The Fabled (16 page)

I sang through my set while trying my best to
push good-will and happiness out through the lyrics. It must have
worked because everyone seemed to have a good time.

“That’s it for tonight. Thanks for coming. I
hope you all had a good time.”

I put the mic back on the stand and everyone
broke into applause. One guy even tried to get on stage. I’m not
sure what he had planned because Carly was there pushing him back.
She actually stood there like my bodyguard blocking the crowd so I
could escape through the back of the stage. Once I was back there I
started bursting with laughter. It was just too funny. The Djinn
was protecting me from the onslaught of people wanting to…what?
Touch me? Get my autograph? That had me breaking out into another
round of laughter.

“Are you alright?” Keith asked.

“Yeah. It’s just ironic. A week ago no one
wanted to touch me and everybody feared me. Now I need a Djinn to
keep them off of me.”

He started laughing too.

“Enjoying your newfound celebrity status.”
Tristan raised his voice an octave imitating an adoring fan. “Can I
get your autograph Miss Dubois?”

I pushed his shoulder. “You shut up.”

“Already forgotten the little people. You see
that?” He looked at Dan.

“Don’t you have a boatload of drinks to
make?”

“Nah. Everybody’s either leaving or standing
in line in front of the door to backstage hoping to get a glimpse
of you. Man, that was some crowd though. I haven’t had a break all
night.”

“You poor thing. Do your itty bitty fingers
hurt?”

“This one is kinda stiff.” He flipped me
off.

“If you’re finished flirting, there are about
a hundred customers in line to meet with you Sunny,” Carly said as
she entered the room.

“Why do they want to meet me?”

“I don’t know. They want to meet
you
.”

“Uh, okay.” I looked at Tristan with a “what
should I do” look.

“Go out there and meet with them.”

My eyes grew wide.

“If they try anything, Carly will beat them
up for you.”

“Ha ha.” I walked to the door and slowly
opened it. I didn’t even have time to close it again because they
all crowded through the opening. And then there were a dozen people
talking to me at once. Several of them were touching me and I let
my magic out slightly. Hey, if I’m doing this, I’m going to get
something out of it and I’m out of every other kind of magic other
than my own. I’ve found with my magic capacity (I can’t think of a
better word for it) it’s easier to hold a little of different kinds
of magic than it is to hold a lot of one kind of magic. I can keep
a small amount of several magics stored up for months without
feeling like my head is going to explode but if I absorb too much
of one kind I’ll have to expel it somehow. If it’s just a little
too much I can use the magic, whatever type it is, until I have the
right amount stored.

With this crowd there was almost every type
of Fable waiting to talk with me or take a picture with me or have
me sign their…whatever. I touched them all and took just the
smallest amount of their energy. They wouldn’t even notice it was
gone but I would now have their ability. For a short time anyway.
Until the magic is used up. The funny thing is that no one was
worried about me stealing their magic. Maybe the magic through my
singing causes this effect or perhaps they’ve figured out I’m not
the monster they thought I was. Nah, it’s gotta be the magic.

When Carly finally kicked them out of the
club it was early morning and I was beat. I’ll admit it was nice to
be filled up on magic but trying to be social with a bunch of
people you don’t know is hard work.

Carly came back stage as we were getting
ready to leave.

“Don’t let this newfound publicity get to
your head. You’re still just the council’s lapdog.”

I held out my arms. “Aw, someone’s jealous.
Come here and I’ll give you a hug.” After all, Djinn is one of only
a couple types of magic I don’t currently possess.

She narrowed her eyes and took a step
back.

I smiled evilly at her. “I may be the
council’s lapdog but I still think that’s better than being
Roman’s.”

If looks could kill I would be a pile of ash
on the floor.

I dropped Tristan off at home about six in
the morning. He got out of the car but popped his head back in.

“Have you managed to talk to Roman yet?”

I shook my head. “I tried calling him but he
didn’t answer. I’ll tell him when he get to the club tonight and if
he takes another sick day, I’ll just have to hunt him down.

Tristan nodded. “I love you.”

“Love you too, son.”

“
Djinn, shaken not stirred”

At noon I woke up and went for a run. It was
early May in Georgia and it was really hot during the middle of the
day but I needed the run. It always helps me to clear my mind of
all the clutter taking up residence so I did my best thinking when
I was pounding the pavement. The problem is that as far as this
case goes I don’t have the slightest idea of who could be doing
this. None of it makes sense. We have someone who obviously has it
out for Roman that is choosing Vamps from his club and turning them
over for Humans to steal. Then there is the illusion on the wall
and the headmistress at the asylum. I just can’t figure out a
connection to any of it. Sure if headmistress Beasley happened to
enjoy hanging out in the club and say she and Roman used to be an
item but he shunned her, then it would totally make my job a lot
easier. But as it is I can’t find any connection between the
Witches, Humans and Vamps and its driving me crazy.

I finally called it quits when it was
apparent I wouldn’t be able to figure anything else out. After a
quick shower I ran a bath and soaked for close to an hour. I love
taking a long hot bath. It relaxes everything including your mind.
With everything going on I need all the help I can get. Roman was
one of the main stressers I could think of. I would tell him first
thing when I get to the club the truth about me and Tristan. He’ll
be pissed that I lied and will then try to play the deception for
all its worth. Somehow he’ll turn it around to me not being able to
control myself around him instead of the truth that I was merely
trying to keep him off me. Oh well, if he pisses me off too much
about it, I have plenty of magic stored up now to wipe him off the
planet. Not that I really want to hurt him. I’ve never wanted that.
Even when the wounds were fresh I couldn’t imagine hurting him or
allowing him to be hurt in anyway. That’s what happens when you
love someone with all your heart. Even their betrayal isn’t enough
to cause you too wish them ill will. Well, not anything
serious.

After my bath I took my time lounging around
the house and getting ready for the evening. I figured I would give
Tristan the day off of work since we have essentially been working
double shifts. We would work all day at the office then all night
at the club so I think we both deserve a break.

At seven-thirty he hadn’t called me. I hope
his voice hasn’t given out after being choked by Roman the other
night. I had noticed last night it sounded scratchy. The thought of
Roman holding him over the side of the roof still pisses me off. I
know I just said I didn’t wish him ill will but I really would like
to kick him in the balls for what he did to my son.

I decided just to drive over to get Tristan
without calling him. The worst that could happen is he’ll still be
in bed with whatever woman he managed to pick up today. I’ll just
change my appearance to look like a fifty-year-old me and pretend
to be astounded by what trollops some women had become these days.
The thought made me smile.

When I got to Tristan’s his car was parked on
the driveway so I called his cell. I didn’t want to listen to
another lecture about invading his privacy. He didn’t answer and I
rolled my eyes. When will he grow up and realize some things are
more important than getting laid? I got out and knocked on his
door. He didn’t answer. Huh. That’s weird. I know he’s here. I
shrugged and pulled out my key. If he didn’t want me barging in
then he should have at least answered the phone.

“Tristan. It’s mother.” I changed my
appearance to look older in case he had someone with him.

There was no response so I started down the
hall. I knocked on his bedroom door but it wasn’t closed completely
so it opened as I knocked. He wasn’t here. Where could he be? I
tried calling his phone again and heard a vibration on the bedside
table. A check showed his phone was plugged into the charger. Okay,
this was beginning to freak me out. I did another search of the
house but he definitely wasn’t here. There were no signs of
struggle or anything that would lead me to believe he was
abducted.

I stopped and thought of possible
explanations that didn’t equate to my son being taken. He could
have ran to the store and forgot his phone or something simple like
that. Yeah, that is what I’m going to go with for now. I would just
call our local office and have them pull up the GPS on him. It
would give me peace of mind and when he got back I will ream him
for making me worry.

Every agent has a tracking chip implanted in
their arm for location purposes. Since this is a dangerous job it
allows us to be found in the event of an emergency. I’m sure the
council uses it to keep track on us too but that never really
bothered me. Right now I’m hoping it will show us where Tristan is
so I can get rid of this weight that has suddenly formed in my
stomach.

I called the office and asked the agent who
answered to pulled up the locator software for Tristan’s location.
They told me the search came back saying the agent couldn’t be
found. So I had them run it again with the same results. A third
scan too. By the time they had searched for him a half dozen times
it felt like I was being mocked with the message that my son
couldn’t be found.

I tried to keep calm but there was no logical
explanation other than Tristan being taken by someone. Who would be
able to get to him? How would they be able to take him without him
at least putting up a fight? Why wasn’t his locator working? Given
that he hadn’t taken his phone with him it was likely he was
abducted here. I walked back to his front door and opened it then
knelt down and touched the door mat while sending out my magic.
When I brought it back in I searched through until I saw Tristan
for the last time. A Vamp stood on his door stoop. I have never
seen him before but I could read his magic. He rang the bell and
stood to the side of the door. A few seconds later Tristan opened
it slowly with his knife in hand. The Vamp stabbed him in the neck
with a needle before Tristan could react. I could see Tristan
wobble slightly and when he looked at the Vamp again the Vampere
smiled. He told Tristan to accompany him to his car and Tristan
followed the command without thought. There must have been
something in the injection that made him susceptible to Vampere
influence because Tristan was trained to repel it. To my knowledge
he has never been able to be influenced before.

I stood back up and walked over to the
driveway. Kneeling I sent my magic out into the asphalt. I saw a
black Mercedes without tags pull up and the Vamp get out alone. A
few minutes later the Vamp and Tristan got back in and drove away.
There were no determining factors in regards to the car. It was a
typical luxury Mercedes, probably a million of them on the roads.
The Vamp didn’t have any distinguishing marks I could see either.
He had brown hair and a full beard cut short. He was of average
height and build. No tattoos that I could see and no scars. I could
describe him to a sketch artist then search our database but
something tells me I would be wasting my time.

The question is, who would send a Vamp to
abduct Tristan? There is only one person who comes to mind. One
person knows how much Tristan means to me and because of that hates
him. One person who would have the means to hire a Vamp to abduct
him.

I arrived at Eternal Darkness about twenty
minutes later and took the time to attach my sword to my hip before
starting for the bar. It was the first gift Lucian gave me. He had
been training me in sword fighting for a couple of years when he
presented it to me. He had commissioned a Valkyrie he knew to make
it. I don’t always carry it with me because it’s hard to walk
around with all the time. I do know a spell that keeps it hidden
but I have to constantly work on keeping the spell up. Some people
are able to do this without thought but for me it takes effort. Not
to mention my magic would pull from my surroundings to feed the
spell and I don’t really like doing that. It will pull from
plantlife and small animals and Humans. The thing about my magic is
that it doesn’t discriminate. Anything that contains energy is fair
game to be pulled from. I wasn’t worried about hiding my sword this
time because I would be concealing myself until I found my Vamp and
then I would be using the sword so I wouldn’t have any use for it
being hidden.

Dark Elves are able to conceal themselves
just like light Elves only they use the darkness. Their magic is
connected to the dark so they will use the darkness to make them
shadow. Luckily, one of my adoring fans from last night was a dark
elf so I used their magic to conceal myself and used the Vamp magic
I had taken to quickly make my way past the bouncer out front and
into the club. The band was playing already and Dan was filling in
as singer. I spotted Roman sitting in his usual spot in VIP and I
worked my way toward him. There were just as many people here
tonight as there had been last night and as I got closer to Roman I
dropped my concealment. That turned out to be a mistake because I
was recognized immediately. I could hear people say my name as I
passed but I ignored them. Then I heard the music stop and Dan’s
voice come over the microphone. “Sunny. You’re finally here.” I
ignored him too. The bouncer at the entrance to VIP eyed me warily
but didn’t make a move to stop me. Good for him. I continued to
walk straight up to Roman and pulled my blade as I went until it
was pointed directly at his neck. He didn’t bother to even move
from his seat.