“You have two days and then I’ll take care of him the old way,” I heard Kat threaten Harris as I was walking by. I burst into the room. “Katrine, you will not. You will do nothing to jeopardize this case,” I commanded, falling back to the authority I had as a knight. Harris was taken aback, startled by my tone. Kat frowned. “They know who he is. There’s no reason they haven’t arrested him.” “They need enough evidence that he’ll be convicted, just like Cobra and Specter.” “This is ridiculous. We know he has them.” “They have their laws, just like we have ours. If you go in, you risk ruining the chance of conviction.” “If I go in, there won’t be a need for a conviction.” “There is no way I will let you do that. We are here by their leave. We will obey their laws.” "He hurt my friend. I'm not going to let him get away with that." "He has Lorraine. Do you think I don't want to storm in there and behead him? If we were back home, he'd be dead already." Kat frowned. "He has Lorraine?" "She's been missing for a few days. The other day, I cast Tre nostel mitmilu shtl on her phone. That's how we found the house." "You cast that here? Are you crazy?" "I am sworn to do whatever it takes to protect my people. I'm an American. That makes them my people too." "But you won't go in there?" "I'm sworn to uphold the law." "Yet you cast that?" "I had permission." "Permission?" I switched to Elvish. "It's a long story. These two don't know what the spell did exactly." "Let me help, or I'll tell them." "The last person who tried to blackmail me ended up dead," I warned. Kat snorted. "You think you can kill me?" "I killed your predecessor. If you tell them, the case will get thrown out and he’ll walk. If you then kill him, you'll be arrested." "Then let me help." "You’ll only do what you're told when you're told? And you won't break any laws?" Kat nodded. "Swear it." "Not until they agree to let me help." I looked to Harris and Brandt. "She's agreed to work with us," I said in English. "No, absolutely not," Harris insisted. "I’m forced to work with you and it's helped, but I'm not going to work with some ho…" "You have two choices," I cut him off before he could insult Kat. "She helps and follows instructions, or she kills him." "She'll do what I say?" I could see the calculating look in Harris's eyes. "If you tell her to do nothing, or refrain from actually giving her a job, she'll see it as a refusal and kill him," I warned. Harris sighed. "Fine. She can help as long as she does what she's told when she's told and doesn't put the case, or the victims in jeopardy." I turned to Kat. "Swear it." "I swear in the name of Shandalar I will follow instructions for this case and will not harm Garner except in self-defense. And I swear I will not intentionally put myself in harm’s way so that I can claim self-defense." I nodded. "That's it? You trust her?" Brandt asked. "Shandalar is our goddess of loyalty. If Kat breaks a vow to her, she will die a horrible death. Elven gods are more hands-on than human ones. I've met Dhiarus, the God of Life." "When?" Kat asked. "When he told my dad to let me follow Shandalar rather than him." "You worship Shandalar too?" "I do. So do you?" "She recruited me when I was twenty-five." "I was eighteen. It was shortly after she encouraged me to enlist." "I was already an assassin. She said it was a good job for me." I turned to the two agents who were looking as if they were ready to call the mental hospital. "Regardless if you believe we interact with our gods, you can see we believe that and so Kat won't break her vow." Kat nodded. "So far, I haven't done anything more than case the house. I currently have a couple of stray cats and the neighbor’s dog watching the place." "Robin's deathly allergic to dogs," I warned. "I'll tell the dog to keep his distance." Now Harris and Brandt were convinced we were crazy. "You claim you talk to animals?" Brandt asked. "I suck at languages," I admitted. "At best, I can get some animals to answer a few questions. Some elves can converse with them like we are." "Cats have always been good for information. Dogs are good if they feel it protects those they feel loyalty to. I told the dog that the man took the others from their families and he might get violent and hurt everyone around," Kat explained. "You seriously expect us to believe that?" Harris demanded. "A bird told me you sleep with your gun under your pillow. And a mouse told me Brandt calls someone sprinkles." Brandt blushed. "My girlfriend. On our first date, she was eating a cupcake with sprinkles and got them all over her lips." Kat grinned. "That could get kinky." Brandt's blush deepened. "Have your informers told you anything?" I asked Kat. "Not yet. I haven't gone to check on them today. It's too far for them to come to me. When I do go, maybe I should introduce them to Sean and those watching the house. They can warn them if there's trouble." "We don't talk to animals," Brandt pointed out. "If they start jumping all over your car, it might be a clue." "Don't give them away," Harris warned. "I was the best assassin in either Elven Court for 300 years. I know how to be discreet." "I can vouch for that," I said. "She's one of the few we couldn't catch." Harris and Brandt glanced at each other. "Do not even think of pinning any of the unsolved murders on me," Kat warned. "Kat was the best Underhill. That doesn't mean she was here. But, if she did kill someone, there would be no way for you to prove it. She had 300 years of experience before coming to the human world. Let's focus on the case at hand instead." "We'll let you know how you can help," Harris said. "We're still not sure how to proceed. I told you we'd let you help. I keep my word. I just can't say how yet." "Sometimes the spells Sean cast seem to be a bit much. Can you two work together to do more?" Brandt asked. "It is possible," I admitted. "But Kat and I don't trust each other enough for it to work properly." "No Unseelie and Seelie would," Kat added and left. I followed her. "You don't think your dad and my aunt could do it?" I asked. Kat frowned. "I don't know. I only met your aunt a couple of times. My dad did love her. I just don't know how much he trusted her." "I was told he tried to keep Puck from seeing her. Is that true?" "No. He wanted the three of them to be together, but she couldn't stay in Unseelie lands any more than he could stay in Seelie. While my dad wanted to spend time with Puck, he also wanted him with your aunt." "I was close to my aunt. She was a buffer for my dad. I'd hoped to meet the man who won her heart. Even after she died, I still wanted to until Puck said he was the one who had you kill her." "I don't understand why he said that. He couldn’t lie, could he?" I shook my head. "No. He really believed it." "I can't believe he thought I killed his mom. I liked her. And now I can never tell him." "Maybe someday you'll get to. Keep praying to find him." "I've never given that up." "Sunday's the full moon. Do you want to join me for worship?" I offered. "The two of us praying together might help." "Unseelie and Seelie with a common purpose. That might get the gods’ attention. But I have plans." "You and Jonan?" "Not then. I'm not ready for him to know what I am. And I don't think worshiping naked is the best way to tell him. It's a friend's birthday." "Enjoy then." "Thanks. When I do go out for worship, I will pray for Puck. And I'll pray for Lorraine too if she's not free by then." "Thanks."