Serpent's Kiss (Elder Races #3)(73)

He smiled. That was her polite way of saying things had calmed down ever since Tiago and Niniane had left Chicago. “I’m doing well, thanks. Adriyel was eventful, but at least the coronation took place, and the last I heard, Niniane and Tiago were fine. Listen, I’m afraid I’ve got to cut right to the chase. I’m involved in an issue in San Francisco that’s turned urgent, and I was hoping you would be available for a consult.”

“That sounds intriguing,” Seremela said. “ And you already know my workload here is less than hectic. What’s the issue?”

“I can’t tell you over the phone,” he said. “The consult would have to be in person. But you would be compensated handsomely for your time, and of course for all your travel expenses.” He would see to that personally. He waited a short time for her to process the request. Then he said, “I need you here quickly, Seremela. This is life or death.”

The sound of his own words punched him in the face. Fuck, it really was life or death. Carling’s life, Carling’s death. He broke into a cold sweat.

Don’t panic, son. Get things done.

The pleasure in Seremela’s voice turned somber. “Of course,” she said, so immediately he could have kissed her. “I’ll be glad to help in any way I can. I’ll book the first flight I can get.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll charter something for you instead. It’ll get you here more quickly.”

“Guess I’d better hang up so I can go home and pack a bag,” Seremela said. “I’ll head straight for . . . O’Hare?”

“That’ll do. Give me a cell phone number so I can get in touch with you in transit if I have to.” She rattled off a series of digits, and he jotted them down. “Seremela. I’m going to owe you a big one. Thank you.”

“Forget about it, you’re welcome. Now get me that flight.”

She hung up, and Rune dialed Tucker, the Wyr-badger in Chicago who was on retainer to handle such local needs on short notice. A taciturn, rather unfriendly individual, Tucker worked well in isolation outside of the Wyr demesne. Rune didn’t bother to explain that he was acting outside of the Wyr demesne’s interests. He wasn’t sure Tucker would get the distinction, or care anyway.

The Wyr-badger listened as Rune explained what he needed. Then Tucker said, “What you’re really saying is you want me to get snakes on a plane.”

Rune coughed out a laugh. Tucker was so often surly, his odd, rare humor usually came as a surprise. “You are not at all PC, my friend.”

“That’s why I live all by myself.”

“I need this as fast as possible.”

“I’m on it.” Tucker hung up.

Rune moved on to other things. He called the concierge desk to request a personal shopper. He got connected with pleasing alacrity to a woman named Gia. He was in the process of explaining to her exactly what he wanted her to acquire when the call-waiting on the phone beeped. He switched the line over.

Tucker said, “Flight is chartered. A plane will be waiting for Dr. Telemar when she reaches the airport. The good doctor will be with you by evening.”

“Awesome.” The clench in his gut eased a bit.

“Just so you know, the company we use is wicked booked right now. I had to get them to bump a couple of other contracts to get a plane. This is going to cost you.”

“Cost is irrelevant,” Rune said. He switched back to the shopper, finished his order and hung up.

What did Carling want with that knife?

He ran his hands through his hair, and a knock sounded on the door. He strode over to answer it. A slender young woman with a sleek blonde pageboy, wearing a hotel uniform, stood smiling in the hall. When she caught sight of him, her smile died and her eyes went very wide. She looked poleaxed. She said, “Oh. My. God.”

“Sorry about that,” Rune said. “I should have put on a shirt.”

“Not on my account,” breathed the young woman. Her gaze fell as if under the weight of gravity and remained riveted on the trim waistline of his jeans.

“What can I do for you?” Rune said, impatient.

“Whatever you want,” she told him in a strangled whisper. Then her gaze flew up to his, as her cheeks turned a bright scarlet. “Ohmigod, I’m so sorry. Don’t tell anyone I said that, okay? I could lose my job.”

“I won’t.” He smiled at her, in spite of himself. “What I meant to ask is, why are you here?”

“The assistant manager, Mr. Rowling, sent me up to warn you and Councillor Severan that several members of the press have arrived. He’s downstairs dealing with them now. He wanted you to know that if you would like some privacy when you need to leave the hotel, just call down and he’ll arrange for you and the Councillor to have access to one of the service entrances.”

“Thank him for us.” He emphasized the “us” and watched her face fall. “We’ll call ahead if we need to.” Although he had no intention of needing to. It was one of the reasons why he had booked a suite with a balcony. He immediately had his own private entrance. Given the limited space, takeoffs and landings called for some finesse, but it was well within his ability.

“Yes, sir.”

He closed the door and turned around to face the interior of the suite. Two bedrooms, two baths. He didn’t need to wait for Carling to finish before he took his shower.