He sighed. The neighborhood around us wasn’t entirely quiet. People were in and out of their houses, loading valuables into their cars, just in case. It wasn’t likely the fire would spread. There weren’t a lot of trees around, and I was sure the firefighters were well into handling it, given the presence of the road blocks, but I didn’t blame them for being worried. Better to store all your valuables up only to unpack them, than to risk the small chance of losing them.

  I began to walk more easily as the smoke grew thicker. Since residents were still in the neighborhood, we probably wouldn’t get in trouble for walking around. We could just pretend we’d left our house to come and gawk. Just a couple of pesky kids, officers, nothing to see here.

  Lucy moved around Sam to step ahead of the group. She’d worn lighter colors today against the heat, and fit right into the suburban neighborhood. No one would ever guess she could crush their windpipe in the blink of an eye. Everyone else appeared normal too, in tee shirts and sneakers, or sandals in Allison’s case. I, however, probably looked a little out of place in my all black outfit and black boots, but I was beyond caring. Anyone who had a problem with the way I looked could have a private meeting with one of my boots.

  Lucy sniffed the air as we continued down the neighborhood street, then slowed down for us to catch up with her. “Nothing out of the ordinary yet,” she whispered, then continued walking.

  The burning home came into view. Flames still licked at the roof, darting out of shattered windows, while the firefighters focused heavy streams of water on it.

  We continued toward the building as close as we dared. There were plenty of other neighborhood gawkers about, so no one paid us any attention. I tried to pick the homeowners out of the crowd, but no one seemed to be crying about the burning building.

  I glanced to my side at Lucy.

  She crossed her arms, worry creasing her brow. “It’s difficult to pick up scents with all the smoke. I might have to walk around a bit. If I land right on top of a supernatural scent trail, it should be strong enough to distinguish.”

  I glanced at the gathered crowd, then turned around to address our group. “Shall we mingle? See if we can figure out who owns the house?”

  Everyone nodded, then Chase added. “Let’s form two groups, just in case.”

  I reached out an inviting hand toward him. “Partner?”

  He took my hand in his. “You got it.”

  I ignored the collective sigh from Lucy, Allison, and Sam, then pulled Chase into the crowd. I scanned the gawkers, all pushed back behind police tape to keep them out of the way, wondering who’d be most likely to give me information. I spotted a few teenagers, hanging out with their skateboards in hand while pointing at the flames with their free appendages.

  “Hey,” I said as I approached them, acting natural. “Does anyone know what started the fire?”

  The nearest guy didn’t seem to think much of our approach. He ran his hand through his shaggy hair and answered, “Nah, at least not that I’ve heard. I did hear one of the cops mentioning something about some sort of accelerant. They’re having trouble putting it out.”

  I lifted a fingernail up to my teeth in thought. Maybe the people evacuating their homes weren’t doing so prematurely. “Who lives, I mean lived there?”

  The boy glanced at me again, this time with a measure of suspicion in his blue eyes. Still, he answered, “Some guy. Keeps to himself mostly. Pretty sure he lived alone.”

  I glanced at the burning house, then back to the boy. “A place that big just for a single guy?”

  He shrugged, then turned his back to dismiss me in favor of talking to his friends.

  “The plot thickens,” I muttered.

  Chase frowned as we took a few steps away from the crowd. “Are we more interested in the possible accelerant, or in the oddity of a single guy living alone in a big home in a family neighborhood?”

  “Both,” I said, deep in thought. “It would be nice to know if an accelerant was used at the RV park too, but the person we would normally go to for that information is missing.”

  Chase looked back at the fire. “It has to all be connected, doesn’t it?” he whispered. “First with what happened to Art, then the RV park, and now Abel and the other missing wolves?”

  I nodded. “I don’t understand this random fire though, if it is even connected at all.”

  His gray eyes met mine, his brow creased with worry. “It could go in line with the theory of you being set up. A fire demon comes to town, and residences begin to burn? If the person who lived in this house was something supernatural . . . ” he trailed off.

  I watched the flames. Under the deluge of water, they were finally beginning to die down. An extensive amount of damage had been done to the house, enough where I guessed the remains would simply be bulldozed before something else could be built. There would be little left to salvage. Had it been burned just to frame me? I wasn’t sure. Usually when someone in the supernatural community wanted you out of the way, they killed you. I couldn’t fathom why someone would go to all of the trouble just to set me up. If it was connected to the missing wolves, our mysterious enemy was either extremely powerful, or we were dealing with a group.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. I turned my back on the smoldering remains of the house, then pulled it out to answer it.

  “We’re ready to go when you are,” Devin said as soon as I held the phone to my ear.

  “Good,” I breathed.

  He was silent for a moment. “What, no giving me a hard time about not starting our call with inane niceties?”

  I snorted. “By inane niceties, you mean saying hello? I’m more concerned with the second arson of our trip.”

  “I thought I told you to go hide out,” he chided.

  I put my free hand on my hip, though he couldn’t see it. “We were on our way,” I growled, “but we saw the fire and decided to stop.” I glanced around to make sure no one was near enough to listen in on me, besides Chase, of course. “A spectator claimed the police thought some sort of accelerant was used.”

  “Find somewhere to stay, then come get us,” he instructed. “And don’t stop at any more burning buildings. We’ll discuss all of the possibilities in person.”

  I pursed my lips in irritation, wanting to talk about the possibilities right then, but I decided not to argue. I’d spotted Lucy, Allison, and Sam approaching through the slowly dispersing crowd. I’d discuss things with them instead.

  “Where are you?” I sighed into the phone.

  “Jason’s apartment.”

  I nodded, though he couldn’t see it. “See you soon.” I hung up before he could hang up first. These werewolves were really killing my already poor phone etiquette.

  I returned my phone to my pocket, then looked to Lucy.

  She shook her head. “I caught a few whiffs of werewolf in the crowd, but that doesn’t really mean anything. Anything closer to the house just smelled like smoke, though maybe we can pick something up after the police clear out.”

  I sighed and started walking. Everyone fell into step around me. “We need to find a place to stay.” I glanced around us once more, but no one was near. “Then I’ll go pick up Devin and Jason.”

  “Another hotel?” Allison asked quietly.

  I nodded. “A little further away from the latest arson this time. Once we’re all together, I’ll contact Eric.”

  Everyone remained silent. My stomach growled, reminding me that we’d skipped breakfast. Yes, food and a good regrouping were in order. Both important steps in any ongoing investigation. Xoe’s Detective Agency, open for business.

  Chapter Ten

  Roughly forty minutes later, we arrived at our new hotel room with bags of fast food in hand. I glanced at the beds with matching green comforters, feeling a pang of sadness that I’d spend another night without Alexius at the foot of my bed. Hopefully he was having fun with Dorrie.

  “I should go retrieve Devin and Jason,” I announced once everyone was safe inside the room. At least, as safe as they were going to be with a murderer/arsonist/possible-portal-maker on the loose.

  “You don’t want to eat first?” Chase asked.

  I glanced at the fast food bags piled on the table and found I had little appetite. “I’d rather get everyone together first. It worries me leaving you guys alone after all that has happened.”

  He put a comforting arm around me. “It should only take a few minutes, right?”

  “I can come and grab one of them,” Sam offered, moving to stand beside us.

  I shook my head. “Strength in numbers. I don’t want just three people alone, even for a few minutes.” So maybe I was being paranoid, but my paranoia had kept me alive on more than one occasion. I wasn’t about to give up the habit now.

  I pulled away from Chase and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

  I closed my eyes and envisioned Jason’s apartment. It was that simple. Since I’d been there before, having experienced all the nuances of the place, traveling there was easy. A few moments later, I appeared in a red cloud of smoke. I swatted my hand in front of my face, clearing it away. Jason and Devin stood before me in the middle of the small living room.

  “It’s about time,” Devin sniped, straightening the lapels on his expensive black suit.

  I rolled my eyes. “Sorry for keeping you waiting, your majesty.” I softened my expression into a smile as I turned to Jason.

  He wore his usual jeans, but the flannel was missing, replaced by a white teeshirt. It was a smart move since our destination was the desert.

  “I’d take a moment to exchange inane pleasantries,” I smirked at Devin, “but I don’t like leaving everyone else vulnerable in Nevada, so who’s first?”

  Devin stepped forward. “I’ll go.”

  Jason rocked back and forth on his feet with his hands in his pockets. “I suppose I’ll see you when you get back,” he said to me with a kindly gaze.

  I nodded, then held out my hand for Devin. He took it and I envisioned our hotel room. A moment later, we were enveloped in the scent of fast food, filling the room with my odorless red smoke.

  Sam looked up from his perch on the bed, his mouth full of fries. “I wish my traveling looked like that,” he said around his food, his eyes focused on the smoke as it dissipated.

  I sighed, let go of Devin’s hand, then disappeared again.

  Reappearing in front of Jason, I held out my hand. “Ready?” I asked.

  He stepped forward and took my hand. “As I’ll ever be.”

  I closed my eyes, envisioning the hotel room.

  “And Xoe?” he said.

  I opened my eyes.

  “It’s good to see you,” he finished.

  I smiled at him faintly, then closed my eyes. Moments later we were back in the hotel room, which suddenly seemed crowded with seven people.

  Chase eyed mine and Jason’s grasped hands, which I promptly dropped. There was no reason for awkwardness. I had to hold his hand. Not that I was going to remind Chase of that out loud.

  Seeming to recover, Chase reached into the fast food bag resting beside him on the bed, then held out a burger to me.

  I took it and sat beside him, then looked up at Jason and Devin. “We bought extra food in case either of you are hungry.”

  “Umm . . . ” Sam cut in nervously, glancing conspiratorially at Lucy.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Let me guess, the extra food is already gone?”

  “Well we did skip breakfast,” Sam replied, as if he’d been terribly put out.

  “We already ate,” Jason explained, letting Sam off the hook. He took a seat on my other side, running his fingers absentmindedly through his scruffy brown hair. At least to others it would seem an absentminded gesture. I knew it was the equivalent of his nervous tick.

  Devin retrieved a chair from the room’s small desk, since the beds now each had three people on them. He flicked his eyes to Sam as he sat. “I’m glad to see you’ve decided to make yourself useful.”

  I raised an eyebrow at Devin, waiting for an explanation.

  “I tried to call him about Emma’s father, as you suggested,” he explained. “He claimed he was far too busy to hunt down a human man.”

  I gave Sam a you should have helped them look.

  He didn’t so much as flinch. “Don’t look at me like that. I had an armful of library books when he called, and had just spent my hard earned money on alchemy supplies for Dorrie. What more do you want from me?”

  I smirked. “You bought Dorrie alchemy supplies?”

  He grunted. “It was either that or play another tedious game of Checkers.” He moved his gaze to Chase. “I don’t know how you live with her.”

  Chase simply smiled, though I knew he would rather not be living with Dorrie. Or really, he’d just rather not be living in my dad’s house, which was now my house. I was more than happy to have him living there, but he felt he should get his own place. Fortunately he’d had no time to look for one, what with my constant need for attention. Or at least my constant in danger status.

  “Can we please get to business?” Devin asked tiredly.

  I frowned at him. “What has you so cranky?”

  He slouched back against his chair. “Abel is missing, so not only have I been your pack leader, I’ve also been fielding all of his phone calls. It has been an exhausting morning.”

  That brought to mind one of our earlier theories. “So you’re like, the de facto coalition leader?”

  He shook his head, smoothing a hand over his well-groomed blond hair. “Hardly. A new leader would need to be voted on. It is simply well known that I work closely with Abel, and that I’m the best way to get a hold of him.”

  “So, who would be lobbying for the position of coalition leader if a vote were called for?” I pressed.

  He paused and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Why do you want to know? You’re not hoping to run for the position, are you?”

  I snorted. “No thanks. We were just earlier hypothesizing possible reasons for someone to kidnap Abel. If there were say, a suspicious wolf who’d love to slip into the position, maybe we could question him or her.”

  The corner of his lip ticked up into a partial smile. “A suspicious wolf?”

  I shrugged. “You know, maybe he’d be wearing a black cape, probably has a goatee, carries a sword disguised as a cane . . . ”

  His half-smile turned into a full smirk. “I’ll look into it, but while we’re here, perhaps we should focus on all of the missing wolves. Find one and perhaps we’ll find them all, including Abel.”

  “And that leads us to Eric and Iva,” I explained. “I think we need to question both of them more thoroughly. If this is all a set up, I have to wonder if they truly have missing wolves, or if it was all a ruse to draw me in.”

  Devin stood. “Good. Let us start with Iva.”

  I frowned, glancing down at my uneaten burger.

  Seeing my hesitation, he sighed and sat, gesturing for me to eat. I unwrapped my burger and took a bite, displeased to find that it had gotten cold, and a little soggy. “Iva is going to be pissed to see you,” I commented before taking another bite. I swallowed, forcing the second gulp down my throat. “I promised I wouldn’t alert the coalition about the missing wolves until the end of the week.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “Unwise promises aside, I imagine she’ll understand once she learns that Abel is missing as well.”

  “Unless she’s responsible for his disappearance,” Chase countered.

  Devin seemed to think for a moment. “Seeing her reaction might be worthwhile,” he mused. “If she shows little surprise, or an inordinate amount of surprise, we can surmise that she already knew he was missing.”

  “True,” I said around another bite of my burger. “We’ll all go down to her house and judge together.”

  Devin glanced around at everyone in the room. “All of us?”

  I nodded. “I also have a theory that the kidnapper can form portals. I’m not leaving anyone alone to get sucked up into who knows what realm.”

  His eyes widened. “I thought you were the only one who could do that.”

  “We all thought that,” I explained, “and it may be the case, but if the destroyed room at our last hotel was only a mock-portal, whoever faked it did a very good job, especially considering few have experienced the damage created by my portals.”

  “Nix probably has a good idea of how it looks,” Chase chimed in speculatively.

  I took another bite of my cold burger and thought about that possibility. On one hand, it would make sense for her to be connected to this mystery, on the other, what could her possible end goal be? From what we’d gathered, she’d intended me harm simply because she’d been working with my grandmother, but my grandmother was dead, and we’d gotten rid of her ghost. Nix didn’t strike me as the type who’d try to avenge the death of a woman she didn’t particularly seem to like, but who knew?

  I took one more bite of my burger, then discarded it. The cold lump wasn’t sitting well in my tummy, and I didn’t want to barf all over Iva when we saw her. Unless it would make her tell the truth, then I’d barf away. Interrogation by vomit, the next step after violence fails.

  I rose and turned my gaze to Sam. “Keep your ghosts on the lookout for Nix. See if you can figure out if she’s here, or still in the dream realm. Right now our best leads are Iva and Eric, so that’s where we’ll start.”

  “We won’t all fit in the car,” Lucy pointed out, always the voice of reason.

  I frowned, she was right. After a moment’s thought, I amended, “You guys take the car and Chase and I will meet you there. If we run into trouble before you arrive, I’ll just poof us back out.”

  “You don’t think she’ll run if we all just show up there?” Jason asked.

  I shrugged. “You have a point. Maybe Chase and I will go in first. A visit from just the two of us wouldn’t seem out of the ordinary, since we were the only ones to attend the initial meeting.”

  Devin nodded. “We’ll park out of sight and fan out around the house, just in case she tries to run. There’s always the possibility that she really is just looking for her missing wolves, and therefore may be a valuable ally.”

 

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