Jena stepped through and closed the door. She found herself in a crowd of people, which surprised her. She searched the faces, looking for Peter's. It took her a few moments, but she finally saw a shock of red hair. She walked over to the person attached to it. She reached her hand to him. “Peter? Peter Stonehound?”

He grabbed her hand. “Are you real? Or...?”

She smiled. “I'm real. Your body is healing so...” She noticed the metal bands around his wrists. “That's interesting. Were you wearing those when you were attacked?”

He withdrew his hand. “No. I thought they were part of this...dream.”

She forced the smile to return. “No, they aren't. And they complicate things. But we do need to talk.” She looked around. “Is there somewhere we can sit?”

Peter looked around. “Yeah, follow me.” He moved past her and she quickly followed him. They were soon in front of an empty couch. He motioned for her to sit. She did, and he sat down next to her.

She looked at the bracelets. “Weird.” She looked at him. “Okay. You've been placed in what has been called the collective unconscious of mankind. Your body is healing rather nicely, so you're healthy, but for some reason, your mind and body have separated. This means that you're in a coma. Follow all that?”

It took him a moment. “Sure.” He held up his arms to show off his new jewelry. “And these?”

She held one to look at it more closely. They appeared to be made of silver but were covered with all sorts of markings. She recognized that there was Sanskrit on them, but she couldn't read them so she committed the markings to memory. “I'm going to have to get a translation, but I'd guess that they are holding you here.” She let his arm go. “This complicates things.”

He frowned. “So I'm stuck here.” He slumped into the couch.

She took a moment and then looked directly at him. “Okay, to be completely honest those bracelets make this sort of a weird situation. If they didn't exist, then rejoining your mind and body would be easy: I'd say something in Latin, you'd repeat it, and you would wake up.” She smiled briefly. “But those act as an anchor.” Again, she focused directly on him. “Do you remember anything about the attack?”

He closed his eyes to concentrate. He frowned. His face scrunched up. He then opened his eyes and slumped further into the couch. “No such luck.”

She smiled. “Okay, so we know something more about your situation.” She rummaged in her pocket for a moment and brought out a shining dot. “Here, take this.”

He grabbed the dot and inspected it. “And this is?”

“Put it in your pocket.” She stood up. “I need to go, but the dot will allow you to communicate with me. Just say what you want to tell me, and I'll get the message.”

He put the dot in his pocket. “Thanks.”

“I wasn't sure if I could free you, so I created a communications device. I'll be back. Just hang on until then, okay?” He nodded. “Care to walk me out?”

He smiled as he got up. “Sure.”

* * * * *

Lady Astor woke up. Alone. Ah yes, the best part of being married to the lord of the jungle. She got up and slipped into the shower. She let the hot water flow over her as the steam cleared her nostrils. She dried off and got dressed. She smiled as she dressed in a long shirt and jeans. I cannot wait to get used to these jeans. She slipped into her boots. She stomped in them and then got up. Time to get to work.

She walked over to the board room or at least the local equivalent. She steeled herself and then opened the door. There were already a couple of people here. “Good morning.” She continued walking to the coffee machine. One of the men, wiry with graying hair, looked up at her entrance and moved to intercept her.

“Lady Astor, so nice for you to join us.” She glared at the person between her and her caffeine. He moved out of her way. “Sorry for that.”

As she poured her coffee she searched her memory for the man's name. Oh, yes: Thomas Helson. She grabbed a couple of creamers and some sugar. "Thank you, Thomas.” She began opening the packages and mixing them in. “So, what is on today's agenda?”

He handed her a packet. “He gave an update on the ritualistic murder from a few days ago. There are also some issues with some of our businesses. All boring stuff.” He smiled at her, but it was more of a smirk.

Fortunately, her hands were busy at the time. “Percival should be handling the investigation fine.” She threw away the remains of the packets. “What is going on with the businesses?” She looked at him over her coffee cup.

“Nothing you should worry about.” Again, the smirk appeared for a moment. “We may need to assist Young Percy, however, as he's dealing with the local constabulary. He may not be able to keep the secret of our organization.”

She sighed as she began to leaf through the papers. She frowned at what she was reading. “That shouldn't be an issue: It's winter and they are tourist spots, so they're not as profitable during the winter.”

His eyebrows lifted and his eyes partially rolled. “Ah, but Lady Astor; our businesses should be constantly turning a profit. We need those funds.”

She put the papers down. “Granted. So we just focus on some of our other businesses for now and get back to them in spring.”

He cocked his head. “We're debating selling them off. Possibly for something a little more interesting.” His body loosened up a little. She saw the hidden tautness in his posture.

She refused to take the bait. And this is why I hate board meetings. “Do we have plans for the money generated?”

The smirk returned and stayed. “Nothing for you to worry about, milady. We have it fully in control.”

She gave him a lopsided grin. I did so try to be a lady. “I am so, sorry, Thomas. I'm still getting used to your precious American customs. Did you just tell the Lady of the Forest that she is needed in the kitchen?”

The smirk disappeared. “No, milady. Just that you may want to watch our proceedings for a meeting or two to see how we work, and then jump in a little later.” He took a step backward. “The politics here can be deadly for the uninitiated.”

She grinned. “You may be right. Let me be a fly on the wall for a meeting or two. Let us see how you Americans do things.” It wouldn't do to make enemies on the first day.

He relaxed. “You will not be disappointed, milady.” He retreated to the other two.

She decided she would grab a second cup of coffee, but possibly make it decaf this time. She grabbed another cup of coffee and retreated to a chair in the corner. Others filed in, pointedly ignoring her; it appeared that they would leave her alone as long as she left them alone. As the meeting proceeded, she investigated the businesses Thomas was suggesting to sell off; she made mental notes on each. While he had given a decent summary of the businesses, he had ignored a lot of details; some of the businesses were seasonal for good reasons, reasons she needed to follow up on later.

She looked up at that clock as she noticed that the meeting was dispersing. They had only assembled for half an hour. They are either very efficient or not doing real business here. She was not happy when she realized it was probably the latter. That meant that she would either need to let things be or aggressively start politicking. Thomas had won this round, it seemed; that would need to be his last victory.

She was, however concerned about the veiled threat to “Young Percy”. There was no doubt that the tribe's activities were an open secret to those who kept track of those who knew where the bodies were buried, and that group no doubt included the sheriff. I need to have that young man's back, but after I show them how it feels to be ignored.

* * * * *

Jena's eyes opened. She shook off the vestiges of the spell and stood up. Those bracelets! She reached for a drawing pad and a pencil to draw the sigils in Sanskrit before they faded from her short-term memory. When she was happy with what she had, she put the pad and pencil down and walked over to her fire safe. After typing in the combination, she opened it up and pulled out a piece of bread in a baggie. I'm going to hate doing this. She closed the safe, grabbed some matches, a paper towel, and some gold dust, and walked outside.

She walked over to the birdbath and splashed the water out. She lit a match and focused on the flame, causing it to expand, drying the birdbath. She let the expended match fall into the bath. She put the paper towel in the birdbath, opened the baggie and put the piece of bread on the paper towel, sprinkled it with the dust, then lit the paper towel with a match. She then walked back inside.

In moments a pair of ravens flew down and flapped on the bread until the flames were gone. They then fought over the bread and pecked at it until they had eaten it completely. They then flew over to the door.

Jena heard knocking on the door. She opened the door and saw two dark-haired youths in black leathers. She smiled. “Hrafn of the Hrafnagaldr Odins, enter and make yourselves warm.” They ambled in, going straight for the couch. “We have much mead to drink and many things to discuss.” She closed the door.