Lost in Mist and Shadow: A Between the Worlds Novel (32 page)

The captain was still staring at her, and she started to think he wasn’t going to let her say anything at all, but then he relented, “If you can add anything that might mitigate the circumstances I would certainly like to hear it. Step up here and state your name for the record and then tell us what you need to tell us.”

Jason’s eyes darted between Allie and the captain and assistant chief sitting at the front of the room. He caught Allie’s eye and shook his head slightly, but she ignored him walking up to stand near the front with more confidence than she felt.

“My name is Allie McCarthy, and I’m Jason’s friend and roommate,” Allie began slowly, gathering her thoughts. “I’m also a witch. Not an exceptionally talented one but I’m fairly good. Jason knows that because I handle the magical maintenance around our house. I’ve done quite a bit of spellwork for him over the years and it’s possible that he thinks I’m much better than I am. I think that he went into that fire because he believed it wouldn’t hurt him,” she ignored Jason’s disbelieving gasp, “I could have given him the idea that protective spells were more thorough than they actually are and if he ever got hurt because I had led him to believe that he was protected from something I can’t actually cast a spell against….well I’d never forgive myself. I can’t stand by and let him lose his job or get into a lot of trouble over something like this.”

There was a moment of total silence when she finally stopped speaking and then the captain turned to Jason, “Takada, did you believe you were protected from the fire?”

Looking like he might be sick, Jason nodded stiffly, “Yes, sir.”

The captain blew out a deep breath, shaking his head. “Boy you should know better than to trust any magic to protect you against a roof collapse. If that sort of thing worked the department would use it all the time for everyone.”

“Yes, sir,” Jason agreed sounding less horrified and more confused now.

The captain leaned over and whispered with the associate chief for a minute and then straightened up again, his face unreadable. “Miss you can sit back down. Takada do you understand that this behavior is absolutely unacceptable?”

Allie all but ran back to her seat. Jason swallowed hard, looking down, “Yes, sir. I understand that. I endangered everyone and disobeyed a direct order and that should never happen.”

“Damn straight it shouldn’t! And if it happens again you’ll be out on your ass faster than you can say ‘jackrabbit’. I expect you to know better than to trust magic, even here in this almost-Fairyland, to protect you from here on out. You’ll be docked vacation days for every day you were suspended with pay. Karen’ll get you back on the schedule asap, and I don’t want to hear a single complaint about whatever shifts you get put on, understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Jason said reflexively. Even from her spot at the back, Allie could feel how stunned he was.

The captain stood up and announced the end of the meeting and chaos broke out. People were going up to Jason in groups and alone, talking loudly. No one had expected him to keep his job, but Allie was relieved to see - and feel with her gift – that almost everyone was happy about the way things had gone. There were only a couple people who were projecting disappointment. She let out a shaky breath, not even aware she’d been holding it and huddled back into her seat trying to be invisible.

Finally the room cleared out and Jason walked slowly back to where Allie was sitting. He looked puzzled. She glanced quickly up and then back down. “So, ummmm, that went well, right?”

“You lied,” he said softly.

“Jason Takada I never lie. Not even for you.”

“You did, you said you told me I was magically protected…”he started, but she waved a hand to stop him.

“I did no such thing. I said that I
could have
given you the idea that protective spells worked better than they do – which I could have if we’d ever discussed such a thing – and that I’d never forgive myself if you got hurt because of something I told you about magic, which is completely true,” Allie said still looking down. “They jumped to conclusions from that and assumed I meant that I had put a spell on you that you thought would protect you in a fire, but I never actually said any such thing.”

Jason grunted slightly in surprise. “Wow. That’s devious. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I am part elf and I grew up with all that semantic, verbal ballet crap you know,” she muttered. Then a bit louder, “By elven standards that was pretty lame actually. An elf would have seen right through that.”

Jason was still staring at her, his emotions a swirl that she didn’t want to look at too closely. “I guess I’m lucky that my boss isn’t an elf then.”

Allie shrugged, “I guess. You ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

As they reached the door one of the other firefighters, a thin, brown haired man with a friendly smile, was just coming in. Allie was relieved to feel with her gift that he was one of the ones who was really happy for Jason, and when he spoke his voice was cheerful. “Hey Takada, you gonna join everybody at Mike’s?”

“Well Mike’s Pizza is the best but I think I’m kinda tired…”

“Oh come on Jase,” Allie cut in, not wanting his night to be ruined just because she was with him, “Let’s go get pizza with the guys. You should celebrate.”

Jason gave her a frustrated look, “I’m your ride.”

“Oh it’s okay,” the other firefighter said, still smiling, “she can come too. It’d be nice to look at someone pretty instead of all the same ugly faces.”

Allie blushed. Jason looked torn. “She has a boyfriend Rogers.”

“Of course she does, but she can still hang out with you and eat pizza. Come on Takada,“ the other firefighter, Rogers, wiggled his eyebrows, “you know you wanna.”

“Yeah, it could be fun,” Allie agreed, wondering again why everyone immediately assumed she had a boyfriend.

Jason heaved a heavy sigh. “Fine.”

The three of them headed out the door, Allie trailing slightly behind the two men who were chatting about gossip around the firehouse. Jason’s truck was parked in the lot adjacent to the building but Mike’s Pizza was only a block and a half from the firehouse, and with parking in this part of town always at a premium walking was only logical.

“
Jess
?” Allie reached out to him as she walked, feeling the usual worry that she was intruding.

“
Allie? What is it? Is something wrong
?” he was immediately afraid for her, the feeling sharp, and she frowned. She had a sense of him in his bed, the room dark and still.

“
Everything’s fine, I’m with Jason. I went with him to his hearing. Now we’re going to get pizza
,” she thought back trying to let him feel her happiness in the moment. “
I just missed you and wanted to talk to you. I didn’t wake you did I
?”

He relaxed and his emotions turned to softer things, “
I hadn’t fallen asleep yet, but it is worth losing sleep to talk with you. Did Jason’s hearing go well then
?”

“
Better than he’d hoped. He was reprimanded but he has his job back
,” she thought, watching Jason and his friend walking ahead of her.

“
I am happy for him
.” There was a slight pause and then, “
Allie I wish you would reconsider coming to stay with me for a time. I cannot bear this constant worry
.”

“
Things seem to be quieting down. No more dead animals, nothing at all since the tires getting cut. Maybe whoever was doing it has gotten bored with me and moved on to someone else
…”

“
Or perhaps they are planning something worse
,” he thought, his fear making her stomach hurt.

“
What did Zarethyn say
?” Allie thought to him, hoping his brother had been able to calm him down.

“
That it is very disturbing that someone in possession of the blade – the
iron
blade – that killed Aeyliss is apparently targeting you for some reason. You have convinced him that there may be more at work here than a single killer imitating the last, and this makes him worry that Walters, like his ancestor, was part of a coven…”

“
Jess
…” Allie thought, suddenly stopping in the middle of the sidewalk within sight of the pizza place’s cheerful exterior.

“
I am serious Allie, and if he is right you could be in great danger
.“

“
Jess!
” she thought anxiously, even as Jason realized that she’d stopped walking and turned around.

“Allie! What’s wrong?” Jason’s eyebrows drew together as he frowned.

Echoing him in her mind was Jess’s voice “
What is it
?”

She concentrated hard and spoke and thought at the same time, “Something’s not right. I can feel….I can feel the same thing here that was in the woods.”

Jason’s eyes searched the shadows anxiously, his hand twitching towards the empty spot on his belt where his gun wasn’t. His friend had stopped too, curious, and Jason turned to tell him to go in without them.

Jess’s voice in her mind was tense, “
You have found another location where a girl was taken?
”

“
No…
” Allie thought slowly. “
This is different. It’s the same person, the same trace, but something’s different here. It feels…I can’t think of how to describe it….I think…I think I found where he spends a lot of time…maybe…maybe his home?
”

Without thinking she took several steps away from the road, towards an apartment building, moving towards where the emotions felt stronger. The blend of lust, anger, joy, and frustration made her skin crawl. Jason’s voice sounded far away, “Where are you going?”

“
Allie? Allie? Answer me
!” Jess’s voice was insistent in her head but the lure of the emotional trace was like a siren song, pulling her.

She took several more steps, gaining speed, until Jason grabbed her from behind and physically stopped her. Distantly she heard his voice calling her name too, and then her cell phone ringing. Jason reached into her pocket and pulled it out as she struggled to get loose and find the source of the feelings she was following. “Hello?....Yeah Jessilaen this is Jason….I don’t know – ow! Shit Allie that hurt! – we were just walking and all of a sudden she zoned out and started walking off in a different direction….yeah? ...Okay, hold on and I’ll try.”

Jason wrestled her around in his arms, her cell clutched in one hand, holding her against his chest and pressing his cheek against hers. The direct contact snapped her out of it and she blinked, feeling the emotional miasma swirling around them but no longer overcome by it. “Well that sucked.”

Jason let out a nervous laugh, “Jessilaen said skin-to-skin contact would help.”

Jessilaen
, Allie thought and then to the elf himself “
Jess I’m okay now, it was just too much at first. Jason is helping me
,” she was embarrassed to admit that last, to admit that she needed help, but the truth was without Jason she’d probably have walked right up to the killer in a trance and that would have ended very badly. She shuddered.

Jason had put the phone back to his ear, awkward as that was with his face still up against Allie’s. “Hey, she seems better now….oh, right, of course….Okay…I’ll try.”

He hung up the phone and started to put it into his own pocket, “Hey Jase can I have my phone back, and if you’ll just hold my hand that’ll work. Not that this cheek to cheek thing isn’t fun.”

Flustered he fumbled her phone back out and gave it to her, pulling his face away but grabbing her hand tightly with his. He looked afraid and his fear, oddly enough, gave Allie something solid to hold onto. She focused on taking deep breathes and thought to Jess “
I think I have it under control now.
”

“
Allie, my love, please, please, I am begging you. I know that you want to follow where the trail leads, but if you love me stay where you are until we get there. We are coming with all speed,”
his voice was tight, and she could feel his fear mixing with Jason’s. It was a heady thing.

She didn’t know how to explain to him that it wasn’t a choice to follow or not, “
I will try my hardest not to follow. I think with Jason here I can control it
.” And then remorsefully, “
I’m sorry about all of this
.”

“
Sorry? Wherefore sorry? You have found his trail – only let us get there before you rush headlong into danger
!” he thought back and she had a disorienting impression of hallways rushing past and the other Guards in the squad running alongside. She swallowed hard at the vertigo that came with the image, reminding herself that she was not moving.

“Allie?” Jason said, his voice hesitant, his hand still tight in hers.

“We need to stay here. The Guard is on their way,” she said.

“Fine by me,” he agreed, still searching the darkness nervously as if he expected the killer to jump out at any moment.