Elemental Shadows (17 page)

I had a small bathroom built just off of my office. It wasn't much, just a toilet and a sink, but one thing it was, was private. I locked myself in there for a few to mediate. I know, meditating in the bathroom sounds weird. But don't knock it. Best place to sit and regroup.
 

Until someone knocks on the door.
 

Knock, knock, knock
. "Sam?"
 

I hung my head. "Is it time to leave?"

"Yeah…no…I don't know. But I need you to come out here. We have a problem."

Again?
 

I was pretty sure this problem had something to do with Jack Roberts, so I took my time and splashed water on my face, raked my fingers through my unruly mass of hair, took two more deep breaths and stepped out. Luckily neither of them was in my office. I grabbed my bag and looked for them. They were in the break room.
 

"Sam—" Kyle said as he put his hands on the table. "Jack has a slight problem."
 

"Really? How nice." I set the bag on the table. "We have to go."

"I am really sorry ma'am," Jack said with his hands out. "But I can't find your modem or your router."
 

Jack really was a nice looking guy, in a sort of geeky way. He was a nice build, a little too wiry for me. His hair was cut pretty short on the sides and back. A nice brownish color. Reminded me of chocolate pudding.
 

My stomach growled at the thought of pudding. I wondered if there was yogurt in the fridge. So I went to it to see. Yay! There was an Oikos! I grabbed it and looked for a spoon. "What is that?"
 

"The modem is the device that—"

"No. Stop." Kyle waved his hands in the air. "Both of them make Wi-Fi possible. But he can't find ours."
 

Omg…this yogurt was so good. I ate half of it before I asked, "Do we have either of them?"
 

"I thought we did. I mean, I get Wi-Fi on my phone."
 

"Is it
our
Wi-Fi?"
 

They both looked at me. I really was listening. But I'd left all of this up to Ivan, and it was obvious to me the person they had to ask, was Ivan.
 

Kyle narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying we don't have Wi-Fi?"
 

"I don't pay a Wi-Fi bill. So I would suggest to you," I pointed my spoon at Jack Roberts. "That you should be asking Ivan Westerfield, the innocent man your people just dragged out of here. I don't pay a bill on a Wi-Fi. You won't find a bill for it in my name. This shop doesn't have Wi-Fi. It's a magic shop. Magic and wireless don't get along."
 

I turned and finished the yogurt before I tossed the empty container into the trash.
 

Jack looked at me, then at Kyle. "Is she serious? Magic?"
 

"Yep. We're a magic shop."
 

"Magic isn't real."
 

I waved at him. "Get out. Kyle, in the Jeep." I turned and looked up the stairs to my apartment. "Grey! We're going!"
 

Kyle had his bag packed and hoisted it over his shoulder. "You can walk out this way."
 

"Is the front locked up?"

"Oh, let me make sure." Kyle disappeared through the door just as Grey came down the steps.

When she saw Jack, she stopped at the bottom of the steps and growled at him. Her ears flattened and she showed some teeth.
 

"Grey, stop that. This is Jack the G-Man." I looked at him.
 

His teeth were clenched tight and he looked like he was actually going to growl back at her. I waved my hand in front of his face. "Hey, you. Get a grip."
 

He blinked and pointed at Grey. "That's a wolf."
 

"Yes."
 

"A
real
Paladin."
 

I frowned at that. "A what?"
 

Kyle breezed back in. "Okay. All locked up. We're good."
 

"Fine. Show the G-man out. We've got less than an hour to get there." I watched as Kyle escorted Jack Roberts out the back. I also watched as Jack and Grey kept looking at one another. Why had he called her a Paladin? Was that a type of wolf?

I followed them out with Grey beside me. I got in Kyle’s car and Grey jumped into the back. I would have liked to take my Jeep, but my top had a rip in it and given New Orleans' rain lately—I didn't want a wet butt.
 

Kyle came jogging back and slid into the driver’s seat.
 

"Where's your G-man?"
 

"He went around front." Kyle looked around as he backed the Jeep out and then pulled out onto Bourbon Street. "You think he's cute?"

"Who? Jack?" I winced. "If you like the government type."
 

"I think he's cute."
 

"Is he
Family
?" Translation, is he gay?
 

"Oh I'm sure of it," Kyle smiled at me.
 

I glanced at him and saw that dopey, dreamy look he always got when he fell in love. But be advised, Kyle fell in love every other Thursday. "Wipe your drool and get in the mood. We're gonna be talking to Brendi." I shivered at that.
 

Brendi. The Obsidian Queen of the Unseelie Court. The first Queen of the Faerie Realm.
 

Thinking of this made the yogurt curdle in my stomach.
 

I
was glad Kyle drove out to Gypsy Gardens. I was still too rattled from G-Men taking Ivan. I mean come on…whose life is like this besides mine? I didn't mean to sound like I'm whining, even though I am, but…damn. I couldn't catch a break lately.
 

Grey knew I was wiped both mentally and physically at this point and kept her head on my shoulder from where she sat in the back. I didn't know how I functioned without her before. She wasn't like the usual Familiar, not a companion I just drew energy from for magic. She was more of a constant companion. There was something familiar about her that I could never quite put a finger on.
 

Arden's plantation—because let's face it, that's what it was—sat just outside of New Orleans along the boarder of the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge. Though most of the land was considered a swamp, the water itself fed into Arden's Elemental Gift of Water and worked as a killer power base. The land had been in her clan for generations. I use the word clan because Arden came from a long line of gypsies that stole the land from white settlers over a century ago, gave up their wandering ways, and worked magic with the land.
 

The plantation sat at the end of a long drive of moss-covered trees. The scene always reminded me of the plantation setting in the movie
Interview with the Vampire
. My heart jumped into my throat as Kyle sped along that sandy drive.
 

I counted around sixteen cars parked in the lot in front of the house. All of them high end. BMWs, Mercedes, Lexus…and then there was Kyle's Prius. At least I knew Kyle was keeping up with the planet's care and maintenance and not the Joneses.
 

The moon wasn't visible; it was in its dark phase since it was full on Samhain. The December air was crisp as I grabbed my leather jacket out of the back and put it on, then strapped holsters on my thighs and slipped my guns into them. I didn’t use the custom made holsters much because they were showy, but I felt that tonight I needed as much showy as I could get.

"I don't think my aunt's going to want those in the house."
 

I glared at Kyle as he grabbed his own bag out of the trunk, but I didn't comment. I was a little worried what would come out. Part of my mind was thinking about Ivan, knowing he still had the Hammer uploaded inside of him, somehow. Another part was thinking about the Cleric's threat of warlocking and the fact I had less than nine hours left to find their damn book for them. Another facet of my multitasking was thinking about these children and feeling guilty—because if what I think is true and they're not in
Alfheim
, then I've left them in that limbo for over two weeks!
 

All my own childhood fears of trust and dependence on adults came back to me. I relived my own feelings of anger and doubt when my mom vanished. And I hated that temporary feeling of betrayal I'd had, until the police said she'd died in the line of duty. I didn't want these children thinking any of these things about me.
 

No…not all of them.
 

Just Kathy. I knew Kathy. I knew what potential she had, because she was a God Mother's child.
 

Once I had my bag over my shoulder and he'd locked the trunk back, we started toward the well-lit house. Several women in long black robes greeted us. Kyle and I were ushered into a grand if not over-stated bathroom on the lower floor, while Grey was asked to remain on the porch.

Once the door was closed I dropped my bag and looked around. The ceiling had to be close to fourteen feet high. The walls were white with gold patterns raised on them. The carpet was a deep red and soft beneath my boots. Once I got past the notion of carpet in a bathroom, I noticed there was two claw foot tubs, each with matching side tables laden with all the necessary accoutrements of a ritual bath.
 

The whole thing looked like something out of a French movie about King Louis.
 

Kyle set his bag on a chaise near the left tub. "There's a partition we can pull out if you want privacy."
 

"Arden seriously goes all out."
 

"She's into ritual and behaviors," Kyle shrugged. "You know the reasons."
 

"Yeah it's a gestalt, all minds thinking alike. I just…I don't take the ritual bath that often."
 

Kyle smirked at me. "Do you remember how?"
 

I shot him a bird and walked to the tub on the right. There was no need for a partition. This wasn't a sexual thing and besides, it was Kyle. Steam rose from the water already in the tub and I started taking my clothing off. "She's even got the script on the table. Lamented."
 

"Yep."
 

We took our ritual baths in relative silence. I hadn't been kidding when I said I didn't normally take them. I felt as if I never had time, and before I actually stepped into the water, I was thinking that same thing in an irritated, rushed way.
 

But once the bath began and I blessed the water with the four Elements, sat down and began the visualizations, something happened that hadn't happened for a long time.
 

I
relaxed
.
 

The stress I'd been carrying
in
my shoulders, along my neck and in my back released as it all flowed into the water. I closed my eyes and breathed. Really…breathed in the Air. Felt the water's Fire in the heat. Let the Water rinse away the bad. And I mentally touched the Earth I realized was set beneath the tub in a long rectangular box.
 

After the bath I felt rejuvenated and dressed in my ritual robe. This was something I hadn't worn since I moved out of Ina's house and I was afraid it wasn't going to fit me.
 

And I was right. But it wasn't too tight. It was a bit loose. Ritual robes by themselves weren't always flattering. They had a purpose for those who didn't go sky clad (nude) so as not to close off the energy needed to flow to and from the Witch.
 

Ina made mine, and she made it a little more form fitting than most. It was sewn in a Greek style of toga, with black natural material cinched at my shoulders and then cut in at my waist. The rest of the robe fell down around my hips and legs and just brushed the carpet at my feet.
 

I reached into my bag and pulled out my mother's athame, the one I'd taken from Ina's house. It still glittered with bright Arcane Magic and I decided this wasn't the time to use it. I shoved it back into the bag and zipped it up just as Arden came into the bathroom.