No Quest For The Wicked

Thor cleared his throat loudly. “As I was saying before I was interrupted, I joined the search when we learned the brooch was in our city.”

Granny interrupted before he could get started again. “And you figured this bunch would be most likely to find it first, so you went in with them. It’s a simple enough story. You don’t have to make an epic out of it.”

“But it loses all the poetry when you put it that way,” Thor complained.

Rod returned to the table and said, “Apparently, she’s moved in with her fiancé at his Park Avenue penthouse. I’ve always wanted to see inside one of those.”

“We’ll have to get past a doorman,” I said.

“That’s not a problem,” Rod said with a shrug. “However, getting there could be a challenge. This group is too big for the carpet or for a cab.”

“We could split up,” I suggested.

“You’re not going near the brooch without me,” Thor growled.

“And I already told you I’m sticking with you,” Granny added.

I tried not to sigh out loud before I said, “I meant we could take two cabs. Or two carpets. Could we get two carpets?” It was a sign of how urgent I felt this was that I actually hoped we could travel by flying carpet.

Owen was already on the phone. After he ended the call, he said, “They’re on the way.”

The waitress brought our check, and I was afraid it didn’t bode well for the kind of teamwork we could expect to see on this mission that our group nearly came to blows over it. “We shouldn’t split it evenly,” Earl said. “I only had a salad and some water, while some people”—he glared at Thor— “had beers and a burger. I’m not paying for his meal.”

“I provided the entertainment,” Thor protested. “In decent company, I wouldn’t have to pay for my meal at all after a story like that.”

“Then your people need to get cable if that’s your idea of entertainment,” Earl shot back.

Thor snarled as he reached for his battleaxe, and then both he and Earl cried out in pain and jerked away from the table. Granny glared at them as she leaned back in her chair, holding her cane threateningly. “Now, boys, behave yourselves,” she scolded. “This is no time for that nonsense.”

Rod reached for the check and said, “I’ll take care of it and expense it. We’re on company business.”

“If I’d known that, I would have ordered more,” Earl complained.

“You elves don’t know how to live,” Thor said smugly as he drained the last of his second beer.

Earl started to rise to his bait, then glanced at Granny and instead got out of his chair and headed for the door. “I’ll meet you there if you give me the address. I should limit my time with you, in case the Elf Lord’s people catch up with you. My mission depends on maintaining my cover as his loyal employee.”

He conferred with Rod, and as soon as he was out the door, Thor said, “Or maybe he is working for Sylvester, and he has to check in with his boss.”

Owen and Rod exchanged glances, and then Owen hurried outside to have a quick conversation with Sam. The gargoyle flew after Earl as the rest of us came outside and found two magic carpets waiting for us. Both had little creatures piloting.

Granny took to carpet travel better than I’d expected she would. In fact, she seemed totally unfazed, while I clung to the carpet in a death grip. “Where do you put your groceries?” she asked after a particularly harrowing turn as our driver seemed to be trying to make sure no one followed us.

“We don’t generally use these things for shopping,” Owen explained. “They’re more for rapid transit. They require too much magic for everyday use.”

Granny leaned over the edge to look at the street below, and I fought off a wave of vicarious vertigo. “I can see how cars wouldn’t be much use for getting around quickly here,” she said.

We reached Park Avenue, and the carpets landed in front of an imposing apartment building. “Should we wait for Earl?” Rod asked after we’d disembarked.

“Here I am,” Earl said, rounding the corner. “No other elves are present.” Sam perched on the building’s awning and gave Owen a nod that apparently indicated that the elf had come directly without stopping to report to Sylvester.

“Okay, now to get past the doorman,” Rod said, rubbing his hands together. He gave the doorman a wave as he approached, and I sensed a surge of magic. Normally, people saw whatever Rod wanted them to see, but that didn’t happen this time.