Chapter 9

Poisoned Passion

It seemed Kandomere worked weekends as well as long nights. Alice hadn't seen him all weekend, not that she'd ventured out for more than a few hours at a time across the two days, and mostly just to take pictures around the local neighbourhood. It was a routine she'd been doing for years wherever she lived, no matter the conditions. She found the contrast between rich and poor to be as fascinating as it was disgusting. Before she'd lived in Elftown she'd moved around many of the poorest areas of LA. Dirt and depravation were par for the course. Litter, graffiti, run down buildings, most of the places she'd lived in had these things in common.

When she'd managed to obtain a residency pass for the human community in Elftown, she'd ben stunned by how clean everything was, despite the simplicity of the buildings. The community had purely catered for humans by humans. Although humans weren't technically forbidden from shopping in Elvish establishments, over the years it had become more common for like to stick with like. The only difference was the human community had to stick to Elvish standards of cleanliness. It had felt very much like an upgrade compared to how she'd grown up.

When Kandomere had come into her life and allowed her and Kyra to stay in his spare apartment, the contrast between the human community and the building he lived in had surprised her. Everything was more than clean; it was polished and gilded. Poor elves were almost non-existent. Kyra was an oddity. She was the unfortunate by-product of her parent's bad life choices. As an elf she had every right to be in Elftown without any sort of permit, but when Alice had met her when she started working at Norkas' establishment, she'd been treated worse than a human. To say she carried the sins of her parents was an understatement. Part of her hoped that she would meet a nice Elvish man, as archaic as such a notion was. Alice honestly didn't see how Kyra could improve her standing within the community without elves to back her up. It was partly why she felt so protective of her. Her humanness couldn't elevate Kyra, but she could stand up for her, even if it did earn her a backhand.

Monday came around and Alice made a beeline for Alavara as soon as they got to the studio. Neither of them had felt comfortable spending any of the money they had been paid, fearing that the amount was a mistake.

"Um, Alavara? Can I talk to you about the money?" Alice asked, hovering a safe distance as the older woman perused the day's schedule.

"Money? Was the amount wrong? Were you underpaid?" she replied, not looking up.

"Uh, no… no, I think we were overpaid… Uh… We've only been here a week…"

Alavara looked up, turning her head to face Alice. "This is not the restaurant business. Pay reflects talent. Though, I will say, restaurant staff don't get paid nearly enough. I know they take advantage, particularly of humans."

Alice was stunned. The stubborn part of her wanted to argue that being paid for the equivalent of a month's work as a server when they've only worked for a week in the studio was too much. Did Kandomere have something to do with it?

"Are you sure?" Alice said, looking briefly at Kyra, who was also stunned.

"Of course I'm sure. You should see how much the models are paid. It's obscene…"

Alice had no doubt about that. Even in the human world, models were highly paid. High profile models lived very much like celebrities. She imagined that Elftown models all considered themselves to be celebrities. The distain she'd been treated with when she first set foot inside the studio seemed to highlight how they viewed themselves.

Deciding to swallow her pride, at least for the moment, she nodded and concentrated on setting up her camera as the first models arrived for the first day's shoots. It seemed Alavara was right. Models were still turning up wanting to work under her studio name and had heeded her warning about turning up intoxicated. Although none of the models were happy to see that their photographer was human, they did as she directed without vocal complaint. A few of them had turned up wearing a similar gorget to the one Kandomere had worn, and had deliberately take their time in removing it when in Alice's presence. She simply rolled her eyes and ordered them into various poses.

As she had the previous week, Alavara remained present to give an extra level of authority should one of the models given Alice a hard time. So far, she hadn't needed to step in again and the day passed without any incidents.

Kandomere was frustrated. The lead he and Montehugh had followed up over the weekend turned out to be next to worthless. It had been a wasted effort for all involved, and they were no closer to tracking down the nearest Inferni coven they suspected had stepped in to replace Leilah's coven. It seemed they had learned from Leilah's mistakes in staying below the radar. There hadn't been any magical outbursts detected, no reports of wand sightings. Nothing.

Ordinarily, he'd be working late into the night, but he'd done that all weekend and the previous week. Furthermore, he hadn't had the opportunity to see how Alice was getting on at Alavara's studio. Despite how busy his department had been researching sources and chasing endless leads, she hadn't been that far from his mind.

He decided to clock out at a reasonable hour so he could swing by the studio and hopefully catch Alice before she could leave for home. He picked up coffee on the way, smiling to himself at the reminder of their previous conversation regarding an elf-owned coffee shop potentially poisoning her coffee simply because she was human.

When he arrived, the studio was winding down for the day and everyone was busy packing up. He spotted Alice going through her camera, so he moved over to her and held out the coffee.

She was startled by the cup suddenly hovering in front of her face and nearly dropped her camera.

"Christ! That would have been costly. For you," she groused as she gripped her camera tightly and put it away.

He was smirking as she took the coffee from him. "I didn't realise coffee could be so frightening."

"I suppose that all depends on how much poison you ordered," she quipped back then took a sip.

He actually chuckled. He looked at her for a long moment, noticing a faint flush beginning to creep across her cheeks. Before he could analyse it further, Alavara exclaimed loudly and called him to her.

Alice watched as they embraced and Alavara began talking rapidly in Elvish. It was far too fast for her to catch any of it, and she decided that it wasn't a conversation she needed to hear. She sipped on her coffee and helped Kyra tidy up the racks of clothing ready for the next lot of models.

Alavara missed nothing. Kandomere had used the excuse that he just wanted to check that Alice was proving to be a good recommendation, but she saw straight through it.

"I have known you for far too long. I know when something has caught your eye. I can certainly understand why! She's quite the firecracker," Alavara said, poking him in the chest.

Kandomere huffed and folded his arms. For the most part, he wasn't a man who was easy to read, but Alavara didn't miss a thing. "I was responsible for her losing her employment and her home. It was only right that I fix my mistake."

It was a crappy excuse and they both knew it.

"Perhaps in the beginning there was a small notion of guilt, but now it is far beyond that." She placed a hand on his chest where his gorget used to be. "You removed it for her."

He shook his head. "No, it was time. Beyond time to remove it."

"You do not fool me. You wouldn't have removed it for anyone. Not even your partner for the last decade. But you did for her. I'll bet you tucked it away somewhere you cannot see it day to day," she said.

He sighed heavily. He had hidden it away. He didn't like to look at it.

Alavara put a hand on his cheek. "There is no shame in your feelings for her. It is past time you found some balance in your life. Solana would want you to be happy. Leilah is dead."

His eyes closed momentarily. As good as it had been to know that Leilah had finally paid for all she'd done with her life, there was still the angry brotherly part of him that had wanted to do the job himself.

"She would have tried to set me up long ago with one of her human friends," he replied.

"Exactly. It is time for you to share all that is good in this world with someone." She gave his cheek a light pat.

Alice finished her coffee and zipped up her camera bag, slipping it over her shoulder. She hadn't caught anything that had been said, and she'd been trying her hardest not to stare at them.

"We're all cleaned up I think. Is it okay for us to go?" she asked Alavara.

"Oh, goodness, yes. Please, get yourself home!"

"I am on my way there also. I can drive us," Kandomere offered.

"Oh, no thank you. I need to do some shopping. I wouldn't want you to go out of your way. The human community is on the other side of the district."

"Human community? Nonsense! I will take you shopping," Alavara said in response.

"Uh… we wouldn't really be welcome in elf-run places. I think I've caused enough of a scene recently…"

"My dear, I will take you. No one will say a word, I will make sure of it."

Alice opened her mouth, the urge to protest rising once again. She caught Kandomere's eye and he was smirking slightly as he gave a shake of his head, having seen the urge in her.

She closed her mouth and let out a breath. "Only if you're sure…"

"I am always sure," Alavara responded, smiling widely.

Kandomere said his goodbyes and went to indulge in some retail therapy of his own. Kyra made her excuses and left soon after, leaving Alice with Alavara.

True to her word, they visited every fancy food shop that Alavara knew, ensuring that Alice had the best of everything. She even paid for everything, which did earn enthusiastic protests from Alice, given she had money to pay her own way. Of course, her protests were ignored, and just to hammer the point home, Alavara also insisted on taking Alice to one of her favourite boutiques, insisting that she pick out at least one outfit. Fortunately for Alice, very little was designed to fit a more voluptuous frame, so one single outfit was all she could wear.