Chapter Ten - Part One

*  *  *

CHAPTER TEN

*  *  *

Tidus and I returned to the Waldorf, where I managed to doze in my room for a few hours. And when my nerves wouldn't allow me to rest any longer, I laid in my bed and watched the northern sun finally overtaken by the night. But when Tidus knocked on the door, I was already dressed and waiting. It was now a half hour to midnight, and the time to return to the museum was near at hand.

"Ready?" he asked, looking at me with expectation after I opened the door.

No. No, I wasn't ready for this at all. But looking into his handsome face and seeing the look of cool confidence that he maintained, it was easy for some of that to rub off on me.

"Um, yes." I said, and hesitated, wondering how his eyes could cause me to go so blank. "But before we go, I think I wanna talk to you about something."

"Ok." he said, simply, and waited.

"Well," I began, and took a deep breath. "A few months ago I got an anonymous note on my doorstep, warning me. And up until today, I was worried that maybe it had something to do with you or even the Council, but..."

"But now, after what we talked about at dinner, you aren't so sure it has anything to do with me anymore, right?" he finished, looking through me as he scratched his head in thought.

"Right." I repeated.

"Naomi, you might have every reason to be afraid of me, but I can assure you – you're extremely low on Council radar."

I nodded, feeling a small wave of relief. The Council was only one less problem that I had to worry about. There was still the Elder, and now the impending task that had been set before me by Tidus. And unfortunately, I had a strong feeling that my problems in Harbor were only just beginning.

"What's wrong with you?" Tidus suddenly asked, causing me to look at him sharply. But what I saw surprised me. It was intrigue on his face, and admiration too, as if maybe he was starting to finally take me seriously.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, clearing my throat and straightening my shoulders in self-consciousness.

"What I mean, is that you're either one of the bravest girls I've ever met... or the dumbest."

"Dumb. Definitely dumb." I replied. "I'm supposed to walk away from you after we clear up the visions, but instead, I'm sticking around because you might really be able to help me get something I want. So that makes me dumb, and probably selfish too."

"Yeah," Tidus said, with a small smile. "But I believe the first step to curing dumbness is being able to actually admit that you're dumb. So, I'd say you're well on your way to the road of recovery, Naomi."

I rolled my eyes and then walked past him out of the room, hiding the grin that blossomed across my face. Because I was pretty sure that somehow, that had started out as a compliment.

*  *  *

We left the hotel and hailed the first cab we saw. And sitting next to him in the backseat, it felt like every hair across my arms and neck was raised in salute to the goose bumps that came along with them. I was nervous, although I would never dare to admit it aloud. Tidus seemed so sure that everything would go smoothly, but doubt still wriggled in the back of my mind. But just as I was hoping my edginess wouldn't show, I jumped at the sound and feel of my phone vibrating in my pocket. With an apologetic grin to Tidus, I freed the phone and quickly read Adelle's message.

charles knows you're in new york with a guy! he asked me who, but i didn't tell him.

Thanks Addy. Screen his calls until tomorrow. Will update then.

And yet another reminder that my grandfather was not to be trusted. But I tried not to dwell on it too long in Tidus' presence. It wouldn't do to give him a reason to gloat.

*  *  *

Several minutes later, the cab pulled up to the curb alongside the museum. Tidus paid and tipped the driver his fare, and then I climbed out beside him to stand in the wet grass of the building's lawn. Strangely, the place was eerier at night, losing some of the cheerfulness it held in the daytime.

"Let's go," Tidus said, after waiting for the taxi driver to round a corner up the street before leading us to the building's front door. I held my breath as he pulled on the handle, and let it out in a gust of relief when it budged beneath his weight. He swung the door open wide, and I ducked in beneath his arm. Relief was flooding through my system as I realized that phase one of our mission was now complete. Mr. Foster was obviously here, and there was no swarm of museum security guards waiting to descend upon us. Instead, the curator had left the door open, and was now waiting for us to meet him upstairs with the ring. We would return home triumphant.

We took the elevators up to the fourth floor, and re-entered the same room with the violent tribal paintings and odd symbols along the walls. And there, standing beside the ring display, were Mr. Foster and his assistant, Ms. Castra.

"Mr. Foster, you should have told me you were bringing company." Tidus said in false banality, stopping several feet short from the pair. I took a defensive stance beside him, and we exchanged a quick look, both sensing the sudden tension in the air.

"The truth is, Tidus, I'm hardly ever alone." said Mr. Foster, looking far too self-assured for my comfort. "And Ms. Castra has proven to be very resourceful in handling certain situations such as this..."

My heart rate immediately doubled at the sight of the knowing smiles that were exchanged between them the two of them.

"What are you getting at?" I asked suspiciously, but neither of the pair answered.

"Enough games, Mr. Foster." Tidus said, rolling his eyes in growing impatience. "Just give us the ring."

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that." Mr. Foster replied coolly. "You see, Tidus, your Glamour didn't work on me."

Glamour? I thought. What the hell is he talking about?

"Tidus –" I began, turning my attention to him for an explanation.

"Naomi –" Tidus said.

"Hypnotism." Mr. Foster cut in, interrupting us both. "Isn't that what your species specializes in, Tidus? The amazing ability to control and manipulate the will of unsuspecting Humans?"

The light bulb was there, but it refused to turn on. I wouldn't let it.

"Are you really suggesting that Tidus attempted to use mind control on you, Mr. Foster?" My words sounded strong and confident, but they came from a mouth that had gone very dry. I gave a quick look to Tidus for reassurance, but his gaze was turned fixedly from mine.

"I am suggesting it, Naomi, because I know it to be true. I may be the only Human in this room – and therefore insignificant in your eyes – but my companion, Ms Castra, is anything but. She has... abilities. And one of those gifts happens to be the Seeing Eye. She can recognize people – or things..." he paused to give Tidus a sharp, pointed look. "For what they really are."

I shifted my gaze to Mr. Foster's assistant, who remained silent but steadfast by her boss' side. She surveyed Tidus and myself through her cat-shaped eyes, and I could almost imagine a tail gently twitching behind her. Vaguely, I wondered how it was that neither Tidus, nor myself, had been able to spot her as a Supernatural. She had stood, completely undetected, right beneath my Wolf's senses. That had never happened.

"Shira, dear, would you show our guests who you really are?"

In stunned amazement, I watched as Shira obliged the curator with a proud smile, unabashedly removing her dress, underwear, and shoes, to stand before us naked. And with the golden tone to her slim body, along with her mass of wild, yellow curls, I had no trouble imagining her transforming into a lioness.

Seconds passed before I witnessed the woman begin to collapse in upon herself and yet grow at the same time. It all happened in a confusing, odd sort of way, until finally, there was a large golden cat, standing in Shira's place. I suppose it was the size of what you expected any normal lioness to be, except there were two heavy-looking yellow wings tucked and folded against her back. Not to mention the creature still had Shira's face. It was like looking at some odd character sprung to life from out of a child's mind. It had the head, ears, nose, whiskers, and fur of an animal, but Shira's face was still there implanted behind it all.

With a toss of her mane, Shira sat down on her muscular haunches and stretched her powerful back. And in suppressed wonder, I watched as she flexed her heavy paws, accenting lethal-looking claws as she did so.

"When Shira observed the three of us during our conversation earlier today, she immediately saw you both for what you really were." said Mr. Foster, resuming his position in the spotlight. "Wisely, she pulled me aside to warn me that I had found myself in the presence of a Werewolf and Vampire. But fortunately, I keep a small bag of vervain in a cabinet in my office. That and a warm cup of Shira's tea, was all it took to shield myself from your... influence, Tidus."

That's it I thought sadly. Game over. We've lost...

"No," Tidus said loudly, almost as if in answer to my thoughts.

"I beg your pardon?" Mr. Foster asked, amiably enough, but there was a quick snapping sound, and an explosion of golden movement as Shira flexed her wings.