Page 56 of Made

An occasion to hear John David’s doorbell had never before presented itself. And I admit that I went into what must’ve looked like a comedic fight or flight when it “rang”. I jumped, perhaps as much as three inches off the chair where I was seated. It sounded like the London Philharmonic was inthe living room playing “God Save the King”. The good news was that it was startling enough to cause Keir and Kagan to stop and take a breath.

“Good grief, John David!” I said. “I can’t decide which best describes that experience. Too loud, pretentious, or ostentatious.”

There was no time for the vampire to reply to my utterly rude accusation before Jarvis entered with Max close behind.

“The magistrate has a visitor, sir,” Jarvis announced.

Not one to overlook the needs of guests, John David played host without missing a beat. “Mr. Pteron, come in. Please help yourself to coffee or tea service. If you’re hungry, we still have fresh offerings from dinner earlier.”

Max held up his hand. “Very kind. Just tea. With cream, please.”

“Max,” I began, but remembered Lochlan’s admonishment. “I mean, um, Counselor Pteron, did my clerk fill you in?”

“I believe so.”

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to get your input on how to proceed. Do you know who the kidnappers are? And, I guess most importantly, how can we get Esme back?”

“As to your first question,” he said, “yes. I know who they are. The second question is a bit trickier.” I sighed.Why can’t it ever just be easy?“She’s been taken by Cardinals. They’re overseers of Universal Law, including physics, metaphysics, fate, fortune, etc., etc.” I looked at Keir to see if he knew something about them. He shook his head. “As to why they’d want Esmerelda, I really can’t guess. Honestly, I’ve never heard of them interfering in our business in this way.”

“Interfering?” I asked.

“Interrupting might be a better word. They work behind the scenes, as it were. It’s unusual for even magickind to know of their existence, although there are various references in myth and legend. Interrupting the life of a person is simply unheard of.”

“Given her interest in such things, I’m sure Evie will be jealous when she finds out we’ve rubbed up against a cosmic mystery. But I think we need to approach this practically. We care less about why they took her than about her return. And, of course, we’ll be wanting them to leave her alone in the future.”

“Aye!” Kagan interjected with an outburst. “We want her backANDwe want them to leave her alone!”

We all turned to stare at him for a couple of seconds. Mostly for the sake of being polite. After giving him time to continue if there was more, I turned back to Max. Or, um, Counselor Pteron.

“Go on,” I encouraged.

“I’ve been giving this some thought on the way here. Though she’d have to get a special dispensation from the Bureau, I believe Esmerelda has grounds to bring a lawsuit.”

“Please tell me that’s not the fastest option,” I said, “Because I’m in a position to know how long a lawsuit takes, even if it’s added onto the Yule Court docket. We’d like to get her back, um, now.”

Max nodded. “The thing is…”

“Yes?”

“The thing is that the Cardinals occupy a dimension that doesn’t conform to the normal parameters of space and time. Even if you got a green light for a recovery mission, you’re not physically suited to survive. There.”

The question that begged was obvious. “Then how is Esme surviving? There,” I asked.

“That is the most perplexing thing about this case,” he said.

“What are our options then?” I asked.

“First. Lawsuit. But as you point out, that’s not an immediate solution.”

“Next?”

He sighed. “I can get an emergency hearing at the Bureau and ask for access and a way to equip a rescue team for survival. If there is such a thing. If not, that leaves lawsuit, I’m afraid. And that presents another wrinkle. I’m not positive the Cardinals are subject to the Bureau’s authority. They’re thought to be their own law. Over everything. Aside from everything.”

“I think you just wandered into abstract territory,” I said.

“Sorry. I mean to say we need them. Depend on them. Without them, there would be…”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but I got the message. Apocalypse. Armageddon. Dystopia. Worse?