Lost in Mist and Shadow: A Between the Worlds Novel (29 page)

She pulled a sleeve of crackers out of the cabinet over the sink, and closed the door loudly. Bleidd stood in the hallway regarding her, wide eyed. Finally he said, “Do you ever wonder if the only reason he is so set on this perverse monogamy of yours is precisely because it’s yours? Because the connection you have with each other has influenced him?”

She looked up at him, her face expressionless. “Yeah, actually I have.”

She ignored the flash of shock that went across his face and pushed past him, heading back out to the main room.

*************************************

Jessilaen stood uneasily waiting for Allie and the former-Outcast to emerge from the back area of her store. He knew she had only fled to the bathroom because she was upset, and he could not deny that it bothered him greatly to see her so distressed over someone else; anyone else would have displeased him, but Bleidd especially. When his rival had followed her into the back he had gritted his teeth and held his ground, knowing that to go after them would only make him look insecure and probably escalate the situation.

Mariniessa was peering curiously around the store. Jess did not particularly like the young mage, who was far too convinced of her own importance, but he had to acknowledge her skill. She was an asset to have on his squad, even if he felt his leadership constantly challenged by her assumption that as a female she should be in charge. If only she could be more like Aeyliss, who had never cared about gender but only about the proper order of things. Sometimes he envied human males the superiority they found within their own culture, although certainly human women were as unhappy with patriarchal society as elven males were with matriarchy.
Allie came back out carrying a handful of crackers. Her expression was strained and Bleidd, following behind her, looked unhappy. Jess restrained a smile at that; all the better for him if things were not well between those two. But when he spoke he put personal matters aside and focused only on business. “The police have begun processing the scene. They have brought the bodies out to their laboratory to autopsy but preliminary results are…somewhat confusing.”

“How so?” Allie asked, eating slowly. He wanted very much to ask her how she was doing today after yesterday’s events, but that would have to wait. She looked tired, although perhaps the others didn’t notice it, as he saw it more in a tightness around her eyes and a paleness in her face. Her hair, a darker blond than his own, was up in its usual ponytail, neatly smoothed back to cover her ears. Her clothing was also not out of the ordinary, jeans and a loose green t-shirt over that strange constrictive undergarment human women insisted on. He realized suddenly that he had been staring, lost in contemplating her appearance, and had let too much time go by after she’d spoken.

Trying to seem nonchalant about the odd pause he said, “In some ways the girls fit the pattern of the ritual murders: they were raped, cut, and killed in the same manner. However they also show signs of different injuries never seen on the previous victims and no bleach was used. The police are leaning towards the theory that this is a copycat killer who is trying to imitate Walters, but is not doing so exactly. They feel this case belongs only to them and do not want to see the joint task force re-formed.”

She frowned, shaking her head slightly, “That’s not good. There’s something not right about that theory.”

“It is perfectly logical,” Mariniessa said reasonably.

“I know it is, but it’s still wrong somehow,” Allie said.

“How?” Mariniessa scoffed, clearly agreeing with the human police.

“I don’t know,” Allie said, her voice soft. “I don’t know. But this is more than just a random crazy human copying what Walters did. For one thing how does he know how to do the ritual? The actual ritual, not just the motions of it?”

“That is an excellent question,” Jess agreed. “It should be impossible to reproduce that ritual without intimate knowledge of the ceremony itself, which even we do not have.”

“Do we not?” Mariniessa said, disbelieving.

“Theoretically Allie is the only living person who should know the details of how the ritual is done,” Bleidd said, making Allie shift uncomfortably.

Jess repressed his own wince at that reminder, “Indeed, and we know that she is not the one doing this, nor has she spoken of those details to anyone.”

To his utter annoyance Mariniessa turned to Allie as if neither he nor Bleidd’s words had adequate weight, and said, “You know the ritual but have told no one, not even the Elven Guard?”

Allie’s eyes met his briefly, obviously confused about why the elven woman was asking a question that had already been answered and Jess had to fight the urge to call Mariniessa out on her attitude. At least he could be grateful that Allie lacked an ingrained self-aggrandizement based on something as arbitrary as her gender, one advantage of her mostly human upbringing. When she answered her voice was only slightly puzzled, “I shared some of the general concepts of the ritual with the Guard, with the squad I was helping last time that is, and with the human police. But I…the ritual itself is too dangerous for anyone to know how to do it, and be tempted to use it.”

“And you are not tempted?” Mariniessa said casually. Jess inhaled sharply at the woman’s nerve. He did not know if she was trying to bait Allie into an angry response or to offend her so blatantly that the younger woman would speak rashly and give the mage a reason to take offense herself, but either way it was unbearably rude.

Allie laughed, “I am not male, so I couldn’t do it even if I wanted to, which I don’t. It’s an appalling thing from start to finish, and quite frankly I don’t know how anyone
can
do it. But that aside I think the idea of separating the worlds from each other with some ritual murders is so inherently flawed that I don’t know how anyone could ever believe in it enough
to
do it.”

Jess admired Allie’s genuineness all the more after she spoke. Anyone else would have been offended, but Allie took the question at face value and gave an honest answer, and one that even Mariniessa would be hard pressed to find fault with. He looked at her, standing there looking so human and so fragile, and yet knowing how much depth and strength she held and he felt an overwhelming love for her
. If only I could make my family understand how unique she is, how everything she does makes me feel this amazing sense of wonder, then they would see why I have to be with her, why no one else compares to her. If only
, he thought
I could make her see how much I need her, and convince her to come away with me
…

Allie was looking at him now, her expression soft. He realized that she must be picking up on what he was feeling and that pleased him. He tried to refocus on the business at hand, finding it hard not to let himself get caught up in thoughts of her. “The fact remains that outside of Allie no one should know how to do what is being done, and yet it is being done. Zarethyn is certain that more energy has been added at the ritual site, and that can only have happened if the ritual in its entirety was performed.”

“I was afraid of that,” Allie said. “And that means that someone else is left who knows how to do what Walters was doing.”

Mariniessa tilted her head to one side, regarding Allie intently, “You believe he had an acolyte?”

“If we are lucky he had an acolyte. If we aren’t lucky then this involves more than just one person,” Allie said grimly. “It’s already worse than it was before.”

“How so?” Jess asked, bracing himself. Whether she realized it or not Allie had an uncanny ability to both perceive the synchronicity moving in events and also to put herself into a pivotal position within them. He trusted her perceptions even when she didn’t trust them herself.

“Walters was a killer but he was…unemotional about it,” Allie said, “Well that’s not exactly true, he was angry, but he wasn’t doing what he was doing because of that exactly. Emotion didn’t drive him, and I think maybe that’s why I never really got anything strong off of him, or picked up on him the way I do this other one…although my gift was also not nearly as open as it is now either, but I digress….my point is this new killer, he’s driven by emotion. And I mean
driven
by it. He’s doing what he’s doing, I think, to carry on what Walters started but he also enjoys it. He wanted to hurt those girls, and liked hurting them very much. And I think that makes him far, far more dangerous than Walters was.”

Mariniessa was nodding, “A cold blooded killer versus a passionate one. We may find some advantage in fighting the latter though as he is much more likely to make a mistake being driven by these emotions than the former was.”

“You may be right,” Allie agreed, “But where Walters was methodical in who he killed and how, this one is not going to be. That third girl for example. There was no reason for her to die, not for the ritual, but he killed her because he wanted to. He won’t be limited to one a month; he’ll kill as often as he thinks he can get away with it.”

“Then we must stop him as quickly as possible,” Jess said firmly. Even Bleidd was nodding, surprising Jess who would have assumed that the former Outcast was unconcerned by such things.

“And meanwhile we still don’t know where Jenny is,” Allie sighed.

“You have no doubt that the same person took her and killed the other girls?” Mariniessa asked.

“No doubt,” Allie said.

“Then let us return to the site the girl disappeared and I will use my magic to try to see a glimpse of the moment the girl was taken, and you may use your ability to try to pick up anything else in the area you can,” Mariniessa said. Jess gritted his teeth, irked that she said it as if it were her decision to make instead of asking him, as the ranking officer, if that is what they should do or offering it as a suggestion.

“Indeed,” he said dryly, “Let us return to the site and you both can use your skills to find out whatever can be found out. Allie can close her store and then we will leave – I will drive and Allie will ride in the front.”

He saw Mariniessa’s eyes tighten at that, knowing that being relegated to the rear seat was a punishment for her rude behavior but unable to question him on it. He turned to Bleidd, “I will bring Allie back to the house when we are finished.”

Bleidd nodded slightly, “Good luck to you, may you find your quarry quickly. Mariniessa it was a pleasure to meet you, perhaps we will see each other again soon?”

The elven mage dimpled at the other elf, “Perhaps I can accompany Jessilaen and Aliaine when we are finished tonight back to your home and we can get to know each other better?”

With his eyes fixed on Allie, Bleidd nodded, “I would enjoy that very much.”

********************************

“Allie I don’t think this is a good idea,” Jason said, as she turned the key to unlock the front door of Between the Worlds.

“I’ll be really quick, I promise,” Allie said, ducking into the dark store and jogging as quickly as she could back to the counter. Her eyes searched the area and she felt grateful to her mixed heritage that she could see in the near-black store. It took only a few seconds for her to find her cellphone sitting next to the receipt book. She snatched it up and shoved it in her pocket, turning on her heel and jogging back out as quickly as she’d come in.

“See? I told you, quick,” Allie said triumphantly, turning and relocking the store and raising the wards back up.

“I don’t see why this couldn’t have waited until tomorrow,” he complained, his eyes looking up and down the street nervously.

“Because with my luck something would happen that I’d need my cell for, or Jess or one of the other Guard, or even the human police would try to call me and not reach me and freak out,” Allie said reasonably. She felt a thrill of triumph despite her fear and wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans. She would show everyone she wasn’t in any real danger. The feeling was almost euphoric.

“Your boyfriend doesn’t need a cellphone to call you,” Jason pointed out.

“Whatever. The point stands for everyone else. What would you do if you tried to call me and I didn’t answer?”

“I’d assume you’d run your phone over in the driveway, or dropped it in a toilet,” Jason said, grinning.

Allie smacked him lightly in the shoulder. “Dork. Fine well you did me a favor bringing me out to pick up my phone…”

“Because you were threatening to hotwire my truck if I didn’t.”

“…so let’s walk down to the coffee shop and I’ll buy you a drink and a late night snack,” she finished, ignoring his interruption. Jess hadn’t been able to stay the night but Mariniessa had and Allie wanted nothing more than to be away from the house, preferably for as long as possible. The evening had been long and fruitless; even with Mariniessa’s spells they had not discovered anything new. Trying to sleep alone in her room while Bleidd was below her in his getting it on with anyone was not how she wanted to spend the night, especially since she had seriously underestimated how aware of the emotional currents she would be. Or how much it really did bother her to be faced with the reality of him sleeping with someone else. Remembering she’d left her cell phone at the store had been a relief.

“Hmmmm. I’m always up for gourmet coffee and muffins, but let’s drive,” he said.

“Drive?” she scoffed. “It’s less than two blocks. Come on, Jason, let’s walk. It’s perfectly safe.”
And it’ll take longer
she thought.