Arcane Solutions (3 page)

It took a bit of doing in the small space, but we traded places without tumbling down the stairs.

“Okay, I'm going to open it. Ready?” Nick glanced back at me.

“
Yea- wait. What if it's something you can't handle?” The unknown was causing a chill of dread to ooze down my spine.

“
Then you’ll teleport us to your car.”

“
Who said I can teleport?”

“
I need information to do my job, just like you do to do yours. Mr. Whitehaven gave me a rundown of your abilities.” He paused. “He forgot to mention the no-touching thing, though.”

“
Whatever. Open the door,” I demanded, making a note to find out later what all he'd been told. The shifter looked back at the door, reached for the handle, and paused.

“
Maybe you'd better grab hold, just in case.”

Shoving my fingers between his belt and jeans, I silently cursed my boss. He'd obviously mentioned my occasional tendency to panic.
“Maybe you should knock first.”

“
It’s a public door, it doesn’t get knocked. Besides, element of surprise.”

“
Then open the damn door, I’m surprised enough.”

“
I’m opening the damn door.” Nick pushed it open, but I couldn't see anything except his back. “It's a hallway. It smells like elves.”

Huh. What did elves smell like to a shifter? I pushed the question away for later.

“We're probably okay then.” Or should be, since I wasn’t aware of having pissed off any. You have to be around the beings in question to manage that. “Go on.”

“
Shifters aren't welcome in faerie mounds, Jones.”

Nick didn't move, so I released his belt to shove him into the hallway.
“I'll protect you.” The promise earned me a frown. “This is probably some kind of magical mix up.”

“
It's not a mistake, Miss Jones.” An elf stepped out of another doorway about fifteen feet down the hallway. “If you'll join me, I will explain.”

He no more resembled a spider than I did a fly but the elf had that gloating villain thing going big time. Typically gorgeous, taller than Nick by an inch or so, built like something out of a mail-order groom catalog for the stinking rich. Still, if he was playing the villain with Bond-
esque panache, didn’t that make me the hero? At least he’d called me Miss Jones without making it sound like a song reference.

“
Both of us?” Leaving Nick alone was probably a bad idea. It would tick off Whitehaven if I lost him the first day.

The elf inclined his head, nearly royally. Nothing as ordinary as a nod of agreement, not from him.

“Okay then.”

Nick was breathing down my neck by the time we entered what appeared to be an office slash library. The elf gestured toward a pair of spindly looking chairs placed before a massive desk.

A pair. As in
two
– for my unwelcome bodyguard and me.

“
Please have a seat,” the elf invited. “I apologize for the unorthodox method of meeting with you.”

“
You seem to know who I am. This is my associate, Nick Maxwell, and you are?”

“
Thorandryll.” He sat down behind the desk, not even nodding at Nick. “The information I was given said you work alone.”

Yet there were two chairs waiting. I smiled.
“Not anymore. Nick’s my new partner. So what is this about, Mr. Thorandryll?”

Like most elves, he was gorgeous. Blue eyes the color of winter skies adorned a triangular, high-cheek-boned face Hollywood actors would pay a million bucks for. His hair was long, loose, and deep golden blonde. I hadn't been this close to an elf before, but could see why people became elf-struck.

Not that I would. It would be so unprofessional. As would be calling him the
Lord
he no doubt preferred.

“
I wish to hire you to locate something.”

My curiosity flared. Why would an elf need a psychic to track something down?
“My employer pre-screens our cases at Arcane Solutions. You'll have to speak with him first.”

“
I prefer to keep this matter quiet.” Thorandryll's icy blues focused on my face.

“
Discretion isn't a problem, but you have to speak with Mr. Whitehaven first. I'm under contract—no free-lancing allowed.” My urge to attempt to scan him was growing. What was it he wanted me to go after?

“
I see.” The elf studied me for a moment longer. He was probably judging his chances of success at bribing me, or whammying me with glamour.

Neither was a good idea. I like my job, and mystical crap aimed in my direction tends to piss me off.

Nick was fidgeting, his discomfort so intense that I felt sympathy welling up. “If that's all, Nick and I are sort of in the middle of something.”

Thorandryll didn’t take my attempt to dismiss him well. Brows drawing together, he gazed at me, and I’ll be damned if goose bumps didn’t bloom on my arms. After a long, silent moment, he rose.
“I'll speak with your employer, Miss Jones. Allow me to escort you out.”

“
Sure.” As the elf led the way out, I whispered, “Bit arrogant, isn’t he?”

Nick grinned in response.

Three

“The spell will end when the door closes, returning you to the Barrows' entrance. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Jones.” Thorandryll half-bowed after opening the door to the tunnel. Nick edged past, his expression blank and wariness exuding from him like a cloak.

“
Likewise. I guess we'll talk later.” Offering him what I hoped was a professional smile, I started down the stone steps after the shifter.

“
Do you often visit the Barrows?”

Pausing, I turned to look back at the elf.
“Just when necessary for a case. Why?”

“
Merely curiosity, Miss Jones. It’s dangerous.” He frowned past me at the shifter's back.

“
Danger comes with the job. Have a nice day.” Two steps later, I heard the door click shut.

“
I can see the landing now,” Nick announced after a minute or so passed. “That was weird.”

“
Yeah. I wonder what Thorandryll’s thing is? What do you think: stolen or lost?”

The shifter shrugged.
“Who steals from an elf?”

“
You mean apart from the suicidally inclined? I have no idea.” We reached the landing and entered the false night of the Barrows.

Imagine every dark night movie scene featuring a decrepit old castle, and you'll have a decent idea of what the Barrows is like—minus the tourists, but you can’t escape them. They’re everywhere, even posing for photos in front of the fantastically designed iron gates blocking entry to the private residences of those with major standing in the vampiric hierarchy.

You enter the Barrows at your own risk. The cops will come to look for you if you go missing and it's reported, but vampires are usually experts at hiding the bodies.

They aren't supposed to kill anymore, and there's really no need for them to do so because there are always idiots willing to offer up blood. But everyone knows that killing does happen. People disappear, and have since the beginning of time.

Vampires are predators and seven years of civilized living hasn't made a dent in their conditioned hunting behaviors.

Nick appeared to be on full alert, his weight perfectly balanced and arms loose. Lower level vamps were taking care to avoid our path, but I wasn't convinced that was because of him.

Ronnie's anti-vampire ward was grounded in earth magic and seasoned with fire magic. The newer the vamp, the faster he or she would become a column of fire if they risked grabbing me for a snack. Overall, most vampires prefer to avoid being burned into true death.

I didn't see anyone I recognized as we worked our way up and down the main streets, but we did come across several groups of young humans. Emo kids, Goths, and punks for the most part.

Light scanning picked up their louder thoughts. I shook my head at the hope many had of becoming powerful creatures of the night. Stupid kids. But Zoe's so-called friends could be around, skipping school to play with the dead, so I kept scanning, and made a note to dig up some names. Maybe Zoe had a Facebook account.

“
Anything?” Nick asked after we'd covered a rough square mile of streets.

“
Not yet, or I would've said something.”

“
I'm starving. Let's stop for some lunch.” He jerked his head toward a tavern across the street. “Good steaks there.”

“
You must hang out here a lot more than I do.”

“
I’ve been here enough to know where the good steaks can be found. Come on, I'll buy.” He led the way across the street, and I reluctantly followed. My stomach was beginning to grumble a little about its empty state.

As was par for the course down here, the tavern’s lighting was dim. Sighting Jo Morrison sitting at a corner table, head bent close to a vampire's as she listened to him speaking, surprised me.

What are you doing here?
I 'pathed, startling her into looking up. I watched the vampire eye her neck while lounging back in his seat, despite the fact she wore another of Ronnie's warded crosses.

Book business
floated from her in response. I smiled and waved for the vampire's benefit when he glanced our way. It couldn't hurt to let him know she wasn't down here completely alone.

Jo’s a witch, and certainly not helpless, but I tend to be protective of those I call friends. There are few enough of them, and to be honest, they’ve pulled my fat out of the fire more often than I have theirs. I do my best to return the favor as much as possible.

“Who's that?” Nick was watching the byplay. Jo waved back.

“
A friend of mine and a coven mate of Kate's. Her name’s Jo.” Slipping past him, I picked a table not too far from hers and sat where I could keep an eye on things.

The shifter followed, settling into a seat that let him watch the door and most of the dining area.

Who is he?
Jo's question was a whisper, but I caught it because I was listening for her. She had a natural, thick mental shield and it had taken me a long time to tune in enough to be able to hear her.

New hire at the office
. Kate would eventually inform them that Whitehaven had hired a babysitter for me.

Cute
. She was grinning.

Yeah, I guess
. Nick's good looks had paled during the meeting with Thorandryll, but the effect would wear off, at least until I met with the elf again. It was just a side effect of seeing what amounts to male perfection.

A menu was shoved into my face right then by a surly looking waitress. My guess was that being a vampire hadn't turned out the way she thought it would. From what I’d learned, it seldom did.

We ordered and there was nothing to do but stare around or make small talk. I chose small talk. “What made you take the job?”

“
Babysitting you?” Nick grinned, his eyes sliding from me to the door and back. “It sounded interesting. I've never met a psychic before.”

I scowled.
“How about we say 'being my partner'?”

“
A promotion already? Okay, sure.” He laughed. It was a nice laugh.

“
What were you doing before?”

“
I’ve done some bouncing for a few clubs.”

I rolled my eyes.
“Great. Being a PI isn't all about throwing people around, you know.”

“
I do have a brain, Jones, and I'm a wolf. We're natural hunters.” His grin said that I’d failed to offend him. The scowling vamp waitress returned with our food just then. After she'd dropped the plates in front of us, he asked, “How did you end up as a PI?”

“
By accident. This smells good.” The steak, medium rare and smoking hot with a side of marinated, grilled mushrooms, grabbed my full attention. “Let's eat and get back to work.”

“
Sure.” With that, our mouths were busy with food rather than conversation. I kept an eye on Jo while we ate. The auburn-haired witch was having an intense-looking conversation with the vampire. He seemed to have lost interest in her neck, pointing out various things in the book they were studying.

Once lunch was disposed of, Nick excused himself for a trip to the Gents' Room. I decided to wait for him outside, and do a little scanning for any thoughts about Zoe.

Concentrating on that, I didn't notice the vampire approaching until he blocked my view. “Looking for someone?”

“
Yeah.” You couldn't trust them, but sometimes vamps could be informative.

He smiled.
“Male or female?”

“
A girl.”

“
Perhaps I can change your mind?” He moved, a quick blur, and semi-embraced me, pinning my arms while carefully avoiding the cross. He was obviously old and smart enough to know what it could do. Ugh, he wanted a donor. Then he tightened his hold, and it was easy to tell that he'd already fed. Sex was what he had in mind.

I shuddered in revulsion.
“No thanks, bub. I’m not into necrophilia.”

“
I can give you pleasure you've never dreamed of,” he murmured, voice silky smooth as he stared into my eyes. He was trying to cloud my mind, but wasn’t powerful enough to.

“
I said no thanks.”

“
I enjoy challenges.”

“
Yeah? Enjoy this.” I head butted him, smashing his nose and knocking myself a little cross-eyed. The vampire stumbled backward, before disappearing as Nick grabbed him and threw him clean across the street.

“
Are you all right?”

Blinking, I forced a scowl.
“I totally had that under control.”

“
Uh-huh. How many fingers am I holding up?” The shifter raised his hand.

“
Two?” It was a lucky guess.

“
I guess your skull's in one piece.” He shook his head. “That wasn't the best...”

“
We need to get back to work,” I interrupted, not needing a lecture that head butting a vamp was a bad idea. The burgeoning headache was enough information on that subject. “Come on.”

Grinning, Nick turned me around before I completed my first step.
“This way, Jones.”

“
Hmph.”

***

The lack of luck in scanning an estate almost made me turn to look through the gates we were walking past. The two vampires standing guard kept me from acting on the impulse. I waited until we reached the end of the block before grabbing Nick's arm. “I couldn’t get anything from this one.”

“
What do you want to do?” He didn't look around, gaining points in my book.

“
I need to stay close, but not be obvious, to try again.”

“
How close?”

“
Right here is good.” The street wasn't one of the well-traveled ones, so there wasn't much in the way of a crowd to hide in. Just a few couples, pausing at intervals to snap photos. If I'd been alone, stepping around the corner out of sight would've been my first choice.

But I wasn't alone and that was too far to go.

Nick's intent gaze was making me nervous. “I have an idea, but it requires touching.”

Suspicious, I asked,
“What is it?”

He grinned and took a step toward me. I backed away and he followed, until the stone wall blocked further retreat. Placing his hands on it just beside my shoulders, the shifter began lowering his head.

“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed, hands moving to flatten over his soft blue polo and hard chest muscles.

“
Providing cover for you to do your thing.” His breath tickled my neck and he sniffed at my hair. “So get busy, Jones.”

Keeping my hands where they were to preserve the few inches of space between our bodies, I closed my eyes and focused.

Mmm
resonated from Nick. A vague image of a wolf rolling in grass flashed across my mind. The shifter apparently really liked my shampoo, pulling in a deeper breath while burying his nose in my hair.

Forcing myself to ignore him, I tried scanning again. If Zoe was inside, and held against her will, I could bring in reinforcements. Damian was a detective with the city police, not just a stake-carving warlock.

If she was there, I couldn't teleport to her without seeing where she was. Taking Nick in with me, then both of them out would be exhausting. I had to be in contact to teleport them, which wasn't a problem where the shifter was concerned.

His nose was traversing a downward path through my hair. I jumped when his lips brushed my ear, and goose bumps exploded on my arms.

“Sorry.” It was a mumble.

Bored
. I latched onto the thought. Tracing it back with as light a touch as possible, I gleaned enough information to know that the estate was that of a vampire lord named Derrick, and my contact was a volunteer blood donor.

A soft groan from Nick broke my concentration. I jumped again at the feel of his lips on the side of my neck. He leaned into my hands, trying to push closer, one of his rising to my jaw.

“Dude.” The whisper didn't register on him, because his other hand slid between rough stone and my lower back. “Hey.”

Want
. His thought was guttural, barely coherent. I prepared to blast him with a firm
Back off!
, but a completely overwhelming wave of lust flooded my mind the second I created a crack in my shield.

My hands moved up and around his neck, my head turning as if drawn by a magnet. He growled, lips eagerly covering mine, tongue flickering over my bottom lip.

Mine parted, while my arms curled around his neck to pull him closer. A deep rumble vibrating his chest, Nick pressed against me. One of his legs ended up between mine, his thigh claiming a firm place against my groin.

He was hard, grinding an impressive feeling bulge against me while sliding his tongue in to tangle with mine. I suddenly remembered how much I liked kissing.