Night Howls on the Hudson

Chapter 9: Renaissance Emergency

El could have predicted they'd arrive at the festival in advance of most everyone else. Base case, her early riser of a husband never slept in. And on a day he was expected to fight in the Battle of Shrewsbury, she wasn't surprised to be awakened when it was still pitch black outside. Not that she'd utter a word of reproach. Peter hadn't groaned once at the costumes she'd selected.

She and Janet eased his pain by claiming the outfits were designed for a Viking warrior and his wife. El was wearing a long gown in amethyst and moss-green. It was sufficiently low cut that any woman in Scandinavia would have frozen in it. Peter's look wasn't extreme. The leather jerkin and loose leggings were comfortable. He was leaving the horned helmet at home, but El already had ideas for it. Halloween was a month away. Diana had written that she and Peter wore Viking costumes for a Halloween party in Arkham. The next speakeasy party would be in late October, giving her plenty of time to plan.

But today was all about the Renaissance, and there were fringe benefits to their early arrival. She was able to snare a prime location on the bleachers to watch the battle. Peter immediately took off to join his fellow warriors, the first contingent of which had already arrived. It wasn't long before Chloe and Diana showed up in the stands with Maia and Christie in tow. The contrast was a startling one. Chloe and Diana looked like Elizabethan Amazons in their padded vests and breeches. Christie and Maia were both in long Renaissance gowns. Maia's was particularly ethereal in lavender velvet. Diana and Chloe stayed just long to drop them off before leaving to join the larpers.

"Will you provide medical help on the battleground?" El asked Christie.

"I hope that won't be required," she said with a laugh, "but I'm ready if they need it. I'm volunteering at the medical tent. When the festival organizers discovered I'm a doctor, they asked if I'd mind staffing an emergency medical service area. So now I have a little blue neon EMS light in addition to my Da Vinci diagrams and leech jars."

"Leeches? You've heard about ..." El didn't know if she should mention it aloud. None of the papers had mentioned leech wounds.

"Diana told me," Christie assured her. "It's an odd coincidence. Bloodletting was so commonly used in the Renaissance, I felt we needed to include them, but mine are small and harmless." She turned to Maia. "Has Dean been able to find the creature he saw?"

"Not so far, but he's been patrolling every night."

"Will your sister be here today?" El asked.

Maia nodded. "She brought a selection of books about the occult to sell in the Wicca tent. Chloe and I are slated to help there, too. We intend to promote witches as a force for good. During the Early Renaissance, witches were considered healers."

"I saw your sister yesterday," El said. "She dropped in at our rehearsal for Bell, Book and Candle. She gave me tips about how to incorporate feline expressions into my performance. Electra pointed out that the heroine Gillian and her cat are much more in tune than most people realize. It's a subtle art of lounging like a cat—a slanted gaze, an arched back. Her comments were a revelation."

"I sympathize with Gillian's quandary," Maia said. "In the movie, she says witches can't love. Surely that's wrong."

"But that adds to the dramatic tension. Gillian has to become human to truly experience love." El chuckled. "Electra was funny in lamenting the sacrifice Gillian made. I must admit she made a strong case."

Maia shook her head but didn't say anything. El hoped it would work out for them. From her understanding of a hunter's life, Sam faced worse challenges than any Sir Galahad had to face.

"May I join you?"

El turned her head to see Sara approach in a stunning crimson gown.

El beckoned for her to sit beside her. "You're not fighting with Keiko and Diana?"