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My team’sfirst assigned check in patrol on Goldstein Street was around 11 PM.

We didn’t have a problem meeting our timeline—the only scuffle we ran into on our patrol was a bunch of fae chasing a harassed-looking black cat, and we’d been sent to remind the wizards over in House Tellier that thunderstrikes violated city noise violations after 9 PM—they’d been using lightening magic, which struck me as a little odd because House Tellier wasn’t known for its discipline and its members were more likely to be seen loitering downtown than practicing magic.

We were three minutes early as we strolled up Goldstein, our footsteps muffled on the sidewalk.

It had drizzled about an hour earlier, so the smell of wet hot pavement hovered in the air, filling my nose, and there was some mist on the street since the pavement was warmer than the rapidly cooling air.

We were in the last days of September and while the daytime temperatures were stubbornly staying higher, the nights were getting colder and colder.

“Team Blood reporting into Goldstein Street,” Clarence croaked into the radio, marking our progress for the rest of the squad.

Nobody responded back—as was the plan. We were supposed to look like we didn’t expect to find anything and act casual—something Grove admirably illustrated as he ambled along, swinging his arms and humming under his breath.

Binx had too much deadliness to her to look “casual”. She prowled up the sidewalk, systematically scanning the street.

I tried to match her energy but my training had me continuously touching my belt to make sure I had easily reachable weapons and while Binx could saunter, the most casual pace I could make was a stiff march.

Not that it mattered. Clarence looked incredibly anxious, but that was less because of any worries about our shift and more because of my presence. He walked on Binx’s far side, his skin color extra waxy and his eyes bulging whenever I moved my hands.

Binx bent over fussing with the top of one of her boots so, to an observer, her mouth wasn’t visible. “I don’t smell any magic,” she said, her voice as loud as a whisper.

“I don’t feel any magic either,” Grove panted—he’d started hopping over all the cracks in the sidewalk.

I uncomfortably rolled my shoulders back.Should I say something? They don’t seem to expect an answer.

I hesitated, losing the chance as silence once again overtook us.

The road was quiet—the businesses on it had long closed for the night, and it was too far from the handful of restaurants/bars on Main Street that were still open to have any kind of traffic.

Team Watchers—April, Brody, and Tetiana—were supposed to be huddled in a dark SUV parked on the street.

There were two SUVs and I recognized the license plate of the one registered to the Curia Cloisters—it was parked on the opposite side of the street from Tutu’s covered in beads of water from the fine mist in the air.

When we passed by them, they were supposed to signal by pressing the talk button of their radio. This would give us feedback via the radio, and no one would need to speak and give away our plan.

They won’t signal until we get up to Tutu’s… should I try talking in the meantime? We’re supposed to be casual, so this would be a chance to build a rapport with my teammates.

“Seems like the weather might finally be turning.” My voice was thick, but I’d managed to at least spit the observation out.

Binx snapped a nod off to the empty sidewalk in front of us and Grove did a thumbs up when he jumped over a crack, but nobody said anything back.

Maybe I’m bothering them when I talk. Unless I did something wrong? Weather is a safe topic—did I sound stuck up when I said it?

Worries spiraled through my mind. It would have overtaken me, but my work ethic was too strong for that and I kicked the thoughts to the back of my mind—so I could stew on them from the comfort of my apartment when I went to bed in the early morning.

I checked the cuffs on my belt again, then looked back over my shoulder, stiffening when I saw a shadow flash under a streetlight.

“I saw a shadow—down the street,” I muttered, thankful my mask would hide my face. “I think someone is behind us.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR

Jade

Iassumed they’d question my observation, but Binx immediately stiffened, puffing up like the cat she was. “That’s downwind—I can’t smell them. How do we want to handle this if we don’t want to let on that we’ve seen them?”

“Don’t even worry about it.” Grove took an exaggerated step over a crack in the sidewalk. “Just watch this!” He appeared to lose his balance and tilted, then wildly windmilled his arms before he tipped backwards crashing into Clarence.