Kali continued to stare at me with her freaky golden eyes. I glared at her in return.

She won the staring contest. No one could beat Kali in a staring contest.

Under my breath I muttered something about finding a foster home for a cat who shredded new lingerie and walked across computer keyboards.

Thoughts of Adam kept pinging at me but I turned back to my monitor and reviewed the lists of galleries in both SoHo and Chelsea.

I wasn't sure why, but my gut had told me from the beginning that we'd find the Sorcerer in the former but the latter was a possibility, too. I'd already skimmed the names of galleries in both areas. No Desmond anything as far as a business name. Likely a gallery simply showed his work.

Thinking of a Sorcerer as an artist who showed his work in galleries in an artistic community was an adjustment. Didn't they stay in dark caves of rooms with bottles of potions, casting spells?

What else had the Magi said?

"You will find him in the sun."

"Sun ... sun..." I looked at both lists again.

And shook my head when I came to Sun Lee Gallery in SoHo. "I guess maybe Kerri did tell me exactly where to find him," I said to Kali who decided to jump onto a stack of file folders before pouncing back onto my desk and landing on a fluttering bright pink sticky note.

I decided to ignore Kali and called the gallery. A recorded message by a woman with an Asian accent said they were on winter hours and opened daily at noon. Might as well head there and see if I could at least track down the location of the Sorcerer. If I happened to see him, I just wouldn't make contact.

The Magi had said that Olivia had to go with me when I talked with the Sorcerer. When a Magi tells someone to do something, if at all possible that someone does it. Kerri had her reasons and I had the strong sense I needed to go with what she instructed me to do.

From my purse in the cubbyhole in my desk, I drew out my wallet that had my undercover ID and some cash. I pocketed it and also slid daggers into my Elvin boots and holstered my Kahr 9mm in a sheathe that I attached to the belt I threaded through the loops on my jeans. The weapon wouldn't show beneath the jacket I'd be wearing.

Lastly I took the stone wrapped in cloth out of my purse and put it into an inside zippered pocket of my jacket. Despite the cloth, my arm still tingled when I touched the wrapped stone.

I prefer to drive when the weather is good, not when there's snow on the ground. Snowflakes drifted from fair clouds as I headed out of the office. I decided to walk the four and a half miles to the gallery as opposed to catching a cab. Most norms would think it unusual to walk that far. For me it was like walking around the block.

By the time I reached the gallery on Wooster Street, my cheeks felt flush, my nose cold, and my mood vastly improved. I stood on the sidewalk and studied the two framed paintings and art glass pieces in the large windows to either side of the door. Did the Sorcerer do either one of the paintings?

One was an oil painting of a waterfall spilling into a glittering pool of water beside a patch of wildflowers. Shadows of leaves from surrounding trees reflected in the pond. It had a magical look to it, almost as if it wasn't of this world.

The other was beautiful too. It was a painting of a geisha sitting beneath a tree, her small hand holding a delicate painted wood fan that covered the smile I knew was on her lips. Cherry blossoms swirled around her like confetti in Times Square on New Year's Day.

I couldn't read either artist's signature-the one with the pond was just squiggles, starting with what could have been a "D."

The signature on the Japanese piece of art was done in Kanji script.

I was betting on the waterfall and the squiggles for Desmond. It really wasn't much of a stretch.

Bells tinkled as I pushed open the door and immediately by scent, sound, and senses, I knew I was in a shop at least inhabited by one of the Fae.

The Fae wardings were exceptionally strong. The wardings wouldn't notice the Drow daggers in each boot because the boots were Elvin-made, but the Kahr sheathed at my belt was another story.

My thoughts strayed to the stone in my pocket and I hoped that the wardings couldn't detect it through the cloth the Magi had wrapped it in.

A petite, elegant woman swept into the room, wearing a frown. I wasn't surprised by her expression. I was disheveled from walking in the wind, hadn't dressed like a potential client, and I was carrying a gun.

"What business have you here?" The woman was Asian and had delicate yet hard features. She wore her hair cropped close to her head in a fashionable style, and she was dressed in an Armani suit that was to die for.

And she was Fae. Definitely Fae. I just had no idea what-I couldn't gauge her by scent or appearance. The fact that I failed to recognize what she was made my muscles tense. I wondered if perhaps she was an Undine or Siren because of the numerous paintings of lakes, waterfalls, rivers, and the ocean lining the gallery walls.

I hoped for the business's sake, though, that she didn't treat every customer like this.

"I'm Nicole." I gave her my undercover name that wouldn't make it easy for her to follow up on me. "Are you the owner?"

"Yes." She continued to eye me with suspicion. "I am Sun Lee."

"I noticed you have a piece by Desmond in the window." I made sure my smile was pleasant and natural. I was very much hoping the oil in the window was by Desmond.

The woman continued to look wary of me. "If you are familiar with his work then I am sure you will have no problem locating the pieces he has on show at this time." I took that as a yes.

Sun Lee walked away from me, looking beautiful in her perfectly tailored suit and three-hundred-dollar heels.

The only thing I had to go on was gut instinct, so I went for the grouping of paintings done in the same style as the waterfall painting in the window. I walked up to a whole series clearly painted by the same artist.

The largest was gorgeous and grabbed my attention immediately. It was love at first sight. The painting was of a fair, dark-haired human woman staring at her reflection in the surface of a shimmering pond. Looking back at her from the water was an Elvin female with delicate pointed ears. The water was dark enough that the female in the reflection could have been Drow. It couldn't have been more perfect for me.

The brass plate under the painting had: WORLDS INTERTWINE.

Artist: DESMOND Gotcha.

I smiled but then frowned. How was I going to get Sun Lee to give me the Sorcerer's address? I glanced at the warding bells, then sent out my air elemental magic to explore.

The entire gallery was protected. I couldn't just slip into glamour and start searching the place.

First, the wardings wouldn't allow me to cloak myself in a glamour if I wanted to. And second, the woman was Fae so she would be able to see straight through my glamour anyway.

I was either going to have to coerce the information out of her or try to break in tonight.

Considering the strength of her wardings, I didn't think I had a prayer at being able to break in.

With the power of the protection, I also didn't think any of my friends could get in easily. Joshua was a Shadow Shifter who could slip into any crack or opening, but could he get past the wardings?

Could Ice find his way inside as a mouse? No, they'd be detected the moment they took human form. I was on my own.

Coercion wasn't likely an option, so I'd try another tactic.

I walked up to the elegant desk Sun Lee was sitting behind. She raised her head the moment she realized I was coming toward her. Tension radiated off her along with a good dose of irritation. Guess she didn't like the fact that I was armed and right then I probably didn't look like someone who could afford anything in the gallery.

"I'd like to purchase that large painting by Desmond," I said as I approached her. "Worlds Intertwine."

"Oh, really." Her tone was one of amusement, as if she found something about my request for that painting funny. She looked over my appearance then met my gaze again. "It's ten thousand dollars.

Will you be paying by cash or credit?"

A Sorcerer who commanded that kind of price-amazing as well as surprising. Although in the paranorm world, I shouldn't have been surprised at all.

"If you can arrange a meeting with the artist, I'll pay you now and use a card." I dug the wallet out of my pocket, opened it, and chose my American Express. "I'm a huge fan of Desmond's work and I would love the opportunity to see the man behind the art." She stared at me in total surprise and I smiled in return.

I'm a Drow princess. There isn't much that I can't afford considering the size of diamonds and other precious gemstones that Dark Elves mine, not to mention all of the different metals. I was also paid very well as a Tracker and as a PI.

"I can bring you cash in the morning if you prefer." She was Fae-you never knew what the Fae would like. I held out my card to her. "I just don't happen to carry that many hundred-dollar bills in my pocket."

"No, of course not." Sun Lee had regained her composure and reached for my AmEx. "I'll put it on your card now."

"As long as I get to meet the artist," I said, holding her gaze.

"This is a favored painting of his, so I believe I can arrange it." Sun Lee looked at the card, which was under the name Nicole Carter. I handed her my ID with my picture and the same name as well.

The moment the charge went through, she asked if I would like it delivered. I told her I would schedule my own pickup tomorrow. I wasn't about to give out my real address. I'd call my friend James.

He and Derek would be glad to help me out. They were awesome that way.

"Did you drive or may I call you a cab?" she asked as I signed her copy of the receipt that her credit card machine had spit out. She certainly was anxious to please now.

I gave my most sincere smile. "That would be so kind of you." Not a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

Really.

She picked up a cell phone from on top of her desk and hit a speed dial number. I'd bet that Desmond's number was on her phone. If anything happened to interfere with her arranging a meeting with him, I'd track her down and take her phone one way or another.

"It's so lovely." I looked up at the painting. It truly was and it had a way of making me feel at peace. Every time I studied it, I swore it looked a little different. Like a new ripple in the pond, a strand of her dark hair let loose in the wind, eyes blinking slowly.

"Desmond's work is quite incredible," Sun Lee said.

"I'm very excited to bring it into my home," I said as she walked me to the gallery's entrance. "I know exactly where I'll put it."

"I thought perhaps because of the gun you carry that you are a police officer," she said as we stopped at the door. "I am ... uncomfortable with weapons."

"How did you know?" I feigned ignorance. She was testing me and likely knew I wasn't human and she had just as much of an idea of what I am as I did her. Which meant she probably didn't have a clue that I'm Drow. "I carry one for protection. One never knows in this city."

"So true," she said with a bow of her head as she let me out the door. A cab had already pulled up. "Thank you, Ms. Carter. I will be calling you."

"I appreciate it, Sun Lee." I walked down the front steps and to the waiting taxi.

My belly twisted a little at the thought of meeting the Sorcerer.

I drew my phone out of my pocket and called my friend James to ask him to pick up the painting for me tomorrow. I had a feeling I was going to be too busy to worry about it for a while.

TWENTY.

Colin and I left the Pit after the Tracker meeting and headed for the Bronx, the area he and I were covering tonight.

Thoughts of Zombies wouldn't leave my mind.

I wore black leather like most Trackers did when we went out at night. The leather was enough to chase away what little chill would bother me. I'd tucked the stone into a pouch on my weapons belt next to one of my Dragon-claw daggers.

"How long have you been in New York City?" I asked him as we headed up the street in the direction we needed to go to eventually make it to the Bronx.

"Not long." Colin had an Otherworldly hint of an accent to his voice.

We came to a stop at the light. "Two years ago for me." At the Tracker meeting tonight I'd doled out all kinds of information about the attacks in Otherworld, but I didn't mention the stone my father had given me.

The other Trackers were ordered to avoid touching any "Sentients" that might be carrying "stones" or the stones themselves. I described them as best I could without actually saying I'd seen one, and though I mentioned having met a Seer I avoided saying that she was a Magi.

I'd explained that we had been told by the "Seer" to not kill Sentients or Hosts, yet it was okay to kill Zombies, but we weren't clear about what the Seer had meant. How could we tell the difference?

Of course I hadn't shown the stone I hid in the pouch on my weapons belt. For one, I didn't want to touch it, and two, the Magi said not to let anyone know I carried it with me. No matter that they were all fellow Trackers, every one of them someone I'd trust at my back, times were a little strange right now. And the Magi. I needed to heed the Magi.

When Colin changed the conversation it caught me off guard. "I was in another part of Otherworld when the Elvin people were being murdered and taken," he said. "I heard of what was happening and that other races of beings intended to rally together to help the Light and Dark Elves. But the threat was gone before they were organized enough to aid them."

"I didn't know that other beings had been planning on helping," I said. "I've always thought that we'd been left to our own fate while Fae and Other alike went on with their lives."

"How old were you?" Colin asked as he met my gaze. "It surprises me that you weren't aware of that."

"Five." I brushed a strand of hair from my face. "Too young for my father to have shared that kind of information with me," I said. "But it's good to know that there were those who'd planned to help." Unfortunately it had been too late.

"You were just a babe." Colin gave me a smile that was drop-dead spectacular. I wondered if his Dragon charm was on auto, but realized the flip in my belly was purely a reaction to his natural male magnetism.

I knew better than to ask, but I still said, "Oh, and how old are you?"

"If your father wasn't King of the Drow and as old as Elves are young, I'd say I'm old enough to be your father." Colin laughed. "As it is, I'm only a youngling in comparison to him." I raised an eyebrow. "And that is...?"

"Tell you what." His grin turned devious. "I'll make a bet with you. We'll have a little race."

"Oh?" I managed to keep a straight face even though his naughty little boy expression made me want to laugh.

"If you win, I'll tell you how old I am," he said. "If I win, you'll buy me a beer when we're done with tracking for the night."

"You've got it." I shook hands with him. With my air element to help me, I'm faster than a cheetah. However, I have endurance where a cheetah is only good at his maximum speed for short sprints.

"We just need to go somewhere not in the zones with the high number of attacks and disappearances," I said. I had my team focusing on areas with the most instances. "I need to be able to do a little exploration with my elements and it'll be much safer in a place with no people."

"I have a great idea." His smile was like a man who knew he had it in the bag, which made me want to win even more. "Beat me to the Bronx Zoo entrance. I'll even give you a head-" I was gone before he finished the end of the sentence.

He was waiting for me when I got there.

I put my hands on my hips and walked to where he was standing, beneath the Bronx Zoo sign.

"How did you beat me?"