Wood Sprites полностью

On her screen, Louise saw that three people had gotten out of the elevator. The first was a man with a museum badge pinned to his shirt pocket. She nearly squeaked in surprise to see that the two people following him were elves. It was the queen’s delegation to inspect the exhibit for culturally important pieces! What were they doing here now? They were supposed to come tomorrow during a big black-tie event.

Despite the grainy texture of the surveillance camera, Louise instantly recognized Sparrow Lifted by Wind. The female elf wore a fairy silk gown, and her gleaming hair spilled down to the floor all braided with beads and jewels and ribbons and flowers. In the center of her forehead was the blue bindi triangle that she alone wore. Most importantly, the female elf was trailed only by Bladebite. Where were the other four sekasha?

“Look out!” Louise frantically texted to Jillian, who was moving somewhere through the museum below. “Elves!”

Bladebite was stating something forcefully as he gestured about them. He was using High Elvish, which Louise couldn’t follow at all.

“It is a treasure house,” Sparrow answered in Low Elvish. She flicked her hand, dismissing him. “The doors are locked. There are dozens of guards. It is safe. Go. Look.”

Bladebite continued to protest even as Sparrow moved away from the elevator.

“Go. Look.” Sparrow walked past Louise without pausing to see if the sekasha followed.

Nor did he. Far below in the stairwell there was a slight noise, like a muffled sneeze, that Louise knew in her heart of hearts had to be Jillian.

The warrior glanced toward Sparrow and then, shaking his head, started down the stairs.

Oh, for once, Jillian, please don’t get caught, Louise thought as hard as she could. Blindly charging after Bladebite, though, seemed like the wrong thing to do. If for no other reason than the fact that the museum staff member was walking in circles, trying to keep both elves in view. Louise was afraid that she’d collide with him.

The man wasn’t sure which person to follow. “Um, I thought we were going to, um, wait, I’m not sure if you can. . Right.” He turned and spotted someone across the room. “Yves? What are you doing here?”

“The EIA asked us to facilitate this since we’re trustees for most of the museums that donated to this exhibit. I brought Ambassador Feng with me. He’s the United Nations’ representative for these negotiations. His translator has taken ill. Parlez-vous Français?”

Ambassador Feng could have been mistaken as an elf even though he wore a dark business suit. He was tall and elegant and handsome, with long black hair and almond-shaped dark eyes. Only his round ears marked him as human. He stirred uncomfortably, looking annoyed at the museum staff person.

The staff person blinked in surprise. “Um. That’s French. No. I took Mandarin in high school. Nǐ hǎo.”

Yves waved the implied offer away. “I doubt very much that the husepavua knows Mandarin, and mine is quite rusty.” He turned in question to Sparrow.

“Oui, je parle Français.” Sparrow answered that she spoke French and proved it by continuing the conversation in that language. “What is this stupidity? I have guard dogs with me.”

“They are distracted.” Yves waved his hand in a circle to take in the museum. His back was to the camera so that Louise couldn’t see his face. “This is the most inconspicuous place we could meet. If I need, I can have your holy dogs killed off.”

“We should not be meeting at all,” Sparrow stated. “And please don’t kill my dogs. Yes, I loathe them with all my heart, but it would make my position tedious.”

“There has been a change in plans,” Yves said. “You must return to Elfhome as soon as possible. Go back to the border and wait.”

Sparrow hissed out what might have been a curse and flicked a glance toward the museum staff member. “We need more privacy than this.”

Yves turned and addressed the staff member in English. “Do you have the insurance paperwork?”

“No. I thought — do we really need them?”

“Yes. Please, go get them.”

No, no, don’t go! Louise didn’t want to be alone with these people. She felt like she was in shark-infested waters; if they found her, they’d kill her instantly.

“Oh! Okay. I’ll be right back.” The man hurried away.

Louise shrank back, putting her hand over her mouth.

Sparrow waited until the elevator dinged closed before growling out, “You demanded I come, and I set all my plans in motion and came, and now you’re telling me I must go back? I will not be able to stop what I have started!”

“Shut up and listen,” Ambassador Feng snapped. “We do not have time for this. Your dogs might return at any moment, and I do not want them sniffing at me.”

“They will not recognize you, especially in those ridiculous clothes.”

“At least I’m not in the same rags I was in four hundred years ago.”

Sparrow glared angrily at the male who seemed more and more an elf.