Engines and werewolves

Chapter 12

Ficus pursed his lips, but opened the door and stepped aside. "All right, get in here."

Lukeman bowed, and both he and his manservant stepped inside. Ficus closed the door behind them and snatched the mirror from Lukeman. He strode to the center of the room and studied the broken glass.

His narrowed eyes flickered to Lukeman. "How'd it get broken?"

"It was dropped from a low height," Lukeman explained.

Ficus scoffed. "That isn't the half of it, but I can see you're not going to tell me."

Ficus turned away from them and faced one of the tables with a small cauldron. The little man set the mirror on the table and picked up a small, gnarled stick. He dipped the end into the boiling, brackish contents of the cauldron, and the point came out covered in a tar-like substance. The doctor brushed the muck against the mirror and muttered a few words under his breath.

"Heed my words, oh mixture of mine, repair this glass, make it fine."

The black tar lit up with a blue light. The oozing substance slithered across the unbroken pieces of glass and fit itself into the broken portions. Once ensconced it solidified and created a glistening reflective surface that mimicked perfectly the older glass.

Ficus picked up the mirror and held it slightly above him. He twisted the glass to and fro, and pursed his lips before he turned to Lukeman. The doctor shook his head. "It's no good. I've repaired the magical glass, but the magic of the mirror itself is gone."

Lukeman frowned. "Then do you know someone who is able to repair the mirror's magic?"

Ficus glared and wagged the mirror at his client. "I told you if I can't do it nobody can. Besides, the trouble isn't with someone else's magic." He grasped the head of the mirror in one hand and held it with the other. His sharp eyes studied the inlaid gold and he shook his head. "The trouble's with how it was broken. The mirror's magic relied on love, so whoever dropped it wasn't too happy with someone they cared for." His eyes flickered up to Lukeman. "Know anything about that?"

"Perhaps, but what I wish to know is how it can be repaired," Lukeman persisted.

Ficus tilted the mirror and gazed into its depths as he pursed his lips. "I'd say if you're not going to fix whoever broke it then you need the tears of an innocent maiden. " He held out the mirror to Lukeman. "That should re-imbue the glass with its former magic."

Lukeman took the mirror and smiled. "Thank you for the help. How much will that be?"

Ficus closed his eyes and shook his head. "No charge, not for fixing one of her things, however-" the doctor eyed the werewolf with a careful stare, "-there is one favor I want to ask."

Lukeman arched an eyebrow. "And that is?"

He nodded at the hand mirror. "I want to meet the person who dropped the mirror."

The werewolf narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Ficus glared back at Lukeman. "That's my payment. You can take it or-" he raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Part of the mirror cracked, "-I can put the mirror back the way it came."

A low rumble echoed in Lukeman's throat. "Fix it," he growled.

Ficus looked Lukeman in the yellow eyes and didn't lower his hand. "Do you agree to the terms?"

Lukeman pursed his lips, but nodded. "I agree."

Ficus dropped his hand to his side and grinned. "See? That wasn't so bad. I expect to see this special person w

ithin a week. Make sure she comes alone, and have her bring the mirror as proof of who she is. I'll fix the glass then."

"And if I find the maiden's tears before the glass is fixed?" Lukeman pointed out.

Ficus shrugged. "Then hold onto it. You need some practice with your patience, anyway."

Lukeman bowed. "Very well. You will have both within the week."

Lukeman turned and walked out. Albert followed close behind and opened the rear door for him. Lukeman paused on the threshold and glanced down at the mirror in his hand. His cracked reflection stared back at him.

Lukeman shook his thoughts loose and slipped into the back seat. Albert took his positions and drove them away from the house and suburbia.

Ficus watched their leaving from his window. He dropped the heavy curtain and rubbed his chin in his hand. "Very interesting."

3

Victoria sat in the waiting room. Her head was bent so she stared at the floor. Around her were the anxieties of half a dozen other people, but she couldn't focus on anything other than her thoughts. The gurney, the ambulance ride, all were fresh in her mind.

She glanced at her watch. Two hours ago. That's how long it'd been since she'd seen her father. He'd tried to smile for her, but his strength was waning when the doctors took him into the emergency room. She was relegated to await news, good or bad, and stew in her panicked thoughts.

"Miss O'Hara?"

Victoria jerked her head up. Before her stood a young man in an operating gown. A blue bandanna covered his head above his eyebrows.

He smiled down at her. "You are Miss O'Hara, aren't you?"

She jumped to her feet and nodded. "Yes, I am. How's my father? Is he okay? When can I-" The doctor held up his hand.

"He's fine. I came out here to get you and bring you to the room," he explained.

Victoria felt her heart slow. A wave of relief and exhaustion came over her. Her legs shook and she fell back into her seat. "Thank god. . ." she whispered.

The man chuckled and offered her his hand. "Don't thank him yet. Your dad's had quite a shock, but why don't we go see him?"

Victoria smiled and accepted his help in standing. "That would be wonderful."

The doctor led her into the white depths of the hospital. The smell of cleaning formulas hit her nostrils. Open doors revealed empty beds or people in white gowns. Nurses walked the halls. Some of them gave the doctor a quizzical expression, but continued on.The doctor led her to a closed room that lay in the far right corner of the hospital. He opened the door and she stepped inside. The lights were off and the windows opposite the door were blocked by thick curtains, but she could make out the white sheets on the bed.

The bed was empty.

Victoria frowned and turned to the doctor. "What's going on? Where's my father?"

The man stepped inside and locked the door. He turned to her with a crooked grin as he flicked on the lights. "Did I tell you I was going to take you to your father? How stupid of me. I meant to say I was taking you to have a private chat with me."

Victoria's pulse quickened. Her eyes flickered to the door behind him. He chuckled and strode around the room until he stood opposite the door with Victoria between them. "Go ahead, try to escape."

Victoria lunged at the knob and tried to wrench it open, but the door was stuck. She pounded her fists against the entrance. "Someone, please! Let me out!"

The man's quiet chuckle forced her to look over her shoulder. He folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. "You're a sorry excuse for a werewolf, aren't you? You can't even sniff out a silence spell that blocks all noise in and out of this room."

Victoria turned and pressed her back against the door as she frowned at the man. "A werewolf? I don't know-"

"Don't lie to me," he snapped. He grabbed the head scarf and yanked the cloth off him. "I know what you are."

Victoria's eyes widened as she beheld the red eye that was embedded in the man's forehead. It was the same eye as the one worn by the wizard killed by Lukeman.

The fake doctor chuckled again. "I'm glad to see you recognize the eye." He reached up and brushed his fingers over the eye. The thing didn't blink. "It's a symbol of our brotherhood, you know. A way to watch over one another, and to exact revenge."

Victoria pressed her back against the door and shook her head. "But I didn't kill him!"

The man dropped his hand to his side and glared at her. "No, but your mate did, and that's close enough for me. The Brotherhood may look the other way, but I won't let my brother's death go unavenged." He pulled a scalpel from his pocket. The silver blade shimmered against the weak fluorescent tube lighting. His shadow crept across the floor as he moved toward her. The red eye on his forehead glowed with a hellish light. "Now hold still and this will soon be over."

Victoria yelped when there came a knock on the door. Both she and her captor froze. The young man frowned. "What the hell. . ."

There came another knock. Victoria spun around and pounded on the door. "Please help me! Get me out of-"

"Shut up!" the man snapped. He stalked toward her and wrapped one arm around her neck. The man pulled her back against his chest and pressed the blade against her throat. "I told you nobody can-"

"Hear you," a voice finished on the other side.

The man's eyes widened. "How the hell-" The door burst off its hinges and into the room. The entrance hit the man in the shoulder. He dropped the scalpel and stumbled backward.

Victoria yanked herself free and dove against the wall to the left of the doorway. She spun around to face him, but glanced to her left as someone entered.

It was Lukeman, and he had a sly smile on his lips as he studied the fake doctor. "Did I interrupt your malpractice?"

The man sneered at the werewolf. The third eye in his forehead narrowed. "That's rich coming from a mad dog that pretends he's human."

Lukeman stepped deeper into the room. The man backed up. The werewolf's yellow eyes glistened as he curled his lips back to reveal sharp fangs. "I admit I was careless in judging the eye's use, but you are far more stupid than I to challenge me."

The man laughed. "My brother was careless, but I see you don't have your servant with you and this girl is a worthless b***h of a-" Lukeman moved so fast he was a mere streak. One moment he was six feet away, and the next he stood before the man.

Lukeman wrapped his hand around the man's throat and lifted him off the tiled floor. The man choked and futilely pawed at Lukeman's hand. The werewolf drew their faces close together and the fake doctor saw his terrified face reflected in those deep yellow eyes.

Lukeman curled back his lips in a snarl. "Your insult is one mistake you will not live to regret."

Lukeman opened his mouth and revealed two rows of long, sharp teeth. Victoria's eyes widened and she covered her face, but she was too late to miss all the goriness as the werewolf bit into the man's throat. A gargled scream poured from the stranger's mouth. He flailed around for a few moments before his body went limp.

Lukeman pulled his face away and opened his hand. The man's lifeless body crumpled to the floor. He turned and showed off his lower face that was covered in blood.

Victoria gasped and slid out the door. She raced down the hall, not heeding in which direction she went in that rat maze of a building. The young woman rounded a corner and collided with a woman in a nurse's outfit. She threw herself at the normal human and pointed at the way she'd come.

"Someone. . .someone's been murdered!" she gasped.

The nurse's eyes widened. "Murdered? Ma'am, are you sure?"

Victoria grabbed one of the woman's hands in both of hers and nodded as she dragged her down the hall. "Yes! You have to come with me! Please! You have to see it!"

"Ma'am, wait a minute!" the nurse protested, but Victoria dragged her down the hall.

They arrived at the room a few moments later. The door leaned against the frame and partially blocked the entrance.

"What in the world happened here?" the nurse wondered.

Victoria let go of the nurse's hand and hurried to the doorway. She looked inside the darkened room and froze. The room was empty. There wasn't a speck of blood on the floor.

The nurse walked up to the door and inspected the broke entrance. "I wouldn't say this door was murdered, but it was certainly abused. I'm going to have to call this in to security."

Victoria turned to her and shook her head. "I wasn't talking about the door!" She pointed at the interior. "There was a man murdered in this room! I saw it myself."