Chapter 10 Elf Games

Rachel stood up and saw that she had slept through the night. The sun was just rising.

"Trent, are you here?" Rachel whispered, thinking he could be sleeping. When there was no answer, she got up and checked both bedrooms. There was no sign of him. She checked her phone, there was one voice mail from Ivy and one from Jenks, but none from Trent. Normally she wouldn't worry, but they had been together practically every minute for the last several days, and he should have been back from his chat with Kisten hours ago.

She listened to Ivy's voice mail "Rachel, have you talked to Trent yet? Kisten has been back in our room for several hours. I think you two should be done talking by now. Call me."

The voice mail from Jenks said "Where in Tinks contractual hell are Trent's people who were supposed to meet me at this Tinks blasted airport? I'm here in Switttzerrrland and I don't see any of Trent's elves. There's plenty of local elves though. Is everyone in this country an elf? Come get me!"

Rachel was nonplussed. What was Jenks doing here and why was he meeting Trent's people? She called Trent's cell and she got his voice mail. She left a terse message. "Call me! Where are you! We have to talk!" And then softer, "Please call me, I'm worried."

She ran out of the hotel room, and stopped at the two security men. "Where is Trent? Did he tell you where he was going? Is someone with him? He's not answering his phone."

The two security men looked at each other in confusion. And the one that looked like he was in charge said, "He went into your suite several hours ago and he hasn't left."

A sharp stab of fear shot through Rachel's stomach. "Well, he's not in there now! Unless he's in a closet! Check for yourselves! I've got to go get my partner."

The security boss signaled to his associate to enter the hotel room, and he put a hand up, blocking Rachel's move towards the elevator. "Please wait, Mrs. Kalamack, let me make some calls. We have been tasked to keep you safe, and Bob and I are specifically assigned as your personal security. My name is Paul. Let me have someone pick up your partner. Is it Jenks? We knew he'd be coming in sometime today. He will be brought here immediately." He spoke quietly into his watch, which was also a communication devise, apparently. "And let me go speak to Bob, and then we will go with you to see Ms. Tamwood, if that's where you want to go next."

"OK." Rachel grumped, as she looked up to the ceiling. She couldn't fault these guys, they were doing their job, a job she'd had to do too many times to count. So with a long drawn out sigh, she stopped while 'Paul' went into the room to speak to 'Bob.' That couldn't be their real names, but she could call them whatever they wanted.

They both came out with matching worried expressions. Paul was on the wrist communicator talking in a hushed, worried tone. Bob gestured for her to get into the elevator, and he and Paul followed her in, Paul still talking to his wrist. They pushed the button for the fourth floor and no one spoke until a ding signaled the elevator's stop. Rachel turned around as soon as Paul was off his communicator. "Where is Trent?" She demanded, the worry making her voice harsh.

Paul spoke quickly, "No one else has seen him. Bob and I were the last ones, apparently, as he entered your suite. Is it possible he used magic to jump somewhere?"

That worried her, too, because she didn't think he could line jump on his own without long preparation or a charm. She didn't think he had prepared either, so it must have been someone jumping him out. Who? Why? Trent had lots of enemies, but over the past year there hadn't been any threats of significance. And he had been slowly withdrawing from most of his illegal activities, he said it was because he wanted to minimize his daughters exposure to danger, but Rachel was fairly certain it was also because he was striving to be a better man.

So, back to the question of who?

"I don't know," she said "But if he planned to jump somewhere, he would have at least told me first. No, I think someone took him. I am going to call Quen."

Paul and Bob walked her to Ivy's room, and knocked. Kisten opened the door. And he stared at Rachel in recognition, and let her in. Ivy was sitting on a small couch that was in the center room of a suite much like the one she and Trent were in, but smaller, and with a much less spectacular view. She sat down in a chair across from Ivy, and with the ease of someone who had been dealing with staff her entire life, although of course she had only been staff, she gave Paul instructions to search the immediate area for Trent.

"Why are Trent's goons searching for him? Didn't he come back to your suite after his "chat" with Kisten?" Grumped Ivy.

"Well, I am not sure. I fell asleep and when I woke up he was not in the suite, although his security saw him enter the suite hours ago, probably right after he left Kisten. And they never saw him leave, but he's not in there now. I have no idea what's going on, but it looks like someone line jumped him somewhere. I don't think he had prepared a spell or a charm to jump on his own, so I'm very worried. " Rachel said in a frazzled tone.

Her gaze kept returning to Kisten. She was beginning to see little familiar quirks in Kisten, such as hand gestures when he talked, the way his eyes wrinkled when he smiled, and the half amused, half devilish look that he always wore, and it was pulling at her in a way she had not expected. She had loved Kisten with all her heart, and now he was back. Yes, he was an undead, but if she could return his soul to him, he might remember their love. But she loved Trent, now, didn't she? Yes, she did, with everything she was. It was certainly possible to love two people at the same time, it just wasn't possible for her to be with two people at the same time. And Trent was her husband, they had a deep commitment that could not be broken, could it? She began to see why Trent had been so desperate to get married, he knew she would be hard pressed to dishonor her commitment to him, no matter if she told Ivy otherwise. And she started to feel angry at Trent for not letting her make her decision with all the facts. Kisten was here, not alive, but here, and she should have been told. Damn that elf!

But her immediate concern was his safety. Where the hell was he? Were the episodes of illness somehow related to his disappearance? And what about the Elven commitment rings. Was he still wearing his? She had been trying to reach him, but without being able to touch him, she felt very little.

"I've got to call Quen." She went into one if the bedrooms for some privacy and called Quen and filled him in on Trent's disappearance. He was very concerned, and was about to hop on a plane, but when Rachel mentioned the girls, and because Ellasbeth's mother was still there with them, they both agreed Quen had to stay home and carry on as if nothing was wrong.

As Rachel hung up her phone she heard the clatter of pixie wings and she felt some of her tension ease. Jenks was here. Jenks liked Trent; he would help her find him, and his heart would be in the search, not like Ivy. She needed Jenks.

She smiled deeply as she left the bedroom and heard Jenks say, "Where in Tinks blasted hell is Trent? His goons said he is missing. Did Ellsasbeth find out about Rache and him and knock him off?"

Rachel blanched at the thought, and Jenks hurriedly said, "Sorry Rache, I was just kidding. He's too much of a son of a bastard to ever die! And he does have resources, like his wild magic."

"Somehow I think it's wild magic that's involved, but I can't yet figure out even why I think that. It's just that I've had this nagging thought in the back of my mind that something was crawling up my spine ever since we were at the Elven Exhibit in Versailles. It kind of went away after..." Rachel told them.

"After what Rache, you bonked him?" Jenks smirked.

Rachel smiled, and said, "No, that ship had already sailed by then! It was when he asked me to, ah, wear the promise ring." And asked me to marry him, she thought, but she didn't want to say that in front of Ivy. Ivy probably guessed, but no use rubbing her nose in it.

She sat down on the couch, at the opposite end from Ivy. Kisten walked over and sat between them. He started pumping out vampire incense and Rachel stiffened. Next he'd be pulling an aura. Shit, this was not good. She blushed and got off the couch, and walked over to where Jenks was perched on the top of a lampshade.

Jenks glared at Kisten, suspicious and then said to Rachel, "Did anything else happen there that you can remember over the haze of your hormones?"

Rachel blushed even deeper, but then sat down in a chair and closed her eyes and thought. "Well, there was a small statute of an elf girl that caught both Trent's and my attention."

Jenks looked at her with pity. He knew she would never have children, let alone Trent's children, and it must hurt. Trent already had a daughter, so it wasn't the same for him. But he probably wanted children with Rachel, too. "Well, that's nice Rache, but I don't see..."

"No, listen. That statue turned up in our luggage a day later. Neither Trent nor I had any idea how it got there, although thinking about it now, I remember stumbling, well it felt like Trent pushed me really, into the display cabinet where the statue was sitting. I didn't really think anything about it, but now I wonder if it somehow fell into my tote bag. I don't know. I remember thinking Trent was trying to kiss me, but maybe he just slipped." Rachel mused.

"All right, so there was a strange statue, so what?" Asked Ivy, clearly impatient with the whole story. She wanted to go home. Vampires were homebodies, and Ivy was probably homesick.

"Listen," said Rachel impatiently. "Trent fell ill twice in as many days after we found the statue. I don't know why, but I felt the statue was somehow at fault. I know that sounds looney, but we've seen some pretty looney things happen over the past three years."

Ivy perked up. This was something she could sink her teeth, ah fangs, into. She was an excellent researcher, a fantastic detective and her analysis of data was usually spot on. She took her laptop out of its case, which was on the floor next to the couch. "Where was this statue from?"

"It was Elven, I don't remember anything else. It shouldn't be hard to access information from the exhibit, though, as Trent funded it. Paul, can you put Ivy in touch with Trent's people in Paris who can help her get what she needs?" Asked Rachel.

Paul, who had been standing near the door, listening to everything, nodded and moved over to stand near Ivy. Kisten got off the couch, and Paul sat down next to Ivy, and soon they were heads together, engrossed in the computer. Ut oh, thought Rachel, Paul had no idea what he was getting into, or maybe he did. Kisten came to stand near Rachel, making her very nervous. What did he want? A scion? Well, that was Ivy's job, not hers. But she had to admit, undead or not, she felt pulled towards Kisten in a way that was uncomfortable and familiar at the same time.

A thought came to Rachel. "I'm going to go see if that Tinks blasted statue is still in our suite. I'm sure Trent didn't have time to return it." Paul hastily got up to follow her, but Jenks got in his face and said, "I can protect Rache! You work with Ivy." ,Paul spoke into his wrist and then said, "Bob is at the elevator, he will accompany you." And to Jenks he said, " Mr. Kalamack made it clear you are a very seasoned runner, and I respect your abilities, but we have been tasked with watching your back, also. You are also important to Mr. Kalamack." Rachel saw Jenks puff out his chest a little and behind his frown she saw the hint of pleasure. Apparently Jenks liked being on Trent's list of important people.

And then to Rachel's surprise Paul said, "As are you Ms. Tamwood." Ivy just scowled and Rachel couldn't tell what Ivy felt about Trent's 'protection,'. But she didn't seem happy about it.

Rachel and Jenks left the room and were joined by Bob at the elevator. The three rode in silence up to the penthouse suite, and Rachel saw two more nebulous people, a man and a woman, standing on each side of the suite doors. What are they guarding, their luggage? Rachel thought with contempt. And then she remembered that Trent might somehow return to the suite and she was glad they were there. But she wanted them inside, where they could actually help Trent if he came back injured or trailing bad guys. "Tell Jack and Jill to stay inside the suite in case Trent comes back and needs help." She told Bob. Bob spoke into his wrist and they all entered the suite. Rachel put everyone to work searching the suite for the statue, after she saw it was not in Trent's luggage. But it was gone, just as Trent was. "What now Jenks?" Rachel said, as her eyes started to fill with tears. She was frustrated, and didn't know who to hit. She called Ivy on her cell phone. "Hello, Ivy. The statue is not here. Have you found any information on it?"

"Yes, I found out quite a bit. Let's discuss it in person. The information is, ah, interesting, to say the least." Ivy said with a sultry voice.

"OK, do you mind meeting up here? I want to stay here in case Trent somehow makes it back here. Ivy, I'm worried."

"Don't worry, that little cookie maker seems to survive no matter what. Oh that's right, it's because you're always saving him. No wonder he won't let you go, selfish bastard!" Ivy said spitefully.

"Let's not argue about this until after we find him. I admit you've got a point about Kisten, but I can't even think about anything but finding Trent right now. I do love him, you know. I'm just not sure anymore if I can trust him. I'll see you in a few minutes." Rachel said, worriedly.

Once everyone was sitting around the main room in the suite, Ivy opened her computer and spun it around to show everyone a picture of the statue. "According to the owners, who one of Trent's local managers convinced to speak to us, it's a very ancient punishment statue. It was used to punish elves who strayed from the path that ancient prophecy predicted. It's at least 1000 years old, maybe older. They believe Trent may have been targeted by the statue because of his association with demons, I mean you Rachel. No one is sure how it works, but they are some stories that say it can take its victim through a line into a kind of prison. I'm not sure if it's a virtual prison, or a real one. But if we assume it's a real prison, it could be at an ancient Elven settlement, somewhere in the mountains near the Swiss and Italian border. I think we need to go there to see if he's there, or if there are any elves there who have more information. Supposedly there are Elven families there that have been ongoing at that site continuously since the elves crossed over from the Ever After. Have you been able to contact Trent through your rings? You and he seem to have success playing with Elven rings." Ivy said sarcastically.

"No," Rachel replied, with worry in her voice. "Maybe who ever took him took his off.

"Well, let's see if we can find the ancient Elf village." Rachel continued. "I am tired of sitting around. We can leave Jack and Jill here to help Trent if he shows up."

"I'm going with you, and Bob, too. I'm sorry, but I can't let you go alone, and we may be able to help you. We do provide extra muscle, anyway. That's always helpful." Paul said.

Not always, thought Rachel, but she didn't feel like arguing. "Let's meet in the lobby in 30 minutes to go...where, Ivy?"

Ivy went into an explanation of why she had picked a certain village in the lake area on the border as a likely place to start searching. Everyone left the suite except Rachel, and she decided to try contacting Trent through the promise rings while she had a few minutes of quiet. She closed her eyes and concentrated on reaching out to Trent, trying to mimic the feelings she had during their previous connections. She had been able to physically touch him both those times, though. But she wanted to try, anyway. Her worry was pushing her to desperate actions. She thought she heard a thin voice, but she couldn't say it wasn't just her imagination. And then she felt a sharp stab of pain in her head, and the thin voice was gone. The pain was fleeting, and it ended as soon as the voice died out.