Page 6

Our quick, bleeding exit from the Japanese Friendship Garden was marked by staring, exclamations, and open curiosity from the rest of the magical community.

No one rushed up to ask us what had happened… none of the suitors who had just been smarming and swarming all over Felicia. (Though to be fair, I did not see Mateo or Clayton among the remaining Listeds.)

Possibly their hesitation was due to Felix’s bloody arm, or the fact that I had my gun out (screw the law about no guns in the city), or the rage that rolled off us.

No one offered to help except for Ahren Hirsch and Hans Goldschmidt.

Not only did Ahren and Hans escort us to our car, they went to their own rented vehicle and drove behind us to Felix’s house.

We went as fast as we could. Felix could curse like a sailor, and he wasn’t holding back.

Felix owned a small house in a humble neighborhood.

It had a gravel driveway that ended behind the house.

Even with Felix’s car parked near the back door already, there was enough space for Eli’s car.

The rental car pulled into the curb in front of the house.

I hurried ahead of Eli and Felix and rang the doorbell to give Lucy a little warning before we all barged in.

Eli’s younger sister, wearing an apron, rushed into the small living room. There was an archway at the back of the living room that led to the dining area and then a door to the right into the kitchen. Everything was clean and gleaming.

Lucy slapped a hand over her mouth when she saw Felix’s bloody arm.

She rallied pretty quick, as befit a Savarov, even one only twenty years old.

In no time at all, she’d thrown a towel over the dining table and assembled a basin of hot water, a clean washrag and soap, bandages, and medicine.

Then she beckoned Eli into the kitchen, where Felix held his bleeding arm over the sink.

Hans, Ahren, Felicia, and I stayed in the living room archway to give them some maneuvering space, but we watched.

“Eli, take out the arrow,” Lucy said.

Before Felix could think about it, Eli grasped Felix’s arm with one hand and yanked the arrow out with the other. The blood flowed more freely.

Felix clamped his teeth together. He didn’t make a sound. The man was not agreeable, but he had courage.

“Dining table,” Lucy said. She looked pale but determined. She handed her brother a rag to wrap around Felix’s arm, then Eli helped him from the kitchen to a chair. No drips on the floor. Lucy was practical.

Seated at the table, Felix stretched his arm on the towel. Lucy poured antiseptic liquid over Felix’s arm. This new product was amazing for preventing infection, but I knew from experience that it stung. Felix turned even whiter.

The rest of us pretended to talk, so we wouldn’t witness Felix’s pain. While Lucy bound the wound tightly, she was asking Felix questions he wasn’t in any shape to answer. Maybe she was just trying to distract him. He snarled at her. She didn’t flinch.

Eli had joined us in the living room, still holding the arrow.

“It’s very strangely constructed,” my husband observed. “Not that I know much about arrows.” He went to a window to have a better look and mutely held it out to me. I was the weapons expert.

The arrow was not only very long, but made out of a wood I couldn’t name. There was still blood on the business end. Didn’t bother me. I ran a finger along the shaft. “I’ve never seen an arrow like this,” I admitted.

“It’s Japanese,” Hans said.

Felicia turned her head to look at him. It was a slow movement, deliberate. What was up with her?

Hans said, “Japanese arrows are longer because their bows extend more. The bow can be taller than the archer.”

“What’s this made of?” I asked, holding it out.

Hans took it, but he hardly looked down. “Bamboo, most likely.”

“Good to know.” Eli glanced from Felicia to Hans, who was looking anywhere but at my sister. He asked me a silent question, his eyes wide. I shrugged. I had no idea what was going on with her.

“Now all we have to do is find out why some unknown Japanese archer wanted to kill Felicia,” I said.

“It won’t stop bleeding,” Lucy called. I could see the bandage she’d wrapped around Felix’s arm was turning red. Lucy’s mouth was pursed tight as she concentrated on her husband’s arm. She was pretty worried. “Maybe there was something on the arrow?” she asked.

Not only had they wanted to pierce us with arrows, but they wanted us to bleed to death afterward.

“Felicia,” Felix said. He didn’t raise his voice, but he put some force into it. He was in pain.

My sister had a strange expression on her face. She was half-unhappy, half-pleased. She practically stomped into the little dining room. “Lucy, I’ll have a try,” she offered in a grumpy voice.

Lucy jumped up so Felicia could take her chair. Lucy had no conflict like Felicia did. Lucy was simply relieved someone could help. My sister dropped into the chair with all the grace of a sack of potatoes. She peeled off the soaked bandage.

“I know you don’t like to do this,” Felix said, doing his best to sound calm and grateful. “But I would be glad if you would.”

“It’s a misuse of power,” Felicia grumped. “I’ll have to sleep for at least two hours.”

“You don’t like it because it requires fine control,” Felix retorted, sounding much more like himself.

They glared at each other for a long moment. Though their family connection was very distant, you could see a likeness, just for a moment.

Death grigoris—who excel in taking life—can also give it back, in the form of healing.

The process is draining, unless you’ve recently sucked the life out of something, animal or person.

Felicia had complained to me about twenty times that it was difficult and painful, while sucking life out was easy and comfortable.

Now my sister put her hands on Felix’s bloody, bandaged arm and glared at it.

She did not say a spell, as almost all other magic practitioners would have done.

In Felicia’s opinion, spells and the herb mixtures grigoris used—the reason they always wore the vests—were simply shortcuts. Felicia more or less thought at things.

Now she was thinking at Felix’s arm.

Slowly, slowly, the bleeding stopped. Felicia dropped Felix’s arm and took a few deep breaths before she stood, visibly shaky and pale.

I felt a movement behind me. I turned my head to see Ahren and Hans had inched back into the little dining room, their eyes on my sister.

Ahren was not a little shocked, but Hans was not a little full of admiration.

That’s what a show of power will do. Even power that can be used to take life away.

“That’s the most I can do. The rest will have to heal on its own. I need to go back to your house,” Felicia told Eli. She was not meeting our visitors’ eyes, but she held herself proudly. She did not want the two men to understand how wobbly she was.

Felix clearly needed to rest, Lucy probably wanted to clean up her dining table and take care of her husband, and I wanted to take off the damn heels. I was sure Eli wanted something, too, though I couldn’t guess what that was.

It was good that Felix had gotten to the park by streetcar, or we’d have to make arrangements for his car to be retrieved. We didn’t need another complication today.

It was obvious that he couldn’t attend the massive opening reception tonight. As tough as Felix was, he’d suffered blood loss and the pain of the wound, and he needed to stay home and rest.

“Don’t even think about trying to come tonight,” Eli told his friend. Felix might have tried to protest this, but Lucy bristled with anger when her husband opened his mouth.

“You won’t go, Felix,” she said. “Tonight you stay home.”

To my surprise, that settled it.

I was glad to see Eli giving Lucy a hug as we left, because she’d coped so well with the emergency. I gave her hand a little squeeze. Job well done, Lucy. She beamed.

Felicia was too busy pretending not to be exhausted to do more than give Lucy a limp wave.

We left the house in a group. I couldn’t tell how the two strangers felt about the whole incident.

What had we done to upset the Japanese?

What had we done to upset anybody ?

Felicia was a very young woman attending her first Wizards’ Ball, and she hadn’t done anything to warrant being shot. I kind of shook myself when I realized we’d all been standing together in the front yard, all silent.

Eli thought of the right thing to say to the two Germans. “Do you know how to drive to your destination?” he asked. “Do you want directions? If you need, we will be glad to show you the way.”

That was a nice offer.

“We only have to drive to the ferry parking lot and leave the car there,” Hans said. “We know the way. I’ve been in San Diego before.”

Ahren nodded. “We’re staying at the Del Coronado.”

Ahren Hirsch’s family might be refugees, but they’d sent him to the Wizards’ Ball well supplied with money.

Even I had heard how swanky the Hotel del Coronado was.

The hotel was not only located on Imperial Island (formerly North Island) but on the water.

Movie stars stayed there. Apparently, so did wealthy German Jewish refugees.

“I hope we will see you this evening,” Hans said. His English was excellent, with much less of an accent than Ahren’s.

“We’ll be there if nothing prevents us,” Eli said. “I hope the incident this afternoon was an isolated one, that we can continue this week in safety.”

As if the words had been ripped from her throat, Felicia said, “Thanks for your help in the park. I truly appreciate it.”

Her words were the right ones, but her tone was off. Everything she did around these two men was odd. I hoped the German cousins could not tell. I was glad she’d said something, though. We owed them.

At the park, Ahren and Hans could have cut and run, or they could have stood back and let the archers continue to take shots at us. They’d chosen to defend my sister. One of them had been responsible for the shield thrown up around us.

“We were very glad to be of assistance,” Ahren said. Ahren and Hans gave us polite bows and were on their way.

Felicia looked after them. I could not read her face.

I was going to have to have a talk with my sister. Maybe not today, because it had been long and uncomfortable and nerve-racking—and it wasn’t over yet.