Dan seemed to notice that he still had a death grip on my coat. He quickly released it and took a step back. “Sorry about that. Yes, that’s what seemed to be going on. I tracked a lot of the disappearances—including yours—back to a warehouse in Chelsea, and I saw the army coming through. And then somehow I was here”—he glanced around, frowning at his surroundings— “wherever here is.”
“We seem to be in some kind of construct in the elven realms, meant to make us think we’re other people in an idealized, nonmagical version of New York,” I explained, wishing I could remember how Owen usually phrased it.
“How many captives are here?”
“I don’t know. A lot, mostly elves.” I tried to think of the questions Owen would ask. “How many soldiers do you think you saw?”
“It’s hard to say. It seemed like a pretty steady stream, but I don’t know if that was a one-time transfer or if that’s going on all the time. If it is …” He shuddered as his voice trailed off. “But I don’t think they’re leaving the warehouse yet. I didn’t see any signs of that.”
“Maybe that’s why they’re using a warehouse,” I suggested. “You wouldn’t think you’d need a building that large just for a portal, but if you need barracks for your otherworldly army, it would be just the thing.” I rubbed my forehead wearily. “We’ve got to get back and warn someone that Sylvester’s gearing up for war.”
“Do you have any ideas for how to do that?”
“We found what we think is a gateway to a portal, and we have people working on finding a way to get through.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“For now, the information you gave me is what’s important. We’ll let you know when there’s something else we need. I hope it’s soon if we have to stop an interdimensional war.”
“How should we stay in touch?”
“You know Earl, right?”
“Yeah.”
“He works in the bookstore a few blocks from here. You were there the other day for coffee.”
The light dawned in his eyes. “Oh yeah, I remember seeing you there.”
“But I think my coworker is one of their spies or guards, or whatever, so don’t come talk to me. Talk to Earl in the science fiction section, if you can find him alone. If you run into anyone here you recognize from our world and you’re sure they’re on our side, you can break the spell by bringing up some vivid memory from our world that doesn’t fit with this place.” I tried to think of anything else he’d need to know. “Oh, and you may start seeing some elves in bland gray outfits wandering around. You shouldn’t see them if you’re still under the spell, so ignore them. Otherwise, just keep acting like nothing has changed. We don’t want them knowing we know the truth.”
He nodded grimly. “Okay, got it. How often should I check in?”
“Try the day after tomorrow. By then, we should know something more.” I stuck my head out of our little shelter, saw that the coast was clear, and hurried away. I didn’t look back to see how long he waited to leave.
Owen met me at the corner. “How’d it go?” he asked.
“It worked.”
“Did he know anything?”
“Yeah, and I hope the elves make some progress tonight because it’s a little more urgent than we thought.”
“What did he say?”
I bit my lip, feeling the full weight of my position as resistance leader. It had been something of a joke, but now it felt a lot more real. “I can’t tell you.”
He grinned for a second, like he thought I was teasing, but the grin faded when he realized I was serious. “You’re not going to tell me, really?”
“Hey, you said it was probably the best idea. I know you feel obligated to share information with Mac so he doesn’t think you’re hiding things from him out of evil intentions, and I don’t trust him not to do something crazy because of this information. If I don’t tell you, you don’t have any dilemma about what to say to him.”
“So, you’re protecting me?”
I hooked my arm through his elbow. “Yeah, and you’d better get used to it.”
“The power is obviously going to your head,” his tone was lighter, so I felt like he really was teasing me, not just masking hurt feelings.
“You should have thought about that before you elected me the resistance leader. You know, it would be well within my rights to have you shot for unauthorized sharing of information.”