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CHAPTER FIVE

The next day broke with partially overcast skies.

At least, by the time we reached Merry’s house, I had secured a promise from Penn that she would do her best to get us access to one of the portals leading into the world of Fae to eject the coxigans.

That would give them a fighting chance, given they’d be in their own dimension, and it would solve our issue.

It occurred to me that we should make an arrangement with PortalWatch to use their system when needed, in exchange for helping them in some way.

Merry lived in a neighborhood that wasn’t fancy, but was a definite step up from Lower Seattle.

The house was a split-level, on a decent sized lot for being in the city, and it looked older but well-kept.

It was painted yellow with mahogany trim, and the house itself had a comfortable feeling to it.

A chain-link fence surrounded the lot, and next door on one side was a smaller, older home that also looked well-tended.

On the other side was an empty lot. There had once been a house there, but it had apparently burned to the ground, leaving an empty foundation.

Even now I could see charred timbers in the empty pit that had most likely been a basement.

There was something there, I could feel it even this far away, and whatever it was, it wasn’t friendly.

When I thought about walking over there to look at it, I felt repelled, like something was trying to prevent me from doing so.

“What happened to your neighbor?” I asked, pointing to the foundation. The sun had come out, peeking between the clouds, and while the ground was wet, we lucked out in that we weren’t expecting rain until late in the day.

Merry glanced in the direction I was pointing.

“That house burned down a few years ago.

One of the owners died in the fire—the husband—and the wife has never been back.

She walked away, leaving the house in ruins.

I heard that she was so traumatized that she ended up taking her life a few months later.

“How tragic,” I said, turning to look at the ruins again. “I wonder…” It occurred to me that either the husband was still tethered there in spirit, or maybe the wife had returned, so traumatized that her spirit couldn’t let go. Either way, it made me sad.

“Where are the coxigans?” Orik asked.

He had come with Dante and me to check out the situation.

Merry motioned for us to follow her. Today, she was dressed to walk around the yard, wearing a pair of slightly too-large cargo pants, a tight tank top, and tie belt.

She still looked like a model, even wearing a pair of flats.

I could tell, though, that she was athletic as hell, and could probably wrestle Dante to the ground.

Wolf shifters were strong—stronger than most shifter groups—and I wouldn’t want to try to take her on, even though I was part demon.

We followed her around to the back yard, and there, near an old oak tree, I could see the coxigans.

They made no attempt to hide themselves.

There were more than a dozen there. This wasn’t going to be easy.

The red one flew over and buzzed my head, and suddenly, I felt a zap as it reached out with what looked like a tiny trident and poked me on the forehead. It flew off before I could swat it.

“Hey, you little prick!” I reached up and wiped the drops of blood off my brow. “Okay, now it’s personal.”

“They do that to me all the time. I can’t even mow the back yard anymore.” Merry frowned. “Do you want a bandage? I’d offer you antibiotic ointment but mine’s specifically made for shifters and I don’t know if it would affect you.”

Most of the Supes had specific needs when it came to medicine.

What worked for humans didn’t work for shifters and what worked for shifters didn’t work for witches, and so on.

The Supe community was a diverse one, and just as some humans had allergies to foods and medications, so certain meds and foods created problems for some of the Supes.

“Thanks, I’ll take care of it when I get back to the office,” I said. I had a first aid kit in my car with a variety of supplies in it, but it had been a little puncture and I didn’t think it would cause a problem to wait.

The coxigans were giggling over near a bush beneath the oak. I shot them a nasty glare. One of them waved his trident in the air, as if challenging me.

“Little assholes,” Dante said. “Okay, they’re obviously trouble. How do we catch them? We’re not supposed to kill them.”

“What about me? If I knock one out while defending myself, will I be in trouble?” Merry asked, throwing the coxigans some serious shade.

“I think, if you’re defending yourself, you should be okay—” I paused. “Though I don’t recommend riling them up so you can kick them in the ass.”

“You take the fun out of everything,” she said, winking at me. “I’d love to come out here with a baseball bat.”

“Let us try, first. We’ll…” I paused. “We’d better talk inside. I don’t want them listening in,” I added.

As we headed for the back door, Dante yelped. I turned around to see him holding a rock the size of an egg.

“Little assholes pelted me with it,” he said. “All right, it’s on.”

We followed Merry into the house, ready to make our battle plans.

* * *

By the time we left, we’d set a time for the next afternoon to meet Merry at her house and do what we could to trap the coxigans. I thought about humane traps that rescue shelters used for cats, but the coxigans were smart, and I was certain they’d figure it out.

“Orik, do some research, find out what coxigans can’t resist. We can try to lure them into a box or something that doesn’t look like a trap.” I tossed my notes on my desk and shrugged out of my jacket. “Maybe we can send Lazenti out there at night to mesmerize them.”

“I don’t think they can be charmed. Though he’s a vampire…who knows?” Orik said.

I paused as my phone set off an alarm. Curious, I picked it up, thinking I must have set some reminder.

But then I saw that it was my security camera, and I swiped open the app.

The recorded event began to play and I gasped, watching as Penn—standing in the living room—turned around, asking “Who’s there? ”

The next moment, the front door burst open and two thugs came running through.

I shouted as they grabbed Penn, zapping her with a stun gun.

She went down, shrieking, as the cats bounced away from where they’d been watching.

Except Murdoch, before he raced off, turned to the men and let out a hiss, and one of them let a yelp as some sort of shock sparked against him.

“Carson! Call the cops and send them to my house!” I screamed as the men pressed a cloth to Penn’s face. She slumped against them and they began to drag her off.

Carson raced in, followed by Dante. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Penn—somebody’s kidnapped her.” I was on my feet, frantic. “I need to get home!”

“You should wait for the cops—” Dante said.

I can’t,” I said, crying. “Tell them to meet me at my house. Dante, come with me?”

He didn’t ask questions, just grabbed his jacket and followed me out to my car. By that time, the recording showed that the men and Penn were gone, and they left the door wide open. The cats were sniffing around the open door and that sent me into a spiral, as well.

“I’m driving,” Dante said, grabbing my keys from me.

Orik, right behind us, was running for his van. “I’ll follow you,” he shouted.

I slapped my seatbelt closed, leaning forward, panic racing through my heart. Carson texted me that he’d called the cops and they would meet us at my house.

“Please be okay, please be okay,” I whispered, rocking as though the mantra could protect her.

“Who are they? Did you recognize them?” Dante asked, pushing the speed limit as we raced along towards Shoreline, where my house was.

“No, they were wearing hoods and bandanas over their lower faces. They looked like men though, by their build, and there were two of them.”

“Does the camera pick up your driveway? What about cars and license plates?” he said.

I frantically opened the app and swiped through the recorded events. There—in the front drive: A van, but there was tape over the license plate. It was a generic white van, with no identifying marks.

“Well, we have some idea of the vehicle, at least,” I said, trying to calm down.

“Try not to panic. I know it’s hard, but you have to remain calm if you want to help Penn,” Dante said. He made a left onto 167 th Street and we pulled up in front of my house. There were already two cop cars there. I jumped out and raced over to the officers.

“Are you the owner of this house?” The officer’s nametag read Rush, and he had a serious look on his face.

I nodded. “Yes, this is my house. I’m Kyann Sarasan, and I share the house with Penelope Fircrest. She’s my best friend. She’s been kidnapped. I have it right here on the security camera.”

The officer looked at the open door. “We’ll need to secure the house first and make sure nobody’s inside. Please wait out here.”

“My cats are in there, they’re indoor onlies. Can you please shut the door, in case they haven’t escaped yet?” I didn’t need yet another stressor on my mind.

“We can do that, Ma’am,” he said. He and the other officer proceeded toward the house, guns out. I moved over to a bench in the front yard and, wiping the water off of it with the sleeve of my jacket, I sat on the edge, my stomach in knots. Dante stood beside me, and Orik pulled up and joined us.

“Who do you think they were?” Dante asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Their faces were covered. They looked like men, though.”

I fell silent again, glancing around the yard, hoping that both Jangles and Murdoch were still inside. Orik and Dante steadfastly stood by my side.

After a few moments, the officers peeked out, motioning for us to come in.

Please make certain you don’t touch anything. We need to dust for fingerprints.”