Ricardo knew he was not a brave Pixie. Not like his muy macho X. He did what he did very well, but his passion was clothing, accessories, and above all shoes. He loved shoes. The bane of his existence was that he never got to wear any originals. All he could wear were knock-offs made to imitate the creations of Blahnik, of Louboutin, of... Choo.

Of course, the shoes on his feet right now were the greatest imitation he'd yet seen. The Dark Lady herself had formed them with less than a thought, but they were to the smallest detail identical to the pair she'd chosen for herself. She had even hinted that in the future, should her lady-in-wait perform her tasks to the Dark Lady's satisfaction, there would be even more shoes forthcoming.

For his new Jimmy Choos, he could be brave. He flitted through the nighttime corridors of the museum, a shadow in the widow's weeds Her Dark Majesty insisted he wear while attending to her or her tasks. She'd appeared to him in a dream just this night, awakening him from a sound sleep. Extricating himself from X's arms was difficult, but a whispered 'bano' quieted his lover.

Now he hid in an actual bathroom, waiting while the night watchman passed on his rounds. Ricardo could only evade the cameras with difficulty, but the human guards took only patience rather than any real skill at evasion. It was simplicity itself to perch on the doorframe when the guard stuck his head in, confirmed the small room was empty, and continued on.

The guard's heavy tread moved down the hall, and Ricardo flitted out into the hallway once more. Just ahead lay his destination; one of the new security system's kiosks. He flitted up, quiet as only a pixie could be, and settled down on the small ledge in front of the display.

"Aparato! I know you can be hearing me. Quietly with your responding, now!"

The voice that replied sounded uncannily like the golem X referred to as 'Stone-Killer'. Ricardo wondered idly if it was deliberate, or just a coincidence. Fortunately, it spoke as quietly as he could have wished.

"I am here, Ricardo."

"My name you have the knowing of, how?"

"Mrs. Slate identified you. May I help you?"

"Si. You have the speaking and hearing of many languages, yes?"

"I do. Hence my understanding of your use of the word meaning 'device' in Spanish to address me."

"Si, si. Wonderful. Now, have you the speaking and hearing of old Hebrew?"

There was a pause before the machine spoke again. "I do not. I could download a module that would allow me to understand modern Hebrew in less than five minutes. I cannot confirm the quality of my accent should I try to speak, however."

"No! No, do not do this thing. I will be making with the telling you of some things, and you must be putting these things in your head. If you have the knowing of the language... mal. Muy, muy mal."

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There was another pause. "You wish to verbally input a module, and if I understand the language it is written in, you believe it will prevent proper execution of the module?"

It took Ricardo a moment to understand that, but it seemed like the machine understood. "Si! Only a few of the words you should know. I will be speaking them in the English, I think, so you will be understanding."

"I will understand them equally well if you speak them in Spanish, Ricardo."

What Ricardo didn't want to admit was that he wasn't sure the words were English. They'd been given to him by Her Dark Majesty, and she told him that when he used them with the ancient magic words he'd heard long ago, they would make sense. He was pretty sure the words that had given his godson Matthew life were the same words that animated his friend Micah, and he was also pretty sure they were ancient Hebrew.

Of course, he didn't speak ancient Hebrew either, but he had an excellent memory.

"Are you ready for the Words, aparato?"

"Si, Ricardo."

With that, Ricardo spoke the Words he'd heard nearly forty years before, listening in while Matthew's biological father used them to reanimate his son. They fought with his tongue, but long ago he'd learned to make his tongue behave when it came to strange foreign things. It was useful for fashion, it was useful in the bedroom, and it was even useful now and then when he tried to say something.

Ricardo felt power build as he spoke. It whorled around him, dark and wet and reeking faintly of decay. With each word the Power grew, until the fog of magic that surrounded him obscured the screen almost entirely. Finally, after nearly five minutes of harsh, halting, guttural speech, Ricardo leaned close to the screen and whispered two more words. "Genius Loci."

With those words, the Power formed itself into symbols and patterns, words in a language that Ricardo could not read and did not want to. They tore through him, and he bit his lip through to keep from screaming. The Words etched themselves onto the display, then disappeared as they sank into it. The Power of his Dark Lady coursed through him to the kiosk. As it found connections to the rest of the building, it expanded outward, dispersing as it did.

Finally, after countless long, painful minutes, the awful draining pull stopped. Deep inside, Ricardo felt something missing. It was nothing he could put a finger on, but he thought it might be important. Whatever injury he'd sustained paled in comparison to the other thing he felt. Floating within him, he felt a connection to the Dark Lady, Queen of the Unseeleigh. He'd never wanted it, he'd never pursued it, but the Dark Lady had been right; if X was her champion, Ricardo would be his Heel of Achilles.

Unless he had the protection of something no sane supernatural creature would dare to offend.

From that connection, dimly sensed, he heard the echo of her voice.

"Well done, my Lady in Waiting. Very well done indeed. Come to me on the morrow, that we might... shop."

Excitement threw Ricardo's wings and pulse into overdrive, and he soared through the museum, acrobatic in his joy. An evil, dark thought struck him, and he whispered his concern to the night.

"How am I to get to her, to the lair of my Dark Majesty?"

With that, the knowledge blossomed, folded into his mind with a touch so subtle that he hadn't noticed until he thought about it. Never again would he worry about travelling to and from her realm, for wherever she lurked, he could be in an instant. The knowledge burned at him savagely before it settled firmly into place in the back of his mind. When it did, a great weight lifted from his shoulders. He was the Queen's Lady in Waiting in truth now, loaned her Power when he needed it. His muy macho X wouldn't die because his attention was pulled away at the wrong moment. He couldn't wait to tell him the good news!