Wanted: Undead or Alive

He's Old

Hawwa's office reminded me of Belle's library in Beauty and the Beast. Towering shelves of gleaming, light-colored wood held thousands of books. No haphazard stacks of information teetered in messy piles on the floor as in Nick's workspace. A glittering chandelier dangled in the center of the room, directly over four armchairs arranged around a low antique table with legs carved in the shape of lion's paws. Her desk, a small, spindly legged affair, had been arranged at an angle in the corner. Sitting there, she could turn her head slightly to the left and view the entirety of the room or to the right and gaze out upon the now-dark sea.

She perched on the edge of her chair and tapped on a wireless keyboard, leaving Brian and me to stand there awkwardly. No unwieldy monitor took up unnecessary space. Rather, a projected image appeared in the air directly in front of her. As that nifty device flickered to life, the door opened and Abtin entered, holding the hand of a child. Her glossy chestnut curls bobbed around her round shoulders with each skipping step, and she peered around at each of us with bright brown eyes.

"Thank you, Abtin," she said without looking up from her work. "Olivia, this is Ginerva. Ginerva, Agent Olivia Nowicki is a friend of Nicolai's. They work together."

The little girl beamed at me, revealing long, pointed fangs. "Is Nicky here with you?" She had the voice of an angel.

I choked down my pathetic whimper and shook my head.

"He's asked us to call, sweetheart. That's why we're here," Hawwa said. She tapped a final key and waited a moment. A bell chimed. With a flourish of her hand, the projection shifted and grew in size until a large image of Nick, still glowing and unearthly, hovered in front of the window.

His eyes found me instantly. "You are unharmed?"

Stupid, ridiculous, unexplainable tears welled up in my eyes and I blinked fast to make them go away. "I'm fine. Thank you for sending help."

He shifted his attention to Brian. "Still sucking off your mother's teat, I see."

"This human has the stink of your soul in her core and you're too weak to remain in human form. What did you do to her?" Brian shot back.

Nick didn't answer, but looked at the child. His expression softened. A smile played on his lips. "Look at you, Ginerva. You're getting so grown up."

She bared her fangs at him in a toothy grin.

I edged a few inches further away from her.

"And Abtin," Nick said. "Thank you. I am grateful for your help."

Abtin gave a nod of his head.

"Where are the others? Where is Adom?"

Hawwa stood and stepped around the desk to join us, facing the projection. She stood at my side, so we formed a row. I didn't mind having her between me and the others. "We have done what you asked. Your agent is safe. In the morning, she shall fly home. The arrangements have been made. Her lack of credentials will not be an issue."

"Thank you," Nick said again.

Hawwa waved his words away. "She has told us she encountered a holy woman while working a case for you. The woman used spellwork to transport her to the place of her thoughts. And she came to your forest. I found that interesting."

My face burned. Thankfully, Nick did not look at me.

"The forest is our family's hunting ground," Brian said. "It would have been a real shame if someone you cared for deeply had been hurt."

A muscle jumped in Nick's jaw. "I am grateful that she is safe,"

"For now," Brian muttered.

Hawwa took a small step forward. "Nicolai, when we spoke earlier, you promised us more information once your agent had been recovered."