Fablehaven: Journey to the Eternals' Pass (fanfiction) (HIATUS)

14: First

"Tasha Page." Vanessa grinned at the tan, broad-shouldered lady that strode out of the large house to meet them. The two women hugged briefly. "Good to see you again."

"And you, Vanessa." Tasha then turned to Vanessa's companions. "And you must be the friends Vanessa told me about. Jania, Darcy, Elaine, Kendra?" She guessed correctly, shaking each of their hands in turn.

"And you must be the friend with the car." Kendra smiled.

"I'm the one with the fast car," Tasha corrected, smirking, "and the big house."

"And the big mouth." Vanessa shoved her friend playfully. "We'll be crashing here while we seek out that first-class a-uh, well." Kendra didn't know if the pun was intended, but the just-suppressed insult certainly was. They dropped their bags off in Tasha's generous living room and regrouped back in the driveway, where a sleek red Maserati was now awaiting them.

Vanessa smiled broadly. "You never fail to disappoint, Tash."

"This won't fit all of us, though." Darcy said critically, stating the obvious.

Tasha nodded. Right on time, a second car, a more subtle silver Lexus that seated more than two, was driven up by a valet. "Jania, right? I assume you'll be driving?"

"Yep." Jania marvelled at the car.

"Kendra, you'll be riding with me." Vanessa directed. "Twins, you're going with Jania. Just follow me." The narcoblix hopped into the Maserati. Kendra got in the more standard way. When they were all settled, Vanessa revved the engine. "Let's go track down a jerk."

Their first stop was First's house. Jania went down to knock and came back to report. "He's not home." Elaine's voice came over the speakerphone, correctly interpreting Jania's expression. "We can leave a message."

"No." Vanessa said. She swerved back onto the road. "First rule of dealing with First: don't let him have time to prepare for a confrontation. He'll slither and talk his way out of it. Kendra, give me your phone. And keep Jania on speaker." Kendra obliged and Vanessa dialled the number Evan had given them.

"I thought you just said-"

Vanessa's message was short and cryptic. "First, it's me. If you dare to show your face you know where to find me." And with that she terminated the call. She made a sharp turn at the next intersection. "Second rule: keep him curious, keep him interested, and always act like you have leverage." They stopped at Central Park. Jania came up a minute later.

"How will he know to come here?"

Vanessa grimaced. "Trust me, he'll know."

Vanessa was proved right. A black BMW with a single rider pulled up behind Jania's car and the driver sauntered out. "Vanessa Santoro. I knew it was your car. I saw it pass by. No one else drives like a GTA adrenaline junkie on steroids." First Seagrave wasn't exceptionally tall or handsome, but he had a significant amount of swagger that made his presence impossible to ignore. He eyed Kendra and the twins. "What, have you started babysitting now?"

"This is Kendra, Jania, Darcy and Elaine." Vanessa said curtly. "And if I had a choice between babysitting and seeing you again, guess which one I would have chosen?"

First smirked. "You can't still be sore that I got to the nipsy before you, Nessa."

"You can't still think it's okay to call me that." Vanessa folded her arms. "There's something going on, and unfortunately, it involves you."

First looked at her. "I'm flattered. Let's talk indoors. My place is nearby, but I assume you already know that." Without waiting for a reply, he strode back to his car. Before he got there, however, he caught sight of Canis sitting patiently in Jania's car and gave a low whistle. "Is this a Fae wolf?" He crouched down, tilted his head and held out one hand palm up. "Hey, boy. God, you're gorgeous." To Kendra's immense surprise, Canis didn't bite First's hand off. In fact, the wolf lowered its nose to First's palm.