I approached Tiffany when we were done. “I owe you an explanation. Do you want to go to O’Malley’s to talk?” She hesitated. “If you don’t trust me, we can invite the guys,” I offered. She frowned at the two. “If they come, you’ll never finish. Have them come later.” She was right. Both could be poster children for distractibility and immaturity. If there was a customer, they were model employees, but alone, they were constantly goofing around. They were worse when they weren’t on the clock. “Trey, James, would you show Roy where Stone Pines is and then bring him to O’Malley’s later? He and GPS get along as well as fire and water,” I requested. Roy shot me a dirty look, unhappy I was leaving him with those two goofballs. Or maybe he assumed I was hooking up with Tiffany. I followed Tiffany to her car. “How have you been?” I asked. “How do you think?” She snapped. “I am sorry.” “Where have you been? And why didn’t you tell me you were a, a …” “An elf. I wanted to. I almost did. I’m glad now I hadn’t. Not after what happened.” My voice dropped and I looked out the window, wanting to forget that time. She glanced at me. Her expression softened slightly. “Yessie?” “When we get there, I’ll tell you,” I promised. “Can you at least tell me how you used to look human?” “Magic called a glamour. It tricks the mind into thinking it sees something it doesn’t.” “So is this what you really look like?” She asked. I nodded. “It is. What you saw before was close. The fewer the changes, the easier the spell is on me. I made my skin darker and hid my eyes, ears, and a scar.” She glanced at me from the corner of her eye and snorted. “A scar? You’re vain, but I didn’t think you were that bad.” “I’m not. I got it in a fight before my people disappeared. I don’t remember it so I can’t say much about it. Explaining it would be hard.” I slipped on my hat and glasses before we got out of the car. I didn’t want to risk the attention. At a table, I ordered drinks and sighed. “Tiff, what do you want to know first?” “Where have you been? And why did some soldier tell us you died?” “Someone, I think one of my neighbors, was convinced I wasn’t human and reported me to the army. They agreed to look into me. I was out in the woods and they knocked me out and took me into custody. They kept me drugged while they ran experiments on me. But elf physiology is different than humans. After about four months, my body started adjusting to the drugs and I woke. They continued the testing even after I woke. I was kept locked in a cage in a windowless room.” “You hate not being able to at least look out a window.” She put a hand on mine. I pulled away. I didn’t want to be touched while remembering that time. And I didn’t want to be touched by her. I covered it by taking a sip of my drink. “It’s part of being an elf. We’re more prone to being outdoors people. Never seeing the sky or even a plant was as horrid as the rest. “After being there for six months, they finally decided to release me. I didn’t learn until then that they’d told everyone I was dead. Apparently, they hadn’t planned to release me. They thought I was an alien. When they learned I was an elf, someone told them I wouldn’t survive in captivity and they decided to release me. They set me up with a new apartment in a new town with a new job.” “Why didn’t you call me and let me know you were okay?” I started to take a sip of my drink and realized it was gone. “Because I was afraid. I never told them about you. They showed no indication they knew about you and I worried they’d hurt you too if they did. They’d bugged my apartment. Every time I got rid of them, they replaced them. I figured they were monitoring my phone and probably the payphone down the street. By the time I felt it might be safe, it had gotten out that I wasn’t human. I didn’t think you’d forgive me for keeping that from you. I’m sorry.” Tiffany’s expression told me I was right. “I’d seen your picture and saw the resemblance, but I thought I was seeing things since you were dead.” “I hadn’t meant to hurt you. I was trying to protect you.” “And this elf thing?” I waved down a waitress and ordered another drink for myself. Tiffany was still nursing her first. “From anyone else, I’d be offended, calling what I am a thing. Six hundred years ago, the other elves disappeared. I don’t know what happened to them. After I’d hunted for them, I realized I couldn’t stay all by myself so I came to the human world. I used a glamour to hide what I was and moved around a lot so people wouldn’t realize I wasn’t aging.” “You don’t age?” “I’m immortal.” “How old are you?” “I’m over a thousand. I don’t know exactly.” “And there are no more elves?” “One. I just learned she was still around last year. She’s sort of my cousin.” “Sort of?” “She’s my cousin’s half-sister on his dad’s side. I’m on his mom’s side. His parents weren’t married so I don’t know that we’re really related.” I finished this drink too. I needed something that could get me drunk. They didn’t serve that so I ordered another of what I had been drinking. “Don’t you think you should slow down?” Tiffany asked. “I can’t get drunk from human alcohol. Elven alcohol is made differently to be more potent. Even a sip of it would get a human drunk.” “That one bottle of wine you wouldn’t let me touch?” I nodded. “Sometimes, I want something that will affect me. But I didn’t want to cause you problems.” “What’s your real name? It’s not Yessie Knight, is it?” “It’s Yesanith Wysanorin. Most people called me Yess or Yessie for short. Yess got confusing here where English is spoken. I was a knight among my people.” “So your accent is Elvish rather than Danish?” “It’s a mix of both. I grew up both in Denmark and Underhill.” “Underhill?” “The elven world. It’s sort of like another dimension. I had planned to tell you. I couldn’t stay too long in one place and it was getting time for me to leave. If you accepted it all, I was going to ask you to come with me.” “Seriously?” I nodded. “Seriously what?” James asked sitting with us. Trey and Roy joined us too. “Nothing,” Tiffany claimed. “So, you go by Sean now, you aren’t human, and you’re a thousand years old?” James asked. He waved over the waitress and ordered beer for the newcomers. I nodded glad Roy had filled them in, as if they gave him a choice. “Yep.” “That is so cool, except for the name change. Dude, you’re breaking up Jesse James.” “Jesse James died a long time ago,” I pointed out. “Hey, did you know him?” Trey asked. “No.” “Did you know anyone famous?” James asked. “James, I did my best to keep a low profile. I was trying to hide what I was.” James looked disappointed. “Bummer” “I did see Abraham Lincoln once from a distance.” “Were you here for the civil war?” Trey asked. “I was. I fought in it.” “How long have you lived here?” Tiffany asked. “Here being the human world or this state?” “The U.S.” “How old is the country again? I’ve lived on this continent for about five hundred years.” “Can you get citizenship?’ Trey asked. “I am a citizen. I always have been. It was confirmed recently. The government agreed to recognize it as the same as anyone who was born here.” “So you could run for president,” James decided. “I am not running for president or any other office. I am not a politician. And I doubt many people would want someone who isn’t human in a leadership position.” “Do you follow politics at all?” James asked with a laugh. “Some politicians might not act like normal humans, but a DNA test would show otherwise. “This country’s government structure is complex. It doesn’t always fit with my way of thinking. I grew up in a monarchy. We had the same king for thousands of years.” “But to have the same ruler forever? What if he were some kind of tyrant?” Trey asked. “King Oberon was a good king that put the needs of his people first. Some of what he did, you wouldn’t like. His word was law and sometimes rights were trampled for the greater good. I was a knight. Some of what I did with his blessing would have caused riots here. Oberon cared about his people and he did what was needed to protect them. And he had thousands of years of experience to know what was best.” “You never questioned an order?” Tiffany asked. “I did. Most of the time it was after I’d carried it out. Understanding why was part of learning and growing. Twice I demanded answers before I acted. Oberon explained his reasons and insisted I follow his order. He made sure I was disciplined after and then never bought up the incidents again. I once had a chance to ask him about it. He said he allowed me to question him because I would be able to follow orders better than if I thought they were wrong. I was punished so I wouldn’t forget my place. I was a soldier, not an advisor. And he told me if I questioned him again, the same thing would happen.” “What was the punishment?” Trey asked. “Three months of half pay, no food allowance, and extra time doing the worst duties. It was enough to make me think twice about protesting again, but not enough to stop me if I felt strongly about it and I think that was the idea.” “Have you ever been married or have any kids?” James asked. Tiffany glanced at me. “No to either.” “Why not?” Trey asked. Roy smirked. “How could he keep up his womanizing if he were married?” Tiffany shot me a dirty look. I’d been faithful to her while we were dating, but she hadn’t liked the number of women I’d slept with beforehand and she didn’t know the half of it. She was probably realizing I’d slept with others since being relocated to Sandlake. To my surprise, she spoke up in my defense. “Jesse knows how to be faithful. He isn’t one to cheat on a woman.” “I’m not. I’m happy to give a woman what she wants, even monogamy. ” “But not marriage or kids?” Trey pressed. “Marriage would have been tricky since I’m not human. And I can’t have kids.” “Are kids a problem because of the lack of elves?” James asked. “No. Elves and humans can have kids together. I just can’t have any with anyone.” After a thousand years of not having any, I had suspected it was the case, and the army had confirmed my sterility. “Bummer. So how did you become a cop?” “I’m not. I’m a consultant. The army set it up when they released me. They thought I could use my magic to help find a missing kid.” “Did it work?” James asked. I nodded. “And I’ve been stuck with him since,” Roy added. “If you’ve got to be stuck with someone, Jesse’s the one you want,” James assured him. “He always knows what he’s doing and when he doesn’t, he fakes it well.” Roy snorted. “I’ve noticed.” “We should probably call it a night,” I said. “There’s plenty to do to get caught up,” Roy agreed. On the way out, he handed me the car keys, “You can’t get drunk.” He’d only had one beer, but he had little tolerance. “And I know where the motel is.” “How did you know where we’d be staying?” “There are only two motels in town. Stone Pines is the one in the department’s budget. It’s not a bad place.” “You’ve been there? Do they rent by the hour?” I smirked. “Like I’d be done in an hour.” “Did you take Tiffany there?” “No. We both had our own places.” “How long were you together?” “Five years. She’s why I stayed as long as I did here. I was thinking of asking her to come with me when I left.” “You were in love with her?” “I was.” I followed Roy into our room. “So it wasn’t that long ago that you were pining for someone.” I shook my head. “No. I was afraid to. I worried what Gillman would do to her if he found out about her. I made myself forget my feelings for her.” “And now that you’ve seen her again?” “I’m not interested. You’ll notice I was a perfect gentleman.” “We’ve only got one room. Please don’t bring any women here.” “I don’t plan to.” “Good.” My phone rang. It was my neighbor. “Hi, Kara.” “Hi, I hadn’t seen you so I thought I’d check on you. What have you been up to?” “I’m in Hartdale. The chief wants Roy and me to help them stop some thieves.” “What about Saturday?” “If we’re not done, I should be able to slip away for the evening.” I saw Roy eyeing me so I left the room. “What have you been up to?” “Watching TV. My mom called.” That would explain why she was looking for me. They didn’t get along and she often needed someone to talk to when she got off the phone. “Is everything all right?” “Yeah. She just let me know Callie’s expecting again.” “Callie’s your older sister, right?” “My brother’s wife.” “I’ll learn them.” “You will.” “How many kids is that for them?” “Their fourth.” “Four kids. Wow. And all of them are still young.” I grinned at the thought. There had been a time not too long ago when even more kids were common, but it always amazed me. Elves didn’t have many kids. I had two brothers and my family was considered large among elves. And there were centuries between us. I often wondered what it was like having other kids in the household. “So what have you been doing there?” Kara asked. She didn’t like talking about her family. “I used to live here and I worked at the store that was robbed. The army had told them I’d died. And they hadn’t known I wasn’t human. I had a lot of explaining to do, especially to my ex.” “Ex-wife?” “No, girlfriend. I’m not sure she’s forgiven me. It’s a lot to process.” “Give her time.” “I will.” “I should let you go. You need to be well-rested if you’re going to be casting. And I know you were up late last night.” “Thanks.” “Good night, Sean.” “Sweet dreams, Kara.” I returned to the room. “Is Kara all right?” “Yeah, she was just checking on me. Saturday is the new moon. She keeps an eye on me if I worship on the roof so I don’t freeze.” Roy grinned. “She watches you parade around naked?” “I don’t worship naked on the roof. I wear a thong. And she doesn’t come up with me. She times me and if I stay too long, she’ll come to get me or send Rich up. I made a pass at her once when I was drunk.” “Only once?” “I am capable of being a gentleman.” I grabbed my toiletry bag and headed for the bathroom. “Tell me you brought pajamas.” I frowned. “I always sleep in pajamas, unless I’m with a woman.” “You were naked when you overslept and I was checking on you.” “The night before was a holy day. I fell asleep after I worshipped. Tonight’s not a holy day or a new or full moon. You’re safe.” “Thank God.” I grinned. “Your god or one of mine?” “Both. All of them. Anyone that can keep your pants on.” I laughed and continued into the bathroom.