showed up. It had been signed for, too.
I looked over at the trolls.
“Who knocked you out...” I wondered out loud.
I heard the owl hoot and took off at a sprint.
Turned out to be a false alarm.
“I told you to hoot like an owl if you were in trouble.”
Killian grimaced, “This, my dear Maggie, is most definitely trouble.”
He pointed to a circle of intricate designs laid out in the ground like the one in the church.
“An illegal portal,” I said as I crouched down. I scuffed my foot across the brimstone dust, breaking the circle and rendering it useless.
“Probably trying to move some goods over to Earth. Specifically, this,” I said as I held out the invoice.
Killian took it out of my hand, “Jade lion. It appears the vampires were telling the truth.”
“But from the looks of things, someone double crossed someone.”
“How do you know that?”
I pointed at a note that had been stabbed into the side of a wooden crate with a nasty looking knife.
“I’m guessing that’s not a love letter.”
Killian reached up to take it.
“STOP!”
He raised his hands in apology.
“We want the bad guys to be mad at the right people. We just need to glean what info we can before they show up.”
Killian stood on his tiptoes, “It reads, ‘Your reign of terror is at an end’ and then it has a symbol.”
I ran back to the desk and stole a quill and the ink well. I ran back to the crate and sketched the symbol on the back of my hand. Satisfied I pretty much captured the gist of the mark, I turned to Killian, “I know a guy who is an expert in symbols.”
“Back to Earth?”
“Back, my friend, to Earth.”
Chapter 24
As soon as we arrived, I found a payphone and dialed Father Killarney’s home number. I was starting to feel kinda nervous about using my cell. Since the vamps appeared to not have been lying about the lion, I was getting a little spooked that maybe they were telling the truth about the official portal monitoring. That, in turn, gave me the old heebie-jeebies about what else they might possibly be tapping.
“Father Killarney? ...yes, I will try to go to church on Sunday... Yes... I know...” I sat there silently listening as he read me the riot act about my eternal soul. Finally, I just interrupted, “Listen, I owe you a meal. Can I take you right now? You and Sister Magdalena?”
He got right friendly after that. We made arrangements and about an hour later were sitting in a pub with some pints, listening to a three-piece band, and waiting on our fish and chips orders.
Sister Magdalena was turning my hand in hers to get a better look at the drawing. Father Killarney’s itched his chin thoughtfully, “Well, it is not exactly like what I’ve seen before.”
“I was in a rush. I might have missed a couple strokes.”
Sister Magdalena assured me, “You got the heart of it. The closest match I have seen is an old elfin signature.”
Father Killarney nodded his head in agreement, “Perhaps the Shadow Elves?”
I gave Killian a steely glance, “You holding out on me, partner?”
He held up his palms in innocence.
Shadow Elves were a loose-knit tribe of assassins and mercenaries. They answered to the elfin queen, but barely. Ninjas had nothing on this group. Someone wanted you dead and a shadow elf was on the case, the best you could do is buy a really nice life insurance policy for your survivors, because you didn’t stand a chance.
I stared at my hand, “So what do Shadow Elves, us, and a vampire warehouse all have in common?”
“Uncle Ulrich,” Killian and I said in unison.
“Jinx.”
Killian looked at me mystified.
“Now you give me your beer and you can order yourself a Coke.”
Sister Magdalena shook her head at me, “That’s not exactly how it’s played...”
“It’s close enough,” I said as I pulled Killian’s drink over.
“This is supposed to be fun...?” he asked half-heartedly as he waved the
I looked over at the trolls.
“Who knocked you out...” I wondered out loud.
I heard the owl hoot and took off at a sprint.
Turned out to be a false alarm.
“I told you to hoot like an owl if you were in trouble.”
Killian grimaced, “This, my dear Maggie, is most definitely trouble.”
He pointed to a circle of intricate designs laid out in the ground like the one in the church.
“An illegal portal,” I said as I crouched down. I scuffed my foot across the brimstone dust, breaking the circle and rendering it useless.
“Probably trying to move some goods over to Earth. Specifically, this,” I said as I held out the invoice.
Killian took it out of my hand, “Jade lion. It appears the vampires were telling the truth.”
“But from the looks of things, someone double crossed someone.”
“How do you know that?”
I pointed at a note that had been stabbed into the side of a wooden crate with a nasty looking knife.
“I’m guessing that’s not a love letter.”
Killian reached up to take it.
“STOP!”
He raised his hands in apology.
“We want the bad guys to be mad at the right people. We just need to glean what info we can before they show up.”
Killian stood on his tiptoes, “It reads, ‘Your reign of terror is at an end’ and then it has a symbol.”
I ran back to the desk and stole a quill and the ink well. I ran back to the crate and sketched the symbol on the back of my hand. Satisfied I pretty much captured the gist of the mark, I turned to Killian, “I know a guy who is an expert in symbols.”
“Back to Earth?”
“Back, my friend, to Earth.”
Chapter 24
As soon as we arrived, I found a payphone and dialed Father Killarney’s home number. I was starting to feel kinda nervous about using my cell. Since the vamps appeared to not have been lying about the lion, I was getting a little spooked that maybe they were telling the truth about the official portal monitoring. That, in turn, gave me the old heebie-jeebies about what else they might possibly be tapping.
“Father Killarney? ...yes, I will try to go to church on Sunday... Yes... I know...” I sat there silently listening as he read me the riot act about my eternal soul. Finally, I just interrupted, “Listen, I owe you a meal. Can I take you right now? You and Sister Magdalena?”
He got right friendly after that. We made arrangements and about an hour later were sitting in a pub with some pints, listening to a three-piece band, and waiting on our fish and chips orders.
Sister Magdalena was turning my hand in hers to get a better look at the drawing. Father Killarney’s itched his chin thoughtfully, “Well, it is not exactly like what I’ve seen before.”
“I was in a rush. I might have missed a couple strokes.”
Sister Magdalena assured me, “You got the heart of it. The closest match I have seen is an old elfin signature.”
Father Killarney nodded his head in agreement, “Perhaps the Shadow Elves?”
I gave Killian a steely glance, “You holding out on me, partner?”
He held up his palms in innocence.
Shadow Elves were a loose-knit tribe of assassins and mercenaries. They answered to the elfin queen, but barely. Ninjas had nothing on this group. Someone wanted you dead and a shadow elf was on the case, the best you could do is buy a really nice life insurance policy for your survivors, because you didn’t stand a chance.
I stared at my hand, “So what do Shadow Elves, us, and a vampire warehouse all have in common?”
“Uncle Ulrich,” Killian and I said in unison.
“Jinx.”
Killian looked at me mystified.
“Now you give me your beer and you can order yourself a Coke.”
Sister Magdalena shook her head at me, “That’s not exactly how it’s played...”
“It’s close enough,” I said as I pulled Killian’s drink over.
“This is supposed to be fun...?” he asked half-heartedly as he waved the
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