your help to get rid of this demon and go back to work.”
Elsa picked up her shoes and socks and began to put them on.
“This time I’m leaving,” she said. “It’s obvious that you are not prepared to deal with the situation and I can’t help someone who won’t help herself. This isn’t a school project that you can ask your parents to fix. You are a grown woman in trouble—a trouble only you can make disappear. If you won’t help yourself, then there is nothing I can do.”
“What happens if you go?”
“More of the same, only minus me in your dreams,” Elsa said. “Halbert will continue to take what he wants from you until there is nothing left.”
She used my pride against me, and it worked. I couldn’t stand the idea of losing my business to him that way—stripped to the bone, all my clients and past successes erased.
“OK,” I said, swallowing hard at what was unfolding. “What do I have to do?”
Elsa smiled. “I am glad you asked.”
****
CHAPTER 6
Elsa asked me either to close my business or take a leave of absence. Both suggestions seemed too dramatic, so I put her off, saying I would start with a vacation. I informed my remaining clients I would be out again for several weeks. Then I called my staff and apologized profusely for being out of touch, giving them all modest pay raises as encouragement to stay on and manage things while I was away.
My home has three bedrooms. Besides mine, one is an office that I use when I work from home rather than downtown, and the other is a smallish guest room with a double bed. I gave that room to Elsa, complete with a fresh set of sheets and a tutorial on how to use the remote control for the small television perched on a table inside. It was obvious that wherever Elsa normally spent the bulk of her time, cable was not available.
I went to bed that night and slept soundly for the first time in weeks. My peace was short-lived, though, when I was awakened at 6 am the following morning by Elsa, who stood looming above me, a pair of my running shoes in her hands.
“Up!” she said. “It’s time to begin your training.”
I mumbled something about it being too early and rolled over. This time she pulled the blankets off and let the cold air roll over me. I shot up and tried to pull the blankets back, but Elsa was not budging.
“Up!” she repeated. “You need to get into fighting shape.”
“Where are we going?”
“I did a little scouting while you were asleep last night. There is a place nearby where we can begin our work.”
“Are you going to feed me to the lions?” I grumbled.
Elsa snorted. “I am not quite that old, if that is what you were implying. Besides they would not have fed their seer, possibly their local healer, to the lions.”
That caught my attention. I didn’t know anything about Elsa or where she had come from. For all I knew, she did live when the Romans built their coliseums. She seemed to know I had a few questions on the tip of my tongue because she quickly cut me off. “Later. I will answer your questions when we return.”
Not long afterwards, I was staring at a steep set of steps inside Kezar Stadium, an old football stadium located nearby.
“You want me to run the stairs? Why?”
“When I was your age I could ride a horse for miles while holding a crossbow,” Elsa said, her hands on her hips. “ I’ve fired a rifle from horseback while hunting with my tribe. Can you do that?”
I shook my head, trying not to laugh at the image of me with a crossbow.
“You need to get into fighting shape to protect yourself,” Elsa chirped. “After a few weeks with the demon, I fear you’ve lost some of your energy.”
“I have no need to shoot anything from the back of a horse,” I barked back. “I can’t see how this will help me at all.”
“Just run the stairs,” Elsa deadpanned. “I will see you at the top.”
This was too ridiculous. Hunt. Ride a horse. I was a modern woman. I rode public transportation. It was with that kind of mindset that I prepared to walk away. But where would I go? I had asked Elsa to stay, and more importantly, I hated to abandon a challenge. How hard could it be to run the