‘‘He doesn’t rule naiads,’’ she said indignantly. ‘‘We’re elemental spirits!’’
‘‘And naiads are a part of the L’au-delà. Since Kostich heads up the committee that rules it, that means he has the power to affect even you.’’
‘‘Oh, how bad can he be? He’s a mage,’’ she said dismissively. ‘‘They’re all about arcane magic, and that doesn’t affect you or me.’’
I emerged from the bathroom, tucking my knife into its sheath before donning the leather bodice. ‘‘No, it doesn’t, but there’s something he can do that is very much a problem.’’
‘‘Oh? What?’’
‘‘He has thief takers after me now, Cy.’’
Her eyes opened wide.
I nodded at her look of horror. ‘‘Do you think the mysterious Mei Ling is going to remain so very mysterious with a couple of thief takers on her butt? They’ll track me down in less time than it takes you to get dressed unless I get Kostich to call them off.’’
‘‘I don’t quite see how you’re going to arrange that,’’ she said, frowning as I lay prone on the floor, reaching under the heavy oak dresser to find the small box I’d taped to its underside.
‘‘That’s the easy part. He’ll do anything to get the quintessence back, even calling off the thief takers. The hard part…’’ I got to my feet and tucked the precious invisible box away in my bodice. ‘‘The hard part is going to be getting to him. He’s sure to have tons of security after last night, and I can’t trust the quintessence to anyone but him. You know what you have to do?’’
‘‘I’m the distraction. I show up at the front door and attract everyone’s attention while you slip in the back via the garden connecting to the rental house next door. Then you find Dr. Kostich, give him back the thingie, and assumably have him call off the thief takers.’’ Her face was unhappy for a moment before a sunny smile broke through. ‘‘You need me, May. You really need my help.’’
I smiled back. ‘‘Kind of mind-boggling, isn’t it?’’
‘‘Unprecedented, but it won’t be the last time, you’ll see,’’ she promised, gathering up her things as I headed toward the door. ‘‘I’m taking a vow. This blackmail is the last time I will cause you any trouble. From here on out, things are going to change. I’ll be the best twin you ever had, see if I’m not!’’
It’s kind of scary how declarations of that sort come back to haunt you.
Chapter Three
‘‘This is ridiculous. I can’t… oooph… urgh… can’t get in… ow! Stop pulling my hair; that’s not going to do any good!’’
‘‘Sorry. I was just trying to help.’’ Cyrene stood in the open doorway and frowned at me as I struggled to enter. ‘‘I didn’t have any problem walking through it. What do you think the matter is?’’
‘‘It’s… warded… gah.’’ I gave up trying to shove myself through the ward, panting with exertion.
‘‘Warded? Oh, one of those drawn spells that Summoners and Guardians use? The sisterhood doesn’t hold with those.’’
‘‘There are a lot of other beings in the L’au-delà, Cy. Even if the naiads don’t see the use in warding places, most of the rest of the Otherworld does. Diviners, oracles, Guardians-they all use wards. Ow.’’ I stopped and rubbed my head where it had hit the wood of the door. ‘‘Why couldn’t a mage have taken the house? Arcane magic has no effect on me, but this… Someone who really knows wards drew this one. I can’t get through it.’’
‘‘Why can I get through it?’’ Cyrene asked, puzzled.
‘‘You’re not bound to a demon lord,’’ I said succinctly, and backed up a few steps to survey the front of the house. ‘‘Why would a rental agency ward a house?’’
‘‘To keep dark beings out? Not that you’re a dark being, but you work for one… which I’m really, really sorry about…’’
I made an impatient gesture to cut off yet another apology, and examined the windows. ‘‘I just don’t understand why a rental agency would take that sort of precaution. I wonder if it has something to do with Dr. Kostich living next door? Perhaps he arranged for the wards?’’
‘‘That could be,’’ Cyrene said thoughtfully. ‘‘Although why would he care about this house?’’
I shrugged and continued my examination. The property consisted of a two-story stone house, covered in pink and red flowering bougainvilleas and climbing ivy, flanked on either side by a tall white fence. I eyed a fig tree branch that hung over the fence. ‘‘I don’t suppose it really matters. I need to check out Dr. Kostich’s garden. You stay put while I go take a quick look.’’
‘‘I’m not going to stay here while you have all the covert fun! I’ll go, too.’’
I gave her a little push back into the house. ‘‘Fine, but you don’t have to climb the fence with me. Go out to the back garden. Use your flashlight, and don’t turn on any lights in case a security guard is doing a drive-by. I’ll meet you out back.’’
Her brow wrinkled. ‘‘May… what if the people who rented the house show up?’’
‘‘It’s after midnight, and it’s a good hour’s drive from the airport, so I think it’s safe to say that no one will be arriving here tonight.’’ I grabbed the keys from the front door and tossed them to her. ‘‘I guess it’s good we borrowed these, given the trouble the wards are posing me. I’ll have to return the keys to the rental agency in the morning before they notice they’re gone.’’
It took me a couple of tries to get over the tall fence, but I managed it without damaging much more than my ego. I limped through the back garden, a wonderland of citrus, olive, and fig trees that bordered immaculately groomed lawns, a small swimming pool, and long terraced stretches that led down to the shore. The night air was heavy with the scent of lemon and orange blossoms mingling with the tangy breeze that lifted from the sea a few hundred yards away. It was a tiny bit of paradise, and I paused for a moment, breathing deeply and wishing to the depths of my soul that I could turn my back on everything and live quietly in this beautiful garden.
‘‘Fish pond!’’ Cyrene squealed, disturbing my thoughts as she hurried off to commune in the ways of the naiads, something that overtook her whenever she was near bodies of freshwater. I sighed for a moment at the fact that I’d never be able to live in such a beautiful spot as this, but cut short the pity party when my watch made an almost imperceptible peep.
‘‘No time for dallying, May,’’ I told myself as I flicked on a penlight and examined the brick fence that divided the property from that of Dr. Kostich. Midway down the fence, a small wooden gate was set into an archway, clearly put there so the neighbors could visit with ease.
‘‘No wards. Hmm. Interesting.’’ Dr. Kostich may have been concerned enough about his neighbors to see to the warding of the house, but he obviously didn’t fear intrusion via the gate. There was a small padlock on this side, but it didn’t require much finessing at all to open it. I let the padlock drop to the ground as I shook my head at the door. ‘‘Just a few arcane protection spells… ineffectual at best.’’
‘‘Totally lame,’’ a male voice agreed behind me.
I shadowed immediately, spinning around to see who had managed to creep up on me unawares.
A large furry black dog gazed at me with its mouth slightly opened, its tail wagging gently in the balmy evening breeze.
I looked around quickly for the dog’s owner, but my eyes slowly returned to it as I realized the truth.
‘‘Yup, that’s right, you’re not seeing things. I’m a demon. Sixth class, if that helps. Whatcha doing?’’ The demon dog took a step closer to me, snuffled my legs, then tipped its head to the side. ‘‘Wow. Doppelganger. I’ve only seen one other of you guys. I didn’t realize there were two of you in Europe.’’