The Wicked (2 page)

“Plus you get to hang out for a couple of weeks on a mysterious Other island,” said Grace, grinning. “Well, at least it will be a couple of weeks according to island time. Who knows how long you’ll be gone according to the rest of Earth. I wish cameras worked and you could take pictures.”

Time and space had buckled when the world formed, creating pockets of Other lands where magic was stronger, the sun shone with a different light and time ran differently than it did on Earth. Often technology did not work, or it was downright dangerous. Sometimes the time slippage between an Other land and Earth was minor, and sometimes it was significant.

Olivia said, “When Carling hired me, she promised that the slippage wouldn’t be any longer than a couple of months, if that.”

Between Carling’s assurance that the time slippage would be relatively minor and Olivia’s promise to write at least two journal articles on the experience, she had been able to persuade the Dean of the library to approve a year’s sabbatical so that she could make the trip and concentrate on writing about the experience afterward. Once she’d been hired and her trip had been approved, she’d been unable to sleep a full night since.

Khalil said, “Now, that is what I call a time out.”

“Eeee,” remarked Max. The baby sounded as if he agreed.

The remaining few hours of Olivia’s visit flew by. A tear-stained Chloe gave her a big hug before drooping off to kindergarten.

Olivia watched her leave with a pang of regret. She may have decided not to have children of her own, but her decision wasn’t based on health or financial reasons. She kept herself quite fit, and while she wasn’t very tall, just barely topping five feet four inches, she had a constitution as sturdy as an ox.

As far as finances went, her profession was quite specialized. She was a witch working as a reference librarian at the largest library of magical works in the United States. Only skilled symbologists—those who were proficient at reading, controlling and infusing words and images with Power—could work at Ex Libris, and she was highly paid for what she did.

Not only did she own her house outright, but she also had a healthy savings account, a good stock portfolio and a pension that would allow her to retire early and in comfort, if she so chose.

She had just never found a steady, long-term relationship within which to consider having children, and though she was a human woman in her mid-thirties and her biological clock was ticking, she wasn’t interested in having a child by herself.

After Chloe left for school, it was time for Max’s morning nap. Olivia was happy to get one last chance to tuck him in his crib, then she and Grace talked for a few hours.

Olivia had already packed her bags, so when the time came to leave she only needed to collect her luggage from the guest bedroom. She had packed as her temporary employer, Carling Severan, had instructed, bringing one full-sized suitcase that could be left behind at either a hotel in San Francisco or a yacht in the Bay, and one water resistant pack that would carry all her essentials and clothing for the length of her stay on the island.

Taking the instructions as her cue, she had packed sensible, sturdy clothing that would be suitable for field work—jeans, T-shirts, sweaters, a wind-resistant raincoat, hiking boots and sneakers—along with a leather-bound journal for taking notes.

Mindful of the limited space in her pack, she kept her toiletries focused on the essentials, shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste and sunscreen, and she didn’t bother to pack any makeup. That morning she wore jeans, a light blue, form-fitting T-shirt and sneakers.

Slinging the pack onto one shoulder, she wheeled the suitcase to the living room where Grace and Khalil stood with Max and Phaedra.

As Olivia appeared, Khalil was speaking to his daughter. “It is nonsensical to summon a taxi for Olivia when you are both traveling to the same place. You will transport Olivia and her luggage with you.”

Phaedra appeared to have no problem whatsoever in facing down her formidable father. She said in a cold voice, “The only reason to transport a human anywhere is to use it as a means to acquire a favor.”

Khalil said, “You have been away too long, either as a pariah with a bent spirit or resting in an incorporeal state. You are supposed to use this job as a means to reacquaint yourself with the world. Do not attempt to bargain with anyone on this trip. Listen to how people interact with each other, and learn from it. Do as Grace suggested. Make small talk. Don’t kill anyone who does not deserve it.”

Olivia raised her eyebrows. If ever there was an order based on too much subjectivity, that one was it.

Grace must have felt the same, because she murmured, “Khalil.”

Khalil and Phaedra turned to Grace at the same time, their heads tilted in exactly the same way, imperious and inquiring. Grace said to Phaedra, “Don’t kill anybody unless it is in self-defense. Period. Don’t risk making a fatal mistake and possibly becoming a pariah again. You do not have the right to decide if someone else may live or die.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Phaedra said, eyes narrowed.

Grace scowled and looked as if she would reply, but Olivia took that moment to step forward. “Excuse me,” she said. “I need to call for a taxi if I’m going to make it to the agency offices in time for the meeting.”

Khalil folded his arms and looked at his daughter. Phaedra’s eyes narrowed further as she considered his expression. “Fine,” she said between her teeth. “But only for the duration of this job.” The younger Djinn turned to Olivia and gave her a razor sharp smile. “Come, human. We have a meeting to attend.”

“Really, I don’t mind calling a taxi,” said Olivia. She would rather take a cab than get on Phaedra’s bad side. She set her pack on the floor next to her suitcase and walked toward Grace, intending to hug her goodbye.

Phaedra’s corporeal form dissolved into a whirlwind of Power that engulfed Olivia and yanked her away from the world.

A maelstrom surrounded her. There wasn’t anything solid or stable anywhere. She wanted to scream, but some stubborn sense of pride made her swallow it down. She would not give the ornery Djinn the satisfaction of knowing that she had rattled her.

When the world re-formed, the details of her surroundings were completely different. Olivia stood in a polished hallway, outside double doors made from carved oak and propped open to reveal a conference room filled with several people.

Phaedra materialized beside her, long blood-red hair whipping around regal white features that were filled with subtle, smug amusement.

Everyone in the room turned to stare. They all wore different versions of the same kind of outfit Olivia wore, along with varying expressions of surprise.

Details blurred in the moment, except for a few standouts. Carling Severan, former Queen of the Nightkind, stood at the head of the conference table. She was a dark-haired, beautiful woman, with honey-colored skin and long, almond-shaped dark eyes.

Despite the fact that Olivia knew that Carling was one of the most Powerful witches in the world, and she was also one of the oldest and most Powerful Vampyres in the world, Olivia sensed no evidence whatsoever of the other woman’s Power. The fact that Carling could cloak her Power to that extent was more than a little unsettling.

The Vampyre stood beside a man Olivia had never seen before. Both Carling and the man were the same height, which meant he could not be very tall, perhaps only a few inches taller than Olivia herself. He wore a plain gray T-shirt, jeans and boots, and he was extraordinarily striking, with a hard, boldly planed face half-hidden by sunglasses, short, dark brown hair speckled with flecks of white, and a palpable aura of power that was both physical and magical.

Along with everybody else, he seemed to be staring at Olivia and Phaedra. With his sunglasses, it was hard to tell where his eyes were trained, but at least his face was turned in their direction.

Olivia jerked her gaze away. She knew exactly what everybody was thinking. No one in her right mind would bargain away a costly, potentially dangerous favor in return for transportation from a Djinn, not for a trip that could be completed so easily by mundane means. Everyone present would think she was either insane, or insanely important.

Actually, scratch that thought. Nobody would believe she was insanely important.

There was probably a worse way to meet the people she would be working with for the next few weeks, but at the moment, she couldn’t think of what it would be.

Olivia took a deep breath to try to calm her rioting nerves. Then she looked at the empty floor around her feet. Irritation took control of her mouth. She said to Phaedra, “You forgot my luggage, dimwit.”

Realization transformed Phaedra’s features, wiping the smugness away. The Djinn crossed her arms with a scowl. Then she blew into the whirlwind again. A moment later she reappeared, and Olivia’s luggage landed with a thump at her feet.

The room was so silent, one could have heard a pin drop.

Let’s be sensible, shall we? Let’s not make an enemy of the whackadoodle Djinn.

“Thank you,” she said, in as polite and dignified a tone as she could muster. Phaedra twitched a shoulder in impatient reply and stalked into the room to lean against a wall.

The tips of Olivia’s ears felt as if they were burning, and so did her cheeks. She refused to look around at anybody. She especially did not look at the striking, powerful man who stood at the head of the room.

Instead, she picked up her suitcase and pack, carried them into the large conference room, set the pieces along the wall with the heaps of other luggage, and then sat at the large conference table, several seats away from anybody else.

The floor never did open up and swallow you, no matter how badly you might wish it.

Chapter Two

When nine people in total entered the conference room, Carling nodded to one of the men, who shut the double doors. The striking man in the sunglasses remained motionless beside the Vampyre, hands clasped behind his back. He appeared to be studying the occupants in the room, his strong features impassive.

Aside from Carling, there were four women and four men present. Two of the men were Wyr, including the man at Carling’s side, and one male was an Elf. Olivia guessed that the fourth male was human. Of the other three women, there was one Djinn, of course, a Light Fae and a woman whose heritage and race Olivia couldn’t quite place. Her coloring was similar to Carling’s, her strong face attractively hawkish. She wasn’t quite human. Olivia suspected that she was of a mixed race.

“Good afternoon,” Carling said. “We have the agency plane waiting for you on the tarmac, so I will keep this meeting as short as possible. It is public knowledge that I have become estranged from one of my progeny, Julian Regillus, the Nightkind King. Julian and I are having several disagreements.”

Several of the people sitting at the table exchanged glances. Carling and Julian’s estrangement had, in fact, hit several major news websites and many tabloid sites, but Olivia could tell that nobody had expected Carling to speak so frankly.

Carling continued dryly, “The relevant disagreement today is regarding my library, which is located on a small island in an Other land that has a single underwater crossover passageway located in the ocean just outside the San Francisco Bay.

“I filed a suit with the Elder tribunal, which Julian countered with his own suit. I claim I have the right to retrieve my property, since it is located in a place outside of Julian’s legal jurisdiction. Julian claims that he has banished me from the Nightkind demesne. Since the crossover passageway is located in his demesne, he has the right to bar access to me.

“My suit involved an offer of resolution where I would send a team that would travel to the island on my behalf. That team would pack my library and transfer it completely out of the Nightkind demesne. As some of you already know, the tribunal has granted my petition and ordered Julian to allow my team access to the harbor in order to transport my library. Upon completion of this task, I relinquish all rights and claim to the island. Since I also filed documentation about a sentient species that lives on the island, rights to that land will revert to them.”

Carling turned to the man who stood beside her. “This is your expedition leader, Sebastian Hale. He has final say on all decisions. He has a full security team, most of whom will remain on board a yacht in the harbor. The three of his staff who will be traveling to the island are present here—Derrick, Tony and Bailey. Derrick is the medical doctor who will be traveling with the team.”

Two men, the Elf and the human, and the Light Fae woman nodded to the group as Carling mentioned their names. Then Carling gestured to the hawk-faced woman of mixed race. “This is your head librarian and symbologist, Dendera Amin. Dendera is the department head for Magical Studies at the National Library of Turkey. She has final say regarding anything to do with the library itself. Her team has two other symbologists—Steve and Olivia.”

The symbologists gave each other assessing looks and nods. Dendera’s expression remained reserved, while Steve, a Wyr of some kind with a thin, intelligent face, gave Olivia a quick smile.

“Last,” Carling said, “but certainly not least, there is one Djinn on the team, Phaedra, who will stand guard over the underwater crossover passageway while you are on the island. All of your resumes are on file with the tribunal. Phaedra, only these seven people are legally permitted to travel to the island. Certainly no Nightkind, nor anybody that Julian might suggest sending with you, should be allowed access. Julian will most likely keep a yacht in the harbor to make sure that we actually fulfill the terms of the petition.