Unfortunately, Anne was also a homicide detective and had a stack of cases that took up most of her waking hours. In the three months since Anne and the Avalonians moved into their new home, she’d only been able to make a half-dozen sessions with Veronica.

“I’m going to ask Kurt out tonight,” Anne answered hesitantly. Veronica’s eyes went wide in surprise, while Samantha just wore a satisfied smile.

“As in a date? A real date? Not one of those fake dates you’ve been having with him for the past couple of months?” Veronica asked, her stern instructor face melting into the hopeful smile of a young woman.

“What do you mean ‘fake dates’?” Anne asked, feeling the crimson rising in her face.

“Why do you think he’s always volunteering to go with you when you go running or when you hit that coffee shop in the morning?” Samantha asked. “All those times up on the roof?”

“We just talk,” Anne protested, knowing that the other women were right. Kurt had been perfectly willing to be whatever Anne needed for the past few months as she adjusted to her new life and the loss of her old partner Dale. It was only in the last week that Anne decided that she wanted more from Kurt and felt ready to pursue it.

“So, what is this real date?” Veronica asked. Anne stood up and walked over to where her purse was hanging. She pulled out the three laminated strips of paper and showed them to Samantha and Veronica.

“Three tickets to the Mia Gold concert, and they’re right up front,” Anne asked. “Two for Kurt and me, with a spare for whichever of you has to do guard duty. I had to twist one of my CI’s arms to get these without bankrupting me.”

“That is so cool!” Veronica said, looking at the tickets in awe. “That concert’s been sold-out forever.” It was times like this that made Anne remember Veronica was only in her early twenties. Very early twenties.

“I’m glad you’re appreciative Veronica, because you’re going with them,” Samantha said, the slightest hint of disappointment in her brown eyes. Both Anne and Veronica looked at her in surprise.

“Wait, you’re a much bigger fan of Mia than I am,” Veronica said, “You’ve got all of her songs on your phone. Why don’t you go?”

“Because I can’t,” Samantha said, cryptically, “I’m sorry. I just have other things that I need to do that night. So, feel free to escort them and enjoy the concert. Just remember why you’re going.”

“Nothing against you Veronica, but shouldn’t Erik be the one to go with us? He hates Mia Gold, so he’d just be there to guard us without being tempted to just listen to the music.” Anne saind.

“Erik will be busy with me at the time,” Samantha answered. “So, it will have to be you Veronica.” Veronica and Anne both gave Samantha shrewd looks.

“The two of you will be busy with something that you’re not going to tell us about while everyone else is out of the house?” Anne asked, with a mock severity. Samantha gave Anne an annoyed look, which caused Anne and Veronica to burst out in laughter.

“We have to do something for Lady Maritza,” Samantha said. “For the record, you two are incorrigible.”

“Well, it’s just that the two of you are so close, and you’ve never given us a good reason why you haven’t got together before,” Veronica said.

“That’s because there’s never been a good reason other than timing,” Samantha answered, clearly uncomfortable. “For the longest time, we were happy just being friends. Most of the time, like now, even if we wanted to do anything, we couldn’t. So, we just have a close friendship.” Samantha stood up from her chair. “I should let you two practice. I’ve got some reports to look over for the lady.”

“Well, that was odd,” Anne said, watching Samantha leave her apartment.

“What? She always gets flustered when we talk about her and Erik,” Veronica said, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“No, not that,” Anne said, “She was lying about having something to do with Erik on the day of the concert.”

“So?” Veronica asked.

“It’s just an odd thing to lie about,” Anne said, her detective instincts kicking in. Odd things tended to get her attention. Veronica read Anne’s expression and let out a long sigh.

“Well, since we’re not going to get any training done tonight, how are you going to ask Kurt out?”

Anne

The new uniform felt odd. Her original dress blues had been destroyed when her apartment exploded. She was used to them, to the feel of the fabric, and the weight of the metal of her badge and awards. The one she was wearing had been provided to her by Lady Maritza (and how odd that Anne as coming to think of the woman as Lady Maritza instead of Mrs. Hope). The new uniform fit better and made of better materials. It was smooth and flowed easily around her. Most importantly to the people standing a few yards behind her, it had some subtle magic woven into it that would protect her. Still, Anne missed her old one, which pretty much summed up the entirety of her experiences in the last week. She lost most of her old life violently, gained a new one that was in many ways better, and yearned for the old one.

Anne felt Kurt’s strong hand grip her gloved one and gently squeeze. Of the Avalonians, only Kurt and Samantha had come with her to the funeral. The others were getting her new home ready. Their new home, really. Lady Maritza had turned over an old hotel as their new home. The rooms had been converted to six large suites, but there was a communal kitchen, dining room, and day room. From what Lady Maritza explained, it had been a concept built to take advantage of the gentrification of the Riverside district.

The gun salute startled Anne. Then people were coming up to her. Most in uniform, but some civilians that knew Dale and her. She held up stoically until Dale’s parents finally made their way to her. Dale’s dad had been an old-time beat cop. He gave Anne a sad, knowing look. His mom, on the other hand, glared at Anne. The small, stout woman didn’t say anything, but it was clear that she blamed Anne for not saving her son. Worse, Anne was here with a date. Dale’s dad gave her an apologetic look as he ushered his wife back to their car. Kurt gently guided Anne away from the crowd. He scanned their area and gave her a small nod. Anne let the last of her facade crumble as tears streamed down her face. Without thinking, she grabbed Kurt, desperate for comforting arms, which he gave without hesitation. She looked up into his warm blue eyes.

“Look Kurt, I know–” she started before he placed a finger across her lips.

“Anne, I am not going anywhere,” Kurt said, “We have time for you to come to grips with what has happened and then decide what will happen in the future. Right now, I am willing to be whatever you need.”

“I don’t know what I need,” Anne said, softly.

“Then, I will patiently wait until you decide,” Kurt said, wrapping her in another warm embrace. Maybe this was all she needed right now. The future could wait until tomorrow.

Erik

Erik Jaegar stood in Lady Maritza’s office waiting for his new superior to get done with her petty psych games. He had enough to do without pausing to let the woman indulge in their new relationship. He could feel the waves of smug satisfaction coming off Lady Maritza as she pretended to be perusing a folder of reports.

“The Americans are complaining about your actions,” Lady Maritza finally said, laying down the folder, “Particularly your failure to keep them in the loop, but also little things like using fully automatic weapons in firefights on their soil.”

“Nothing we used was traceable back to us,” Erik said, ignoring Lady Maritza’s tone. “For a nation that professes such love of private ownership of firearms, they are very touchy lot. They don’t even let their civilians have automatic weapons. Kurt had to smuggle those up from Mexico.”

“They don’t have the fae showing up in their cities on a regular basis,” Lady Maritza retorted, “I know you are used to the Saint’s benevolent neglect style of leadership. I run my office in a very different manner. You will conduct no actions beyond the protection of Anne Hearst without my explicit orders, is that clear?”

“That is very limiting, especially in light of Detective Hearst’s career and her other protector,” Erik replied, sounding almost bored.

“I don’t care. I am not having another Commandante Affair on my watch,” Lady Maritza said, with a cold authority, “You have a direct line to me. If something is happening that may require you to exceed your current orders, I expect you to call, and I will give it due consideration. Do you understand me?” Erik suppressed the sigh and nodded. This was why he hated working with normal Imperial Security. Too much micromanagement. Lady Maritza looked back down at her folder.

“She’s coming into town in a few months,” Lady Maritza said, holding up a sheet of paper.

“I saw,” Erik said.

“You are not to have any contact with her,” Lady Maritza warned, “She is not to even suspect your presence.”

“This may come as a shock to you, my lady, but I actually do know how to run a covert operation,” Erik said, his patience finally breaking, “Oh don’t look so affronted. You’re not nearly as offended by my tone as you are pretending to be. We both know that each of us can’t stand the other, but we’re stuck with each other for the foreseeable future. Believe me, there’s nothing you can do that’s any worse than what’s happened in the past six months. I will follow orders and play the dutiful Whiteguard officer when others are around, but let’s not lie to each other in private.” Lady Maritza clamped down on her anger. Her face was neutral for a long moment. Finally, Erik felt her come to a decision.

“I think we have an understanding Jaegar,” Lady Maritza said, with a sneer, “You disgusting little half-breed.”

“The difference between you and me, my lady, is what part of my parentage we think is the detriment,” Erik said before smartly turning about and striding out of the office.

Anne

“She’s coming around,” Samantha said, “Get the others.” Anne cracked her eyes open and saw the pretty brunette’s smiling face beaming over her. “Easy Anne, you’ve had a rough time of it.” Anne looked around. She was in a hospital bed, but the room around her didn’t look like a hospital room. It looked more like one of those bedrooms you saw in mansions. Next to her, Veronica was in a similar bed. The small, dark woman frowned at Anne.

“Where are we? What happened?” Anne asked as a flood of images rushed through her head. On top of that, Anne ached everywhere.

“You almost killed us is what happened,” Veronica said harshly.

“That will be enough, Ms. Patel,” Lady Maritza said, walking into the room. Erik, Jason, and Kurt followed Lady Maritza into the room. “If Detective Hearst hadn’t acted, she would now be in the hands of the Dark Towers and all of you would be dead.” Lady Maritza turned to Anne. “As to where you are, currently you are in one of my guest homes that we use for friends who are recuperating from surgeries. All the amenities of home and all the functionality of a hospital.”

“How did we get here?” Anne asked, bewildered.

“That big of a magical explosion could be seen for miles by the right people,” Lady Maritza said, “My men were in that hellhole in less than twenty minutes after you set that spell off.”

“Veronica and you were still out from the feedback, so Lady Maritza had the two of you brought here while we cleaned up the site,” Samantha explained. She handed Anne a cup of water. “Here, you’re thirsty.” Anne sipped greedily.

“Cleaned up the site?” Anne asked.

“Made the warehouse conform to the narrative we needed,” Jason said. “Fortunately, the Avalonians are pretty good about doing that.”

“How do you know about the Avalonians? Are you a spy?” Anne asked. Jason laughed.

“Not exactly. Or more to the point, not how you’re thinking,” Jason answered. He handed her a badge. “Agent Jason McMurtry, Homeland Security. I’m part of the federal task force in charge of monitoring the Avalonians and other supernatural forces on Earth. Mainly the Avalonians.”

“You’re a fed?” Anne asked, incredulously.

“Recruited right out of the Army,” he said.

“So you were a spy!” Anne said.

“Well, sort of,” Jason said, “The task force sent me in to find out why the werewolves were in the city. Since homicide usually ends up cleaning their messes, it made sense for me to be ‘undercover’ as a homicide cop. I just couldn’t figure out how you fit into all of this, much less why there was an Avalonian covert team operating.”

“So now you get to go back to being a fed,” Anne said. She could intellectually understand the reasons for Jason being undercover, but Anne still felt betrayed by someone she thought was a friend.

“Actually,” Jason said, and then looked over to Erik.

“Look down at your chest, Anne,” Erik said. Surprised, Anne looked under the hospital gown. A brilliant scar was burned between her breasts. It was just about the size of the knot Arem had placed on her.

“What is that?” Anne said, suddenly scared. What had happened to her?

“You burned that tracking spell into you,” Veronica said, “I don’t even know how to reverse that kind etching.”

“So what does that mean?” Anne asked.

“What it means is that our mission has changed,” Erik said, “We can’t take you to Avalon. The moment you crossed the gate, you’d be transported to the Dark Towers. So, now my team needs to keep you safe on this side of the gate.”

“Which is why they’ve been transferred to my control,” Lady Maritza said, with the tiniest hint of smugness as she looked at Erik. “Your case also has transferred to my responsibility.”

“And since the U.S. government has a vested interest in making sure one of its citizens isn’t pulled into Avalon against her will, I’ve been assigned to your protective detail as well,” Jason said, handing Anne a piece of paper. She recognized it as a departmental memo. “As of now, I’m your new partner. Of course, just like with the Avalonians, you can’t tell anyone else in the precinct about me being Homeland Security.”

“What about Dale? Is he?” Anne asked, hoping against hope she was wrong.

“Detective Dale Melon was unfortunately killed in the line of duty while apprehending the six members of a cult that had murdered three people in rituals and murdered a fourth while trying to murder the lead homicide detective,” Erik said, with a cool detachment. “Or at least, that’s what the rest of the world will know.” Grief, rage, and fear warred inside Anne.

“What bout the werewolves?” Anne said, then turning to Veronica with her rage bubbling up. “And I thought you said there were no werewolves.”

“She didn’t know,” Erik said, “We’ve never encountered them, and had relegated them to myth. All of Avalon thought that they were myths.”

“But Jason knew. He had silver ammunition,” Anne said. “How could he know and you not. Don’t you secret agents talk to each other about monsters?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Erik said, “The Americans thought we knew and didn’t bother to inform us. We never knew the possibility existed, and never asked.”

“So Dale died because of a stupid mistake?” Anne yelled at the others. All except for Erik refused to meet her eyes. His steady gaze met hers.

“Yes,” Erik answered, calmly, “Your friend died because of a simple oversight. It happens. It’s never easy. It’s never a good thing, but it happens. Your friend was not the first to die because of something like this, and he won’t be the last. It’s part of the world we live in. The best we can do is try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Anne wasn’t sure if she wanted to punch Erik, scream at him, or just sink back into grief. He took the choice out of her hands.

“We’ll leave you alone to finish recovering. You’ll be out of here this afternoon,” Erik said, “Dale’s funeral is tomorrow afternoon. We will be escorting you there. We’ve secured some temporary quarters for you until your permanent housing is completed. Samantha will come get you later to escort you.” He motioned everyone out of the room, leaving Veronica and Anne alone in the room.

“There’s something else, Anne,” Veronica said, her voice neutral, “When we get out of here, you and I will start on teaching you magic. I don’t know how you are suddenly able to cast, but you need to learn how to control your ability.”

“Why are you so angry with me?” Anne asked, “I was trying to keep you from being killed.”

“You have no idea what you just did,” Veronica said.

“I almost got us killed,” Anne shot back, “You’ve been saying that since I woke up here. Well, I’m sorry. I did what I could to stop Arem and save us.”

“You don’t understand what happened,” Veronica said, “You opened a magic vortex. You ripped the wild magic right out of those werewolves, leaving only their human part behind. You snapped the very strings of magic. No human has that level of magic power. I don’t know what you are, but it scares me.”

“So why teach me and not just tell Erik to kill me?” Anne asked bitterly.

“I don’t just kill something or someone because I don’t understand it or them,” Veronica said, “You work magic, you deal with a lot of things that scare you. It’s part of the game. What I’m trying to figure out if what you can do is linked to why Arem wants you so badly, and if you’re a threat to my home. In the meantime, I want to make sure you don’t kill my friends or anyone else by accident. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. Let’s get some sleep before Samantha comes gets us.” With that, Veronica turned over and pretended to sleep. Anne laid down and thought about what Veronica said.

Anne

Odd scents were the first thing Anne comprehended as she regained consciousness. Sandalwood, pine, and a foul musk made a strange mix. The next was that she was restrained. Strangely, though, she wasn’t in as much pain as she should have been. She tentatively moved her head. Nope, no pain, as well as none of the odd dragging from strong pain killers. She opened her eyes and saw Arem’s smiling face mere inches in front of her.

“Relax, Anne,” Arem whispered, “You’re fine. Well, healed at any rate.” He stood up. “I apologize about the restraints, but we both know you’d do something foolish if you were free.” He looked over to someone standing just outside Anne’s view. “Take her downstairs.” Strong, rough hands lifted her up with a surprising gentleness. Arem led them out of the room and onto a metal catwalk above the warehouse floor. As they descended the main staircase, Anne could see six of the man-wolves (well, four man-wolves and two woman-wolves) standing around an altar similar to the one she’d seen at the Martinez murder scene. This one seemed more powerful for some reason. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Anne could see the Avalonians, Jason, and Dale off to the side. Jason and the Avalonians were bound and awake. Dale was lying on the ground and not moving. No, not Dale. His body. Anne blinked back sudden tears. She’d have time to grieve later. Right now, she needed to keep it together long enough to figure how to keep from being sent to the Dark Towers.

“I am sorry about your friend,” Arem said.

“Go to hell,” Anne shot back, fury filling her. Arem ignored her outburst and directed whatever was carrying her to put her down a few feet from the altar. As soon as it backed away, Anne could see it had been an orc.

“Now, Anne, will you come with me back to the Dark Towers before more people have to die?” Arem asked, gently.

“Don’t bother answering, he’s just going to gate you back whether you want to or not,” Erik said. “Why bother with the false politeness, Arem? Why bother with a ritual with these bargainers?”

“As if you’d do any different!” Arem snapped, “The only reason I’ve left you alive Erik is because I want to grind in your failure!”

“He’s lying,” Samantha said, “He can’t gate her without her consent. Or at least, not without the ritual. And we’re still alive because he needs our energy to make the thing work.”

“Witch mind-reader!” Arem said with a sudden coldness, “I’m going to enjoy ripping your power out of you and watching you die a slow horrible death.”

“He’s telling the truth about that,” Samantha said evenly. Arem glared at Samantha as he spoke under his breath.

“So why did he need the werewolves?” Jason asked.

“I don’t know, he’s blocking me now,” Samantha said, smirking at the elf.

“He needs casters from this world to do the ritual,” Veronica said, and then grunted in pain. “Or at least that’s what it looks like from the ritual set up.” She studied the symbols on the floor and the altar’s construction. “Bloody hell, it is going to be painful when he pulls our energy out. Well, except for Detective McMurtry. I’m pretty sure he will die cleanly since he’s not an Avalonian.”

“You can call me Jason,” he said, “No need for formality at this point.” He gave the small sorceress a charming smile that Anne had never seen on the detective’s face.

“Be quiet,” snarled the leader of the werewolves.

“Ignore them Jonas,” Arem said, regaining his normal confident countenance, “This is how Avalonians always act when facing death. Or at least, the ones from Blackguard. They’re doing it so that we’ll make a mistake.” Arem looked down at Anne. “No, she’s not going to come willingly. You should start the ritual now. At least, I’ll get the satisfaction of seeing that lot die. Especially Jaegar.” A twisted smile spread across the elf’s face.

The werewolves started chanting in words that tickled the back of Anne’s mind. They sounded so familiar. Like when she heard someone speaking Spanish and it brought back some of her old high school Spanish classes. Arem stood in front of the altar and started singing. The music was different from anything Anne had heard before, but tantalizingly familiar. Even more than the words the werewolves were chanting. Then the elf touched the altar. As he pulled back his hands, Anne could suddenly see strings of translucent energy erupting from the altar. Most stuck to the altar, but there were at least a dozen that attached to the werewolves. More shot over her head and latched on to Jason and the Avalonians. Arem walked from the altar and placed a knot of strings on Anne’s chest. It burned. Then, Anne noticed something.

There were words on the strings! Words like the ones she’d seen on the other altar. Elven words. Anne could read the string. Something about binding her to the Towers of the Fallen. As she read, she understood more of how the strings worked. She could reach out with her mind and tug on them. She grabbed one of the strings from the knot that Arem and plucked it like a guitar string. The elf turned back with a quizzical look. Anne saw how the knot on her chest was connected to the knot on the altar. How all of the strings connected. So, what would happen if she unraveled the big knot?

“ANNE! STOP!” screamed both Arem and Veronica. Why was the sorceress telling her to stop? Didn’t she understand that Anne could stop this? As Anne yanked on the strings, the knot on altar unraveled. Anne delighted at the sight of horror on Arem’s face. Except the strings weren’t going back into the altar. Shouldn’t they go back into the altar? No, they were forming a new knot. Something else. As she read the new words, Anne realized it was an uncontrolled gate. A brilliant mirror some fifteen feet in diameter appeared behind Arem. Several of the strings were sucked into the gate. No, the energy was being pulled. What if those strings were attached to someone? Like Kurt?

Anne reached with all of her strength and tugged at the strings connected to the Avalonians and Jason. They held fast for a brief instant and then snapped. Anne ignored the screams of pain as she wrangled the dancing strings of power. They were like holding on to live electric wires. She needed to ground them somehow. More out of instinct than a rational thought, Anne forced the strings onto the werewolves.

Wolf howls intermixed with human screams and filled the warehouse. It looked like the werewolves were being dragged to the gate, then the strings pulsed with silver and gold energy. The werewolves shrank back to human bodies. Before Anne could even question what was going on, the gate pulsed dangerously with the influx of energies. Energy coursed back out as the gate overloaded. Anne screamed as a burst of the energy slapped against the knot on her chest.

“You fool,” Arem said, also in pain, “You have no idea what you just did.” He stepped in front of the gate and sang a new song. The pulsing shifted and the gate exploded in a brilliant white light. The most intense pain Anne had ever felt ripped across her body before everything went mercifully dark.

Erik

Erik would never be sure why he had decided to take Far’ling with him to raid the warehouse. He didn’t even think about it as he was strapping the elven blade to it’s small of the back sheath. Like all Imperial soldiers and operatives, he knew his way around all sorts of bladed weapons. That said, Erik was always preferred putting bullets on target than getting in close with blade in hand. Still, there was something right about going after Arem with the ancient blade instead of his AK.

The two combatants landed on the roof. Erik could feel Arem’s rage emanating from the elf like an aura. Erik thrusted down with power as he felt the slight shift in the elf’s emotions. A lance of red energy erupted from the end of Arem’s sword where Erik had been standing an instant before. A little push of power and Erik landed next to an aerial. Far’ling sliced through the aluminum frame like it was paper. Erik caught the metal rod with his power and launched it like a ballista bolt at the elf. Arem brought up his sword, glowing with a brilliant white and effortlessly sliced the projectile in two.

Erik hadn’t waited to see the effect of his attack. He was busy snatching up a set of patio furniture and hurtling the pieces at the elf. Arem casually sliced through the table, the two chairs, and the umbrella before getting smacked in the face by the flower pot. Arem stumbled back as the clay pot shattered on his cheek. Blood trickled down from a half-dozen small cuts.

“That was a cheap shot, Erik,” Arem growled, “I expected something more dignified from you.” The elf unleashed a blast of emerald green. Erik rolled to the side, easily avoiding the magic. He was surprised when pain still flashed through him. Damn, what kind of spell had that been? Whatever it was, Arem looked winded from casting it. Erik must have pissed off the elf more than he thought.

“This isn’t a fencing bout,” Erik said, as he stood up. “This is a fight.”

“Very true,” Arem said. The elf materialized in front of Erik, who barely had time to parry the elf’s snaking thrust. Damn glamor, Erik thought as Arem pressed his attack with a series of blinding slashes. Pain and blood blossomed on Erik’s left thigh and forearm as he missed a pair of attacks. Erik stepped in and used his own sword to push Arem’s rapier out. Then he punched the elf in the chest with a telekinetically-enhanced fist. Arem flew back and slammed into the building’s HVAC.

“That was just cheating, Erik!” Arem complained through grunts of pain.

“If you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying hard enough,” Erik shot back.

“Oh, I quite agree,” Arem said. Erik barely felt the smugness from the elf before the gate opened behind him. A dozen orcs rushed the Avalonian psychic.

Anne

Anne placed the glowing red dot on the wolf barreling towards her and squeezed the trigger. The stubby Russian assault rifle bucked and the wire stock slammed back into her shoulder. The wolf whined in pain as the bullets hit and sprawled across the street. Anne pivoted to the next wolf.

“Take out the damned sorceress first!” an unfamiliar voice boomed through the street. Anne instinctively turned to the voice, barely remembering to swing her rifle with her head. A hulking man-wolf stood where the largest wolf had been a moment ago. I don’t care what Veronica says, these are werewolves! Anne thought. Suddenly realizing what the man-wolf had ordered, Anne spun back to the team’s spell slinger.

Veronica was on the ground, cradling what looked like a broken left arm. Three wolves were trying to pounce on her, but Veronica was deflecting each blow with a shield of shimmering gold energy. Anne brought up her AK and aimed at the nearest of the three wolves. Before she could pull the trigger, a hammer blow landed on the back of her head. Stars exploded in her vision, even through the helmet. Stunned, Anne barely remembered to roll before another clawed fist landed next to where her head had been. She looked up and another man-wolf stood over her. Well, this one was clearly a woman-wolf. It snarled in rage and cocked it’s fist back to strike again. Then it’s chest exploded from three gunshots. The body slumped to the ground as someone picked Anne up.

“Kurt?” Anne asked, trying to clear her head.

“Sorry, it’s just me,” Jason said. “Can you stand?”

“SILVER! That human has SILVER!” the leader screamed, pointing at Jason and Anne. Jason swore under his breath as three other wolves sprang at them. Anne managed to get her AK up and hip fired a long burst. Much to her surprise, two of the wolves fell to the ground. The third knocked her to the side as it lunged for Jason. Anne stumbled as Jason let go of her and slid away from the snapping jaws of the wolf. He brought up his pistol and fired twice. The wolf yipped in pain and then fell unmoving to the street.

“Turn around, they’re not down!” he shouted at her pointing back to the wolves she’d taken down with her AK. Except, they weren’t down, or even wolves anymore. Two more of the man-wolves now stood where the wolves had been a moment before.

“AVALON, RALLY!” Kurt bellowed over the din of the battle. Anne could see the tall German dragging a limp Samantha back to an alley.

“Cover me, I’m going for the girl,” Jason said, “Aim for their heads.” Before she could ask, Jason darted towards Veronica. Anne fired at the two creatures until the magazine ran dry. She fumbled as she tried to remember how to get the AK mag out. The two man-wolves were suddenly looming over her. Anne let go of the assault rifle and drew her Glock. The larger of the pair backhanded her with enough force to spin her completely around before Anne felt to the hard asphalt. Pain radiated from all over her face. She was pretty sure her jaw was broken. As she looked around, Anne could see that Jason was lying unmoving next to a similarly still Veronica. With an incredible amount effort and pain, Anne rolled her head over to where she’d seen Kurt. He was on the ground next to Samantha. Dale was facedown on the street some fifteen feet from the pair. A pair of soft leather boots walked up to her.

“You idiots,” Arem snarled, “Look at her!”

“You said alive, nothing about her being intact,” one of the man-wolves snarled back. “We lost five of our pack to this one and her friends!” There was a swishing sound and Anne felt a warm wetness cover her. The head of the man-wolf that talked back to Arem landed on the ground next to Anne with a meaty thunk.

“Now, you’ve lost six because of your stupidity,” Arem replied coldly. “Get them all in warehouse and clean up this street. We have to get her fixed up and ready for the ritual. Otherwise she won’t survive the trip back to Meliandre.” Pain flashed as two sets of hands roughly lifted Anne. Thankfully, the pain went away as she was swallowed up by blackness.

Anne

“This was not how I expected my week to go,” Anne said as she looked down at the stubby Russian assault rifle strapped to her chest. “Is it bad that I’m now thinking of hunting a serial killer as more peaceful?”

“Nein,” Kurt said with a smile, “You would be mad to want to do this.” Kurt was similarly dressed in tactical gear, helmet, AK-74U, sidearm, and plenty of extra ammo. Except Kurt was wearing a large revolver at his side as well. “Unfortunately, some of us are called to do the mad things. At least, you have a strong team to support you.” Kurt gave Anne another of those charming smiles. It helped ease the tension. Contrary to television portrayals, detectives didn’t go charging into houses like SWAT.

“I don’t know why you think you’ve had a bizarre week,” Veronica said, “You only learned about our world, found out both sides wants you, been involved in a fight, and your apartment exploded.”

“And an innocent person died,” Anne said harshly. Veronica’s smile vanished.

“We’re going to deal with the people who did that,” Kurt said.

“I know, but her family will never know,” Anne said.

“Welcome to our world,” Erik said from the front. “Not Avalon. Blackguard. Those of us who fight in the shadows, as the Saint calls us. And yes, it does suck that the people we help will never know, or know what we risk for them.”

“Sorry, Veronica, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” Anne said, turning back to their spell slinger.

“Don’t worry about it,” Veronica said, “We all deal with stress differently. Plus, you’re a cop. You’re supposed to put the victims first.”

“What do you put first?” Anne asked.

“The Empire,” Erik answered solemnly, “Always the Empire.” Anne thought about that. Well, that certainly explained some of Erik’s coldness. Anne was just the objective for the greater of the good of the Empire. You didn’t get overly friendly with people you were just going to turn over to your higher-ups. The van turned onto the street of the bargainers’ warehouse. Samantha slammed on the brakes and pulled the van to the curb.

“We’re not the only ones staking out the warehouse,” Samantha said before anyone could speak. She pointed to two unmarked police cruisers down the street, maybe a half-block from the warehouse.

“Should we abort?” Kurt asked.

“No, they were waiting for us,” Samantha said, “Well, one of them was. The other was waiting for Anne.” At that moment, two plain clothes officers stepped out of the unmarked cars. Anne immediately recognized the closest as Dale Melon, her partner. The other was Jason McMurtry. What the hell were the pair of them doing here of all places? The two detectives casually walked back to the van. Samantha rolled her window down as Jason stepped up.

“I’m assuming Anne’s back there,” he said to Samantha. He looked over Erik, but didn’t seem alarmed in any way about the heavily armed and armored man. “I was hoping you would show up. I really didn’t want to call patrol officers to this party. I didn’t invite him, though.” Jason thumbed back towards Dale.

“Actually, detectives, it might be better for both of you to get back in your cars and go get some coffee,” Erik said. “Come back here in an hour.”

“I’m not letting you drag Anne into this,” Dale said. Anne climbed up and poked her head between Erik and Samantha. Dale looked shocked to see Anne decked out in combat gear.

“Dale, what the hell are you doing here?” Anne asked.

“I thought Jason was going to arrest you, so I figured I follow him and give you a heads up,” Dale said, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Our killers are in there,” Anne said, motioning to the warehouse, “These guys are going to deal with them, and I have to go with them.”

“Are you insane?” Dale said, barely keeping his voice under control, “If the killers are there, then let’s call out SWAT. If you go in there, you’re going to destroy your career and every case you worked on.”

“Dale, SWAT wouldn’t be able to do anything, but get themselves killed,” Jason said, “You don’t know what we’re dealing with.” Anne blinked in surprise at the other detective’s words. “I’m not here to arrest Anne. I’m here to help her and these other people. You need to get out of here. You don’t need to be any more involved with this.”

“What is this?” Dale demanded. “What the hell is going on? Who the hell exactly are you dealing with Anne?”

“Dale, we’ve been working together for a long time,” Anne said, “You’re going to have to trust me on this. It would take too long to explain what’s happening.” Dale crossed his arms and gave her his obstinate glare. Anne swore under his breath.

“We need to move,” Erik said, “We’ve been stationary too long. Detective McMurtry, if you’re coming with us, you will follow my instructions to the letter or I will shoot you here and call for a medic when we’re done. Detective Melon, you’re about to see things that are not normal. If you freeze up, you will die. If you do not follow my directions, you will die. If you endanger my team, I will take you out. Is that understood?” Dale looked outraged at Erik’s blunt instructions, but Jason just nodded.

“Wait a second, Erik-” Anne started before Kurt yanked her to the floor of the van. Something whistled by her ear before thunking into the bench seat of the van.

“OUT, OUT!” Erik bellowed, kicking his own door open. Kurt slid the side door open and stepped out with the AK in one hand. With the other, he dragged Anne out into the street. Veronica leapt out after her. Anne looked around as she brought up her own AK. The wire stock was hard against her shoulder, just like Kurt had shown her. Where was the attack coming from?

Suddenly, the large golden-eyed wolves from the other night surrounded them. They just seemed to appear out of the air. They growled menacingly, but Anne was sure she’d seen glimmers of delight in their glowing, golden eyes. Anne bit down her terror and let her fury fill her body. These were the bastards who’d killed four people. For what, so their little magic spells would work?

“Well, that was a damned good bit of glamour,” Veronica said, bitterly. “I didn’t even sense it.”

“I’m glad you approve,” a familiar voice said, ringing through the street. Anne looked to where the voice had come from and saw Arem standing next to two of the wolves. “With as little wild magic as there is on this world, it took quite a bit of fancy casting to get it just right.” The dark-haired elf turned to Erik and his face twisted into a snarl. “I think it’s time I finally took care of you.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Erik said, letting the AK drop on its sling. From the small of his back, Erik drew a long-bladed knife. No, it was more like a short sword. Even in the darkened street, the blade glittered with a life of its own.

“Well, well,” Arem said, sounding impressed, “Not only do I get to kill you tonight, but I get to recapture a lost weapon. This is going to be a good night.” He turned to the largest of the wolves. “Remember not to kill the woman, or you won’t get a damned thing. I don’t care what happens to the others.” Arem drew a long, thin sword.

“Let’s go where we have the space to really be ourselves,” Arem said, and launched into the air. No, he wasn’t flying. He was just leaping sixty feet into the air and landing on an office building. He couldn’t expect Erik to climb all that way up there–. Erik launched himself after Arem before Anne could finish her thought. Before she could even ask how Erik had managed that feat, a dozen howls echoed through the street. Gunfire erupted at the wave of fur and fangs bore down on the small team.

Erik

“So that’s all you he said to you?” Erik asked Anne as they pulled up to the safehouse. As soon as she’d climbed into the car, Anne related to Erik about her encounter with Arem at the Brown Hat. He could see why she was a good detective. She remembered everything, including the small details most people missed.

“At that point, Jason pulled me out of the restaurant,” Anne said, “That’s another thing. Do you guys have anything on him?”

“Not that was in the file,” Erik answered, “Why?”

“He seems to know more about what’s going on than he’s letting on,” Anne said, “Nothing concrete. Just a gut feeling from talking to him. Things he said.”

“He could be one of Lady Maritza’s assets, and she’s not bothered to tell us,” Erik said.

“Wait, like a spy?” Anne asked. “You guys have spies? In the city?”

“What exactly do you think Lady Maritza does for the Emperor?” Erik said, with the barest hint of exasperation leaking into his voice. How could someone so sharp also be so naive about the world?

“I thought she managed people like Kurt, not actual turncoat spies!” Anne said. Erik could feel the betrayal and rage burn through Anne.

“We don’t know for sure that he is one of Lady Maritza’s,” Erik cautioned. He needed Anne in the right frame of mind. The raid tonight was going to be chancy enough as is. He did not need one of his shooters distracted.

“If he is, I’m going to kick his ass,” Anne said.

“Anne, I appreciate that the sentiment, but I really need you to focus right now,” Erik said. “We’re going to take down your killers tonight.” Anne’s head snapped over so fast her blonde hair circled her hair like a halo.

“What, how?” she asked. “Veronica found them?” Erik told her about what happened at the lab.

“So, the five of us are going to take them down?” Anne asked, her skepticism rising. “Why not ask Mrs. Holland for more people? She has armed security.”

“Because I do not trust them or her,” Erik said plainly. “I trust my team. I trust you.”

“What is it between the two of you? She’s always so nice to me,” Anne commented.

“It’s not just one thing,” Erik admitted, “Part of it is institutional rivalry, part of it has to do with some things that happened back on Avalon. I’m quite sure she would keep you safe at all costs, but I don’t trust her to protect my team beyond what is ordered.” He fell silent.

“Isn’t all of that unprofessional?” Anne asked.

“The only reason I’m telling you this is because I’m about to ask you to risk your life with my team,” Erik asked. “I wouldn’t even do that, but you do deserve to be in on the strike. That much I understand from my own experience. Also, as much as it pains me to admit it, if things go south tonight, Lady Maritza is the one person in this city you can trust.” Anne looked at him askance. He could feel the confusion in her mind.

“Look, let’s put it like this. Let’s say you and another officer have such animosity between each other that you wouldn’t trust him to back you during a raid, but you know that you could send a victim his way and he’d do his best to help them. It’s kind of like that,” Erik said.

“That is seriously screwed up,” Anne said. “What the hell did you do to her?”

“When we get you to Avalon safely, I’ll tell you,” Erik said, “It’s a long story.”

Anne

“I have my own body armor,” Anne complained as Veronica tugged the heavy Kevlar vest tighter. It wasn’t even cut properly and was squashing her chest. Veronica seemed to understand her discomfort and said something that sounded like ‘Adjust’. Except, it didn’t sound right. Instantly, the armor seemed to mold around Anne like a wetsuit.

“Do you want to get your own body armor now?” Veronica asked mischievously. Anne marveled in the mirror. “I had to use that nasty one to get the proper protection. Plus, this one also has some magic protection in it. Just in case a nasty spell gets thrown your way. Not great, but it should keep you alive.”

“Do I just say ‘Adjust’ again to get it off?” Anne asked. Veronica froze and her smiling face went neutral. “What did I say?”

“I didn’t say ‘Adjust’. I said Tai’in,” Veronica said flatly. “Which is the elven casting word for the adjustment spell.” Veronica came close and peered into Anne’s eyes for a long moment. “I don’t know how you can understand elvish, but do not tell anyone outside of the team.”

“Why, is it like being a Parselmouth?” Anne asked. Veronica looked at her blankly. Anne gave a weak smile. “Sorry, Harry Potter reference. Is it something looked down upon?”

“Let’s just say it might confirm some very dark theories about you,” Veronica answered, “Erik was one of the few that argued strenuously against just having you assassinated once we found out about the Dark Towers’ interest in you. He even told Prince Harry that if he ordered the assassination, Erik would make sure he would regret the orders. If others found out about your sudden abilities with elvish, they may take it out of Blackguard’s hands and have Erik killed.”

“What?” Anne asked.

“Don’t worry about it, Anne. Erik will be just fine. So will you, once we get you back to Avalon,” Samantha said coming through the door. The brunette shot an angry glare at Veronica. The smaller woman shrank down further and bolted from the room. Samantha muttered darkly as she approached Anne.

“Is that why Erik is trying to protect me? So he won’t get killed?” Anne asked.

“If that’s a concern of his, it’s way down on the list. He’s never shrunk from doing anything that might get him killed in the line of duty,” Samantha said, with a tinge of bitterness. The Avalonian shook her head and gave Anne a warm, if slightly insincere, smile.

“Right now, you need to focus on tonight,” Samantha said.

“You don’t think I should be going,” Anne said, examining Samantha’s face.

“Just do me a favor and follow Erik’s orders,” Samantha said, sidestepping the comment. “He’s actually very good at this sort of work.” Samantha helped Anne put on the gray fatigues and MOLLE gear.

“Is there something between the two of you?” Anne asked.

“Let’s finish your story before we go delving into mine,” Samantha answered with a smile that the experienced detective couldn’t read.