Priceless (12 page)

The Landing Pad, an apt name for the area, was a small motel
with
an
attached bar
cater
ing
to those needing to be discreet.

I parked and Alex followed me out, tight on my heels, my command that he stay close still with him. I stretched and he mimicked me as best
as
his contorted body would let him. It brought a smile to my face and I was glad he
’
d come
to find me at the hotel
, though the reason for it sucked
.

The lady at the front desk checked me in, gave me a key and we went to our room. No point in calling in on my friend now, he slept till after noon every day. The Shaman I was here to see was even worse, she would be inactive until dusk. And if there was one thing I’d learned, it was that you didn’t mess with a Shaman’s schedule, not if you wanted their help.

Double locking the door behind me, I checked the room,
and
then flopped onto the bed, Alex throwing himself down beside me. Within moments I was asleep. For once, it was dreamless.

Hours later I pulled myself awake. “Damn,” I flicked open the curtain. I’d slept longer than I’d planned. Jumping out of bed, I grabbed Alex and we headed out to find my friend. Ogre he might be, but he was also the best source of information I knew down here.

The motel
’
s door barely creaked under my hand, but a voice still called to us from within the building.

“
Won
’
t be a second.
”

Knowing who it was
,
I followed where the voice had come from. A large, pale
blue-
skinned Ogre stood in front of the stove, his dark blue hair in a long braid down his back. He wasn
’
t as big as some I
’
d seen, but
he was
still large
, well over seven feet
. He had piercings through his nose, lip and eyebrow, but none in his ears. Absently I wondered if it signified anything or if he was just trying to keep up with the human culture.

I sauntered up to him, sure of my welcome.
“
How you doing
,
Dox?
”

With a roar, he spu
n and pulled me into a bear hug, slapping my back, much to Alex
’
s displeasure
as made apparent by his muttered grumbling
.

“
I
’
ll be snookered
,
Rylee! It
’
s been
months
since you been down our way
.
How in freaky fairyland are you?
”
He held me at arm
’
s length, ignoring Alex
’
s
grumbles
,
and inspected my condition. I must not have pas
sed
because before I could answer
,
he spun me around and sat me at the large table. I always felt like a child sitting
at
a
table
that
was made for Dox and his buddies.
“
Here, sit and eat.
”
He pushed a plate of brownies toward me and I snagged one. If Dox was a perfectionist for anything, it was his cooking. He smiled at me, a twinkle in his eye,
“
Freshly baked
b
o
g
gart
brownies are the best for what ails you.
”

I froze with one of said brownies
halfway
to my mouth.
“
No boggarts in them I hope.
”
He laughed at my expression and pushed one toward Alex
,
who sat at my side, a sceptical look on his face as he sniffed the pastry.

“
Nah. Picked the recipe up from a boggart passing through and added it to my
repertoire
.
”
He placed one big hand over his heart.
“
You wouldn
’
t truly believe I
’
d feed you boggart without telling you
,
would
you
?
”

I snorted.
“
I seem to remember a certain meal that consisted of mystery meat which turned out to be
—
”

“
Ah yes, I remember. Let
’
s not discuss that. It didn
’
t turn out well for anyone.
”
He grimaced and I smiled around the brownie. Goblin meat is not very tasty, no matter how many spices you add to it. And when the process reverses and the meat comes out the way it went in, it burns. I
’
d eaten nothing for the next week that didn
’
t hurt all the way down.

“
So, you here needing help?
”

I nodded, my mouth full
. He handed me a glass of milk. After a chug of moo juice, I answered him.
“
There
’
s a kid I can
’
t track and there was no evidence of her
eve
n being taken. Figured a shaman was my best bet. I was hoping Louisa would help me out.
”

Dox frowned and sat down across from me.
“
You haven
’
t heard then?
”

I frowned right back at him.
“
Haven
’
t heard what?
”

He let out a sigh and folded his hands on the table.
“
All the shamans, all except one
,
have left. Gone. Pfft.
”
He made a flapping gesture with one big mitt.

“
What? Louisa would never leave, this is her home!
”

“
I know, but
she
’
s
gone. Not a word about it either until someone went looking and found only this Doran fellow.
”

My eyes widened.
“
A male shaman? That
’
s taboo
‘
round here, isn
’
t it?
”

Dox nodded and pushed another brownie toward Alex
,
who took the square eagerly.
“
Yup. But he
’
s all we
’
ve got now. Suppose you want to know where to go looking
for the new guy
?
”

I stood up and brushed crumbs off my lap.
“
Yes, doubl
y
so now.
”

Dox looked up at me, his eyes solem
n
.
“
Thought you didn
’
t Track adults.
”

“
Not going to Track them
,
Dox, just going to ask a few questions. If I have to work with this Doran, th
e
n fine. But I
’
d rather work with someone I know and can trust like Louisa.
”

“
Well then
.
”
Dox stood and led me out of hi
s kitchen, Alex right behind us
.
“
Here
’
s
his address.
”
He handed me a business card.

My eyebrows climbed near into my hairline.
“
He
’
s handing out business cards?
”

Dox smiled down at me and patted my head.
“
Wait till you meet him
,
Rylee
.
I
’
m betting you two are going to just
”
—
he
clapped his hands together
—
“
hit it off.
”
It was the twinkle in his eye that told me this Doran would be trouble. But I went anyway. I needed him to help me find India, no matter how much trouble he was going to be.

12

Alex was not happy I left him with Dox while I went on
without him
to meet with Doran. He whined and cried, whimpered
,
and finally started howling
. I felt awful, knowing how submissive and downright needy he was. That
is
,
until Dox pulled out another pan of boggart brownies, and Alex suddenly forgot all about me.

I pulled out of the driveway.
I was headed to
Shawnee road, on the far east side of town.
Dusk fell
and shadows darken
ed
the road as I pulled up to where Doran was supposed to be. Sitting in my Jeep
,
I looked out over the empty lot. At first glance
,
it was nothing more than an overgrown weed garden, one lone attempt at a cactus in the far right corner, miserable excuses for houses on either side of the
mid
-
sized
lot
,
and no actual house of any sort. I glanced at the realtor posting out front and checked it against what Dox had given me. It matched up. Which could only mean one thing.

I focused on my second sight, narrowing my eyes
,
and saw the flicker of the veil cross my vision. When I opened my eyes fully, there was a massive adobe house with a beautiful herb garden
, two small fountains in the shape of fish spouting water out their mouths and into a pond with koi swimming lazily about. Swanky for this part of town, even if it was
on the other side of the
veil.

“
How the hell did you manage this?
”
I asked no one in particular. Which is why I was startled to get an answer.

“
Hard work. A little luck. Good timing.
”

I started as a body materialized behind the voice and a young man, no older than myself, was suddenly sitting on the passenger seat. Good thing indeed I hadn
’
t brought Alex with me.
Doran
was an average build
. It was
hard to distinguish
his
height while sitting
,
but I guess
ed he was about my height
. White blond hair
stuck straight up as if
magnetized
, the tips dyed black
. It
was a sharp contrast for his dark green eyes that spoke of humour and fun, not magic and wisdom.
Two piercings over his left eyebrow and one in the right side of his lower lip made him look a bit like a punk rocker.
I had a very hard time seeing him as a shaman.

I composed myself as
fast
as I could.
“
You must be Doran.
”

He smiled, a big open grin splitting his face from ear to ear.
“
Yes. And those beautiful eyes must make you Rylee.
”

I b
linked, not sure how to react.
Most people didn
’
t like my eyes, too many colours to be normal.

Clearing my throat
,
I nodded.
“
I need help with tracing a kid on the other side of the veil
, but I don
’
t know how deep she
’
s been taken or which entry point to use
.
”

Doran shrugged
.
“
Which one
?
I
sn
’
t that always the question?
”“
For a price, of course.
”
H
is eyes darken
ed
.
“
The
deep levels on the
other side of the veil
are
not
very
welcoming right now. Perhaps you
’
d be better off forgetting about this kid.
”