Flight from Mayhem (11 page)

“I'm sure Bette will be back in a moment. Please, sit down. That is . . .” I glanced over at the chairs, but Chai was
gone. He had gone
poof
, and probably for the best. Werewolves and magic didn't get along, and djinns were magical creatures through and through. As I cleared my throat, the Spanglers sat down. I had the feeling they weren't going to leave the building without talking to Ralph, no matter whether or not Bette said he was out. No, they'd wait for him.

I was about to offer them coffee when the phone rang. I picked up. It was Chase Johnson.

“Shimmer speaking. I'm afraid you'll have to talk to me, Detective. Alex is in a meeting with a client, and Bette is away from her desk.”

Chase mumbled something that I couldn't understand, then said, “We may have another. One of the Fae went missing. He was in the same art class as Marlene at the Supe Community Action Council. The one Bette teaches. And they both belonged to the OBC—the Otherworld Book Club.”

I glanced around, looking for a pen. Quickly, so I didn't miss anything, I scribbled down notes as he talked. “Classes . . . book club . . . got it.” Then, softly, I laid down the pen. “Detective—”

“Call me Chase, please. Everybody else does.”

“Of course. Chase, you're going to want to talk to Alex. We have a possible theory, and I have to say, it's not a pleasant one.”

“Theory? All right. And I want to talk to Bette again. Since they all have ties to the Community Action Council, I was hoping she might be able to come up with something that seems out of the ordinary—anything she might have noticed. Can you have her call me when she returns?” He sounded tired—more tired than was good for a human—and I suddenly wanted to reassure him in some way.

“Sure. Listen, we're doing our best. I don't know what we can find out, but trust me, we want this solved and over with. Bette's really upset. She likes these people; they're her friends. And we want to help her, too, so . . . so . . .” My words trailed off. I felt helpless. I wanted so much to soothe
their worries—partly because their anxiety shifted around me like waves in the air, unsettling me. But I was quickly coming to realize that I lacked some basic social skills and understanding of how to behave among nondragons, and I didn't like that lack in myself.

“I know, Shimmer. And I appreciate it. I'll talk to you later. Please have Bette give me a call when she can.” And with that, he hung up.

I slowly replaced the receiver, staring at the phone. At a loss, I thought about calling Stacy to see how she was. But with bronchitis, that wasn't the best idea. Though she usually kept to a nocturnal schedule because of her jobs, right now, I hoped she was asleep, healing.

And
that
brought me back to thinking about the house across the street and Mary, the ghost. Toying with the pen, I didn't notice that Emily and Leon were suddenly on their feet. I jumped, startled, but then saw that Ralph had entered the waiting room. He motioned for them to follow him into one of the conference rooms.

Bette gave me a quizzical look as I vacated her chair. “Long thoughts?”

“I don't know about long, but lots of thoughts, yes. Just thinking about the murders.” As I blurted out the words, I realized that I had just put my foot in my mouth.

But Bette reached out to pat my arm. “I've been around a long time, my dear. Longer than you may imagine. And I've seen a lot of people come and go.” For a moment, she sounded more like a grandmother than a biker mama, but then she snickered. “So, Ralph's parents are here. That's going to be fun.
Not.
”

“What do you think they want?”

“I don't know, but every single time they show up, Ralph goes into a funk. I see Chai made himself scarce.” Bette lit up another cigarette as she tamped out the one she was just finishing. I grimaced. “I know you hate the smoke, girl, but
seriously, you're a dragon. You
breathe fire
. So don't complain to me about my habits.”

I grumbled. “I
used
to breathe fire, till they stripped away that power when they took away my power to shift on land. Now, the best I can do is an occasional belch and a wisp of steam. And since I have to be underwater in order to shift form, my fire can't do much except make a burst of hot bubbles to kill a few fish.” Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to go swimming. To shed my human skin and dive deep. “Bette, do you think Alex would mind terribly if I ducked out for a swim?”

“I don't know, but he seems in a somber mood—I'd ask him before taking off anywhere.”

“Where are you planning on going?” Alex asked as the door to his office opened. The new client followed him, but within seconds, the man barged out the door. Alex handed Bette the intake form. “Shred. He won't be requiring our services after all.”

“Problem, chile?”

“Wanted me to spy on his wife. Said he wanted to make certain she didn't know about his mistress. I don't see that as fair play.”

One thing I liked about Alex—he had a sense of honor. It might be a little skewed, but it was definitely there. I stretched. “I was wondering if you'd mind if I take off for a swim. I need to be in the water—it's calling me tonight.”

He glanced at the calendar. “It's been a while, hasn't it?”

I nodded. “Yeah, a couple of weeks. I'm feeling restless.” When I was out of the water too long, I started getting antsy and it eventually led to discomfort and pain.

“Go then. I can't drive you, though. I have a lot of paperwork I need to finish. Ralph could, I suppose . . . or Bette.” He glanced over at Bette. “Why don't you take her, darlin'? She needs the water and I think . . .” He stopped, but I knew what he was thinking. When Bette had found out about
Marlene, the news had been a shock. Maybe she and I could talk while we were out.

I knew Bette must be feeling the same way, because instead of arguing that somebody needed to watch the desk, she nodded. “All right, precious. Ralph's busy with his parents, anyway.” She pushed back her chair and stood. I was sliding into my coat when the office door slammed open.

Glenda was standing in the doorway, her eyes narrowed, with a vicious grin on her face. She tossed something into the room, laughed, and then vanished. The next moment, a pungent odor filled the room, along with a massive amount of smoke. The smoke alarm immediately began to screech. Swearing loudly, Alex dove for the security system. He punched in a code, but the phone rang and Bette snatched it up.

“No, we don't have a fire—someone dropped a smoke bomb in our office. Everything is fine. Do
not
send the fire department.” She sounded pissed out of her mind.

My first thought was to open the windows. Barred on the outside, the bulletproof glass opened inward. I yanked open the ones nearest me as Ralph and his parents stumbled out of the conference room. Ralph took in what was happening and immediately joined me in trying to clear out the room.

Mrs. Spangler began to cough, and Bette hustled her toward the exit. Leon Spangler followed as Ralph and I finished opening every window we could reach.

Alex motioned to Bette. “The fans in the conference and break room—let's get them set up, woman.” They moved in unison, hurrying to drag out the massive fans that kept the office cool during summer days so it wouldn't be sweltering at night, since there was no A/C and the walk-up had a closeted feel to it. After a few moments, the smoke began to clear. Ralph went to check on his parents, who were standing in the main foyer of the building. Bette punched a button to lock the outer door to the building.

“Anybody who wants in can ring the bell,” she said.

Another ten minutes and everything was under control and we were all back in the office.

“Damn that bi— woman.” Alex was fuming. I had never seen him quite so angry. “It's one thing to come growling at me at a party, but to invade my business and cause this kind of havoc? For all she knows, one of my clients could be an asthmatic.”

“Boss, this was wrapped around the smoke bomb.” Bette handed him a piece of paper.

Alex gingerly opened the folded origami-like page. He silently read it, then handed it to me. I glanced at the writing. Yes, this could definitely be called a hate letter. And also a threat.

Alex, if you think I'm going to let you and your little fuck-a-cunt enjoy yourselves after you threw me over, you're wrong. Tell the dragon she'd better get over her sob story because when I'm done with the two of you, you'll both know what REAL humiliation is like.

Bette, who was reading over my shoulder, let out a sharp whistle. “The bitch is back, that's for sure.”

Alex's expression was dead serious. “I think it's time Glenda and I had a talk.” He glanced over at me. “I'm sorry, Shimmer. I never meant for you to become a target.”

I shook my head. “She has no clue . . . absolutely no clue . . . what hell I went through growing up. I learned how to play hardball. She wants to rumble, let her come. I think she might find that I come equipped with a few surprises.”

“Like me.” Chai appeared behind me.

“Damn it, dude, you do that one more time and I'm going to smack you!” But I laughed. I couldn't stay mad at him. As I swatted his arm, he pulled me into an easy embrace.

“Anybody threatens my Little Sister, they have to deal with Big Brother.” His eyes twinkled. “I think your ex-girlfriend might find a djinn more than she can handle.
In every way.
”

Alex let out a snort. “Don't be too sure of that. The woman's a succubus. She's insatiable.”

Chai raised his eyebrows. “And I am a djinn. One of the Efreet. I could twist her words in such knots that she would never get out of the tangle. If she sets one hand on Shimmer, I swear, I don't promise to leave her in one piece.”

Alex gave Chai an odd look. “Not if I get to her first.”

“I'm quicker than you, vampire.” Chai had a smile on his face, but to my dismay, I heard a growl of a threat there. What the hell?

“You want to make a bet, genie-in-a-bottle?” Again, said with a smile, but also a show of fangs.

Hell, we were in the middle of a testosterone match. I glanced over at Bette, and she must have seen the look of horror on my face because she broke in loud and clear.

“Put away the measuring tape, boys. You both care about Shimmer. We know that. It's not a competition. We're all on the lookout now, so calm down. Chai, why don't you go search the neighborhood and see if Glenda's still around? Shimmer, come on, you and I are heading to the shore.” And just like that, she swept us out of the office, away from the chaos.

“Y
ou know Glenda's
not going to be anywhere near the office. Why did you tell Chai to go look for her?” As we stepped out into the night air, I turned to Bette, confused.

“Sugar lips, those boys were about to get into a tussle. I thought it prudent to misdirect the energy, and Chai's so willing to help out that he'll do it before he realizes the futility of it.” Frowning, she cocked her head. “What
was
that, anyway?”

“Hell if I know. Chai's always been protective of me, but he likes Alex, so I'm not sure what was going on. I've never seen either one of them puff up like that.”

Then, at the very edge of my hearing range, I heard a shout from the building. “Hell, come on. I think something else is happening.”

We rushed back inside to find Ralph scuffling with Alex. “I can't believe you stole her out from under my nose!” Ralph was growling. His parents looked horrified.

Chai snorted. “Little Wolf has big shoes to fill if he thinks he can seduce
my
sister!”

Alex rolled Ralph over, pinning him down, but it was obvious the pair were well matched. “Like you ever stood a chance, you mutt!”

Suddenly, everything crystallized. Alex and Ralph were close friends. Neither would
ever
treat the other like a punching bag without outside interference. And Chai had a level head—he wouldn't egg either of them on without good reason.

“Bette! That smoke bomb—it wasn't just an annoyance, it was a spell. These guys are under a spell.”

“Of course—that makes perfect sense.” She waded in and grabbed hold of Alex's shoulders. The Melusine was far stronger than she looked, because within a moment, Alex slumped in her hands, glaring at her. “It has to be in the residue smoke. You—the Spanglers—grab your son and get him outside. Shimmer, you tackle Chai.”

I grasped Chai's wrist. “Come on, dude. Outside. Come with me, Big Brother.” I flashed him a warm smile and he relaxed, following me.

As we all trooped outside, keeping the men apart, the crisp night air began to clear out a vague scent lodged in my nose that I hadn't realized was there.

Coughing, I turned to Chai. “Breathe. Breathe deep.” Again, he complied.

Bette turned to Alex, still holding on to his wrist. “I know you don't have to, but do me a favor, sugar pants, and breathe. Take a long, deep breath and get some of the night air into you. That smoke seeped into your body—and don't give me crap about
‘I didn't inhale'
 . . . it managed to take root in those atrophied lungs of yours.”

Alex glared at her, but he did as told and took a few very slow, very long breaths, sputtering as the shaky air left his lungs. Ralph was panting but finally composed himself.

A few minutes later, we were all staring at one another.
The three men looked sheepish. Ralph's parents looked confused. Bette and I were just irritated. After another moment, Alex broke into an embarrassed laugh.

“Ralph, I'm sorry, mate. You, too, Chai. I didn't mean anything I said.” He sidled over and glanced at me. “Good call, Shimmer. Glenda had one up on all of us, it seems.”

Ralph shrugged. “I know. Same here, Alex. I have no clue what the hell happened.”

“Spell,” Bette said. “The smoke bomb? Was a spell.”

“Damn that woman.” Alex glanced over his shoulder at the building. “Well, we have to clear out the dregs of it before the three of us go back in there.”

Chai let out a low belch, then covered his mouth. “My apologies as well. I'm just glad I didn't let loose with any magic. I could have seriously harmed the both of you.” He shot a look at me. “Shimmer, the best thing to clear that out would be a magical wind. I can do it, but you need to go open all the doors in the offices. I'll stand outside a window and send the spell through after you open them. It should be enough to clear away any residue.”

I nodded. “You know . . . yeah, good idea.”

“What happened? Why were you so upset, Ralph?” Emily Spangler was looking more confused by the moment.

“Don't sweat it, Mom. Just . . . someone who doesn't like us very much tried to trick Alex, Chai, and me into hurting each other. Part of the job.” The look on Ralph's face told me that he was pissed off about something, and when I focused on him, I had the feeling it went deeper than any spell Glenda had cast. There was something going on, and by the way he pulled away from his parents, I had the feeling this wasn't a pleasure trip on the elder Spanglers' part.

Bette stayed outside with everyone while I went in and opened every window I could find in the office. The smoke hadn't filtered through the rest of the building—it had been localized from what I could tell. I leaned against the bars, staring down at them from the window in the reception area.

“Windows are open. Blast away.”

Chai gave me a wave. “You might want to get out of there.”

As he spoke, a gust sprang up and if I hadn't been holding on to the bars, I might have toppled over backward. I was about to shout down for him to give me a chance to move away from the window but then decided
what the hell
, and loped out of the office, the wind pushing at my back. A flurry of sparks—not actual flame, but flickering lights—glimmered through the rooms as I peeked in from the foyer of the building. Another few minutes and the wind suddenly died, and everything felt eerily calm. Another couple of minutes and we deemed it safe enough for everyone to troop back inside.

Bette and I kept an eye on the three men, but they seemed back to normal, and there were no more outbursts. The Spanglers whispered something to Ralph, and then—with a faint wave to the rest of us—they left the building. Alex put up the
CLOSED
sign and we all gathered around the break room table.

“So, Glenda's not going to let this rest, is she?” Alex fetched a bottle of blood from the refrigerator, then stared at it. “I don't think we should trust any food in here. For all we know, she may have come in and poisoned something. Toss everything edible, including any lunches you brought with you. I don't care if it's prepackaged. Get rid of the food.”

We cleared out the cupboards and fridge.

Ralph finally asked the question that was going through all of our minds. “What are we going to do about her?”

“We've had the locks changed, and I've got a call into Ysella. I guess . . . maybe I should have a talk with her. Find out why she's doing this.” Alex frowned as he waved away the protest I was about to lodge. “I don't want to, but I think that's the only way we'll get any resolution.”

I wanted to argue, but he looked tired. “Fine, if you think it's wise.”

He shrugged. “I think it's necessary. Shimmer, you go ahead and go swimming. I'll figure out something. Ralph, we'll just keep the doors shut tonight. Can you do me a favor and see if you can find out whether anybody has spotted that salamander yet? You're good at digging up info like that online. Twitter or whatever the newest social networking site is.”

Ralph let out a short laugh. “Twitter's not the place for most Supes. We tend to use DragonTongue.”

Chai cleared his throat. “I'm going to head out for now. I'll be back later. Shimmer, if you need me, call.” He gave everyone a short wave, then vanished.

I glanced at the clock. “Tonya is supposed to be here around two
A.M.
We'll be back before then. It's only eleven fifteen.”

As Bette and I left the building and locked the front door behind us, I was feeling more and more restless. Glenda's attack hadn't helped my agitation any, and now all I wanted to do was dive deep and go swimming. “I really need this, Bette. You don't know how much I need this.”

“I can tell you're itching to be out in the water, Shimmer. Come on, get in the car.”

We headed out toward West Seattle. Alex and I had scouted around until we found one of the best places for me to head out into the water—a point off Duwamish Head. Alki Trail curved around the point. There was a parking lot right before Harbor Ave SW turned into Alki Avenue SW, but Bette passed it by, stopping a block or so later as we came to the pier overlooking the water.

From here, at night I could climb over the guardrail, dive in, and swim out to where I could dive deep enough to change shape. As long as I didn't cause too much of a ruckus, the area provided me with a place to shift without needing to take a ferry toward one of the islands, or without having to drive up north a ways to find a turnout along Puget Sound.

Bette eased into a parking space along the street. The
street was empty. Nobody else was around, thanks to both the time and the weather. It was a chilly night, and rain was threatening. She turned off the engine and sat back in her seat, unbuckling her seat belt.

“I may be a couple of hours. If you want to come pick me up later, that's fine.” I squirmed out of my jeans, tossing them in her backseat.

“Don't worry yourself. I need some time to think and this will give me a breather from Alex's hovering. He knows how much I cared about Marlene, and while I appreciate his concern, having him check on me every ten minutes isn't helping.” She paused, grinning at my bathing suit. “I see you came prepared.”

“Yeah, I did. I have no desire to run around the streets of Seattle naked. All right then, I'll leave my purse and everything here with you, then. I'll try to make it short.”

“Take all the time you need.”

“Yeah, except I want to be there when Tonya arrives. Okay, I'm off.” Wearing only my bathing suit—a one-piece blue affair—I quietly shut the car door behind me and darted across the short advance to the pier, grateful no one else was around. Benches lined the pier, which was nice and wide with a strip of grass in the center. The guardrail was actually a series of nine thick metal cables that fed through evenly spaced posts surrounding the wooden platform. I peered over the edge. The tide was in, and the water was high, so it was an easy matter of climbing over the cables to jump in. As long as I didn't take too long, climbing back out shouldn't be a problem, either.

As I swung over the cables, holding on to the post for balance, the smell of the brine rose up to encompass my senses and I closed my eyes, every cell in my body aching to be in the water. I took a deep breath, then eased down into it, wary because I knew there were rocks below. The shock of the temperature raced through me, but then, taking a deep breath, I pushed off as my body adjusted to the frigid chill. Humans
would have started going into hypothermia within a few minutes, but I wasn't human. I might look it, but my dragon nature gave me far more resilience than any mortal.

As I swam with broad, strong strokes, I estimated my distance from shore. I was fast and sturdy. When submerged, even if it wasn't deep enough to change shape near the shore, I could swim like a fish, and by now I knew the quickest route to take in order to reach deep water. Fifteen minutes later, I was at the proper depth to handle my dragon self, and I dove down, shifting as I did so.

As my body seamlessly transformed, a surge of power and joy washed through me. There was nothing so wonderful as being back in my normal shape. How I missed the freedom to change form at will. Blue dragons could fly, like all dragons, but I was bound to the water, bound to be in my natural form only when I was fully submerged. I longed to go shooting out of the inlet, to rise into the sky and circle round, stretching my wings, and then nosedive back down. But if I tried, I'd immediately lose control of my shape and fall back to the water in human form.

Letting go of thought, I gave myself over to the joy of playing. I barrel-rolled, over and over, the weightless sensation of playing with my element making me laugh, which came out in a stream of bubbles. Then, just as swiftly, I headed toward the bottom of the inlet. Here, I was able to touch bottom fairly easily, but a few minutes of strong swimming had me in deeper water. Four hundred feet and counting, and now I could truly let go and dive deep, the waves rocking around me like a welcome cradle.

A sudden shift in the current surprised me and I swiftly turned as a large shape, about twenty feet long—as large as me—swam past. The waters were dark, but in my dragon form, I could easily see below the surface, and what I saw was what looked like a very large fish. White and black, the creature glided effortlessly near me, and I let out a soft rumble. An orca. Killer whale.

The orcas of the Salish Sea were a single clan of whales, separated into three pods. Not all whales within a pod were necessarily related, but the bond between podmates was a strong one. I had met whales in the oceans up in the Dragon Reaches, but this was the first time I had encountered anything bigger than a jellyfish or a salmon here. I slowed, cautiously turning to meet the whale. One thing most humans did not realize about fish was that telepathy was a very real factor in undersea communication, but it tended to work more on intent and emotion than thought. Words did not make up the language of ocean dwellers, but emotions? Intentions? They carried just as much energy as the spoken word when directed toward those who were sensitive to picking them up.