Money Trail

Chapter 1: The Assignment

Chapter 1: Assignment

Ilia decided she was just going to skip today.

She had woken up about an hour ago and hadn't moved since.

It wasn't often that a person woke up this completely comfortable and relaxed, but she was right now.

She was watching the pretty lights dance on her ceiling. The sunrise through her window was hitting the many, different colored bottles she had hanging in front of it then shinning the colors onto the ceiling and walls.

The oranges, pinks, reds, and yellows were beautiful and comforting to her. When she had had her wings as a child, they had shimmered many of the same colors. Which was why her room was done in those colors.

As a fairy, Ilia tended to love beautiful things that many people didn't always see as beautiful.

Her entire room, most of her house in fact, was filled with beautifully shaped or colored bottles. A lot of them were full of water with a bit of food coloring added to really make them shine, but some were beautiful empty.

She was a creature of comfort, her bed was pretty much made of nothing but goose feathers and silk. It slid across her skin and silk nightgown creating a nest of complete decadence.

On her antique redwood dresser, there was a radio that was softly playing sweet flute music. She could really only sleep with music on.

Jack, her boss for all intents and purposes, had asked her to come in today. But, to be strictly technical, Ilia was a freelance kind of girl. She worked on a job by job basis. It gave her a freedom she didn't really want to sacrifice. So she didn't have to listen.

Christmas was only a month away, maybe she would start her Christmas shopping.

Or she would just be sinfully slothful today. Either option sounded pretty good.

Until her doorbell rang.

"No one's home." she whispered, smiling a bit. Yep, sinfully slothful was going to win. Whoever was there would go away soon. Until then, she would just sit here and enjoy the pretty play of colors on her ceiling.

"Ilia! I know you're there!" Jack's voice yelled at her, his deep voice floating through her living room and both closed there.

"Go away. Go away. Go away." Ilia whispered like a mantra. Power of positive thinking, right?

Then she remembered exactly who she was dealing with just as she heard the lock on her front door being turned.

Knowing for a fact she had never given Jack Cross, or anyone, a copy of her key, Ilia jumped out of bed.

She ran into the living room just as Jack walked in.

"Hey, Jackie!" she waved excitedly at him.

Jack was older than he looked, and more dangerous besides. He was the leader of the criminal division of the Mythical Creature Relations Committee. He had climbed to that position through years of hard work and sacrifice but he could still get down and dirty. The lock picks in his hand that he was putting back in his pocket was proof of that. He was rather handsome, especially since he had started getting a dusting of gray in his ink black hair.

"I asked you to come in today." he reminded her as he shut her door. "I asked nicely."

"I considered it and decided not to." Ilia smiled, unapologetic.

From the corner of her living room, a soft cry had her turning her head.

"Oh, sorry Kaylin." Ilia left her doorway and went to refill her bird's food dish.