"Gotcha. Where exactly did Alec go to meet the vampires, do you know?" I straightened up, wondering where my wallet had gotten to. So much had happened since we arrived in France, I had lost track of my belongings.
"Vienna, I believe. Why? Oh, you wish to go and rescue him, do you?" Sally tipped her head to the side and gave me a once-over, a definite twinkle in her eyes. "Yes, I can see that's exactly what you intend to do. Good luck."
"Thanks," I said grimly, disappointed that she hadn't offered to fix everything with a wave of her omnipotent hand. Tempted though I was to beg them both to do just that, it was quite clear that Sally felt no further obligation to do anything for us, and really, I couldn't blame her. She had done what we asked - toppled Bael from power, ending my Tooldom. She had given us a place for Alec to rest after removing from the immediate location everyone who threatened us. She had even given us that lovely silk rope and scarf. "I'll just gather up what things I have here and be on my way."
"Ta-ta," she said, returning to her magazine.
I returned to the bedroom we'd occupied, but found no luggage, no purse, and certainly no wallet or passport. How on earth was I supposed to get to Vienna?
"I'll get there if I have to hitchhike the entire way," I growled as I wrapped the scarf around my waist like a sash, tying the rope on top of it. "Pia and Kristoff will loan me some money for one of those portals, I bet. And maybe I could call - " As I stepped out the door, I had a mental image of Terrin chastising Sally, who gave a little laugh in response before suddenly the floor was yanked out from underneath my feet, and I went tumbling into a black void of nothing.
"Hruh?" The black void was filled with a sharp pain. "Wha'?"
"You did not keep your arms and legs inside the portal at all times," a brusque male German voice chided me.
I opened my eyes to find myself on a mat in a small room filled with pale sunshine. A spot on my head hurt - obviously I'd conked it on the floor when I . . . memory returned at that moment. "Jesus wept!"
"You were warned to do so. If you are unkempt now, it is not the fault of Portals Elite, Ltd. Please to move off the receiving cushion."
I got somewhat painfully to my feet, dusting myself off as I limped out of the portal room, saying under my breath, "Thank you, Sally. I don't know how you did it, but zapping me to Vienna was a very nice thing to do."
Fifteen minutes later I was navigating the process of making an international collect call to Pia and Kristoff, who were unhappy, but not surprised, to find that Alec had abandoned me in order to take care of the vampires on his own.
"He wishes to protect you from the council, that is all," Kristoff said at the same time Pia said, "Stupid man. Doesn't he realize you guys are stronger together than apart?"
I agreed with both statements, and would have moved on to asking for the address of the Moravian Council's headquarters, when Kristoff's words struck me.
"What do you mean, Alec wants to protect me from the council? I haven't done anything to them. They're mad at Alec, not me. Aren't they?"
"You had Sally remove them from her palace," Kristoff said with a pronounced note of regret in his voice. "I'm afraid that means they consider you have directly opposed them in the act of completing their duty."
"So what?" I snarled into the pay phone, startling an elderly woman standing at a bus stop next to me. I turned my back on her and lowered my voice. "You did the same thing. Defied them, that is."
"Yes, but the difference is that they don't know for a fact that we had Alec in our house," Pia pointed out. "They suspect it, but have no proof beyond seeing us together in France, and I told them that was because of Ulfur."
I sighed yet again and rubbed my forehead. "Great, so that's why Alec ran off without me? To keep them from punishing me?"
"It's what I would do," Kristoff allowed.
"Well, screw that! I'm not going to sit around and let some damned holier-than-thou group punish Alec or me! Do you hear me? I won't stand for it!"
"You go, girl," Pia said with approval. "Boo, maybe we should go to Vienna - "
"No," he said quickly. "Alec does not wish for our interference. Cora, you must have faith that he will do what is best for you both."
Faith I had in buckets. It was the man of my dreams - literally - who was missing from my life, and I didn't intend on letting him martyr himself to save me. "Why won't he talk to me? Have they done something to him? Something heinous? Oh dear lord, did they already send him back to the Akasha?"
"No, they wouldn't banish him, not with you still here," Kristoff answered. "Most likely he has closed you from his mind so he can deal with the situation. It is, again, what I would do."
"Men!" Pia snorted.
"Agreed. What's the address of the council?"
Reluctantly, he gave it to me, along with the phone number I requested.
"Cora - "
"I know. Let Alec handle it. The only problem is that's the man I love in there with all those judgmental vampires, and I'm not going to let them touch so much as one hair on his adorable if sometimes far too stubborn head. Thank you for the information and advice. We'll give you a call when the dust has settled."