He nodded, relieved.
I suspected I could have walked out without paying him, but I still hoped that one day the magical community would realize I wasn’t their enemy, as long as they didn’t commit horrible crimes. It would be great if they realized they would be better off helping me than attacking me at every turn. At the least, I would love to gain their indifference.
Val. Sindari came over with something in his mouth.
I held out my hand, and he dropped something that reminded me of a brass cufflink into it.
Is this a magical artifact that will help me defend the world from evil?
I think it holds up the dark-elf’s pants.
What, they don’t have elastic?
I do not believe so.
You said his. You think this is Baklinor-ten’s? Are you sure?
It has the scent of a dark elf about it. I’ve never met him, so I don’t know if it’s his specifically, but…
“Is Baklinor-ten the only dark elf that’s been here?” I asked Rupert, trying not to think about why the supposed scientist would have been messing around with his pants in here.
“His mate came when they installed the orb and threatened me into cooperation.” Rupert was emphasizing that now, that he’d been coerced. He wanted to make sure I didn’t fault him. “But only he has come to observe.”
“Thanks.” I slipped the piece of metal into a zippered pocket, then pulled out the cash I carried for when I needed to bribe people into talking. I counted out five hundred dollars and handed it to Rupert. “For the ceiling repairs.”
His thick eyebrows rose. “I didn’t think you would pay.”
“No matter what rumors are trending about me in the magical community, I’m not a villain.”
The skeptical twist of his face shouldn’t have stung—it wasn’t as if it was a new reaction—but I did wish I could change these people’s minds.
My phone buzzed. Willard.
“Yeah?” I left the weird viewing room and headed for the exit.
“We’ve got a new problem, Thorvald,” Willard said, her southern drawl more terse than usual.
“Are you sure? I’m still working on our old problem.”
“I’m sure. Your ex-husband and daughter may be in danger.”
3
I waited until I’d reached the relative isolation of the alley before asking Willard for details. “What do you mean Amber and Thad are in danger? They’re not even in the city right now.”
Thanks to a call from my mother, I knew that Thad and Amber had gone on a summer trip over to Northern Idaho. Mom was going with them. They hadn’t invited me, but I hadn’t expected them to. I hadn’t spoken to Thad—or, sadly, Amber—in years. For their own good, I’d told myself many, many times.
“They’re vacationing at Lake Coeur d’Alene, right?” Willard asked.
“How do you know that? I only know because my mom told me.”
“It’s on your daughter’s social-media page. We keep tabs on them in case someone finds out they’re a lever that can be used against you.”
I gritted my teeth. As much as I appreciated that Willard didn’t want anything to happen to my family, the idea of the military spying on them disturbed me. I’d taken great care to keep anyone from knowing that Thad and Amber were linked to me in any way. It wasn’t surprising that Willard’s office knew about them—I’d met Thad when we’d both been in the army, after all—but if the soldiers there knew, how many others might know?
“Something’s going on in a little town on the east side of the lake,” Willard said. “There haven’t been any murders or anything incredibly troubling yet, so I would usually send one of my salaried soldiers instead of calling you, especially since we’re researching this dark-elf threat right now. But I’ll make an exception if you want. I’m not sure where exactly your family is staying, but there aren’t that many towns around the lake. If it’s possible they’re in the problem area, I thought you might want to take this assignment yourself.”
“What problem area? What’s going on?”
“So far, there have been several reports to the sheriff in Harrison, Idaho, of damage done to parked cars and buildings and also of things going missing. Everything from garage tools to trailers and boats. Goblins have been spotted in the area, and there have also been a lot more sasquatch sightings than usual.”
“Than usual? How many sasquatch sightings are a normal amount?”
“A couple a year in that area. We actually have more here west of the Cascades.”
I digested that. Unlike goblins, orcs, trolls, and the other magical beings that originated on other worlds and had come here periodically throughout history via portals, sasquatch were, as far as I knew, a local myth without much basis in fact.
“We’ve been called out a couple of times to look at footprints,” Willard added. “Large plantigrade footprints.”
“Like those of a bear?”
“I don’t know. We have our agent take a casting, and then it disappears into the evidence vault under the office. Have you been down there? It’s an interesting place.”
“I’m sure. I’ll check it out next time I’m holiday shopping. Why would my family be in danger from goblins or sasquatch, assuming the latter exist?”
“It’s possible they aren’t, and it’s possible this is nothing more than a few goblins looting a town for something they’re building, but they don’t usually vandalize property when they go scrounging for goods. It’s possible there’s something bigger going on. Do you want the assignment?”
When I’d first learned about their trip, I’d been tempted to show up, but I’d talked myself out of that. I was positive they would be more alarmed than excited if I walked into their lives after years without contact. But if I happened to run into them while I was on a mission… that wasn’t weird, right?
Not if I was a creepy stalker.
I grimaced. I would email Thad before going over. If he had some warning, maybe it wouldn’t be quite so awkward.
“Dream on,” I muttered.
“What?” Willard asked.
“Nothing. Yeah, I’ll go.”
“At this point, I’m not asking you to take anyone out, and I’m not offering a combat bonus—”
“You don’t think goblins stealing boats are a dreadful threat to humanity?”
“—but I’ll arrange per-diem pay while you investigate. If things escalate, that may change. I’ll send over the sheriff’s reports and videos and photos that have been posted on local social-media accounts.”
“I assume the newspapers don’t cover goblins or sasquatch?”
“The Coeur d’Alene Press has not reported on the subject and has likely been instructed not to,” Willard said.
“Remember the good old days when newspapers were independently owned and didn’t take squelch orders from the government or corporations?”
“The world leaders got together years ago and decided that magical refugees from other worlds wouldn’t be reported or acknowledged. There’s not much we can do about it.”
With more and more refugees showing up every year, especially these last few, I wondered how long that position could last. But as long as the government paid my salary, I wouldn’t rock the boat.
I told Willard about the orb and the names of the dark elves. She promised to send agents to stake out the bar and watch for the duo while I was gone.
“Maybe when you get back,” Willard added, “I’ll send you on a mission to steal that orb so we can study it.”
That sounded like a challenging mission. How could I remove the orb when shifters were plastered all over it like bacon on a filet mignon?
“It’s not going to fit in a purse.”
“You’re clever. You’ll think of something.”
“Have you ever noticed that you only praise me when you want something?” I asked.
“No.”
As I said goodbye and hung up, the door opened, and Nin walked into the alley. She no longer carried the shotgun, and she didn’t look worried, so I trusted she’d made her deal without trouble. Funny that she’d been the one who’d wanted me to come along and watch her back.
“There is powerful magic in that place, isn’t there?” Nin asked. “I felt a huge surge where you were and this strange feeling like I should go check it out. That I would enjoy myself if I did.” Her forehead wrinkled. “Then it disappeared again.”
“I’ll explain it later. Do me a favor, and don’t do any more deliveries here for a while, huh?” I pulled up my phone contacts and called my mother. It was after ten, so she ought to be at home.
“Hello?” Her old-fashioned rotary phone didn’t have caller ID.
“Hi, Mom. I have a question.”
“Normal people don’t call this late.”
I thought about mentioning that my boss had called me this late just to give me an assignment, but Willard was dedicated to her job, and we regularly exchanged information outside of work hours. I doubted anyone would call either of us normal.
“I know,” I said. “Are you still planning to drive out and join Thad and Amber for their vacation?”
“Yes. I finished packing earlier, and I’m leaving early in the morning. Did you change your mind about going? Have you talked to them?”
“Not… exactly. But I may be in the area for an assignment. What’s the name of the town where they’re staying?”
“I haven’t plugged it into the car’s map program yet.” She actually used the technology that had come with her SUV? Shocking. “Let me find the address.”
While I waited, I pulled up a map of Lake Coeur d’Alene on my phone. The main city in the area, Coeur d’Alene itself, was on the northern end. The town Willard had mentioned, Harrison, was down on the southeast side, population two hundred and three. That was definitely a small enough place that some goblins might think they could get away with swiping things. It probably had a lot of vacation homes.