Dark of Winter: A Between the Worlds novel Read online

  “Yes, I will,” he replied, matching her seriousness. “I miss you and Jess both.”

  “I miss you too, we miss you,” she thought, reaching out and wrapping her feelings around him. He sighed heavily in her mind and she could feel his satisfaction filling her. “Listen if it stays slow the rest of the afternoon I’ll close a little early, or at least try to get out as quick as possible and get right home. Jess already told me he’ll be home by 6, because they finished up with that last case. We can make an evening of it the three of us. Maybe grab some take out and watch a movie.”

  She felt his eagerness and was reassured by it, surprised to realize how insecure she’d been feeling as she’d started to worry that maybe he was unhappy. When he responded though his mental voice was hesitant. “The three of us? What about the other roommates? Shall we kick them out into the cold so we can have some privacy?”

  She let him feel her amusement as she responded, “Don’t act like you wouldn’t do it. As it happens Shawn will be at the theater late tonight and Hannah and Jason are both working second shift. Last I heard from any of them they aren’t planning to be home tonight, at least not until really late.”

  “Ah,” he thought back, satisfied. “That is excellent then. I might have felt a moment’s guilt kicking Jason out.”

  She rolled her eyes again, glad he couldn’t see her now. “Right. Well, since you are out first of the three of us, why don’t you pick up some food on the way home, and then we can choose a movie and relax when we all get back.”

  “It is a plan then,” he said. “It will be good to have some time just the three of us.”

  “Yes,” she said, straightening up as the front door opened and several customers walked in with a burst of cold air and swirl of snow. “It will be. I will see you soon.”

  She felt him pulling back and carefully slid off the stool, ignoring her ankle’s protest. Smiling at the newest round of business, a group of three unfamiliar faces, she said, “Welcome to Between the Worlds, let me know if you have any questions.”

  The trio smiled back and nodded, before heading off to browse and after a moment’s hesitation Allie sat back down. Today is definitely a good day she thought to herself.

  *******************************

  Sal had felt his excitement growing as the day drew to a close, seized with the certainty that things had finally shifted to his favor. Just after darkness fell Tom had shown up, as promised, his tall, lanky form sliding into the ally almost noiselessly. The Urisk could almost have passed for human if no one looked down and noticed he had hooves instead of feet; otherwise he seemed fairly ordinary if a bit wild looking. His shaggy brown hair and beard were always in a state of disarray, his face and hands were covered in scars, and his clothing – normal enough human sweatpants and sweatshirt – always looked rumpled and well-worn. Sal had never dared to ask why he had been banished from Fairy, but knowing the solitary Fey’s temper and having heard some of Ferinyth’s stories he could imagine.

  Now the young elf and the scarred Urisk lurked near the mouth of the ally waiting for the bookstore to close. As soon as he saw the sign on the front door flipping over to closed and the lights going out he gestured for Tom to follow him and moved quickly out across the quiet road, pulling the hood of his cloak up to cover his head. He was very aware that she had cameras around her store and he had no intention of being caught out on one.

  Despite the snow his footing was sure, and he heard the muffled clicking of Tom’s hooves just behind him as the pair moved into the parking lot behind the bookstore. Sal had spent enough time watching the half-elven woman over the past months to know that she always parked in the same place, towards the back of the lot near the building, and that she generally emerged within five minutes or so after closing. He felt his heart racing as the excitement built, knowing that finally success was in his grasp.

  There was no light back here and the lot was empty except for the single car parked exactly where he expected it to be. He took up a position on the side of the door closer to her car and gestured with his chin for Tom to stay closer to the street. Grunting slightly the Urisk reached up and ran a hand through the rough hair of his beard, making the hair stand up even more wildly than usual, then moved to stand where Salarius had indicated.

  They didn’t have long to wait. Within a minute of taking up their positions the door swung open, the young woman emerging into the early evening darkness bundled into a bulky light blue winter coat with the hood up. Sal felt a thrill as he realized with the hood up she couldn’t see them, and he edged forward, watching as she locked the backdoor of her store, oblivious to the two men lurking nearby. He felt her raising the wards on her building before she turned and walked down the concrete steps, stopping short as she finally registered his presence.

  Even as her eyes met his under the cloak there was no suspicion, only surprise, and for a split second he felt a surge of guilt. She cocked her head to the side, elven body language indicating he had her full attention and she greeted him in Elvish, the words of his native language both bitter and sweet to his ears after so long, “Hello Sal, I’m sorry I just closed the store if you wanted to shop you’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

  “Hello Allie,” he replied, her name falling from his lips easily. At that moment Tom moved closer and she started to turn towards the Urisk, tensing. Sal lunged forward, grabbing her wrist and using the contact to unleash the spell he’d set up. He might not be a trained mage, because no one had ever been interested in training his meager talent, but he did have some ability and the wit to teach himself to make the most of what he could do. This basic stunning spell was a perfect example; it was limited in that he had to touch the person to use it but he’d found very early that physical contact would allow him to knock out even a trained mage if they weren’t expecting it. His vision greyed for an instant, the magic draining from him in a rush, but it was worth it as Allie slumped unconscious into his arms, her keyring falling from her limp hand onto the gravel. He caught her easily, the adrenaline surge compensating a bit for the hit he took in casting the spell.

  Tom grunted appreciatively, then swung around, shoulders hunching as someone walked across the entrance to the parking lot. Sal looked over as well, freezing. A human man, head down, clad in a garish gold and green jacket with a large ‘G’ on the front, was trudging along the sidewalk seemingly unware of the scene playing out a few dozen feet away. Sal relaxed slightly realizing that the man probably couldn’t see them in the dark. The Urisk however growled deep in his throat and then, before Sal could draw a breath to tell him to be still, he crossed the space between himself and the stranger in a few bounds, grabbing the man and pulling him into the shadow of the building.

  Sal swore softly, looking past Tom towards the street, which remained still. A moment later the Urisk had wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and twisted, breaking his neck before the stranger had a chance to cry out. Nodding in satisfaction Tom dropped the warm body to the ground. The entire thing had happened in a few seconds.

  “Take a look – carefully – and make sure no one saw that,” Sal hissed, hefting Allie fully into his arms and then carefully crouching down to pick up her keys. Tom gave him a baleful look but did as he’d instructed, looking down the street then jogging easily to where Sal was standing.

  “No one around,” Tom said, his voice grating like rocks grinding together. He grinned, showing teeth, “That fool was the only one stupid enough to be out in the cold tonight. And he’ll be sleeping cold from now on.”

  Sal knew it would be pointless to criticize the other Fey now and given Tom’s temper certainly not worth it. Instead he gestured with his chin towards Allie’s car. “Take the keys and unlock the car. I need to get her in the backseat.”

  Tom’s eyes narrowed. “Seems to me like I did my part, I did what I promised. I helped you kidnap the bitch. So I should be done here.”

  For an instant Sal was angry, then he realized that the olde
r Fey was almost certainly testing him. If Tom really believed he’d fulfilled his obligation, he’d have already left. He took a deep breath, then replied as calmly as he could manage, “Well, she isn’t kidnapped yet, is she? Right now she’s just knocked out, and we’re still on her property. Unlock the car and help me get her in the back seat, and then it’s up to you; you can either ride with me to the spot on the border I’m going to use to cross, or you can leave. But your part isn’t done until I have her off this property.”

  Tom grinned again, this time without the teeth, and Sal knew he’d won a point with the other man. The Urisk took the keys from his hand and unlocked the car, opening the rear door and gesturing solicitously for Sal to enter. He kept his face passive, hiding his annoyance, as he struggled to get the unconscious woman into the vehicle without hurting her while the stronger Fey stood by and watched.

  Once Allie was in and Sal was reasonably certain that anyone who might see her would think she was asleep, he eased out of the car. Straightening he stepped back, then grabbed the keys from Tom’s hand, moving around towards the driver’s side. The Urisk stood next to the car, watching him. “You’re going to boost her ride then?”

  Sal stopped by the trunk. Not for the first time he wished that Tom didn’t insist on always speaking English, because even after so long living with Alice and her children he didn’t always grasp human idioms. He bluffed this time, guessing what Tom meant from the context, “Obviously.”

  “Don’t you think that’s a bit risky? Kidnapping her in her own car?”

  Sal huffed slightly, throwing a look at the corpse at the edge of the parking lot, “Right, because carrying her out of here on foot past that dead body is so much safer.”

  The Urisk turned and looked at the body as if he’d forgotten it was there and then grunted thoughtfully. “Huh. Yeah, there is that then isn’t there? You know what I think I will ride with you outta here for a ways. Maybe not all the way to the border, but a ways.”

  Sal kept his face blank even though he was smirking inside. “Right,” he drawled, then gestured at the front passenger door. “Get in. I’ll drive.”

  “Do you know how to drive?”

  “You sound surprised,” Sal said, walking around to get in the driver’s side. “I’ve been stuck here in Ashwood for almost nine months. I may have been in hiding, but I was making the most of my time.”

  Tom gave him an appraising look before getting in the car, but Sal was speaking the unadulterated truth. He may have been largely limited to Alice’s apartment and watching the children, but he’d made a point of learning as much as possible about human culture, Ashwood, how human technology worked, and keeping tabs on Allie when he could. It hadn’t been that hard to sneak out at night while Alice slept and ‘borrow’ a car to learn to drive with, once he’d realized the advantage of having such an ability and read about the basic principles of driving a car. He made sure to put the vehicle back where he’d gotten it from and on the few occasions he’d been caught by the owner some simple glamour solved the problem. He might not be a very skilled driver but he was good enough to avoid notice on the roads, and smart enough to follow every driving law to the letter.

  Once the Urisk was in and both Fey – at Sal’s insistence – had fastened their seatbelts Sal started the car and slowly backed up. Flipping the headlights on he pulled calmly out onto the quiet road and began heading on a meticulously planned route that would take them out into Ashwood’s most rural section, and eventually to the border with Fairy.

  There were very few places it was safe to cross illegally into the Queen’s Holding, but Sal knew them all, and what the cost was to pass through each of them. He was betting everything on being able to get through tonight using one of the only crossing points his father wouldn’t ever use.

  Of course if he was wrong about what Phillip would charge him to cross, then he wouldn’t have to worry about his father anymore, because he and Allie would both be dead before the sun rose.

  Chapter 2 – Thursday Night

  Bleidd sat at his desk at work, idly flipping a pen with his fingers. It was a slow day following a slow night and after nearly 16 straight hours working he was desperately bored. He’d worked almost 60 hours already this week picking up double shifts as the flu swept through his colleagues and left him plenty of opportunities for extra hours. But even the thought of the large paycheck coming his way wasn’t enough to keep him motivated anymore. All he wanted was to be home.

  And isn’t that a strange idea he thought to himself idly, balancing the pen on the tip of his finger to not only have a sense of having a home at all but to long for idle time to spend there? How many things have changed in such a short time? Only a year ago I would be sitting here counting the hours until I could get to the nearest bar, the nearest willing body, the nearest distraction. And now, now all I can think of is Allie, and Jess.

  He frowned at the pen, unsure even now how he felt about this seismic shift in his life. On the one hand he felt a deep seated and consuming possessiveness over his little family, but on the other he struggled with a sometimes pervasive sense of being fenced in by them. It left him teetering between feeling like he didn’t spend enough time with Allie and Jess and feeling that he spent too much time with them.

  His thoughts were interrupted by the newest dispatcher, Keith, coming in to relieve him. The young human didn’t meet his eyes and swallowed audibly as Bleidd stood up; the tall elf towering over the other man. Keith stepped back to let Bleidd pass, clutching his coffee cup in white knuckled hands. Bleidd quickly gave him a rundown of the day, including the calls that were still out or pending and pointed to the list on the desk of the taxi numbers and which driver was in which vehicle. Keith nodded mutely after every couple words, but Bleidd would have bet his dinner that the young human hadn’t heard a word of any of it. He sighed, too tired to deal with yet another elf-phobic human, and turned and walked away, leaving Keith to settle in.

  He clocked out, smiling without humor at his total hours for the week. This would be one of his highest checks ever, but he was surprised by how little happiness the knowledge gave him. He walked down the hall towards the exit, already thinking of home.

  Henry leaned out of his office door as Bleidd passed, running his hands though his wispy white hair and looking even more frazzled than usual. Bleidd wondered if his ulcer was acting up again. His boss reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him, “Hey, can you cover Sheryl’s shift tomorrow?”

  Bleidd didn’t hesitate, “Sorry Henry, not tomorrow.”

  Henry frowned, the wrinkles on his face deepening, “Come on Bleidd, you know its double-time, and I need someone on dispatch.”

  “I know but it’s my day off and believe it or not Henry even I do need a day off,” Bleidd replied smoothly, already thinking of spending the whole day with Allie who was also off tomorrow.

  “What am I supposed to do? I gotta have someone on the radio.”

  “Ask Keith, or ask Jill if she’s feeling better,” Bleidd said, unperturbed, “And if you need me for a double Saturday I’ll consider it. But not tomorrow.”

  Henry started to open his mouth to argue and then seemed to think better of it. Instead he grunted, then said. “Fine, fine. But plan on getting asked about that double Saturday. I’ve got half my drivers out and you’re the only dispatcher who’s immune to the shitty thing going around. I had Jill in working yesterday afternoon puking between answer calls. I can’t run a business like this.”

  Bleidd ignored him and kept walking, his mind already on what he would pick up for dinner on his way home.

  *******************************

  Jess handed Tashlin’s paperwork back to the waiting Guardsman, nodding. “This is good work. Make sure you sign and initial each page and add it to the report after Mariniessa’s section and before Brynneth’s.”

  The junior officer nodded, his expression serious, and headed back to his own desk, leaving Jess alone for the moment. Tashlin had b
een reassigned to Jess’s squad just before their last mission, and while Jess found him to be overly serious and a bit dour he could not fault the other elf’s work ethic or thoroughness. Even if his thoroughness meant that his paperwork was the last to be turned in.

  Jess sighed, running his hands across the smooth surface of his desk, reassured that everything was in order. He had been pleased enough when his squad had been assigned to the Outpost for their most recent task, since it meant he wouldn’t have to leave his new home to travel into the Holding. However he had underestimated how mind numbingly tedious it would be to track down which of the Outpost staff was taking bribes to allow unauthorized people to pass the Border. Now that the culprit had been found and all of his squad members had turned in their reports he could get the paperwork filed with the Guard Captain, who would decide how to proceed from there. With the amount of evidence they’d managed to accumulate Jess had little doubt that the person, a mixed-blooded employ who was a citizen of America, would face some serious consequences. Of course because she wasn’t a citizen of Fairy she couldn’t easily be prosecuted under their laws, but Jess had no doubt that his brother was clever enough to find a way around that little detail.

  Glancing at the clock he realized it was getting late and he stood, slowly pushing his chair in. All was in order and once he handed the finalized report to his brother he – and his squad – would be free for the next several days until Zarethyn decided what their next assignment was to be. If only Tashlin was a bit less thorough Jess thought to himself walking over to collect the other elf’s now signed report I could have been done and home by now. And after I told Allie I would be home earlier tonight.

  He kept his expression even as he double checked the finished report and nodded a goodnight to Tashlin before heading towards his brother’s office. Without thinking he reached out towards Allie’s mind, his effort as always clumsy as he sought her through the connection which he knew bound them together but which he could not directly sense. To his frustration this time he was unable to connect to her, finding nothing as he searched but a vague feeling of presence. Pausing at the door of Zarethyn’s office he concentrated harder, thinking to her, “Allie?”