There was a knock at my door that evening. I looked out to find Chief Thompson. I opened the door. "Sean, can we talk?" He asked. I stepped aside. "Come into the other room so I can clean my brushes." He followed me and glanced at the painting I'd been working on. "May I ask who that is?" Thompson asked. "My cousin, Puck. That was his human form when he was scared." "Human form?" "He was a shapeshifter. Seelie and Unseelie crosses were able to shapeshift. That's what he looked like normally." I pointed to another painting. "He still almost looks human." "Before the rift, all elves had similar skin tones to humans. We didn't have the idea of other races. Skin color was like hair color, just the way you looked. Oberon changed that when Tatiana left him. He changed everyone to look like him or her. Only mixes revert back." "Your cousin went by Robin. Is this case too close to home?" He asked, glancing at all the pictures of Puck in his various shapes. "You said you needed to talk," I reminded him. All cases disturbed me. He nodded. "I think I found Lorraine's phone." "Where?" "Near the star. But there's a problem." "You used magic to find it." He nodded. "I don't want anyone to know, defiantly not the feds. I usually claim an anonymous source told me. When pushed, I insist I don't know his name." "But how would the source know about a phone turned off in a house?" "Exactly." "So what do you need me for?" "Tell them you found it." "I can't." "Why not? You use magic all the time." "But I didn't find the phone." "So?" I sighed. I don't like telling people this. I've had it used against me. I thought about Lorraine and the children. "I can't lie." "You've lied. You kept your identities secret for six hundred years." "I can be deceptive, but I can't come out and say something that isn't true. I can say people call me Sean because they do. I can't say my name is Sean because it isn't." "So we can't use the phone." "Show me where the phone is," I offered. "Got a map?" I pulled one out and spread it on the table. Thompson pointed. "The phone is in this block. The star’s here." Neither was in towns Terry, Julie, or Robin lived in, but there were several small towns in the area. "There are a few spells I can use to find the phone, but we still couldn't get a warrant. And some spells are probably too invasive." "Do you have a list?" I handed it to him. He read it over. "This one sounds close to what I do." He pointed. I sighed. "I was afraid of that. That is one of the worst spells on the list. Even Underhill it causes me problems." "If we could tell them you got a text or something." "I'll cast it. I just don’t want to hear about it later." "Do you really need to? Can we just say you cast it?" "You mean lie?" "I’ll lie. You just nod your head." "That's lying." I started getting out what I needed. "Is there anything I can do?" "Plenty." I opened several Almond Joy candy bars, broke them into pieces, and set the nuts aside. I also put one of my special vitamins, bottles of power aid, and a dishpan out. "What's that for?" Thompson was eyeing the dishpan. He’d seen me use the rest. "When I vomit. I'm going to need your help not collapsing when I do. Then, help me eat and drink these. If I vomit up blood or pass out, take me Underhill." "What do I do there?" "Try to control your thoughts so you don't conjure anything. There is a phantasm there that can help me." "A phantasm?" "Someone I conjured accidentally." I opened the passage Underhill and poked my head in. "Connie?" She appeared a moment later. "What's going on?" She asked. "English, please. This is Chief Thompson. I need to cast a spell and he's going to help me when I'm done. I opened the passage so you can help him if there's trouble." "What spell is it?" I told her and she paled. "Cast it here near the passage." "She isn’t real so she can’t come through, but Underhill she can do anything any other elf can do," I explained as I moved the map to the floor. I cast the spell and my vision faded. Instead, I saw a darkened room. There wasn't much to see as my vision rotated. My hand hovered over the map, though I couldn't see it. I forced my field of vision to expand to show me more of the room. There wasn't much for me to see, a few Christmas decorations and furniture. It was too dark for me to tell any details. I found a window and could see the star and the blue lights. My hand still hovered over the map. I could tell it was getting close but hadn't found the location that matched my vision. Lights flared as someone entered. I realized I was high on a shelf. "Robin," Lorraine hissed. "Get out of there." "But…" "Do you want him to catch you?" Robin sighed. "No. I want to go home." "I know. Me too. We will. A Knight will save us." "Marissa, Joe, are you in my office?" A man called. "No, but you left the door open," Lorraine called. "Shall I shut it?" "Please." The light went out. I tried to listen through the door, but my hand was drawn to the map. As soon as I touched it, the spell ended. My vision swam and faded. I started shaking and vomiting. Thompson swore and leaned me over the dishpan. "Bring him over," I heard Connie say. "Hurry." I was half dragged, half carried through to Underhill. The lack of iron helped. I felt Connie's hands on my face as she tried to heal me. "Should I get the candy?" Thompson asked. "No. That stuff won’t help. Get the drinks. I have powders I can mix with them to make a tonic." I lost consciousness after that. When I woke, I was in my bed Underhill. Connie slept on the floor and Thompson sat just to the other side of the passage. His head was bowed as if he was dozing. He looked up as I started to sit up. "Stay there," he whispered. "You did a number on yourself. Connie exhausted herself healing you." I glanced at the phantasm, impressed. That wasn't something most phantasms did. Thompson came across to Underhill and left the room. He returned with food for me and then went back to the human world. "She said it would be safer if I stayed here as much as possible." I nodded. "Eat, and then rest some more." "I heard Lorraine. She's with the kids. She knows we're coming." "Of course she does. She has a friend like you. And we'll find her. You pointed to the same spot on the map I did." "Good." I started to get up. Thompson was right there to push me back down. "You’re to stay in bed." "I feel fine." "Feel. But are you?" I didn't answer. "Exactly. You can't lie." "Don't tell anyone, please." "I won't. If I do that, you'll tell Kat I'm a seeker. Even if you didn't, I wouldn't tell. Gillman's okay, but some of his superiors don't care about the rights of individuals. They can only see the big picture. They didn't want you released. Gillman, Flanagan, and Dr. Moss all pushed for it." "Dr. Moss did?" She had been the head of the research team studying me. At best, she treated me like an animal. "She's a bitch, but she’ll surprise you sometimes." "She knew I'd die in captivity and wanted her science project to survive." Thompson nodded. "Probably." "We need to keep her away from Kat. If she did half the stuff to Kat that she did to me, Kat would start a war in her attempts at revenge." "Would it get that bad?" "Look at what she did to you." "Me?" "The lipstick on your collar for your wife to find? That was for telling Gillman about her. Every prank she's pulled at the station has been revenge for something. "If Dr. Moss and the others do even one test on her, without her consent, she will take revenge up the chain of command all the way to the president." "I’ll warn Gillman." "You better not. If he thinks she's dangerous, he'll take her into custody. When she escapes she'll get revenge." "When?" "It would only be a matter of time. I could've escaped, but Shandalar told me not to." "Why would your goddess want you imprisoned?" "I don't know. Perhaps because she knew I'd be released, and this way I'm not a fugitive. Perhaps so I could help you find that girl. Elven gods don't generally interfere with human affairs unless it would have an impact on Elven culture. But you’re a mage, so there's a little leeway." "Your goddess is watching out for me?" "I don't know. Perhaps she's just watching out for me." "Maybe she wanted you and Thompson to meet," Connie suggested. "Sorry, did we wake you?" I asked. "No. I'm fine. How are you?" "I feel fine." "But are you?" She moved to check me. "Not bad given your condition last night. Rest this morning. You can be up and about this afternoon." "But what about Lorraine in the kids?" "He’s not going to kill them. They can wait until this afternoon." "He beat Terry when he found she wasn't a natural blonde. Lorraine isn't either." "It won't show up that quick," Thompson assured me. "We'll stake out the house. We can't get a warrant." "Do you think I could pass as a scout selling cookies?" I asked. "Puck could," Connie said. "Puck's not here. I don't know if we could trust him to do what he needed to." "True." "I'm sure Harris and Brandt have their own ideas," Thompson assured me. "I need to get going. Sean, I don't want to see you until after lunch. I'd say stay home all day, but I know you won't." "Do you blame me?" "No. But you won’t be able to help if you have a relapse." I nodded and lay back down. "Go ahead," Connie told Thompson. "I’ll watch him, but he'll be fine." "But are you?" "I said I was. Constructs follow the same rules as anyone else." Thompson nodded. "I’ll see you later." As he left, I closed my eyes to sleep. Connie curled up in bed with me. As I was drifting off, I wondered if it was just to cuddle, or if she was planning to hold me in bed.