“Of course. Give me a moment to set things in order.”
“Take all the time you require,” Arland said.
I watched Robart exit and dissolved the door behind him. Caldenia rose in her box, waved at me, and retired, Beast following her. I’d have to pick her brain tomorrow for any insights. Only Arland, Cookie, Jack and I remained. I turned to Jack. “Did you need anything?”
He shook his head. “Just making sure everyone goes to bed like good boys and girls. See you in the morning.”
Jack went out the front entrance.
I exhaled quietly and walked over to Cookie, who was crawling around on his hands and knees. “Hey there. I have to leave for a couple of minutes but I will be back soon. I’m going to lock the doors, so you will be safe in here. But if something goes wrong, call me and I will be right over.”
Cookie nodded and dropped a sapphire the size of a gummy bear into his bag.
I led Arland back to the stables, sealing the ballroom with Cookie in it as we left. Beast caught up with me and hopped into my arms, gazing at me in canine adoration. That was the wonderful thing about dogs. If you are gone for a day or for an hour, they are just as ecstatic when you come back.
The engineer knight and Nuan Cee’s niece were quietly chatting. Officer Marais still lay on the tarp on the floor where we left him. His chest rose up and down in a measured rhythm. A small smile spread his lips. He must’ve been dreaming about something fun. For a moment I envied him the sleep. I was so tired.
The cruiser sat in the middle of the stables. It looked intact.
Hardwir opened the hood and showed me the engine. “Behold.”
I beheld. It looked just like a normal, a somewhat grimy, engine.
“No modifications?” Arland asked.
“None,” Hardwir said.
Arland peered at him. “Are you sure? I know you. You didn’t improve on it at all? In any way?”
“No improvements.” Hardwir spat to the side. “Just as ugly and poisonous as it came to me.”
I checked the hood, the inside, and the trunk. Everything seemed to be in order. The car looked exactly as it had before it was hit with a blood axe.
I turned to Arland. “Would you mind helping me? I have to leave the inn grounds and position Officer Marais in the car and he is heavy.”
Arland nodded at me, his face grave. “It would be my honor.”
Something was wrong. He normally wasn’t this somber. “I may need you to change clothes.”
He didn’t miss a beat. “Of course.”
I stepped out and returned with a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and size 14 athletic shoes. Arland arched his thick eyebrows. He had worn this outfit during his last visit when he pretended to be human. He took the clothes and went to change behind the cruiser.
I turned to Hardwir and Nuan Cee’s niece. “Please don’t leave the stables.”
“You have my word,” Hardwir said. “We will stay put. I was never a good swimmer. Besides, I will watch over the Marshall’s armor.”
“I will stay as well,” Nuan Cee’s niece said. “I’m weak and helpless and I don’t want to be punished.”
Weak and helpless, sure. Next thing she would try to sell me a lovely coastal villa in Kansas.
Arland emerged, camouflaged as a very large human. The camouflage wasn’t exactly working. Dressing Arland in Earth clothes was like putting bunny ears on a tiger. The ears were cute, but the tiger was still scary. The T-shirt stretched on his shoulders, too small for his arms. He was built like a bear: broad shoulders, carved arms, a wide chest, and flat hard stomach. It was the kind of frame that could effortlessly support the weight of vampire armor and let him swing a heavy weapon for hours without slowing down. If an NFL linebacker ran full speed at Arland, he would just bounce off.
The marshall picked up Officer Marais as if the fully grown man was a child, put him in the back seat, and slid into the passenger seat. I got in on the driver’s side and held my hand out. The wall spat the dashboard camera at me. I put it in my lap, started the engine, put the car in reverse, and drove backward slowly. The walls slipped out of the way. A moment and we slid into my driveway, the rear of the car facing the street. I killed the engine and sat quietly, listening. It was ten past midnight and the subdivision lay silent. This plan hinged on having no witnesses.
The night lay silent. I eased the cruiser into neutral and let the slight incline of the driveway do the rest. Whisper-quiet, the cruiser rolled out of the driveway, across the street, and down Camelot Road. I gently steered it back to the spot where Marais had parked before the whole affair had started. I opened the dashboard camera, extracted the SD card, rolled down the window and pulled with my magic. I only had a fraction of my power outside the inn’s boundaries, but a fraction would be enough.
A small camera floated into my hand, a mirrored sphere about the size of a ping-pong ball. I squeezed the sphere. A thin metal tendril snaked out and flowed over the SD card. The sphere pulsed once and the tendril slithered back into it. I slipped the card back into its place and returned the camera back to its mount.
The neighborhood was still empty. Great. I stepped out of the car and nodded to Arland. He opened his door, picked up Officer Marais, and sat him in the driver seat. I locked his seat belt in place, reached through the open window, careful to stay away from any mirrors, and pushed record on the camera. We quietly moved to the side and went deeper into the subdivision.
“What are we doing?” Arland murmured, looming next to me.