Noreen touched her fingers to Elise’s scalp, fussing with the girl’s dark hair. “Realize it? I realized it when she was still a baby. She was still a baby when I found her bedroom filled with butterflies. It freaked me out, you might imagine. I still don’t know how they got in there. They weren’t fluttering about like butterflies do, either. No, they were just sitting, all of them pointed toward the crib, sitting on every surface in the room. Not one was on my baby girl though. Just surrounding her.”

  “It only got stranger from there.” Noreen shook her head, her voice troubled even as she wore a smile. “But those are stories for another time. Her father and I are careful not to tell too many people about this.”

  “Thank you for trusting us,” Ember said. “If you don’t mind my asking, are you and your husband capable of doing things like she can? Talking to animals, healing with a touch?”

  “No. We’re just ordinary people. But…Danny’s not her birth father.”

  Elise talked around the mouthful of pie crust. “He adopted me.”

  Noreen nudged the unused napkin next to her daughter’s plate, as an unspoken hint. “I met Danny when Elise was three. He’s the most amazing man. He fell in love with her just about as much as he did me, I think. His little princess.”

  “I hope I’m not being too forward,” Ember said, “but what was her birth father like? Did he have any similar abilities?”

  “I haven’t hidden anything from my daughter.” The woman’s eyes slid to the window above the sink, as though she was recalling the memory from outside her cozy home. “His name was Mike, and he was a terrible person. He was a user—drugs, people. I was just another mark for him, I guess. A young, dumb, naïve mark. Him leaving was the best part of the whole relationship. But he gave me my special baby, so I can’t hate him completely.”

  “And you haven’t seen him since?”

  “Nope. And I’m sure I’d recognize him, too. He had a distinct scar on his cheek.” She drew a curve over her right jaw. “A streak of pale white that cut right through his dark facial hair when he hadn’t shaved. He was Caucasian, which is all the more perplexing that Elise has such tanned skin. He must’ve had some Native American or Hispanic genetics, because my side is one hundred percent Polish, just like my husband’s.”

  Alarik frowned at Ember. “That scar. Someone we just had lunch with earlier this month has one like that.”

  “Can’t be the same man,” Ember shook her head, leaving unsaid, Because Nick has the aura of a regular NonDruw person.

  Noreen inhaled deeply, bringing her focus back into the house. “If it’s him, then steer clear. Mike’s not a good man.”

  Stephanie asked, “Elise, you told me you know where the artifact is. Where is it?”

  “I know how to find it,” Elise said. “I didn’t know you’d lost it, or I would’ve told you right away.”

  Ember asked, “Okay. So…where is it?”

  The little girl pointed east. “That way.”

  Noreen frowned. “It’s in the garage?”

  “No,” Elise rolled her eyes. “It’s in that direction. I can feel it. It’s a long way away, but I can feel it.”

  “If we drove you,” Ember said, “would you be able to tell us when we’re getting warmer? Which way to turn, that sort of thing?”

  Elise nodded, but it was her mother who answered. “Now just hold on. My daughter is sold on the idea of helping you find this…this artifact. I’m not. Not until you tell me a few things.”

  “Like what?” Ember didn’t like where this was going.

  “Like what this artifact is, where it came from. And who you people are. Not your names, but who you are—why you’re so at ease with everything I’ve just told you. Why you’re not freaking out when you find out that my baby girl brings dead animals back to life.”

  “Are there other children like her?” Noreen crossed her arms. “What is it you aren’t telling me? I want to know everything before I go letting you use my daughter as your personal GPS.”

  29

  I’m a Martian

  “I’m sorry, there’s not much we can tell you,” Ember said.

  Noreen shrugged, her arms still crossed. “Then I’m sorry, but Elise isn’t going to get involved in your little scavenger hunt.”

  “There’s nothing to tell,” Anna insisted.

  Stephanie said, “Noreen, you know us. You can trust us.”

  “I do, in so far as I know you. But I don’t think I’m being unreasonable. You seem to have no problem accepting that my daughter has…has abilities. What can you tell me about it? Are there others like her?”

  Elise had been silent throughout the exchange. She was wiping her lips with a napkin when she tilted her head at Ember. She fixed her oxidized copper gaze on the mage. “It’s okay. You can tell her. Mom doesn’t freak out about these things. Not anymore.”

  Ember met the little girl’s gaze. Those eyes, unnatural in color and hinting at a lifetime of experience and knowledge. They weren’t the eyes of a ten-year-old. Who was your father, this Mike bloke? What’s his story, to give you these powers, this aura that’s neither Druw or NonDruw?

  The highest crime in Druwish Law was to speak of the existence of Druws—of mages and changelings—to NonDruws. All of Druwish society was predicated on keeping their presence secret. Hiding in plain sight.

  But what choice do I have? I can adhere to that highest of laws while a group of psychopaths tear our people apart. Or do I break the egg if it means saving the hatchling within?

  Ember made her decision. She would tell them—just what she must—and after the Aedynar Artifact was secured, after Elise had healed the nine changelings, they would be made to forget. She would perform a Memory Wash on Noreen and Elise, and all would be back in balance. Still technically illegal, but…I guess I’ll add this to my list of crimes.

  “Right. There’s magic in our world,” the mage said.

  “Ember, no,” Anna said. “You can’t.”

  The mage held up her hand and continued. “We haven’t a choice, yeah?”

  “Of course there’s magic,” Noreen said. “Would my daughter be bringing squirrels back to life if it wasn’t magic?”

  “There are different types of magic,” Ember continued. “Divided into two broad branches on the tree whose trunk extends back to the time of ancient Druids. We take our name from them, in calling ourselves ‘Druw’.”

  “We?” Noreen frowned. “Who’s ‘we’?”

  “Us. The Schmitts are of one branch,” Ember said. “Changelings. They can shift into animal form.”

  “Cool!” Elise beamed.

  A fork clattered noisily on an empty plate as Anna pushed her chair back and abruptly stood. The woman’s raptor eyes glared at Ember, but she said nothing. She paced to the far side of the kitchen to stare out the window.

  “And I’m Malvern. A mage.” Ember’s pulse quickened. For the first time in her life, she had just outed herself to a NonDruw. “The other branch of the tree. There are different Mage Tracks. One of them is that of Healers. Your daughter seems to be…some sort of offshoot similar to that.”

  Noreen had an arm around her daughter. “An offshoot? She’s a…a type of Healing mage?”

  “Right. Well…sort of,” Ember tapped the pads of her fingers together as she glanced at Alarik. “Her mana—her magic energy—it…feels and looks different from the energy we’re used to. Hers is a different language, if you will. It’s the same language as this artifact we lost.”

  “Okay,” Noreen elongated the word. “And where did the artifact come from?”

  “As best we know, not from here.” Ember chose her words carefully. “From another world. We’ve been calling it the Aedynar Artifact after that world’s name.”

  The woman blanched. “Another world? Are…you’re saying that…was Mike an…an alien?”

  “I suppose you could say that.” Ember rocked her head noncommittally. “I’m only speculating, but it could be that this Mike fellow is from Aedynar. Or has some sort of connection to it.”

  “Cool!” Elise said. “I’m a Martian?”

  “More like Superman,” Alarik said, smiling at the little girl.

  “Superwoman,” Elise corrected. “But I can’t fly. At least I don’t think I can.”

  “You’re not going to start jumping off rooftops when we get back,” Noreen scolded. “Don’t even think about it.”

  Stephanie smiled. “Does this mean you’ll let Elise help us find the artifact?”

  Noreen’s gaze slid to each person in the room. “I have a feeling there’s a lot you’re not telling me. I hope you will let us in on whatever that is when there’s time. But…yes, if Elise thinks she can help you find the artifact, then she will. I’ll be coming with.”

  “Ember needs to eat her pie first,” Elise pointed out. “She hasn’t even touched it yet.”

  The mage flashed a grin. “Right. It’s not like me to leave a pastry untouched. This will be a treat for me; I’ve never had pumpkin pie before.”

  The reaction in the room could only be described as a collective gasp. The smallest among them served as spokesman. “You’ve never had pumpkin pie before?”

  Ember laughed. “Now you’re looking at me like I’m from another planet. We don’t eat pumpkin pie back in my country.”

  Alarik and his coyote subform leered at her plate. “If you don’t want it—”

  Ember held the fork like a trident, its tines defending against the barbarian. “Back away from the pie, and nobody gets hurt.”

  “What if they’re holding it at Nekoma?” Anna whispered at Ember. “No way we’ll be getting in there a second time.”

  They were in the back seat with Stephanie. Alarik was driving his Ford SuperDuty pickup, Noreen in the front passenger seat and Elise buckled up between them.

  “I still can’t believe the armrest folds up,” Ember said, loud enough for the front row to hear. “All this time, I thought it was a permanent fixture. I could’ve been sitting right next to you whenever we went places.”

  Alarik glanced at the rearview mirror, the hint of a smile in his umber eyes. “True. But then I’d lose my cupholder. I don’t know if it’s a fair tradeoff.”

  The mage smirked at him. “Right. I could see how that would be an intolerable sacrifice.”

  Elise directed the driver eastward. As they approached Minot she announced, “We’re getting warmer. I can feel it. I think we need to turn into the city.”

  Ember was relieved that the artifact hadn’t been moved to the Safeguard Complex in Nekoma. That relief was short-lived, however, as their mystical GPS directed Alarik down South Broadway and Central Avenue. Minot is the last place we should be going if we want to stay hidden.

  “Here,” the little girl squeaked. “Up there. I can feel it. It’s at the very top, the top floor.”

  They were on the corner of First and First, in front of the third tallest building in the Magic City. The sign hanging vertically on the corner of the brown brick structure said The Parker Suites.

  30

  Not Exactly to Code

  “Are you sure?” Ember had her hands on the front seat’s headrest as she peered between Alarik and the little girl. “Absolutely positive?”

  Elise looked up and over her left shoulder. “Uh-huh. On the very top floor. In a room at the corner facing us. I don’t think it likes being in there.”

  Alarik made a lap around the block in search of a parking space for the big pickup. From the back seat, Ember slid the keyboard out from her phone and sent a text message. The Motorola chimed a response.

  “Right. You two will need to stay in here.” Ember unbuckled the seatbelt. “We need to meet someone to help us get the artifact.”

  “What’s going on?” Noreen looked quizzically from Alarik to Ember. “Are we in some sort of danger?”

  “It’ll be fine. We’re just going to go in and get the artifact and leave. Just in and out.” Ember hoped she wasn’t lying.

  “I’ll leave it running,” Alarik said. “Heater’s on. You can listen to some tunes if you want.”

  The Schmitts and Ember exited. There was little wind today, but the air was plenty chilly all the same. The mage walked ahead, weaving between parked cars and around old masonry buildings. At the north end of the alley shared by the Parker Building, they waited. Ember closed her eyes and scanned the rooftops and balconies, the dumpsters and parked vehicles. “We’re good; we’re alone.”

  A scarlet maned figure in high heels and a long fuchsia coat ambled down the alley. Her eyes were wide. “Dang, I can’t believe you’re out and about! They’ve been organizing a manhunt to find you. And here you are, just down the block, right under their noses!”

  “Right,” Ember said. “We’re grateful that you’ve been keeping us posted. My contact in Malvern Hills has been, too. Though he continues to be unimpressed with my methods.”

  “You said you needed my help?”

  Ember nodded. “That corner of the eight floor…the one facing First and First.”

  “The Viceroy’s office,” Jackie said. “What about it?”

  “It’s in there.” Ember didn’t need to say what “it” was.

  Jackie’s eyes widened. “You’re gonna go in there and get it, aren’t you.”

  “We are. I need your help getting access though. I’m sure they’ve wiped my keycard by now.”

  Alarik gestured with his chin. “There are stairs on the backside of the building. A fire escape.”

  “It’s locked,” Ember said. “Not exactly to code. But—”

  “But the emergency doors automatically unlock when there’s a fire,” Jackie said. “You need me to pull the fire alarm.”

  “If it’s not too much trouble, yeah.”

  “It’ll have to be from one of the secure levels,” Jackie said. “The pull stations on the main floor don’t unlock the emergency exits for floors two through eight. That’s on account of the general public having access to the spa and lobby.”

  “Right. Maybe from our offices you could?” Ember realized, belatedly, that she still thought of the Department of Investigation as her office. “The three of us will scramble up the stairs and wait outside the top floor exit. Hopefully there won’t be too many people up there.”

  “I have no idea if the Viceroy is in or not,” Jackie said. “Should I go up there and check, first? I could ask to see him.”

  Anna’s raptor eyes shifted to Ember a second before her head turned. “We’re going in without weapons, again.”

  “We didn’t do too well the last time we went up against these guys,” Alarik added. “Maybe we should head back, get some guns?”

  “And I’m no fighter.” Stephanie showed her palms. “I’ve never tussled once in my life.”

  Four pairs of decisive eyes looked back at Ember. “Everything you say makes sense. We could come back tomorrow, and maybe the artifact will still be here yet.”

  “If it’s gone, we’ll just get our little GPS to help us find it,” Alarik said.

  “And if it’s been whisked away to Nekoma?”

  Anna scowled. “Then it would be out of reach, forever. No way are we getting back in there, even if we wanted to.”

  “I don’t like it, either.” Ember ran fingers through her blonde hair. “But it’s been a couple weeks. They’re out searching for us. They expect us to be hiding and cowering, because that’s exactly what we’ve been doing. Sooner or later, they’ll find us. They’ve kicked our butts every time we’ve faced them. Right now, they’re not expecting us to show up. That might be our advantage.”

  “They did step up security for a while,” Jackie said. “Everyone got new keycards, the Security Office pulled extra shifts. But they’ve stepped it down since then. They’ve had the three of us Investigators sniffing around Plaza, trying to find someone who knows where everyone’s gone. Nelson and Page are convinced you’ve all skipped the country, headed for Chile.”

  Anna’s scowl faded. “They wouldn’t have the artifact here if they weren’t feeling confident.”

  “It’s risky, but so is trying to stay hidden.” Alarik scratched his square, stubbled jaw. “Stephanie could keep watch for us on the ground, try to distract anyone who might see us climbing the stairs. If everyone responds to the fire alarm, the offices should be cleared, right?”

  “I’ll be ready with a Containment Net for anyone who’s still there,” Ember said. “We’ll dash in the moment the doors unlock, make a beeline for the corner office. Get it and get out, before anyone knows we’re even there.”

  “You make it sound so easy,” Anna said.

  “With any luck, the hardest part will be climbing those stairs,” Ember said as she tilted her head back to study the 110-foot rise. “Nothing cures a fear of steep stairs like exposure therapy, yeah.”

  It was a hazardous, foolish, extemporaneous nonplan, and she was a foolish person for even suggesting it. Ember became thoroughly convinced of this by the second landing up the fire escape stairs. Alarik was behind her, reassuring her that should she slip, he would be there to catch her. The gesture comforted her, but it was easy to forget that comfort each time the railing swayed or the old iron grates protested at her feet.

  “This was such a bloody stupid idea,” Ember hissed as her sweaty palms slid up the railing.

  “At least it’s not windy today,” he said in a hushed tone. “Be glad for that.”

  “Did Anna make it up yet?”

  “She’s been up there for a while,” Alarik said. “She shifted behind that dumpster and flew up before we got to the first landing.”

  “Wish I could be a golden eagle changeling right now.”

  “I know this is tough for you and I don’t mean to rush you,” he said, “but how much time did you tell Jackie to give us before she pulls the alarm?”

  “Ten minutes,” Ember said. Sweat was dripping down her back, despite the cold November air. “Plenty of time.”

  “Um.” He glanced at the Casio on his wrist. “It’s been six minutes already, and we’re not even at the third floor yet.”

 

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