Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

We didn't have time to discuss how Victor knew what the machine did after Madame Matase appeared, breathless from a sprint up the stairwell. She'd asked why there were bubbles pouring out of Zee's bedroom window, down the front of the hotel, and into the street.

We hurried outside and sure enough, bubbles spewed from Zee's window, poured down the hotel's clapboard frontage, over the porch, and schlopped down the steps, spreading across the sidewalk and showing no signs of stopping.

At least it was early hours of the morning, so nobody was out to witness it.

"How many beads did you use, Zee?"

"A handful?"

"Victor?" I asked, hoping he could explain why the flood wasn't letting up.

Victor's eyebrows lifted. "It's not entirely a surprise."

"Would you like to enlighten the rest of us?"

"Reynard Technologies Research and Development devised a machine to harvest the excess fourth-dimensional energy Lost Ones emit in this world. That same energy we tap into to perform the abilities humans aren't able to access."

Zee rolled his eyes. "Of course his evil company is behind this."

"It was never used in the field, and was only in the developmental stage."

"It looks as though Gideon Cain got his hands on the blueprints and made one," I said, as more bubbles came blurping out the window.

"So, Cain's behind this?" Zee asked.

It seemed likely. "He had access to Reynard Technologies long enough to download all their experiments," I said. "We stopped the tracking software, but who knows what else they were working on?"

"He knows." Zee nodded toward Victor.

"I know some details, not all. I was aware of the harvester, but as it was just in the testing phase I didn't consider it any more of a problem than any of the other countless projects we'd been working on."

"It's a problem now, Fancy Pants."

"Yes, demon, I see that. A problem you unleashed."

"I'm guessing the beads don't just make bubbles?" I asked.

"No. The beads enhance a Lost One's innate abilities."

"Like steroids," Zee said.

"Or..." Victor added. "And this was just a theory. The concentrated beads, as you called them, may give humans the ability to tap into the fourth dimension, as we do."

Well, that couldn't be good.

"Not like steroids," Zee confirmed.

"You ate one. Do you feel any different?" I asked him.

"No." He gave his wings a flick and rolled his shoulders. "Still awesome. "

That was lucky. There was no telling what it could have done to him. "Don't eat any more, just in case."

"Pfft. I wasn't going to."

"Do you have more?"

He shrugged. "Maybe?"

"Once we can get back inside your room, put them somewhere safe." The last thing we needed was a guest or a gremlin getting their hands on something so chaotic. "Victor, what do we do about this?"

He turned his gaze back toward the slow-moving flood. "There's little we can do but wait for the bubbles to dissipate."

They moved like creeping lava, and had begun to crawl across the road, heading down the street. The ambient light from the streetlights made each bubble shine. Some small, some large. Marching on. At least bubbles were harmless.

Drains overflowed, gurgling more bubbles. "If anyone reports this, we're going to get fined."

"Nobody is going to report it," Zee dismissed, gesturing at the vacant street. "It's the middle of the night. Nobody will know it happened."

We weren't that lucky.

At the very far end of the street, headlights swept around the curve, then gained on us until those twin beams highlighted the glittery white lava flow.

"I'll ask them to turn around." I jogged forward and waved my arms to slow them down. They did slow, but as I approached the car, its high beams drenched me in light. I didn't see the driver until almost at their window.

"Agent Leomaris!?" I beamed, then gulped my heart that had somehow leaped into my throat. Their astute glare stayed glued to the bubble obstruction, then skipped to me. "Oh this?!" I squeaked. "Just a little incident. We'll have it fixed in no time. "

Leomaris cut the engine and slowly climbed out, rising to their full height, which happened to tower over me. The SSD agent wore their long, intimidating coat, and an expression of mild annoyance had been stamped onto their handsome face. An expression that gave Reynard's resting vampire face a run for its money. I shrank under their glower.

"Adam Vex, this is a breach of several city codes, not to mention an alarming Lost Ones infraction that certainly requires further investigation and likely several charges."

I pinched my lips together. What was I supposed to say? What excuse was there? "Everyone loves bubbles?"

"However," they drawled, sounding tired. "As I'm not here in an official capacity, I don't see anything out of the ordinary that certainly won't be rectified by morning. Correct?"

"Yes. That." I sighed. That was... nice of them. Suspiciously nice.

Leomaris lifted his chin, and cast that judgmental gaze toward the hotel which was currently spewing more bubbles. "Might we have a private discussion within the hotel wards? Which shouldn't be a problem, as your wards have stretched far beyond their legally allotted boundaries?"

We were full of infractions tonight. "Sure."

Zee and Victor had spotted our unwanted guest, and were making their way over. "It's alright." I waved them off. "I've got this. You two, grab some brooms and get sweeping. Our discussion from earlier is not over." They weren't wriggling out of trouble because of a few bubbles.

Zee's shoulders, then wings sagged. "Get a broom, Zee," he muttered, imitating my voice. " Lick my feet, Zee."

"We apologize unreservedly, and will ensure this street is clear of bubbles," Victor agreed. "I'll be listening should you need any assistance," he added, making it clear he meant that if Leomaris got frisky, Victor wouldn't hesitate to deal with them. But the last thing we needed was another body stuffed up a chimney, especially a corpse belonging to an SSD agent.

We headed inside to the conference-slash-storage room, where I flicked on the lights and pulled out two tattered chairs for us to sit at the dust-covered table.

"Sorry about the state of the place. We don't get many conference bookings—or any bookings, actually."

"It's alright." Their lips did a little tick, that could have indicated disgust or amusement. Leomaris poured their tall, panther-like frame into the tired chair, and there they sat, staring, waiting for... something. I bet they could make criminals confess with that long, penetrative glare.

"So..." I tapped my fingers on my knees. "Warm for this time of year, isn't it."

"Is it?"

"Lots of . . . weather we're having?"

"Adam Vex, let's be honest with each other. I'm not an idiot, and neither is the SSD. It is becoming clear that this hotel, and you, are not what you appear to be."

A nervous chuckle fell out. " Whaaat ? We've only been open a few weeks, and sure, some odd things have happened, but it was always going to a bit of a struggle?—"

They drew a long, deep breath and leaned forward, making me sink into the creaking chair. "Did you hear the part where I said I wasn't an idiot?"

I winced, and clasped my hands together in my lap. "I did hear that part, yes." Maybe I could eat them right now and nobody would notice?

Agent Leomaris straightened, rested an arm on the dusty table, and leveled me under their glare. "I am not here to investigate you or the strange goings-on at this hotel. If I were, you'd have been arrested weeks ago."

"Oh." That was good ?

"The footage of you wrangling an enraged werewolf was brought to my attention."

Hm, not so good. "Well, yes, that, you see . . . It was . . . We weren't . . . We happened to . . . uhm, be passing through, uh?—"

"Stop."

Yikes. They didn't have the voice , like Victor did, but it sure felt like it. "Right. Okay." I patted my knees again. This was going well.

"Forget who I am in my official capacity," they said. "You have aided others in their hour of need, and I now find myself in the position of needing such help." Their glare still pinned me down, but it had softened.

They were serious. This wasn't about me, or the hotel. Agent Leomaris needed my help.

"A friend went missing several weeks ago," they said, and their glare softened some more as they glanced down, weighed by emotion. "When I say she was... is my reason for living, I know you'll understand what Delores means to me."

When Zee and Victor had both had been taken from me—Zee by Cain, and Victor by his own family—I'd have done anything to get them back. Even more now, since we were an official threesome. Agent Leomaris had that same desperation on their face that I'd had cinching my heart.

"What can I do that the SSD can't?"

"The SSD refuse to investigate." They saw my alarm, and added, "They claim Delores left of her own free will while ignoring vital evidence. Among Delores's items, I found a business card for Brink Security."

"The same company who sponsor the Dine and Fight events," I confirmed.

"Yes, and in the background of your video, I happened to notice the banners. Brink is involved in those fights—fights the SSD has never investigated, despite numerous reports." Their fingers tapped on the tabletop.

"Brink took my security guard too. Claymore. Well, we think they did."

Their smooth eyebrows lifted. "Had you reported that... A moot point now. However, we are now on the same page. If the SSD will not investigate, I intend to, and I'll find out what happened to Delores and Claymore, regardless of the repercussions. Work is work, but Delores is my life. What do you know?"

"I don't know much." I explained how we'd accidentally attended the Dine and Fight event without knowing what it entailed, how we'd ended up saving-slash-kidnapping Harold, and how the fighters were tricked into signing illegal contracts. Leomaris's expression grew more concerned the longer I talked.

"Delores and I... It had taken some adjustment, making a life for ourselves this side of the veil. As an ex-bounty hunter, I have skills the SSD covet."

Skills like hunting innocent Lost Ones to the ends of the earth. I kept that thought off my face as they continued.

"Delores had not found a way of life here. She is... was a warrior, like your Zodiac, but with stealth and fewer theatrics. But as an elite fae ranger, there's no use for her subtle skills here. No legal use. We fought, and afterward, she left. It was the last I saw of her. There is a chance she simply walked away, as the SSD has concluded, but I don't believe so. We have our issues, but our hearts are entwined. I fear she may have attempted to join Brink Security. I've tried legitimate routes of contact, but I'm stonewalled at every enquiry. They will not speak with me."

"I understand." I also understood that helping Leomaris wouldn't be without risk. "We'll help you. We have the location and time of the next event. If we get you a ticket, will you come along?"

The relief on their face made that warm, fuzzy feeling return. "Thank you. For this, I will attempt to delay the SSD from looking too closely at you and this hotel."

I held their gaze. "I appreciate that, Agent."

In the lives we'd left behind, we'd have been enemies. Leomaris would have hunted me down to make themselves rich, and I'd have probably been forced to kill them. But in this life, a dragon and a bounty hunter could perhaps be friends? Like a demon and a vampire could be friends, and a whole array of Lost Ones found new lives, with new friends. That had to be a good thing, didn't it? That had to be worth fighting for.

Leomaris extended their hand, and we shook. "Please, call me Elion."

"Elion. We'll find Delores." And we'd stop the fights, because what I hadn't told Elion was how Gideon Cain was harvesting Lost Ones' energies to power up his evil sorcerer plans. And a world in which Gideon Cain could acquire unlimited power was not a safe world for anyone.