Part 15 (1/2)

”Hey Sharah,” I said. If Chase had set her to calling for him, I'd chew him out. There was no need to stick someone in the middle of our dispute. But she sounded frantic.

”Delilah, thank the G.o.ds. I've been trying to reach you since last night, but you didn't call me back.”

I glanced over at Zach. ”I had . . . other things to attend to. Sorry. What's up?”

”It's about Chase.”

”What about him?” I didn't want to hear that he was upset or off moping. He'd brought this onto himself, after all.

”Chase hasn't checked in since around noon yesterday. He never just drops out of sight. I'm really worried something has happened to him.”

Her words slammed into my heart. ”What do you mean? You think he's in trouble?” A niggle in the pit of my stomach began to worm its way up to the surface.

”I mean just what I said. He hasn't come in to work yet. Last night, he left early and I called him later with a problem, but he wasn't home. I was a little worried but I thought maybe he had a family emergency or something, so I called you. Now I'm really concerned. He hasn't been in yet. I've tried calling, but there's no answer at his apartment.”

I bit my lip, tasting blood as one of my fangs accidentally caught the chapped skin where I'd forgotten to use the lip balm Camille had bought for me. Sharah was right. It was unlike Chase to vanish without leaving a get-in-touch number. He had too much respect for his job. But then again, he'd been leading a double life for a while now. Maybe Erika had messed with his sense of responsibility.

”Have you talked to Erika?” I asked, the words jarring me even as they tumbled out of my mouth. ”Maybe she she knows where he is.” knows where he is.”

Sharah paused. She knew. And I knew she knew. After a moment, she cleared her throat. ”I called her, but there was no answer. I'm sorry, Delilah. I don't know what to say-”

I could feel Zach's gaze fastened on me as my cheeks reddened. I hated blus.h.i.+ng, hated feeling conspicuous and embarra.s.sed. As tears welled up, I dashed them away before they fell and tried to focus on the matter at hand. The fact was-Erika or not-Chase wasn't one to s.h.i.+rk his duties. If he could have called, he would have. Which meant something was wrong. Maybe it was car trouble. Maybe it was something else.

”Did you have somebody drop by his apartment?”

”No,” she said. ”Not yet. I thought I'd make some calls before I did that. You wouldn't be willing, would you? I understand if you want to say no, but there's a bug going around, and we're shorthanded here.”

I let out a long sigh. The last thing I needed to do was go chasing Chase, but something about the situation didn't sit right.

”All right. I'll drive over there and take a look. If he comes in before I get back to you, let me know so I can move on to my other errands for the day.” There were three case files sitting on my desk that needed attention. Nothing urgent, but they would pay next month's utility and food bills.

”Will do, and thanks. Again, I'm sorry I had to call.”

As I slowly replaced the receiver, Zach slid his arm around my waist. ”I think I got the gist of what's happening. You need me to come with you?”

I shook my head. ”Probably not the best idea. If I do find him, we have a lot to talk about. And if I don't, well . . .” Leaving the thought untouched, I motioned toward the door. ”Let's go down and grab a bite of breakfast. What are your plans?”

He leisurely tied the belt on the robe and opened the door for me. ”Oh, not a lot. Just talk to my campaign manager, get some head shots taken, and then this afternoon, there's a fence out at the compound that needs replacing. I'm overseeing the work crew on that.” He paused. ”Will you call me later and let me know how things went?”

I nodded. ”Count on it. Let's go find out how it went last night with the spirit seal.”

As we hurried into the kitchen, the only ones there were Smoky, Iris, and Maggie. Maggie was sitting on Smoky's lap, playing with a strand of his hair, which was teasing her, tickling her belly.

Iris handed Zach a pair of jeans and a s.h.i.+rt and he went to the bathroom to change. She pointed to the range; one pan held scrambled eggs and another, thick slices of bacon. There were melon b.a.l.l.s on the table, along with a stack of toast. I grabbed a slice and promptly plowed into it.

”Serve yourselves, please. I'm doing laundry and house-cleaning today. Camille's already left for the shop, and Morio's off to do the shopping. Menolly's in her lair, of course, and I haven't seen hide nor hair of the demon twins today.”

I choked on a crumb. Iris had taken to calling Roz and Vanzir the demon twins, much to their chagrin. The rest of us found it amusing, but they-Vanzir in particular-didn't appreciate her sense of humor.

”Knock yourself out. I promised Sharah I'd check on something for her. Chase has disappeared, and n.o.body can find him.”

”Great Mother, I hope he hasn't come to harm.”

”I hope not either,” I muttered and sat down at the table, as Zach returned, dressed. I offered him a plate of eggs and bacon, but he shook his head.

Swiping a couple pieces of toast, he kissed me on the forehead. ”I'd better head out. I'll call you later. Bye, everyone.” Before I could see him off, he was out the door, and I watched at the window as he climbed into his truck and drove away. I turned back to Smoky, who sat there, watching me carefully.

”Tell me, how did it go with the spirit seal last night?” I returned to my chair and dug into the food, starving. We had high metabolisms, and Camille and I ate like storm troopers. Menolly would have, too, if she'd still been alive.

Smoky shrugged. ”Your sister needs to work on her diplomacy, but overall, it went well.”

Uh-oh. ”What did Menolly do now?”

The dragon arched his eyebrows, and he seemed to be repressing a grin. ”For one thing, she almost let it slip that we knew about Trillian. That would not be a wise move, considering the elves went to such lengths to keep the mission covert. I managed to cover her gaffe, but I'm not sure they believed me when I had a coughing fit.”

Wonderful. We should have known better than to let Menolly take the helm on that little excursion. While she was one h.e.l.l of a fighter and as dependable as Old Faithful, she had a problem controlling what she said and who she said it to. She'd never give away state secrets, but make her mad enough, and she blew way too easily. I blamed it on the vampire thing, even though I knew that she'd always been that way.

”So, what did Queen Asteria say?”

”The Elfin Queen was overjoyed to have the fourth seal. She's still terribly worried about the third seal and what Shadow Wing might be doing with it. The Dahns Unicorns have reported several troubling attacks on the outskirts of their lands. At first they thought the raids were from goblins, but on closer inspection, the wounds don't match the usual pattern for goblin strikes.”

I polished off my eggs and bacon. ”Well, at least the fourth seal is safe and secure, and we didn't have too hard a time finding it. I'm headed out now. I'll be back in an hour or two, and I'm on my cell if anybody needs me.”

”I'm headed out to my land now, too. Here,” he said, depositing Maggie in my arms. ”You tend to your charge. If Camille asks, I'll be at my barrow for the evening. I've errands to attend to, and those blasted Fae Queens are cluttering up the edges of my land. I need to make sure they don't tear the place apart.”

He grimaced. Over the past couple of months, we'd all been privy to exactly what Smoky thought of Morgaine, Aeval, and t.i.tania reconstructing the Seelie and Unseelie Courts.

Torn apart in the Great Divide when Otherworld split off from Earthside, the Fae Courts had been decimated, and Aeval and t.i.tania effectively banished. A couple months ago, thanks to Morgaine's meddling, they'd decided enough with that s.h.i.+t and were now rebuilding their kingdom with a little help from Camille. We weren't quite sure whether this was a good idea, but one thing was certain: It kept them out of our hair, and it pleased FBHs to no end. The big question now was where they were going to set up their actual court. t.i.tania was trying to claim part of Smoky's land. He wasn't budging.

”Just be careful. Those three are dangerous, and I don't trust any one of them.” I put Maggie in her playpen and made sure she had her favorite toy-Chase had given her a stuffed monkey named River-and her blocks.

”You're right to suspect them. They're up to no good. I wish Camille hadn't gotten herself mixed up with them, but then, I suppose when the Hags of Fate order you around, you listen.” The dragon slipped into his long white trench coat and headed out the door.

He was right about the Hags of Fate, I thought. None of us wanted Camille mixed up with that crew. Although Morgaine technically was part of our family tree, we all knew blood didn't ensure loyalty. But Camille had had no choice. Grandmother Coyote had seen to that.

One favor the new Queens of Fae were were doing for us, however, was taking some of the pressure off with the general populace. Ever since we crossed to this world, we'd been seen through lenses clouded with mystique, and we'd been both despised and revered. doing for us, however, was taking some of the pressure off with the general populace. Ever since we crossed to this world, we'd been seen through lenses clouded with mystique, and we'd been both despised and revered.

Now, with Earthside Fae coming out of the woodwork, it evened the score. But I wasn't counting chickens yet. Once the FBHs realized that the Queens of Fae weren't going to chum up to the ordinary Joe and play footsie, the mood could change in the blink of an eye. And the three Queens were anything but jovial.

I scribbled a note for Iris, who was busy with the laundry, kissed Maggie on the cheek, and grabbed my keys. As I climbed into my Jeep, my thoughts returned to Chase. I really didn't think he was missing. He'd probably eloped with Erika or something equally asinine. In the back of my mind, I wondered why I was still so upset. After all, I'd spent the night with Zach and had an incredible time. And I was going to tell Chase about it. Not rub his nose in it, but be clear about what I'd done. Maybe I should cut Chase some slack.

Then again, another little voice argued, it wasn't just the lying that bothered me so much, or the lying by omission. Chase had put up a squawk about me seeing Zach on a friends.h.i.+p basis as well. So I'd focused on Chase, given him my exclusive attention. And then he went out and screwed somebody else.

Thoroughly confused, hot and cold running about equally, I sped along the freeway until I came to the exit leading to his apartment building in south Seattle. He actually lived around Renton, though his zip code still tied him to the city proper.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I looked around for his new SUV, and sure enough, there it was, in the lot. So either he was home and not answering his phone, or he was out with somebody else-namely, Erika. Or, a little voice said, maybe he was was home, but unable to answer his phone. I jumped out of the Jeep and took the stairs two at a time. After two knocks, I dug out my key. As I stared at it, I wondered briefly if this was the last time I'd be letting myself into his apartment. If we broke up, I'd have to give it back, and the thought made me unaccountably sad. home, but unable to answer his phone. I jumped out of the Jeep and took the stairs two at a time. After two knocks, I dug out my key. As I stared at it, I wondered briefly if this was the last time I'd be letting myself into his apartment. If we broke up, I'd have to give it back, and the thought made me unaccountably sad.