room.
“You know,” I said. “The first time we came into this building, I didn’t notice so many private rooms. Can you make rooms happen to suit your needs?”
In response, Elsa pointed to a piece of paper on a large conference table. It was some kind of map of the city. But not the type normally drawn by the U.S. Geological Survey. Instead of the usual lots and blocks, the map contained numerous vibrant color images including a picture of the windmill at the far west end of Golden Gate Park and a drawing of the archway on Grant Street that marks the entrance to Chinatown. On another part of the map there was a lone dragon floating above a doorway and a statue of Willie Mays in front of AT&T Park. I also recognized the fountain in the music concourse outside the museum depicted among the map’s other images.
“It’s a map,” I said, knowing I was stating the obvious. “What are these images?”
Elsa ran her fingers along the drawings. “These are the locations of the portals hidden across the city. Although you can carry a copy of the map with you, it would be easier if you memorize the locations.”
Memorizing was never one of my strong suits. “That doesn’t sound easier,” I said. “I’d rather have a copy.”
“You can’t walk around with a paper copy of the map in your hands,” Elsa said. “If you choose to have a copy it will have to be imprinted onto your skin with a spell, but…”
“But what?” I asked.
“Well, I don’t recommend it,” Elsa said. “For one thing, it introduces your body to a powerful form of old magic that is painful, and two, it can be difficult to be on the run and try to conjure the map up onto your skin.”
I was trying to decide which part of her remarks to deal with first: the part about it being painful, the fact that that you could use witchcraft to do something like that, or the part about being on the run. “Could you elaborate more on the part about ‘being on the run?’” Day by day, the Council was beginning to feel more complicated.
“I’m not trying to frighten you, Olivia, but our situation is different,” she said. “Like you, we have a mix of good and bad people, but in the human world you walk away when someone bothers you. In our world, now your world, you won’t always be able to do that. You will need the portals. They also can be a great shortcut if you are ever running late.”
I could tell that Elsa was being honest. She wasn’t trying to frighten me, but she was worried about my safety. What she was hiding, I couldn’t really say. I wasn’t sure if her worries were real, or the result of living centuries on high alert. Our conversation brought me down to earth again. My responsibilities for the campaign were lengthy and serious. I felt the weight, but I welcomed it. I was happy to be involved and pressed to do my best. I knew how to do that.
The Council was something altogether different. I had a tracking device in my arm near the pulse point at my wrist, and as surely as I could feel my heart beat through my skin, so too could these people find me. I had agreed to run a campaign for Levi Barnes, but I really worked for the Council, an organization that sounded lofty in its ideals but had its own fractured political environment. Layer-by-layer, I was starting to realize the complexity of the commitment I’d made.
Elsa in her own way was making sure I understood. It was clear that she did not mean to harm me. She did not even mean to warn me. It was well past the time for that. I was already tagged and ready for duty. Elsa, it seemed, was trying to accomplish what my mother had hoped to do. She was preparing me for my life, my new life. She wasn’t my mother, and maybe that made it easier. It wasn’t her fault that the things I needed to know were intimidating.
“I’m not all that good at memorization,” I said again, looking her straight in the eye. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather have the map imprinted on me.”
She nodded, her green eyes signaling comprehension. “We will need to find the old witch who lives nearby. Nadia will bind the map to you.”
After we