hey. They didn’t need to know.
“Talk to him,” snarled the shifter. “Bring the killer to justice. It’s on you.”
“I can’t promise I’ll be able to find the killer,” I said. “Bear in mind this kind of power isn’t often seen, and the faeries are damn good at hiding. I’ll ask the Mage Lord, too. Have any of you spoken to a necromancer?”
A ripple of anger spread through the group of shifters. A guy near the gate said, “Neither. They’re all lying scumbags.”
“That, I can agree on,” I said. “But if we call this man’s spirit, he might have seen the killer. It’d help to know what they look like.”
“We don’t do spirit magic on our territory,” said the man flatly. “Not at all. No exceptions.” If he’d been in animal form, his fur would probably have been bristling.
I raised my hands. “Okay. We’ll have to rely on guesswork, then. All I can do is speak to the Chief of the half-faeries. I’ll call my boss.”
“Thought you were freelance,” said the guy. “We don’t want the Mage Lords getting involved, either. And keep your faeries away from our territory.”
Great. I looked for Isabel, but she’d disappeared. “Fine. I’ll come back when I’ve spoken to the Chief, but I honestly don’t think he’ll know anything. He seems to miss things on his own territory all the time.” And that was putting it mildly.
Henry walked up to me as I turned to leave, wondering where in hell Isabel had wandered off to.
“Don’t tell the Mage Lord,” he said.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Hello? Murder’s a pretty big deal. It wouldn’t surprise me if he already knew.”
“Then tell him to stay out of this,” said Henry.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I retaliated. “Whatever your issue is, the mages are peacekeepers. They wouldn’t beat me up and lock me underground with two shifters on the verge of the change, for instance.”
Henry’s face flushed. “What happened… shouldn’t have. The two who attacked have been apprehended. The Mage Lord saw to it they won’t be walking again anytime soon.”
“Good,” I snapped, wishing I’d been the one to break their kneecaps. “I’ll help you with this case, but you’ll have to accept I’ll use all my resources if necessary, including the mages. They have access to things I don’t. And the Chief of the half-faeries might be able to help, too.”
“Absolutely not.”
I made an impatient noise. “Come on, you must know you’re being ridiculous. Nobody likes the faeries. It’s pretty much a given. But the half-bloods…” What to say? This crap was affecting them, too. They weren’t all murdering scumbags. They were people. Some of them, anyway. Surviving, like the rest of us. Alain, for example. Losing their magic meant losing their lives.
I shoved my own conflicting feelings aside—or tried to. “Look, just let me speak to them. I highly doubt the Chief wants a raging killer loose in the city any more than I do. He’s not prejudiced against shifters.” No more than he was against humans in general, anyway.
“You don’t understand,” he said. “The Sidhe—when they came, they disrupted the energy levels and forced all shifters into their animal forms. Everyone transformed, losing their humanity and reason in the process. The Sidhe cost many lives. It’s not something my people will forgive.”
Oh. “I didn’t know,” I said honestly. “But the Sidhe killed millions of other humans. The half-bloods are mostly innocent people trying to live their lives. This killer’s using their magic against them.”
Henry growled. “Fine, speak to him. Neither half-faeries nor mages are welcome in our territory. Nor necromancers, either.”
“Right.” That was that. I’d do whatever necessary to solve the murder, even if it meant alienating him. I was past caring by now.
I found Isabel further down the road, vomiting into a bin. I stopped beside her, fighting a fresh wave of nausea.
“What the
“Talk to him,” snarled the shifter. “Bring the killer to justice. It’s on you.”
“I can’t promise I’ll be able to find the killer,” I said. “Bear in mind this kind of power isn’t often seen, and the faeries are damn good at hiding. I’ll ask the Mage Lord, too. Have any of you spoken to a necromancer?”
A ripple of anger spread through the group of shifters. A guy near the gate said, “Neither. They’re all lying scumbags.”
“That, I can agree on,” I said. “But if we call this man’s spirit, he might have seen the killer. It’d help to know what they look like.”
“We don’t do spirit magic on our territory,” said the man flatly. “Not at all. No exceptions.” If he’d been in animal form, his fur would probably have been bristling.
I raised my hands. “Okay. We’ll have to rely on guesswork, then. All I can do is speak to the Chief of the half-faeries. I’ll call my boss.”
“Thought you were freelance,” said the guy. “We don’t want the Mage Lords getting involved, either. And keep your faeries away from our territory.”
Great. I looked for Isabel, but she’d disappeared. “Fine. I’ll come back when I’ve spoken to the Chief, but I honestly don’t think he’ll know anything. He seems to miss things on his own territory all the time.” And that was putting it mildly.
Henry walked up to me as I turned to leave, wondering where in hell Isabel had wandered off to.
“Don’t tell the Mage Lord,” he said.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Hello? Murder’s a pretty big deal. It wouldn’t surprise me if he already knew.”
“Then tell him to stay out of this,” said Henry.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I retaliated. “Whatever your issue is, the mages are peacekeepers. They wouldn’t beat me up and lock me underground with two shifters on the verge of the change, for instance.”
Henry’s face flushed. “What happened… shouldn’t have. The two who attacked have been apprehended. The Mage Lord saw to it they won’t be walking again anytime soon.”
“Good,” I snapped, wishing I’d been the one to break their kneecaps. “I’ll help you with this case, but you’ll have to accept I’ll use all my resources if necessary, including the mages. They have access to things I don’t. And the Chief of the half-faeries might be able to help, too.”
“Absolutely not.”
I made an impatient noise. “Come on, you must know you’re being ridiculous. Nobody likes the faeries. It’s pretty much a given. But the half-bloods…” What to say? This crap was affecting them, too. They weren’t all murdering scumbags. They were people. Some of them, anyway. Surviving, like the rest of us. Alain, for example. Losing their magic meant losing their lives.
I shoved my own conflicting feelings aside—or tried to. “Look, just let me speak to them. I highly doubt the Chief wants a raging killer loose in the city any more than I do. He’s not prejudiced against shifters.” No more than he was against humans in general, anyway.
“You don’t understand,” he said. “The Sidhe—when they came, they disrupted the energy levels and forced all shifters into their animal forms. Everyone transformed, losing their humanity and reason in the process. The Sidhe cost many lives. It’s not something my people will forgive.”
Oh. “I didn’t know,” I said honestly. “But the Sidhe killed millions of other humans. The half-bloods are mostly innocent people trying to live their lives. This killer’s using their magic against them.”
Henry growled. “Fine, speak to him. Neither half-faeries nor mages are welcome in our territory. Nor necromancers, either.”
“Right.” That was that. I’d do whatever necessary to solve the murder, even if it meant alienating him. I was past caring by now.
I found Isabel further down the road, vomiting into a bin. I stopped beside her, fighting a fresh wave of nausea.
“What the
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