Setting the cups of tea on the table, Noli took a seat, making sure the attache case sat by her feet. "How long have you been doing business with the Fae?"

Vix nearly spit out her tea. "Jeff was right."

"How does he know I know?" She'd wondered about that.

"Something about a magic valise?" Vix shoveled another bite of cake into her mouth. "This is very good cake."

Noli's hand went to her face. Of course it was the magic valise. "Why are you doing business with them?

I'm not sure I feel comfortable sharing that with you." Vix said this politely, not snappishly. Still, anger welled inside Noli at her refusal.

Noli slapped the attache case onto the table, just out of Vix's reach. "This is your money. I get my answers, you get your money."

"Where's Jeff?" Vix's eyes went frantic and she looked about the room as if he might magically appear.

"I don't know. He was ... unhappy with my business decisions and left me on my own-but I don't think you know these people like I do." Noli moved the case closer to her as Vix s.n.a.t.c.hed for it.

"Vix, Vix, have you seen Noli?" Jeff called from out of sight, voice anxious.

"What is going on here?" Vix stood, hands on the table.

Noli grabbed the case and held it to her chest.

Jeff strode over to Noli. "Please tell me you have the money. Do you have any idea what you've done? I tried to find your teahouse but I couldn't. Is it even real?"

Standing, she smacked Jeff with the attache case. Hard. "Of course the teahouse is real. Kevighn had no problem finding it. Do you have any idea what you were about to do?" She smacked him with the case again and again, pouring her frustrations into it. "I won't allow you to sell things to King Brogan, especially if he intends to use it to hurt more people."

When it came time for V to kill his uncle she'd gladly stand by his side. Maybe she'd even help.

"I have your money, but I'm not giving it to you until someone tells me what is going on here." Quiet anger tinged Noli's voice as she gripped the case to her chest, stepping away from the both of them.

"Jeff, go get the bottle of whiskey." Vix stood at the head of the table, pale. "I don't know about you, but I need a drink."

Jeff looked from Vix to Noli and back again. "Are we actually going to tell her?"

"We want our money, don't we?" Her look to Jeff was matter of fact.

With a shake of his head, Jeff left. Noli sat down and took another sip of tea. Finally, she'd get some answers.

Jeff retuned and poured himself and Vix a drink, not offering any to Noli, not that she liked spirits much.

"When I first left home, I was befriended by a man." Vix took a swig. "Unsavory sort, yet fairly honest, all things considered. He helped me out a fair bit and I did a number of jobs for him. Eventually I discovered he wasn't mortal and that there were plenty like him. Others like him asked me to do a job here and again. But they've always been jobs. Business transactions. I don't ask questions, and I don't get involved with them or their politics. "

"How long have you worked for Brogan?" Noli polished off her tea and went to the stove for more. "Who's Brogan?" Vix took another pull from her cup.

"Kyran. Only he's not the real Kyran. That's someone else." She refilled her teacup, leaning against the counter, holding it in her hands.

"He's a new client. Met him through someone else we do work for sometimes. Kyran-Brogan-needed us to collect some artifacts for him. He gave us a list of where and what to get." Vix finished her drink and poured herself another. "I didn't ask questions-that's not my job. But something seemed off about him."

Jeff, still standing, made a face. "It's because he doesn't like you much."

If looks could kill, Jeff would be dead.

"No, that's not it." She turned to Noli. "So, yes, we do jobs for Otherworld folk sometimes, but it's just work."

That just didn't seem wise. "You've never been to the Otherworld?"

Vix's eyes widened. "No. Have you?"

"Enough to know that you don't do business with King Brogan any more than you bargain with the high queen." Oh, flying figs. She'd left the case of money on the table within their reach.

"You didn't give the artifacts to him?" A look of terror crossed Vix's face.

"No, she didn't," Jeff retorted. "She gave them to Kevighn Silver who I'm nearly certain is one of them as well."

Ugh, why was Jeff acting like this? Perhaps he needed to be beaten more. Her parasol would be less awkward than the case.

"I have your money." Noli scowled as she gestured to the case on the table. "Count it. Kevighn knows what the pieces are and he knows King Brogan. He promised to make sure the pieces are lost again, as they should be. That artifact cannot be a.s.sembled and put into the wrong hands." She still didn't know what it did, but she completely believed giving it to Brogan or Tiana would be disastrous.

Vix took the case and counted the money. "Can we trust him?"

"Not a chance," Jeff said at the same time Noli replied, "I do."

"There's a lot of money here." Vix divided the money into piles. "More than promised. But I dislike the idea of selling it to someone else. Makes us look bad-and I value my reputation. Also, I got the idea that he was ... powerful."

Why didn't they comprehend the severity of the situation? "He's earth court king, of course he's powerful," Noli retorted. "And yes, he'd bound to get angry. But he's trying to piece together a lost artifact of great power. We can't let him."

"Why do you care so much about them?" Jeff drank directly from the bottle.

Vix's lips pursed and for a long moment the only sound was that of her counting the money into piles. "Are you even Noli? You're one of them, aren't you? Disguised as her. What are they called, changelings?"

All the breath left her and her hands shook. "I'm not a changeling. I'm Noli."

Usually.

Vix didn't look up. "I saw what you did with those cannonb.a.l.l.s. I've seen them work magic before, not often, but enough to know you were using magic. "

She'd seen. Noli's knees went weak.

"You have magic?" Jeff's eyes widened.

Noli looked into the depths of her half-drunk teacup. "Just a little. I only did that for the good of the ship, because we couldn't survive a cannon attack. It wasn't Kevighn's fault."

We have a lot of magic, I just never feel like using it much other than to play games, the sprite replied.

How much is a lot? As much as V? she asked.

I don't know.

"You're doing it again." Jeff stood in front of her, a hand on her shoulder.

Noli closed her eyes and gulped, not relishing the thought of telling this story. "I'm not right, Jeff." Her voice shook. "Some of it is Findlay and some of it is what happened when I fell into the Otherworld."

"Will you tell me?" Jeff pulled her to him "I haven't gone round the bend. Honest." Her voice broke as she leaned her head on his chest.

"Of course you haven't." His arms wrapped around her. "Vix, I still don't know what to do about Kyran-Brogan-whoever he is. He's not very happy with us."

"Well, we wouldn't be the first to sell something collected for one client to a higher bidder. We should lay low and hope this blows over. Jeff, what's the last place anyone would look for us?" Vix kept counting the money. Jeff thought for a moment. "Do you think we could make it to Boston by Thanksgiving?"

"Boston?" Noli and Vix said in unison.

"The last place anyone would look for us is Boston, and well, Vix, don't you think it's time you met my mother?" Jeff's voice went shy.

"I-" Vix's eyes widened as she paused, money in her hand.

Boston? It might be nice to see Mama.

"As long as you don't leave me there," Noli retorted, looking up at him.

He shook his head and patted her shoulder. "No, I won't leave you there. Promise."

"You're not going to stop until you've made an honest woman of me, are you?" Vix looked stricken, hand paused over one of the piles of money.

"Would being my wife truly be so bad?" Jeff let go of Noli and walked to Vix, taking her hand. "Being my wife won't mean giving up your ship, being captain, or our work."

Noli dropped her gaze and leaned against the counter, not wanting to intrude on such a private moment. "Promise?" Vix's gaze seemed more like a threat than anything.

Jeff kissed her. "Promise."

"All right then, I'll say yes. At the very least so you'll stop asking." She continued counting and gave him a sharp look over the bills. "But I'm not going to settle down."

He toyed with her short hair. "I wouldn't have it any other way. It's settled then, as soon as everyone's...o...b..ard, we'll go to Boston for Thanksgiving."

The idea of seeing her mother made Noli's heart leap with joy. At the same time, part of her feared that Jeff and Vix would sneak out in the dead of night, leaving her to be someone else's problem.

"Congratulations," she told them. Her brother was getting married. That made her and the sprite happy. "What's everyone else going to do while we're at Grandfather's?"

Jeff gave her a wide, mischievous grin. "Grandfather does have a very large house."

Noli laughed. Jeff was going to bring his trouser-wearing wife and a bunch of air pirates to Grandfather Montgomery's for Thanksgiving? "Boston's never going to be the same, is it?"

"Probably not," Jeff chuckled, giving Vix a fond look. "Probably not."

"Rogue or not, this is very generous." Vix packed the piles into the case. "We'll have payday later. Let me put this in the safe for now." She and the case disappeared into her quarters.

Noli turned to Jeff. "I can't wait to see Mama."

"Captain Vix, Captain Vix, I need to speak to you right now," a voice boomed from outside, sending shivers down Noli's spine.

Eighteen.

Visitors

"Come out, come out, Captain Vix," the man shouted again.

Jeff arm shot out in warning as his other hand fumbled for his pistol. "Noli stand back."

Vix barreled out of her quarters, pistol drawn, just as King Brogan appeared in the common area, still in his morning coat and top hat.

"Why are you on my ship, Kyran ... or should I say Brogan?" Vix kept her pistol focused on the blond earth court king.

"Ah, what's in a name, Victoria?" King Brogan raised his hands in an empty gesture.

Noli craned her neck trying to see who lurked behind Brogan. One thing she'd learned was that Otherworldly monarchs liked entourages.

"I contracted you for something and I expect it to be delivered. Promptly." He tapped his walking stick on the floor for emphasis.

"You gave us no payment in advance. We aren't bound to sell it to you." Vix held her ground. "Perhaps we found a higher bidder ... "

"Kevighn Silver stole it from us," Jeff blurted, still blocking Noli with his body. "He masqueraded as a crew member and stole it. I think he works for someone also named Kyran."

"Kevighn Silver took it? And he's working for another Kyran?" For a split second worry crossed King Brogan's face. "We can't have a rogue like him with an artifact like that."

"No, we can't, but we don't have to resources to find him," Jeff apologized.

Noli looked on in horror as Jeff blamed this entire debacle on Kevighn. "How could you?" she hissed, taking a step forward. "Kevighn-"

Jeff put a hand over her mouth as if she was a naughty girl. "You'll have to forgive Noli, she's not feeling well."

King Brogan focused on her. His eyes might look like V's, but they lacked his soul and insight.

"An earth sprite on airship?" he cackled. "Whose ingenious idea was that? Kevighn didn't have to steal my artifacts. He probably traded her something shiny for them."

Her heart fell. She wasn't ready to reveal that particular mistake to Jeff and Vix.

Did he give us something shiny? I want something shiny, the sprite whined.