The Agency, Volume III Read online

  "Oh?" she asked, turning back to Ardeth. "Well then, good sir, might I interest you in a midmorning drink?"

  Ardeth smiled. "You may indeed, my lady."

  Rowan grinned. "Good. Blessed Beltaine to you both, then. Sara, there will be food and fresh linens waiting for you whenever you make it back."

  He walked out of the clearing, robes swirling around his feet, still an impressive figure with leaves in his hair and a smudge of dirt on one cheek. As he passed, he winked at Sara, then was gone.

  Alone, they met each other's gazes, and Ardeth said sheepishly, "I am sorry for our misunderstanding last night."

  Sara kissed him lightly and reached over to pick up their two remaining cups, which had sat undisturbed with Rowan's all night. "I'm not," she said. "Things like last night don't just happen to me, you know. That was..."

  "Blessed," he finished for her, taking his own cup. "I think so too. There was more than us here. Perhaps the legends about Rowan are true after all."

  "Which legends?"

  "That he was born of the Beltaine fires himself, and therefore had no named father, and as such was considered a child of God. Such children are always special among our people. Although generations ago he would have been even more powerful, back when the gods and our people were closer, before the old powers were lost. Yet there is still magic in the world, I think."

  "I think so too."

  "Then let us celebrate it," Ardeth said, holding out his cup.

  Sara took it with one hand while offering her own with her other hand, and he copied the motion, each taking a slow sip from the other's, eyes locked over the silver rims.

  Together, they set the cups back where they'd been, and lay back together beneath their own Blessing Tree, skin on skin in the cool morning air sparking fires of its own.

  *****

  Toward midafternoon, Sara and Ardeth made their drowsy way back toward the village, and to the Blessing Tree, where traditionally they would be parted. Her whole body was sore and stiff, but she didn't care at all--in fact several of the Elves they passed on the path looked like they'd been put through their paces as well.

  Hand in hand, they stepped up to the Tree, and Ardeth said, "Is it your will that today and last night be a closed matter and done?"

  Sara frowned. "Not really, but I don't want to do anything that would get me looked at funny by the others."

  He smiled. "How about this, then: let us come together while you are here, and meet when we choose, with no obligations and no declarations between us."

  "Friends with benefits," Sara said, translating the idea into English for him, and he laughed. "That's good for me."

  "Good. I hope I will see you again, very soon, and often before you return to Austin."

  "You will." She kissed his hand, and he did likewise, and they took their separate paths, he home to his daughter and she to the guesthouse and her anama.

  But when she entered the house, she knew right away something was wrong, even before she saw the disarray of clothes and belongings, even before she saw the note in Rowan's precise handwriting.

  Sara,

  I had to return to Austin immediately. By the time you get this I will be there. Jason has been injured and I had to go to him--please don't worry, everything will be fine. The Agency will pick you up at the trailhead on Sunday as planned; if things get worse and I need you I promise I'll call your Ear. In the meantime assume no news is good news and try to relax--you've earned a vacation, and all the happiness in the world.

  Love,

  Rowan

  She sank down onto the sofa, bewildered, half inclined to call Austin right now and demand an airlift home--but unless the situation was dire, there was no way they'd waste the resources on a single Agent, and she believed Rowan fully when he said he would call if she was needed.

  What in hell could have happened to Jason that was this serious? The curiosity, and the worry, were going to drive her batshit insane in the next four days.

  She took a deep breath. Batshit insane...unless of course she kept busy, and kept distracted.

  She'd have time to introduce herself to the High Priestess and ask her more about Elven religion. She'd have time to wander the forest paths with Elora, who had promised to show her secret places where there were baby foxes and delicious wild mushrooms. She'd have time to pin Ardeth back against his workbench and fuck him until he dropped his hammer.

  "Jason," she muttered, "I hope you're okay...but as Beck would say...awesome timing, bubba."

  Then she set to tidying up the mess Rowan had left in his haste to pack, and stripping off her own well-used clothes so she could clean up, eat, and consider the rest of her vacation.

  Part Five

  "Have you lost your goddamned mind?"

  He lifted his eyes to his sister, barely able to focus around the dizzying weakness that had claimed his entire body. "I didn't call you for a lecture. I need your help."

  Beck was usually as unflappable as he was, but just now she was pale and pacing, casting glances toward the bed as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Jason, propped up in the hotel room's chair, felt vaguely seasick watching her stalk back and forth, and the rising volume of her voice was like nails in his head.

  "Jesus fuck, Jason--" She shook her head, her hair bouncing. "How many times did you stop me from bringing a human across? How many times did you tell me what a huge responsibility it was, like having a child, and that I'd regret it? What possessed you to turn some skinny kid you met at a concert and barely knew? God, what's Rowan going to say?"

  Jason closed his eyes. Weak...he was so weak. He needed to feed, soon...and he had to find blood for Alex before he woke.

  "Beck," he began, but she cut him off, continuing her rant as if she hadn't heard him.

  "And Christ, Ness is going to kill you. You want to bring an undocumented newborn vampire into the base--no warning, and even better, you sired him yourself! You of all people know how many regulations you're breaking here. All of this for a one-night-stand? You've lost your mind."

  "You said that already." He looked over at the bed, where Alex lay, his skin ashen and his breathing shallow as the transformation took him. The next few hours would be crucial; Jason knew his blood was strong enough to keep the boy alive, but he needed to be somewhere safe and dark that Jason could stay near him.

  His twin was about to continue her diatribe, but Jason said, harshly, "Beck. Listen to me."

  She paused, mouth already forming another outraged sentence, and stared at him.

  "There's no way I can explain this to you that you'll understand right now, so please, just trust me. You know that in my entire life I've only ever sired one other--you. You know this wasn't a whim. I'll handle Ness, but I need you to help get us back to the base before sunup."

  "You mean you want to sneak him in."

  "No," Jason said, his vision swimming as unconsciousness swept up around him. "I want you to call the Agency and get us transport--use Code 12, emergency asylum. I'm about to pass out and stay that way for at least twenty-four hours and I need you to get us home and put off Ness until I wake. Tell her whatever you want, just don't let her separate us. We need to be kept together, someplace safe and warm and dark-- Nava will be overjoyed to study something like this. Just...promise me you won't let them take him away...if he wakes without me he could die. Beck..."

  She looked alarmed, finally seeming to see around her anger to the shape he was in. She'd never seen anyone bring a mortal across before, and had no idea how much strength it took--there was a reason there weren't more vampires in the world. It was taboo for anyone under two centuries old to even attempt it. The first time he'd done it, he'd been so young that he had nearly died himself, and Fox had been so angry...

  "Beck, please," he said, sagging sideways.

  Beck dove to his side and grabbed him before he could tumble out of the chair. "Okay, bubba, okay," she said, a catch in her voice. "I'll take care of you. Don't worry. I'm
here."

  She was still murmuring to him, rubbing warmth into his cold hands compulsively, when he blacked out.

  *****

  He woke to the sound of low voices overhead, and a stabbing pain in his temples.

  "...have his badge over this," one voice said, "but first I want to hear the explanation."

  The second, more familiar, said, "Look, Ness...there's no way he would have done this without a good reason. It's not something we just up and do for kicks. I don't know what this boy is, but he must be something special."

  The first didn't sound convinced, but it sounded like she wanted to be. "We'll see. In the meantime I'm keeping this room under guard. We've got medical and psychic monitors on every inch of space. You were right--Nava's beside herself at the idea of a detailed record of a crossing. All she needs now is to watch an Elf giving birth and her life will be complete."

  A moment later, silence fell again, and he put a concerted effort into opening his eyes.

  The room was dimly lit with a single lamp, and furnished much like the hotel room had been, or like any generic Agent's quarters on base, except that even in his half-dead state he could sense it was being closely watched. The quality of the sound vibrations and the air told him they were belowground, probably adjacent to the infirmary in one of the research suites.

  At least Beck had done right by him; it was warm, comfortable, and definitely shielded.

  Slowly, he sat up, looking around through dry eyes--every cell of his body felt dry, coated with sand inside and out. His eyes fell on a small microwave/fridge in the corner.

  Jason doubted his ability to stand, much less walk, but before he had to try, there was the beeping sound of an electronic lock, and the Agency Director walked in.

  She stared at him with hard eyes for along minute before asking, "Well?"

  He took a deep breath, trying to force his thoughts into a straight line. "I..."

  Even a single syllable made his head spin, and he covered his eyes with a groan, gesturing fitfully at the fridge. He heard Ness's heels click over the tiles, heard the fridge door open; he knew the sounds of someone preparing blood quite well, and a minute later she was pushing a glass into his hand.

  He lifted it, though it felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, and took an experimental sip.

  "Take it slowly," Ness said sternly. "You've been out for 20 hours and you were weak as a newborn kitten when we found you."

  He nodded, swallowing more, feeling the coppery energy of the blood seeping through his veins, enlivening where it flowed. It was all he could do not to gulp it, but he knew better; too fast and he'd get sick, and he wouldn't wish that on anyone. Enough blood was spilled in the Agency's name.

  While he drank, Ness sat down and waited. Finally, Jason set the glass on the bedside table and took another deep breath. He was going to have to find something better for--

  Alex. Where--

  Jason twisted around, hands reaching out blindly, almost frantic until they encountered cool flesh. He let out his breath with relief seeing the boy still asleep at his side, his closed eyes shadowed, breath slow and even. His energy was moving, but it was steady, not erratic as Jason had feared it would be; Jason ran his hands down Alex's arms and over his chest, testing, feeling pulse and the motion of blood beneath skin. Yes...he would live. He would live.

  "Are you all right?" Ness asked, concerned at his behavior. "You look like you're about to panic."

  "I was," he replied, licking lips gone dry again with momentary fear. "It's normal...for the first few days there's a connection that fades over time unless it's nurtured. That's why I asked you not to separate us--if he's not in contact with me regularly he could go into shock."

  "Give me a reason why that would be a bad thing, Jason. And while you're at it, give me a reason not to fire you."

  "It's not illegal," Jason retorted, knowing he was on shaky and dangerous ground. "Nowhere in my contract does it say I'm barred from siring another vampire as long as he’s documented within 90 days, just like anyone else."

  "No, but you are in a shitheap of trouble for knowingly endangering yourself like this. What if you had died, and the human authorities had investigated before we could sweep it under the rug? Exposing vampire kind to the mortal world would have repercussions far beyond this boy, whoever the hell he is."

  Jason took Alex's hand, holding it between his own, the press of his skin more comforting than he wanted it to be. "Did Beck bring the violins back with her? Where are they?"

  Ness inclined her head, and he followed the gesture to the shelf near the door, where both cases sat unmolested. "I take it you met your new...friend...at the symposium?"

  He sighed. "Yes. His name is Alex Jordan, and his violin was made by the same man as mine. It may even be older."

  "That's not a very good reason--"

  "It wasn't that," Jason interrupted. "I can't explain it, Ness. There's something about him--he's not human, at least not fully. I felt it. Once he's awake and stable Nava and Frog both need to find out what he is. But it's something old and powerful, and it--he--was dying. I had to help him. I had to."

  Ness's eyes were narrow as she listened to him speak, and once or twice her eyebrow quirked in surprise at the vehemence of his words. She was silent for a while, looking from him to Alex and back, and finally she said, "All right, Jason. I'm going to believe you, and I'll have Nava and Frog run every test they can. But only because in all the years I've known you, you've never done anything this senseless and rash before, so I can only assume that either you're right, or there's something wrong with you too. I'll also be having Nava run a full diagnostic on you. It's possible this boy put some kind of enchantment on you--you're not acting like yourself."

  He smiled tiredly. "I concede the point."

  "And what am I supposed to do about your case load while you're recovering from this?"

  He shut his eyes, thinking, wishing he didn't have to think. He wanted her to leave...he wanted quiet and peace, and to curl back up beneath the covers with Alex where they were safe. "The only immediate problem is the werewolf case, and Beck has my notes on it as second to the investigation. I'm waiting on an informant to verify the lair's whereabouts--after that we can move on it. Keep a check on my email. SA-21 is managing the research on that shipment of henbane-laced pot; there are three possible sources and Frog was running an analysis on the container to narrow it down. Nothing else was urgent."

  She nodded. There was a pause, then she asked, "Have you thought about what you're going to tell Rowan?"

  Jason swallowed--he had absolutely no idea. Certainly the rules of their pairing were fairly relaxed, but...

  "This is why I prefer monogamy," Ness commented, standing up. "Less complicated."

  Jason shook his head. "Rowan's off having sex with someone else right now," he pointed out. "He went on this trip fully intending to do so. He and Sara are still lovers, and there have been plenty of others. I haven't even looked at another person since he and I got together."

  "I doubt the sex is going to be the sticking point," Ness said wryly.

  "It's not as bad as you think. In a couple of weeks the link will dissipate and he'll be able to survive on his own. Then it will depend on what Nava finds. If he's not dangerous, I'll find a place for him to live, and that will be that."

  Ness actually snorted.

  "All right," she said, politely refraining from rolling her eyes.

  "In the meantime, Ness--donated blood isn't going to work, not the first time. He needs a fresh human for his first feeding."

  "I'm aware of that, SA-7. I have done a little reading on the races that work for me. Hit the call button by the bed when he wakes up and I'll send someone--but this is the last time, Jason. After that he eats like you do, or not at all."

  She turned to go, pausing just long enough to say, "I hope you know what you're doing."

  He lay back in the bed, muscles trembling from trying to stay upright, and couldn’t hel
p but hope the same thing.

  *****

  The next time Jason opened his eyes, he was disoriented for a moment, and not sure what bed he was in or who was pressed against him. The slender frame in his arms was familiar, and as he breathed in he caught the scent of the forest, carried to him on the warm current of air from the overhead vent. He held tighter and inhaled deeply, but the scent was different—heavier, somehow, not the silvery sweetness he was used to. Confused, he lifted his head, noticing that it was easier to do so now than before, and looked down at his companion.