Alexandria had brought Bron out, and they were sitting on the ladder together. He was dangling his feet on the step next to her, talking with the Detective and Dan, while Alexandria smiled down at him. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with wonder. Ares caught himself staring at her and abruptly returned to his work.

He mentally reviewed the events of the evening while putting together an invoice for their services. For reasons that he would soon unearth, Alexandria could see through fairy glamor. Bron had also referred to Alexandria as royalty. The only royalty that fairy kind acknowledged was their own. If she were their kind, surely Ares would have uncovered that somewhere in her past. At the very least, he would have sensed her power, but he felt nothing. For all intents and purposes, she felt human. She even smelled human, minus that strange ocean spray perfume she used.

Alexandria had some kind of power and the secret of it lay within that circle of stones. If only he could have gotten into her home. He'd think of something.

Ares heard laughter from behind him and decided it was time to rejoin the party. He jotted some things down in his notebook before he made his way back to the plane. As he approached, he heard Daniel Skipper speaking to Bron.

"Bron, I want to apologize for building on your home. That was very careless of me, and, if I may, I'd like to buy you a new home. You know, purchase some land for you and your family where you can start over." Dan finished with a sideways glance at the Detective; who was beaming.

Bron's face lit up. "Truly? You'd do that for Bron and his family?"

"Absolutely," Dan said, smiling.

"We would be greatly indebted to you, sir! The planes are nice, but we sorely miss our lil' glen. We'd be happy to gift the planes to ye in exchange. Would ya be willing to shake hands with me on it?" Bron asked jumping to his feet and extending his small hand.

Dan took the hand reluctantly, but everyone was relieved when he did. Things would be a lot easier from here on out as long as Dan followed the rules and did not try anything on his own.

"Excuse me," Ares said to Dan. "May I speak with you a moment?"

Everyone looked at Dan.

"Ah—sure, son."

Ares ignored the condescending way he had been addressed, knowing he surpassed Dan in both age and maturity. They stepped aside.

"Here is the invoice for our services this evening. I realize the solution was more of a diplomatic one, but we are detectives, not exterminators. You have two weeks to pay the stipulated sum. If, in that time, you have not paid, expect a personal visit from myself.

"In addition, here are a few guidelines we have put together for keeping a constructive relationship with Bron and his kind. If you find that you have any more issues, feel free to call or e-mail us and we may address them on the phone, in e-mail, or in person, depending on the issue.

Lastly, I suggest you do not give them mead or any alcohol as the paper states. I cannot express the serious consequences that might result from that action."

Ares looked at Dan square in the eyes.

"Er—hem," Dan said clearing his throat. "Right, why don't I go into the office and write a check for you now? I'll be back in a moment."

Ares went back to the trunk and took out the receipt book. Dan returned quickly with the check. Ares took a look over it before tucking it away in his coat pocket. He would leave it on the Detective's desk once they returned to the office. No doubt the Detective had forgotten payment. He closed up the trunk and walked over to find Alexandria, Dan, and the Detective laughing with Bron. Ares stood silently and waited.

"Well," Detective Docherty wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. "I say, Bron, we have to get going. It saddens me to leave you so soon, ol' boy, but it is best to pay the office one last visit before we turn in for the night, just to make sure we don't miss any late night callers, you know."

"Of course, Detective, but I'll be missin' ya. You'll stop by the hangar sometime of course—oh, and here's your Davis Olympian. She's tickin' again." Bron stood up and handed the watch to Docherty, who gently took the watch, grinning. "Why Bron, she's running like new! I say, well done, my boy! And of course we'll be stopping by, but do make sure you come by the office sometime, won't you? I'd be delighted to have you over for a spot of tea and biscuits."

Ares noticed the Detective didn't thank Bron for fixing it and immediately chided himself. One should never thank a fairy; otherwise you placed yourself in their debt. Despite years of working alongside Docherty, Ares still felt like a novice sometimes. Inviting Bron over for tea was a well-played move. The Detective was showing gratitude by invitation.

"It would be my pleasure," Bron said and bowed respectfully. "And it was a great pleasure to meet you too, m'lady." Bron extended another bow to Alexandria, but he didn't even look at Ares.

"It was wonderful to meet you as well, Bron," Alexandria replied, attempting another curtsy.

Bron nodded and then turned to Dan. "Ah, Dan! Come in and meet the family! We have been sharing the hangar all this time and you have yet to meet the missus. Sadly, cousin Timwell is flying with one of your pilots at the moment, but you'll have the pleasure of meeting him when he gets back," Bron said as he took Dan's hand and led him into the plane. Dan followed him, limping.

Dan paused before he ducked into the plane, looked back, and waved to all of them with his free hand. He looked at Alexandria specifically and said, "Have a safe drive home and thank you for your help. Maybe I'll see you around sometime?"

Alexandria gave him a wary look. "You're welcome, but really Uncle Docherty and Ares did all the work. Goodnight."

Docherty bid a disappointed Daniel farewell while Ares grabbed his bag and began to pull the old trunk along on its wheels.

The Detective shuffled over to Ares. "Not bad, eh? We managed to solve the case in one night."

"Not bad at all, but how did you know the watch would work?"

"I didn't. Good thing they were gremlins though, eh? My watch has been broken for months."

Ares stared at Docherty while he opened the hangar door.

The Detective, Ares, and Alexandria stepped outside, and just as the door closed Ares realized they didn't have a car. Daniel Skipper had driven them from the terminal to the hangar. "Oh, we forgot. Dan drove us. How are we going to get back to the terminal?" asked Alexandria, coming to the same conclusion.

"I'll go back in and ask Dan for a ride," Ares said.

"Oh, balderdash. Let's walk, shall we? It's a nice evening, anyway, and we best let them get acquainted."

"But—" Ares began to protest.

"Now, now, Ares, where's your sense of adventure?"

Ares shook his head and began walking in the direction he thought they had come from. Alexandria commented on how much she loved walking, agreeing with her uncle. "Besides," she said, "it's wonderful seeing this part of the airport. The lights are so lovely."

Ares might have had a witty comeback, but he was too busy being inconvenienced.

As a vampire, he did not tire. As long as he fed, Ares had unlimited amounts of energy. What he did not enjoy was wasting time. He liked things to be efficient, precise, and calculated. This whole walking business, when they could have had a ride that would save them half an hour, was ridiculous, especially since he would have to slow himself down to a snail's pace for the two of them to keep up.

As it would happen, airport security found them and offered them a lift. This was, of course, after they decided to empty the entire contents of Docherty's trunk onto the road to make sure they weren't terrorists. Once they had a good look at the strange objects and paperwork, they proceeded to make magician jokes and ask them which circus they were with.

Ares considered showing them a magic trick of his own, but held his temper. He had not survived this long by killing mortals in fits of blood rage. Instead, he took note of their names and considered paying them a late night visit sometime.

The car ride to the back gate was as equally enjoyable. The Detective, Ares, and Alexandria all sat squashed in the back, while the two security guards called in their discovery to dispatch and shared their jokes with their comrades. Alexandria tried to interject by telling them they were not magicians and how her uncle was a respectable Detective, but both Docherty and Ares told her not to bother. It only made things worse. Ares and Docherty were, unfortunately, used to this type of reaction.

It seemed to take forever to reach the gate but Ares distracted himself by calling Yusuf. Thankfully, Yusuf was waiting for them when they arrived.

Ares climbed into the passenger seat eagerly, and just when he thought he was safe, the Detective leaned forward from the back seat and said, "I say, Yusuf, I meant to ask you earlier. How is your son? Does the poor boy still have those crooked teeth?"

Ares brought his hand to his face and groaned. It was going to be a long ride back to the office. 

-----------------------

Published by Raven's Hollow Art and Publishing

©Raven's Hollow Art and Publishing.

All Rights Reserved.

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Please do not resell. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not encourage piracy. Thank you for your support.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.