To Be Determined

Chapter Ten: Bells and Whistles

"I'm sorry but would anyone mind explaining to me what on earth is going on?" Nicolaj asks, looking entirely perplexed. He is expressive with body language and right now his arm movements insist that he would like answers and to swear at us a bit.

"Okay, quick recap! We made Olive hot and used her as bait in that vampire bar that you told us not to go to. It was marvelous, she beat up Iliad, and the one guy she was trying to scare almost cried. Then we found out that someone is working close to the palace that is bioengineering the plague for some sort of terrorist attack against the nobility. On top of that, I put together that the main source of Olive's power is her emotions. She is a terrible magician when her heart's not in it but if you threaten something that she cares about then Zap! Ya dead!" Asha explains the entire night in a quick, yet enthusiastic explanation and hops onto one of the wooden study tables. Meanwhile, Tine is circling a chair as if it were prey.

Nicolaj pinches the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb and walks behind the desk. He pulls out a crystal bottle of a golden shimmery liquid and pours a small glass. He drinks it all in one go and sighs.

"I don't suppose that was a potion that one drinks when they are excited and want to celebrate."

"That was fae blood, my dear naïve Liv," Nicolaj said, leaning onto the counter. "Alcohol does not have the same effect on vampires as it does on humans. Fairies, however, are quite a treat."

I'm disgusted but not quite unnerved, disappointed but not surprised. "Tell me Mystic, do you stick a sewing needle in the fare folk and collect their essence in tiny blood bags or just throw a handful into a food processor and hope the whorling of the blades roars louder than their screams?"

Nicolaj raises an eyebrow at me. "Something tells me that you are not fond of our culinary practices."

"Well last time I had to kill something I felt every ounce of its suffering infuse within my chromosomes and transform me into a multicell thunder cloud. Then a member of the Arcana made me resuscitate it and I felt a million times worse, so I can't say that it is exactly my cup of tea."

He sets down the glass and walks around to me. "What in the world are you exactly?"

"Dude I have no idea. I'm just kinda going with it at this point."

Iliad pipes in, "She is the poster child for Ritalin at this point".

Nicolaj ignores him, as most people do. "I think that we should try gauging your abilities. I'm quite worried at this point."

I hear Asha's scream from down the hall and start running towards him.

"Nicolaj! Why is there a body bag just chilling in here? I'm trying to relax and you decide to bring take out into the room where we feel comfortable existing in?"

"It's not what it looks like."

"You know that's what they all say. Let me guess, 'I was out for a midnight stroll on my way to get a snow cone and saw this stuffed body bag in a shop window and decided it would tie the room together.'" Iliad says accusingly, holding onto me and keeping me close to the doorframe.

"No, listen to me. I was able to find Ben in a warehouse on the south end of the city. I used Asha's magic signature to track him down, I knew exactly where he was once Olyvia told me that he wasn't entirely gone. So there is a relatively alive person in that body bag. Who will be safe here until we can figure out what on earth we are going to do next."

"Way to deliver your point and answer any possible questions that we may have in one concise paragraph," I say leaning back, still apprehensive of the entire situation. He had to have been planning that explanation for the majority of the evening.