Elven Blood (Imp Book 3) (12 page)

“He primarily appears in female form. Goes by Leethu.”

Well, shit. I should have seen that one coming. No wonder she was hiding out at my house. She probably had a price on her head as big as the one on mine.

“And I’m assuming you’ve questioned the human who did the changeling exchange? Do you have a human family name and address?” This should be easy. Go grab a baby, drop it off here, get Haagenti off my back for good. But what to do with Leethu? Something inside me clenched at the thought of handing her over to this elf, sending her to a certain death.

He shook his head. “The woman says she killed the human who did the exchange, as a precaution. I had my people check, people I trust, and there has been no sign of him since the exchange. There was no bill of sale or transfer either—either inside Cyelle or to another kingdom. “

Great. This was getting harder. “So question the woman. Find out who the exchange family was.”

“She claims not to know. Says she was so mortified and humiliated she never inquired. She just wanted to put it all behind her.”

Something bothered me. Why hadn’t she aborted the baby? True, the elves valued pregnancy, so they would not readily have abortion techniques available, but she still should have tried. She should have been desperate enough to go to the dwarves, her own mages, or even paid a demon to expel the fetus.

I wanted to speak to this woman, but I also was curious about something else. “Who started this rumor? The whole plan sounds fairly airtight. The one person who knew all and could blackmail her is dead. Why has this leaked?”

“That’s the part of the mystery I’m working on. It has to be someone who certified the baby dead, or someone in attendance at the birth. All those records have conveniently vanished.”

“How are you going to find out without the records?”

“I’m tracing it backwards. Someone wants to discredit me, to weaken my throne. They have paid for the information to leak the rumors. I suspect Wythyn. We have a rather uneasy truce at the moment.”

“Okay. I really need to talk to the woman though. When did this changeling exchange happen? You must have the human baby from the exchange. Are there records of the gate they went through? The baby’s gender? That might narrow it down a bit.” Wow, an elf/demon hybrid, lost in the world and probably unaware of his or her power and skills. A little baby, confused and … different.

“Nineteen? Twenty years? Not long ago.”

The hybrid wouldn’t be a baby then. Twenty would still be an infant for an elf, but nearly a quarter of the way through a human’s lifespan. Even with the longevity of an elf and near immortality of a demon, the hybrid would have adapted to its human surroundings and aged itself accordingly. If still alive, it would appear to be a young adult human.

“It’s female,” Taullian continued. “They used a gate we had in existence back then in what the humans call Virginia. The changeling family was probably within a hundred miles of Leesburg, Virginia. That’s one of the reasons I thought you could be of help. You know the human world better than any other demon, and you have a residence close to that area.”

Well, that should narrow it down to fifty thousand or so, if I assumed the baby was alive. Maybe I’d start with deaths. It would be a smaller number. I could have Wyatt get me a list, and perhaps he’d have some ideas on how to go about finding this needle in a haystack.

“So where is the human baby? Did she have anything distinctive, anything that might help me identify the changeling family?” If I saw her, I could at least narrow it down by race. I assumed anyway.

Taullian smiled. “We have the human female right here, along with her owner. You can see them now, and then I’ll allow you to speak to the accused elf woman.”

I conveniently left my wine on the table as we strolled from the room to another nearby. Inside was an elf relaxing on a comfortable seat, admiring a sculpture. A human female stood to his left, in a sort of military at–ease pose. The elf jumped to his feet as we entered and greeted Taullian with great deference.

“Iblis, this is Aelswith. He is the one who purchased the changeling rights on the human we’ve been discussing.”

Aelswith nodded at me politely and I waited for him to introduce the human. An awkward silence stretched out, and the elf looked at his lord questioningly.

“So you received this human female approximately twenty years ago after purchasing the changeling rights from….I turned to Taullian. “What is her name?”

“Tlia–Myea.”

Aelswith nodded. “Yes. When I received the human female, she was approximately seven days old.”

I walked to the woman, looking her over. She was blond, fair skinned, thin, average height. Nothing that would make her stand out from thousands of other humans in the Virginia area. I had hoped she would have been an unusual minority, or perhaps had a defect that would have been noted at birth. Of course, she would never have been chosen as a changeling with a defect.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

She shot a surprised look at me, her eyes a deep, vivid blue, then glanced questioningly at Aelswith.

“Nyalla,” Aelswith pronounced.

“Can I touch you?” Again she looked at Aelswith, who nodded.

I did a quick scan, but there was no genetic disorder, no inheritable flaw that might have identified her parents. By this point I’d gotten the idea that Nyalla wasn’t allowed to so much as blink without her master’s permission. It irked me.

“She did come to me with an item,” Aelswith commented. “Normally in the exchange, clothing and all personal items are left behind, but a demon brought her through the gate and he missed something.”

A demon? Demons were an odd choice for a changeling exchange, especially when this Tlia–Myea woman had sent her human servant. I wondered if the human had been killed here, in Hel, or if he’d died before returning from the swap.

Aelswith handed me a small metal object, careful not to touch my hand. It was a ring. A tiny gold ring with an “A” inscribed on it. “A”, possibly the baby’s first or last name. It might help narrow things down a bit.

“I believe it is a piece of human jewelry,” Aelswith said. “Very poor quality, with little aesthetic merit at all. Of course, the human is of very poor quality too. A terrible waste of money. She failed even the most basic of mage tests, has exhibited no magical ability whatsoever. She can’t even manage to boil water without a fire. Even has to have someone else start the fire for her. Her artistic skills are nonexistent, and there is no poetry in her speech. She’s an idiot. An imbecile.”

Taullian made a sympathetic noise. “You can never really tell what you’ll get with a changeling, but it seems you received an especially poor one.”

“Worthless,” Aelswith agreed. “I can’t even sell her. I’ve tried.”

I looked at Nyalla in surprise. My scan had not revealed any particular mental defects. At Aelswith’s words, her face flashed with anger and hatred, before hardening into stubborn resignation.

“So what do you have her do?” I wondered.

Aelswith shrugged. “Clean. By hand, as she has no magical ability. She ensures the waste disposal system is in order and is sanitary and occasionally assists in laundry.”

Ugh. Not exactly a dream job for a young woman. I shook my head, unable to think of anything else that might help me track down this hybrid. Taullian thanked Aelswith for his time, and Aelswith went into a boring, flowery speech about his loyalty to the kingdom. Nyalla’s eyes strayed from their downward position and met mine. Her lips twitched into a quick grin, and she winked, immediately returning to her previous submissive posture. There was no way a baby could have fudged the extensive magic tests, but this woman was clearly resisting the will of her master the only way she could. I was filled with admiration for her passive–aggressive ways. Clever. Not at all an idiot.

We left and proceeded to walk through a series of doors and up a spiral staircase to another room. It didn’t seem to be a jail cell. It was small but comfortable—the elf woman inside, Tlia–Myea, clean and composed. Her scant silk clothing was intricately embroidered with silver thread, and gold chains draped across her bare skin. Golden hair in a series of braids rose from her high forehead to fall behind her ears and down her back to her waist. Her flawless complexion was the color of cream, and her eyes as she turned to meet my gaze were the deepest indigo. She didn’t look like a deprived, tortured prisoner. She looked like a privileged noble relaxing and enjoying the view from the tower’s narrow windows.

His lordship ushered me in through an open doorway. “I’ll leave you two alone. Just come down when you’re through. And try not to injure or kill her.”

I waited for his footsteps to fade. “Doesn’t seem much like a cell,” I mentioned, walking to a window and looking out. “You could just walk right out of here.”

“And go where?” Her voice was tired, defeated. “Cyelle is my home.”

She didn’t appear to be the type who would be seduced by an Incubus, even one as tempting as Leethu. Of course, none of the elves did. They were elegant, friendly but remote. I couldn’t see any of them overcome by passion.

“Did the Incubus appear to be an elf—one from another kingdom, foreign and mysterious? Or in the form of a friend of yours that you’ve secretly longed for?”

Tlia–Myea turned her face from me and I couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or an attempt to hide her expression. “I didn’t recognize him. I had suffered a disappointment, one of many, and he offered me much–needed compassion. By the time I discovered he wasn’t an elf, it was too late.”

“He raped you?” I asked, alarmed. Leethu was in enough shit without adding this to her rap sheet.

“No. I mean I had let my guard down, and we were in the act. I was stunned. Mortified. I just let it continue in the hopes I could cover it up afterwards. Pretend it never happened.”

“But you were pregnant.”

She nodded, her face still turned away. “I thought about bringing death to the baby, but I just couldn’t do it. I had been intimate with elves too, and if I had killed an elf child….” she choked on the last words and covered her face.

Many elves miscarried or remained barren. I could understand her hesitation. It was better to be cautious, since this could be her only pregnancy.

“The baby was born live?”

She nodded, pulling her hands away from her face. “The midwife and I knew it was demon spawn and we killed it. She signed the changeling form and took the body for preparations. I arranged for my human to handle the exchange, instructing him that I wanted to know nothing about it, that he should tell no one.”

Her voice shook, and she covered her face again. Possibly her only live birth, and it was demon spawn. I was surprised she hadn’t killed herself from the shame and depression.

“Who was the midwife?”

She turned to look at me, her jaw firm. “I will not disclose that. I’ve destroyed that paperwork. I don’t care if it means my death. She helped me, kept my secret all these years.”

“But if she can confirm the child is dead, His Lordship will call off the hunt.” Of course that would mean I wouldn’t have a job to do in return for getting Haagenti off my tail forever.

“He wouldn’t believe her. He is furious I kept it hidden for so long, convinced that I’ve lied and the abomination is still alive. Plus she will be punished, and I refuse to have such loyalty rewarded with death.”

“Why aren’t
you
dead?” I wondered out loud.

“In case I need to be interrogated for further information. I’ll be killed once the baby’s body is found.”

“You could jump,” I mentioned, looking out the window. Suicide might be preferable than giving these elves the satisfaction of an execution.

She shot me a startled glance. “Demons,” she said in disgust.

“And the human who did the exchange is dead. Convenient.”

She glared at me. “I would hardly keep him alive to blackmail me. I’m not stupid.”

“Stupid enough to be seduced by an Incubus.”

“We’re not immune to your charms. We have moments of weakness; longings. Some of us more than others.”

I wondered at that statement. The only weakness I’d ever seen elves show was over their children. I couldn’t see them swayed by the promise of sexual delights, and as good as Leethu was, she was a bit of a one trick pony.

“Why did a demon accompany your human servant on the exchange? The elf who bought the changeling rights said a demon delivered his purchase.”

A kind of wariness flitted across her face. She paused. “I had the demon kill my human on the other side of the gates once he’d exchanged the babies. It was the best way to ensure his silence. The demon brought back the human infant.”

“Awesome. Who is the demon? He can collaborate your story.”

Her jaw clenched, her eyes hardened. “I have no idea. You all look the same, and you constantly change shapes. Half of you share the same name. It was just a onetime deal with some random demon.”

It was believable. A demon wouldn’t have really cared about the details of the job, or Elven politics. He would have waited for the human servant to return with an infant, off the guy, and then bring the infant back where directed. Easy job, easy money—certainly not worth bothering about motives or the reasoning behind it.

“What was your human’s name? If he was killed among the humans, I might be able to find his burial site.”

She started in surprise, her eyes wide with a sudden flash of fear. “I … I don’t remember. It was a long time ago, and he
was
just a human.”

I frowned. That was odd. She should have said ‘Bob something’ or ‘we called him Sticky’. He had been her human. Instead she floundered and denied remembering it, dismissing him abruptly as ‘just a human’. This one had been loyal, entrusted with her secret—a secret he supposedly died for. Why hadn’t the fierce devotion that made her withhold the midwife’s name been extended to the human? Yes, humans were of no more value than animals, but they were
expensive
animals. Their ownership conveyed status to the elves. Why hadn’t she remembered his name?