His clothes were white, embroidered with gold to match his earrings. There was nothing to mark him as SAPD. There was nothing to mark him as human. It was some of my best work.
My glamour was more subtle, although it still hid me enough that any camera would only pick up a fae. The magic was familiar, like putting on a glove that hadn’t been worn since winter. The last time I’d used a glamour this detailed, I’d been trapped in the Summer Court, unsure if I would ever be free of the Far Realm.
“This is amazing,” he said. “I’ve seen you use this magic before, but…”
“Yeah,” I said. “I am pretty awesome.”
“Will it hold up to scrutiny?” Nick said.
“Are you kidding? The only person who can break this is me.”
At that, Nick looked suspicious. “There are no side effects, right?”
“What’s with all the suspicion?” I said. “Are you doubting my abilities?”
“Never,” Nick said. “I just want to make sure I’m not going into work next week looking like an extra onGame of Thrones.”
“Hey, I never ask if you know how to do the circle you’re drawing,” I said. “So, how about you stay in your own lane, alchemist?”
With an amused smile, Nick held up both hands. “Okay, Windrose. I’ll bow to your authority here.”
“Are you ready?” I asked. “I don’t want you to say anything. This is my case. My mess if it goes south.”
“I’m just the backup?” Nick smirked.
“You’re not even backup,” I said. “You’re an observer. Civilian oversight on this operation.”
Nick might not take his boss’s threats seriously, but I couldn’t risk my case getting him in hot water.
“You’re sure they’re going to just let us through?” Nick said.
“Looking the way we do, they’d let us walk into a bank vault if we asked,” I said. “This is San Amaro. If you see a fae, you run.”
With more confidence than I felt, I walked out from behind the dumpster in the alley next to Damon Griffith’s apartment. Nick walked a half step behind me. Even though I’d told him he didn’t need to worry about being my backup, I felt his eyes scanning for threats.
This time when we entered the lobby, the two security guards froze. The one who’d blocked the elevators before pushed his chair back and glanced at the emergency exit as though calculating whether he could make it before we got to them.
“Can… can we help you?” the bolder of the two said.
“Let. Us. Pass,” I hissed. I let my voice echo out like a wave. I wanted to make sure that they saw me and Nick as nightmares.
They both gaped because they were having a fae encounter in the middle of San Amaro, in the middle of the afternoon. For a moment, they glanced at each other, and I saw one shrug.
Taking that is acceptance, I swanned past them, pulling Nick along in my wake.
I pressed the button for the second floor. Beside me, Nick shook his head and bumped his shoulder against mine. “I don’t understand why you don’t go around looking like this all the time. It would solve a lot of your problems.”
“So would walking around with a rocket launcher on my back,” I said, “but you don’t see me doing something that dangerous either, do you?”
We got off the elevator at the second floor and found apartment 208. I pounded my hand against the door, letting each knock resonate like timpani drums in an orchestra. The door trembled on its hinges.
“Damon Griffith,” I said. “You have taken something of ours.”
He didn’t answer, but I didn’t expect him to.
With a twist of my hand, I sent a shot of cold air under his door. I didn’t have a good enough sense of the inside of his apartment to direct it at him. Instead, I settled for chaos.
Behind his apartment door, a whirlwind raged. My voice was clear through the shriek of wind. “Let us in, Damon Griffith, or suffer the consequences.”
