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When “Dancing Queen” came on, the partiers whooped with joy and enthusiastically threw themselves into dancing along. Even the elves on the balcony joined in the dancing. They were all so caught up in the music that they didn’t notice me easing open the stairwell door and slipping through it.
There were no guards in the stairwell, so I was able to run up to the roof level. I cautiously opened the roof door, made sure the coast was clear, then wedged a piece of wood I found nearby between the door and the frame so it wouldn’t close all the way, in case the door automatically locked from the inside.
At first glance, the rooftop seemed empty. The good news was that there were no elves up there, whether guards or partiers escaping the crowd. The bad news was that I didn’t see any gargoyles, either. Now would have been a good time to have magical powers, I thought. I could have sent up some kind of signal. A cell phone might also have come in handy. I was starting to rethink my stubborn stance on refusing to have one. Then again, even if I’d had one, I wouldn’t have it now, since it seemed like all our stuff had been taken away from us when we were sent into the other realm. I wondered if jumping up and down and waving my arms would do any good. The danger there was that I had no idea what I’d attract.
That made me realize how visible and vulnerable I was standing there on the rooftop. There was a waist-high wall around the edge of the roof, and I ducked so that I was beneath it. Crouching, I made my way around the roof, peering up occasionally. It would have been lovely if I’d spotted Sam perched on an adjacent rooftop, watching this place, but I didn’t.
What I did find was a fire escape on the opposite side of the building from the entrance. It was a long way down, but it was a way out, and I couldn’t forget that Owen was still in danger. I watched over the edge for a while, making sure there weren’t any patrols, then I gathered my courage and stepped off the roof onto a fairly rickety metal ladder. These things had to be inspected regularly, right? Elves might own this building, but they’d still have to have a working fire escape, I was sure.
The ladder rattled and creaked alarmingly, but it remained firmly attached to the building. I had to stop and rest with my arm hooked around the ladder every so often because my fingers grew tired and numb from the death grip I had on each rung. When I finally stole a glance at the ground below—which I’d been avoiding doing—it was near enough to be in focus, much to my relief. I came to the end of the ladder and stepped cautiously onto the part that extended to reach the ground. It shot downward so quickly I had to bite back a squeal of fright that surely would have alerted the guards on the other side of the building. Then again, they’d have had to hear it over the pulsing sounds of disco music. In this neighborhood, I figured the guards would have their hands full persuading outsiders that this really wasn’t a nightclub too hot to have a sign advertising it.
After taking a moment to catch my bearings, I ran away from the building. I quickly became acutely aware that this was the real New York, not the sanitized only-in-the-movies version where I’d been imprisoned. The city was generally safer than its public image suggested, but it still wasn’t the sort of place where it was smart for a woman to walk alone at whatever after-dark time it was. It must have been very late—or, rather, early—because the streets were just about deserted.
Now I really wished I had a cell phone. Since everyone else had one, pay phones had become scarce. Not that I had any change for a pay phone. Or money or a MetroCard for the subway. Or keys to my apartment. I was pretty close to Fourteenth Street, so I supposed I could walk home across town and use the phone there to call the office. That was, assuming my roommates were home and would open the door to me—and then not call the police because I’d suddenly returned from having been missing. I wondered how long I’d been gone. The weather didn’t seem too different from when I’d left, and the clothes I’d been wearing in prison were appropriate for the temperature, though I’d have been a lot more comfortable with the coat I’d left in the bookstore when we’d fled.
I reached Fourteenth and was wondering if I could convince a cabbie to take me home and then wait for me to have one of my roommates bring money for the fare when a voice called out, “Is that you, doll? I’ve been following you for blocks.”
I screamed and jumped, terrified that some late-night lecher was taking advantage of my solitude, and then I saw the gargoyle alighting on top of a nearby sign. I’d never seen a more beautiful sight. Tears of joy sprang to my eyes. “Oh, Sam, thank goodness! I didn’t know what to do or where to go and I have to warn Merlin.” My voice was alarmingly wobbly, sounding like I might burst into tears at any moment.
He hopped over to a street sign closer to me and draped one leathery/stony wing around my shoulders. “There, there, sweetheart,” he crooned in his gravelly voice. “It’s okay. I got you. But where the hell have you been for the last week? We’ve been lookin’ everywhere.”
“A week? That’s all it’s been?” Then I pulled myself together and told him, “We were captured by the elves—all of us, all the ones who’ve gone missing. Owen was with me, and Earl and Perdita were there, too. Dan showed up recently, and I just found Rocky and Rollo. In that warehouse there’s a portal to the elven realms. That’s where they had us, and we were under a spell that made us think we were still in New York, but we didn’t know about magic, and it’s all very complicated. What I need to tell you is that Sylvester’s bringing through an army from the elven realms. At the moment, they’re busy dancing the night away, but I think it could still be a problem. And everyone else is still trapped in the elven lands because they can’t get through the wards to the portal, and Owen’s under attack. He was in trouble when I left, but I had to go.” I stopped, totally out of breath and drained now that I’d accomplished my mission to warn someone.
Sam patted my shoulder and nodded. “Well, it’s okay now, doll. Lemme call this one in, and then we’ll get you to a safe place.” He reached up a clawed hand to tap his ear, then gave a rapid-fire series of orders. I was so relieved and exhausted that I didn’t even register what he said. I was too focused on what I’d managed to do and what there still was to do. I couldn’t forget the last glimpse I’d had of Owen under attack.
I did find was a fire escape on the opposite side of the building from the entrance. It was a long way down, but it was a way out, and I couldn’t forget that Owen was still in danger. I watched over the edge for a while, making sure there weren’t any patrols, then I gathered my courage and stepped off the roof onto a fairly rickety metal ladder. These things had to be inspected regularly, right? Elves might own this building, but they’d still have to have a working fire escape, I was sure.
The ladder rattled and creaked alarmingly, but it remained firmly attached to the building. I had to stop and rest with my arm hooked around the ladder every so often because my fingers grew tired and numb from the death grip I had on each rung. When I finally stole a glance at the ground below—which I’d been avoiding doing—it was near enough to be in focus, much to my relief. I came to the end of the ladder and stepped cautiously onto the part that extended to reach the ground. It shot downward so quickly I had to bite back a squeal of fright that surely would have alerted the guards on the other side of the building. Then again, they’d have had to hear it over the pulsing sounds of disco music. In this neighborhood, I figured the guards would have their hands full persuading outsiders that this really wasn’t a nightclub too hot to have a sign advertising it.
After taking a moment to catch my bearings, I ran away from the building. I quickly became acutely aware that this was the real New York, not the sanitized only-in-the-movies version where I’d been imprisoned. The city was generally safer than its public image suggested, but it still wasn’t the sort of place where it was smart for a woman to walk alone at whatever after-dark time it was. It must have been very late—or, rather, early—because the streets were just about deserted.
Now I really wished I had a cell phone. Since everyone else had one, pay phones had become scarce. Not that I had any change for a pay phone. Or money or a MetroCard for the subway. Or keys to my apartment. I was pretty close to Fourteenth Street, so I supposed I could walk home across town and use the phone there to call the office. That was, assuming my roommates were home and would open the door to me—and then not call the police because I’d suddenly returned from having been missing. I wondered how long I’d been gone. The weather didn’t seem too different from when I’d left, and the clothes I’d been wearing in prison were appropriate for the temperature, though I’d have been a lot more comfortable with the coat I’d left in the bookstore when we’d fled.
I reached Fourteenth and was wondering if I could convince a cabbie to take me home and then wait for me to have one of my roommates bring money for the fare when a voice called out, “Is that you, doll? I’ve been following you for blocks.”
I screamed and jumped, terrified that some late-night lecher was taking advantage of my solitude, and then I saw the gargoyle alighting on top of a nearby sign. I’d never seen a more beautiful sight. Tears of joy sprang to my eyes. “Oh, Sam, thank goodness! I didn’t know what to do or where to go and I have to warn Merlin.” My voice was alarmingly wobbly, sounding like I might burst into tears at any moment.
He hopped over to a street sign closer to me and draped one leathery/stony wing around my shoulders. “There, there, sweetheart,” he crooned in his gravelly voice. “It’s okay. I got you. But where the hell have you been for the last week? We’ve been lookin’ everywhere.”
“A week? That’s all it’s been?” Then I pulled myself together and told him, “We were captured by the elves—all of us, all the ones who’ve gone missing. Owen was with me, and Earl and Perdita were there, too. Dan showed up recently, and I just found Rocky and Rollo. In that warehouse there’s a portal to the elven realms. That’s where they had us, and we were under a spell that made us think we were still in New York, but we didn’t know about magic, and it’s all very complicated. What I need to tell you is that Sylvester’s bringing through an army from the elven realms. At the moment, they’re busy dancing the night away, but I think it could still be a problem. And everyone else is still trapped in the elven lands because they can’t get through the wards to the portal, and Owen’s under attack. He was in trouble when I left, but I had to go.” I stopped, totally out of breath and drained now that I’d accomplished my mission to warn someone.
Sam patted my shoulder and nodded. “Well, it’s okay now, doll. Lemme call this one in, and then we’ll get you to a safe place.” He reached up a clawed hand to tap his ear, then gave a rapid-fire series of orders. I was so relieved and exhausted that I didn’t even register what he said. I was too focused on what I’d managed to do and what there still was to do. I couldn’t forget the last glimpse I’d had of Owen under attack.
A moment later, Sam said, “I’m gonna put you in a cab, since I don’t think you’re up for a magic carpet ride right now.”
“Nope, I’m still not up for that,” I said, shuddering as I remembered my last experience with magic carpets.
“Then I’ll meet you back at the office, and we’ll talk to the boss, okay?”
“Okay,” I said meekly.
A cab pulled up a moment later, and it was only after I was safely ensconced in the back seat that I realized just how exhausted I was. I must have dozed off because it seemed like only seconds before a blast of chilly air woke me. I opened my eyes to see that the cab had stopped in front of MSI headquarters, and Merlin was holding the cab door open for me. He offered his hand to help me out.
I’d barely left the car when something struck me and held me in a viselike grasp around the waist. I started to squirm away, then realized it was my grandmother. Granny had never been much of a hugger, so this reaction told me how worried about me she was. Before I could return her hug, she released me and stepped away, her expression making it clear that this had never happened. “It’s about time you got back,” she snapped, only a slight rasp in her voice revealing her emotions. “What were you thinking, wandering off like that?”
I didn’t get a chance to reply before someone else caught me in a bear hug. “It’s so good to see you. We’ve been worried,” Rod’s voice said into my ear. He pulled away and frowned. “But what about Owen?”
“We should let Miss Chandler sit down before we interrogate her,” Merlin said. He tucked my hand into his elbow to escort me into the building and up to his office. Once we were there, he got me settled into a chair and handed me a hot cup of tea. Granny and Rod pulled up chairs nearby, like they were afraid to let me out of their sight.
