Elisa laid on the oversized, plush bed and stared at the ceiling. She was exhausted, but her brain refused to shut down.
This happened more often than she would admit to, especially when she was working on a case where the pieces weren't matching up right. Sometimes her mind wouldn't let go of something until she had thought it through.
This wasn't a case keeping her awake this time, however.
It was a part of her lineage, at some point that she wasn't even sure about.
She was part fae.
How much of that particular blip in her family's timeline affected her? She had uncommonly good "hunches" on the job, that everyone had passed off as good cop instincts.
Her reaction times and speed in fighting, again, had been chalked up to the extensive training that she'd had in various forms of hand to hand. Tae Kwon Do, Karate, many self defense classes and all other trainable forms that she could get into growing up.
How much of that was actually her… and how much was due to some kind of supernatural DNA?
With a sigh, Elisa flung her arm over her eyes in an attempt to block out the sunlight and get some sleep.
Garrett huddled in a stairwell, waiting for his phone to ring and let him know what to do next. He would have lost track of time long ago, locked in the huge, windowless stairwell, if not for his watch.
It was nearing five o'clock. It was wintertime, and the sun would set early. If they didn't hurry, it was going to be night again, and they would have to put up with those damn Gargoyles.
When their first attack started going south, the eldest and most powerful of the halflings, Blake, had ordered him to camp out in one of the emergency stairwells. He was to wait for instructions, and let the rest of them in when the signal was given.
He had to work hard to keep himself hidden. After the attack, Xanatos had ordered hourly rounds by his security detail. Garrett was good at shielding his presence, but he was getting tired from using it so often.
It's not like he grew up practicing magic. He grew up with an alcoholic human stepfather and a whole house full of younger siblings. His mother had him with some random guy who had ran out on her, leaving her pregnant. After that, she had married Craig, and had a whole litter of kids.
As far as he knew, he was the only one to carry any kind of abilities, which led him to the conclusion that his father had been Fae.
He had met Blake two years ago. Evidently Oberon, the king of the Fae, had taken all of "his children" home to a magical place called Avalon. All of Oberon's children who had children of their own had simply given everything up and left.
Leaving all of the half-human children alone.
Blake had worked with Garrett and any other halflings that he found, honing their skills. Some of the halfling kids had stronger abilities than others, but their abilities were all there, somewhere.
"Hey kid," a gruff voice came from behind Garrett. "You can't be here."
Garrett got to his feet slowly. "I am so sorry sir."
"Yeah, well, you're going to need to come with me," The security officer said.
"Okay," Garrett said, trying to look as innocent and unassuming as possible.
Garrett heard his phone began to ring in his pocket, and smiled. That was what he had been waiting for.
Garrett whipped around, grabbing the security guard's right arm. Garrett flipped the startled guard over his shoulder, listening to the man's scream as he flew through the air. The guard landed roughly half way down the steel and concrete stairs, and rolled down the rest to land in an unconscious heap on the next landing.
Reaching into his pocket, Garrett brought out the phone. "Blake?"
"It's time. We will meet you back at the castle." Blake barked out.
"Yes, sir," Garrett said. He walked down the stairs and snatched the security guard's ID badge that would give him access to the whole building. "I'll be right there."
With a swipe of the stolen badge later, Garrett found himself on the lower level of the castle. He made his way through the maze-like corridors until he found the room with the iron cages holding the few of the halflings who hadn't been able to escape.
"Garrett!" a hushed voice called out.
Garrett looked over to see a petite hand waving at him between some iron bars. There were three cages, with bars completely surrounding the young halflings inside, all four sides, ceiling and floor.
Lucien, Tim and Nicole had been captured in the fight the night before. It was Nicole who had beckoned him over, and he watched as she carefully slipped her arm back between the bars without touching them.
Garrett walked towards the cages and glanced at those enclosed in the iron barred enclosures. The original plan that Blake had made was that if their attack was to fail, that a pre-selected few would allow themselves to be caught, and Garrett would release them in time to attack from the inside for the second wave.
Lucien and Nicole had been pre-selected.
Tim, however, was a mistake. One of the least powerful of the halflings, he had probably been legitimately caught and imprisoned.
"The keys," Garrett demanded.
"Over there," Lucien pointed to a small gray lock box on the wall. "It's a big, old fashioned clunky key."
Garrett opened the box, and reached out to take the key. Smoke rose from his hand instantly, as the smell of burning flesh met his nostrils a mere fraction of a second before the pain hit.
"Damn it," he swore, dropping the key with a heavy thunk on the floor.
Iron. Even the damn key was iron.
With a growl, Garrett removed his jacket, wrapping the material around his hand before attempting to pick the key up again.
"Let's go," He practically growled. "It's time."
Together, the four halflings crept up the levels, one by one.
Finally, they reached the main floor that has the secure elevator access. One more, Garrett swiped the key card, allowing the elevator to come all the way to the top.
Within moments, the doors opened, revealing the imposing halflings leader and most of the others.
"I sent a few to the medical floor to find that damn nanny," Blake said coldly. "We may need her help finding those children."
Garrett nodded his understanding.
"Let's spread out," Blake ordered. "It is time to finish this. Garrett, you take two others, get outside and break those damn Gargoyles as they sleep. Sundown is coming, so hurry."
The halflings did as commanded.
It was time to claim their birthright and their places on Avalon.
Garrett used his cloaking ability and led his team unseen to the courtyard. What met them was a bare courtyard.
The gargoyles weren't there.
"Damn," he swore darkly. This was a complication. He looked out to the rapidly descending sun.
They were out of time.
"Spread out," he barked. "We can't get the Gargoyles, but we can go ahead with the plan. Find those children and let's be done with this."
Dropping the invisibility spell, he and the others ran into the castle.
Their time was running short. They must complete their goal before the Monsters awoke and spoiled everything.