In-Between Work and Play (The Jocelyn Frost Series Book 1) (16 page)

He turned toward
me while flashing one of those sexy little smiles of his.  “I know, and you’re
right.”  His hands slid around my waist. “But after a very long, and
freezing-cold shower, I realized that we need this.  And besides, you would
have gone with or without me.”  Pressing his forehead against mine, he
whispered, “I know it’s important to you, and yes, I was jealous of that
bastard Enforcer.  I’m man enough to admit that.”

“Good.”  I gave
him a quick kiss before pulling away.  “Let’s go.”

“Hey, if you two
don’t mind, I’m making reservations here!” Finley turned away. “Sorry, what was
that, love?”  He looked back at us and asked, “With or without an escort?”

“Without,” Dex
answered for the both of us as he ran his hands up and down my arms. 

“I’m getting
entertainment, the other two are together,” Finley replied before taking the
phone into the other room. 

About forty-five
minutes later, the three of us were sitting in a taxi, heading toward the
portal.

“You’re going to
Castordale?  On vacation?” Our gnome driver asked in a state of disbelief as he
called over his shoulder. 

“Yes, we’re
visiting an acquaintance.” Dex’s gaze lingered on the window.  Colonial-styled
buildings dotted the landscape. 

They were the
spitting image of the same buildings that stood in their place on Earth.  The
BCW was formed during the early 1960s due to all the nuclear testing on Earth. 
Nuclear bombs not only split atoms, but they also started to shred the
In-Between.  Since then, members of every sentient species were drafted into
mending and maintaining the delicate fabric that kept the dimensions apart. 

Places like the
Fastness, where I lived, were created on every continent at the point where the
ley line webbing was the strongest.  These points were the only spots strong
enough to maintain a habitable environment. 

The North
American Headquarters mirrored the 1963 version of Washington D.C. in just
about every aspect, including weather patterns.  Sure, improvements were made
to the buildings, along with new construction.  Some buildings and monuments
were even destroyed and replaced with flashy, new ones.  Normally, however, it
was easy to forget that, at any given moment, something could go horribly wrong
and the two different versions of the same planet could merge, making Ragnarok
look like a child’s play date.

“That makes
sense now, eh?  I heard it snowed about a foot there last night.”  He switched
lanes, making a sharp turn, and then another one, as he wove in and out of
traffic.

“Snow?”  I
blinked.  I was wearing a skirt and a short-sleeved blouse. No way was I
dressed for the cold.  Sure, Finley was still dressed in his work clothes, and
Dex apparently liked to wear long sleeves to hide his quarter staff.  I had
absolutely nothing packed that would keep me warm.  And no, being a daughter of
a Norse god does not mean I was automatically immune to the cold.

“That’s right. 
Did you forget Erda’s in an Ice Age, ma’am?  The northern border of Roxsheen is
a glacier.”

“I did not know
that.”  I shot Dex a glare.

“I’ll keep you
warm,” he whispered into my ear.

“Mmm-hmm.  And
you’re immune to the cold?”  I raised an eyebrow.  “I wasn’t aware that the
sons of Thoth possessed that ability.”

Dex muttered a
word in what sounded like Egyptian.  The next thing I knew, I was sweating like
a politician in a confessional.

“Our train
doesn’t leave for another hour.  You can shop for something to wear while we
wait,” Finley suggested.  The piece of wood he was whittling started to look
like a cat.

The gnome
slammed on the brakes, jarring us forward.  “Here we are, the portal to Erda.” 

Dex opened the
door. The temperature changed the moment he broke contact with me. It was so
dramatic, I actually felt cold.

Before I could
object, the gnome swiped Dex’s Allowance Card, charging him for the cab fee.

I peeled my
sweaty ass off the leather seats, following Finley out his side of the taxi. 

With the grace
of a cat, the gnome hopped off his booster seat.  Standing at about
three-and-a-half feet, his appearance was similar to a dwarf. 

Gnomes are
generally clean-shaven, where dwarves are not.  Gnomes’ skin tends to be smooth
with no wrinkles despite their age.  However, dwarf skin is similar to a
middle-aged woman’s, if she spent the last twenty years of her life thinking
that fake baking every other week was a good idea. Never confuse a gnome with a
dwarf unless you really wanted to get a nose job done professionally by a
plastic surgeon. 

This gnome in particular
wore large red-rimmed glasses.  His sandy blonde hair stuck out in patches
under an ivory, wool Goorin cap.  I heard that only the old-fashioned ones
living in Erda still wore the stereotypical, red-and-blue, cone-shaped caps.

The gnome
plopped our bag on the asphalt.  “Good luck to you.  Try to stay out of
trouble, eh?”  He gave us a nod before turning to a light elf of the green
wavelength waiting to grab a ride. 

We quickly
picked up our bags and climbed onto the curb in order to avoid the cab’s
backfire. The amount of exhaust that polluted the air would have made any
environmentally savvy fae cringe.

Flagstone steps
loomed in front of me.  They led up to a building resembling an airport
terminal.  Just outside the glass doors, a small group of mythos tourists,
wearing matching neon-green t-shirts, peeled off their coats while turning in
circles, taking in the sun.  Holy Helheim, it must have been freezing on the
other side.

 “Stay close to
me.  Once we cross into Erda, you’ll feel a bit different.” Dex placed his hand
on the small of my back.

“Wait a second,
what do you mean I’m going to feel different?”  I adjusted the duffel bag on my
shoulder.

“Erda is filled
with wells of raw magic.  It flows through the air, just waiting to be
manipulated.” He held the glass door open for me.

“That’s only one
of the many things that make Erda different than the In-Between,” Finley
muttered.  “We have to produce our own innate magic here, whereas over there,
you can call upon it without breaking a sweat.” 

“You’ll also see
everyone as they truly appear.” Dex looked a bit grim. 

“You’re not
going to change into an ibis, are you?”  I poked him in the ribs.

“No.  I’ll still
appear fairly human.” He poked me back.

The guys
exchanged a look that made me feel a little worried.  I wondered what they
weren’t telling me, but since we were already here, it felt like a waste of
time questioning them.

Ten ticket
booths stood in front of old-fashioned, full height, turnstiles that formed a
security wall.  Half of them were catering to people entering the In-Between,
while the other half were left fairly open with only a handful of various fae
and mythos creatures heading into Erda.

At the end of
the row stood a chubby-looking huldra with a swishing cow tail. She wore a scarlet-red
Border Enforcer uniform.  Her eyes were glazed, staring into space.  Her gum
smacking was the only indication that she was still breathing. Magic absorbing
glass filled the barrier between us.

I led our group
over to her despite seeing at least two other booths open.  I kind of got an
‘I’m bored out of my mind’ vibe from her that needed relief. 

Life flickered
back into the huldra’s eyes as she watched us approach. “Identification,
please.”

A transparent
tray shimmered into existence next to the glass wall.  On the other side, the
Border Enforcer pulled out a keyboard.  We slid our BCW ID badges onto the
tray.  It encased them with another layer of glass before disappearing on our
side and reappearing inside the booth. 

The Enforcer
closed her eyes while holding her hand over each ID. 

Dex’s hand
remained on the small of my back.  I’ve never been the touchy-feely type
because, well, I didn’t know anyone who actually was touchy-feely; but having
Dex’s hand on my back actually felt nice.  Almost like I mattered to him.  And
although I hated to admit it, it was actually turning me on.  But that could
have just been my stressed-out brain, jumpstarting my hormones. I really did
not know.

Part of me was
still in denial.  None of my previous boyfriends ever showed any physical
affection outside of trying to get into my pants.  So, coming from Dex, it made
me wonder if he were just as lonely as I was, and maintaining physical contact
was his way of verifying that I was real.  Or maybe it was just his personality. 
I couldn’t be sure since I’d hardly seen him with any other women.

I pulled in the
reins for analyzing him temporarily.  We were definitely attracted to each
other, so I decided to take his affection at face value and enjoy it while it
lasted.

After several
moments, the huldra’s eyes popped open. Her gum chomping continued.
“Destination, please.”

I cleared my
throat. “Castordale.”

She hit several
buttons on her computer. “Duration, please.”

“Just the
weekend. We should be back either tomorrow or Sunday.”

The Enforcer
blew a bubble. “All right, then, a weekend pass.”  She clicked a few more keys
before scanning our IDs into the computer. 

“Ms. Frost?”

“Yes?”

“Our records
indicate that you visited Earth two weeks ago.  You are aware that your traveling
privileges are limited to one pass a month.” She shifted her weight.  A
delicate eyebrow arched up while she looked me over, from head to toe.

Great, this was
the last thing I needed right now. “This… this is work-related.”  I shifted my
weight to stand with both feet apart. 
Confidence
,
I reminded myself.  Follow your own advice and maybe she won’t reject your
claim. 

“Mmm-hmm.” She
turned back toward her computer.  After several more minutes of moving her
mouse back and forth, she continued. “I don’t have any records to verify that
you are doing anything work-related in Erda.”

“I wasn’t aware
that I needed to fill out any forms, otherwise I would have.”   I toned down my
disappointment.  “Look, my clients are relying on me to find a solution to a problem
that we are all facing.  I promised them that I would do everything in my power
to provide a solution during our next session.  Please don’t let me disappoint
them.  They suffer from enough issues as it is, otherwise they wouldn’t need
me.”

“Mmm-hmm…” She
glanced back at her screen.  “It also states that you are person of interest in
a recent murder investigation.”

Heat spread
across my cheeks. “I’ve already been thoroughly questioned about that.”

She gave me
another once-over. “I don’t doubt that.”

“Perhaps you
should contact Detective Winters.  He’s the one that suggested visiting Erda in
the first place.”

Her eyes
narrowed slightly. “Mmm-hmm.”  She held up one manicured fingernail.  The sound
inside the booth cut off, leaving us to stand there.  We watched her become
increasingly irritated while she spoke on the phone.

It felt like an
hour before she finished, but it was probably only a couple of minutes.

“So, Miss Frost,
this is what we are going to do.  Detective Winters confirmed your story, but since
you are still technically limited to one pass a month, you will have to forfeit
next month’s trip to Earth.”

I nodded as
dread curled deep in my stomach.  My mother would not be happy about that.

“Good.  Next
time, go through the proper channels.  Believe me, the rest of the Border
Enforcers are not as understanding as I am.”

I gave her
another nod, not trusting myself to keep the tone of my voice in check.

“Wrist, please.”

A hole appeared
in the glass in front of each of us.  The Enforcer pulled out three bracelets
from under her desk.  With a quick click of her scanner, she snapped the first
one onto Finley’s wrist. 

I hated this
part. I braced myself as the strange metal bracelet molded onto my wrist.  Tiny
teeth dug into my skin, causing waves of gnawing pain.  White dots danced in
front of my eyes until the bracelet disappeared. 

 “Have a good
night, now.”  She passed back our IDs without giving us another glance. 

Several feet
away, a short line stood in front of a revolving turnstile for human-sized
occupants. 

“I’ll go first,”
Dex whispered into my hair. “Finley will be right behind you.”

“Sounds good,” I
squeaked.

My heart pounded
in my chest.  Two more people to go, then it was Dex’s turn.  Nothing to worry
about.  It was just like going to Earth, right? 

One more person.
Deep breath in, deep breath out. 

Dex scanned his
wrist before he disappeared through the door.

“Your turn,
lass. Don’t hold up the line.  These maggots behind me smell like rotten
cabbage.” Finley gave me a playful shove.