Page 25 of Magic Claimed

One of Faris’s bushy eyebrows rose slowly. “And who might that someone be? Did your source tell you who to ask for?”

I shut my eyes.Don’t let it be me… Don’t let it be me…

“Someone named Raine.”

Well, crap.

Who on earth could be going around giving my name to humans as an answer to all their magical problems? I didn’t think anyone hated me that much. Except maybe Blake Masterson, but he was also more likely to havedonethe kidnapping than want me to solve it.

So who else was out there throwing my name around?

Thanks to my dramatic announcement during the Symposium in October, quite a few Idrians now knew of my background, and many of those considered me to be a criminal in violation of their laws. And thanks to our confrontation with Kes’s kidnappers, they also knew I was fairly powerful.

So maybe the better question was not actuallywho, butwhy. Why send this woman to me? Because they believed I would help her—one human to another? Or because they were hoping the attention or the attempt would cause me harm?

There was a third option—that the entire thing had been done on purpose. The same person might have first perpetrated a crime that could only have been accomplished by magic, and then set the humans on my trail. Because they wanted me involved. Wanted The Portal exposed to human eyes. Wanted conflict between humans and Idrians…

No. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Shouldn’t assume that Blake was behind every obstacle we encountered. Not without proof, at least. But in order to get that proof…

“Please,” the woman said simply. “No one believes me. They all say my son just took off. But he wouldn’t do that. He’s a good kid who wants to grow up and be a game designer. Andhe’s not into anything illegal. I’m his mother, and I would know. Something is wrong, and if it’s magic, I can’t find him on my own.”

Right or wrong, I needed to know who had done this. Needed to find out whether I had a new enemy, or whether this was Blake’s latest avenue of attack.

And also, whoever had set me up had done so very effectively. I couldn’t turn my back on a woman whose child was missing, any more than I could ignore the pleas of a human whose life had been turned upside down by magic.

Resigned to the foolishness of my own stubborn heart, I took a single step forward. “I’m Raine. What’s your name?”

“Monique,” she told me, eyeing me up and down as if wondering whether she’d gotten a rather bad bargain.

“And your son’s name?”

“Jeremiah.”

“All right, Monique. I’ll help you. Under one condition.”

Her eyes narrowed for a moment. “What is it?”

Even if I was fool enough to get involved, at the very least, I could protect Faris’s business and his customers. “You have to swear that you’ll never come here again. That you won’t talk about this place or bring other humans here.”

She nodded slowly. “Fair enough. What do you charge?”

Charge?

I shook my head. “I’m not some kind of investigator, Monique. Or a mercenary. So I can’t promise you anything. I just know how it feels when someone you care about disappears. I know what it’s like to have no one willing to help. And I’ve experienced the helplessness of being surrounded by powersyou don’t understand. You don’t owe me anything except an open mind, even if you don’t like what I find.”

Her nod was swift and decisive. “Agreed. I swear I won’t say anything or give your name to anyone else. Now, when can you come?”

I groaned internally and glanced over at Faris. Thankfully, my boss looked only mildly grumpy and already resigned to my idiocy.

“No reason to hang around here,” he returned with a shrug. “Just be back for your normal hours tomorrow.”

A sudden thought struck me, and I looked over at Kira. She, too, had been raised as a human. And she could use a distraction from wondering whether her mate was safe and her wedding was ever going to happen.

“Care to join me?”

Her face lit up. “Yes, please!” She glanced at her mother. “Is it okay if we catch up tomorrow? Do you two have a place to stay?”

Tairen huffed without looking actually angry. “The Skirvin, as usual. Are you available to join us for breakfast, or do you have other plans?”