Chapter 10

The flames danced all around, pretty lights that I reached out to grab, only they slipped through my fingers. I didn't fear the fire, but I didn't like being alone.

"Mama?" I called for her, but she didn't reply. I thought about going to look, but she'd told me to hide. Hide because the bad man found us.

What bad man?

Forget. Forget. Forget. As the fire consumed the house around me, so, too, did it take my thoughts. My memories. It burned everything away…

I roused from my slumber brought on by exhaustion in a bed I didn't recognize, flanked by big black dogs. The same ones that pulled me from the fire at Lenora's house.

Thinking of the banshee caused a pang. Poor Lenora had moved on, leaving this world for the next, reunited finally with the family she missed so much, and hopefully at peace. I just wished I hadn't been the reason for her permanent death, even if it had a good outcome.

The house had been attacked because of me.

Lenora had flitted around muttering, "If evil thinks it can come inside, I'll show it. This is my house."

"What do you mean by evil?" I asked.

"Can't you feel it? The menace that oozes." Lenora glanced at the bay window and murmured, "He is consumed with hatred."

He, so, not the chimera then. I wondered if it was the person who'd wrecked my house. If so, I had a score to settle.

Not being suicidal, I called Koda, even as I knew he'd never make it in time. Sure enough, the attack came while we spoke.

Crash. The window broke as something impacted it, the object hitting the floor and rolling to land a few paces from my feet. I cast a shield the moment I heard the crack, a shield to prevent being hit by shrapnel or an explosive force. It did nothing to stop the gas that suddenly oozed from the canister, filling the air too quickly for me to escape.

The thick, cloying gas knocked me out. Next thing I recalled, Koda kissed me. A nice way to regain consciousness. It reminded me of a fairy tale where the prince woke his princess.

It didn't last long enough. The moment he realized I'd woken, he pulled away. I'd then proceeded to overdo it casting a memory spell in hopes of calming Lenora, and poof. I woke in a strange bed with even stranger dogs. Dogs that had boosted my magic in Lenora's yard.

Or so it seemed at the time.

Out of curiosity, I stroked my fingers through the sleek black fur and held in a gasp as the light touch bumped up my magical strength.

It felt like Hekate, and I suddenly remembered my goddess' favor for canines. "Did she send you?" I wondered aloud.

The dog I stroked rolled to his back and lolled his tongue. I'd take that as a yes.

The door to the room swung open, and Koda walked in, carrying a large tray. Upon seeing me, he exclaimed, "Good, you're awake. I had a feeling you might be. I brought you some sustenance." He lowered the platter, on which balanced a glass of orange juice, a steaming mug of what better be coffee, and a plate of food. A big plate, I should add, piled with pastries, fruit, and bacon.

"Mmm." I pushed to a seated position, my mouth watering. I needed to refuel more than just my magic.

Koda eyed the dogs pressed to either side of me. "Time for you furballs to get down so she can eat."

The one on my left offered Koda a lazy eye before slinking off the bed. His canine twin followed, leaving Koda a spot to settle the tray.

"Where are we?" I asked as I reached for the juice. I wanted to take care of my pasty tongue first.

"Abe's house."

I almost spat out my mouthful of orange juice. I managed a hard swallow before saying, "You brought me to the boss's place?"

"With Lenora's place burned to the ground, and your house condemned, I had no idea where else to go."

"A hotel would have worked."

"The last one got ransacked, and so I wanted something a little more secure."

I crunched a piece of bacon before I replied. "I can't stay here." Kowalksi didn't deserve to have his house torched for harboring me. "Whoever is starting the fires followed me to the gargoyle library and to Lenora's. They'll come here next."

"There was no sign of anyone around Lenora's house. Abe had a team look everywhere and they found no sign of the chimera or someone else who might be starting fires. Just to be safe, they cloaked you and the dogs when we took you out so no one saw. Whoever started that fire thinks you're dead."

"You're assuming no one on that team is crooked."

"If they are, you really think they're going to blow their cover by attacking their boss's house?"

"I suppose not." The logic did make sense. "Where is Abe? Is he here?"

"No, he's back at the precinct leading the investigation into your attempted murder."

"Damn." I never thought I'd hear a sentence that included me and attempted murder.

"Now that you're awake, we can decide our next move."

I snorted. "What move? We still don't have the slightest idea what's going on."

"Not so quick. I found something while looking into the fires yesterday."

That piqued my interest. I held off on biting my pastry and asked, "You going to spill or make me beg?"

"As if you'd beg."

"Why, Koda, are you hoping I'll get on my knees for some oral groveling?"

He blinked. His cheeks turned a ruddy color, and I'll bet if I looked lower, he'd have a hard-on.

One of the dogs chuffed, as if it understood.

I munched on my pastry as Koda collected himself.

He cleared his throat. "Since we know so little about the chimera, I decided to do some digging into the past, specifically around the time she was arrested, to see if we could find any patterns that match what we are seeing now. I started by looking at fires reported to be magic-caused rather than naturally occurring. Of them, I found two reported to have blue flames."

My interest heightened even further. I'd almost started to wonder if Lenora had been wrong about blue fire, since we'd not found any evidence to suggest it existed. "Go on. Don't keep me in suspense, unless you want to tease me. I should warn, I can be impatient. You might have to tie me down." I couldn't stop the innuendo, mostly because it was so fun to put him off-kilter.

It took him a second to compose himself. He cleared his throat. "The first blue-flamed fire occurred in a hospital records room, thirty-six years ago."

"And the second?"

"The next happened in this town about six years later in an abandoned house."

At the mention, my blood froze. I immediately thought of the report I'd uncovered about myself. I tried to shake it away, but my brain did the math. If the hospital fire was thirty-six years ago, and the house fire was six years later, that means the house fire was thirty years ago, which is exactly the same years ago as when I was found in the ashes of a burned-down house.

Surely a coincidence. House fires weren't an uncommon occurrence. Besides, the report I'd recovered about me didn't mention blue flames, at least not in the pages I'd been able to read. Not surprising, though, since I knew those writing reports often neglected minor, to them, details.

Given Koda waited for my reply, I had to blurt out something. "Are these two fires the reasons she was locked up?" Two fires didn't seem to account for "crimes against humanity" to the degree we'd been led to believe, and it also didn't explain why her file had been redacted to the extreme, but maybe it was a start.

"I don't know. But they're not enough to warrant an incarceration of thirty-plus years since neither of those fires had casualties."

"Meaning there's more we to discover." I munched on another piece of bacon as my brain processed and I tried not to let it show that I was freaking out a little bit.

"That or the other fires had been done by her. Maybe the chimera found a way to change the color of her fire."

I sipped at my coffee before thinking out loud. "The two local purple fires were at a motel and an abandoned mall, but I didn't have time to look into the other dozen from the past six months. Do you have my phone?"

As I asked, I saw it on the nightstand, plugged into a charger. Koda handed it to me before I could reach, and I quickly opened my email. I'd copied myself in on the message I'd sent Abe so I'd have all the information to look at later.

"So, where were they?" Koda asked after giving me a moment to read.

"Some seem like random locations, but others, not so much. The first purple-flamed arson hit a Cryptid Authority storage facility for older cases. Then there was one at a CA science lab. Another, took out a government foster agency office. There's also a school." The more I read, the more my blood chilled.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The school…" I felt faint, and my hand trembled.

"What's got you looking pale?"

"The school is Trinity of the Three. I went there." I hated how shaky my voice sounded, but I'd never had a case hitting so close to home before.

"Probably a coincidence."

"I didn't believe in those."

There was one more attachment with details of a residential fire, but I didn't want to open it yet. I just couldn't. Instead, I told Koda, "I need the address of the house that burned down, the one from thirty years ago."

My churning stomach had a feeling I knew what we'd discover about both addresses.

Thirty-six years ago a hospital records room burned. Meanwhile, I didn't know where I'd been born, nor my date of birth. When I'd been found, since the children's services lacked an identity, they assigned me a generic last name, Smith, and fabricated a birth certificate using the date of the fire as the day of my birth, and the age I claimed for the year.

I recalled being asked, How old are you? and holding up all my fingers on one hand, but what does a kid know? I could have easily been six. I'm sure plenty of children forget to add a finger to their claimed age after a recent birthday. Kids didn't always know or care about the finer details.

Rather than ask why my interest in the address, Koda gave me a curt nod. "Give me a second, and I'll see if I can get someone in the office to send me a pic of the notes I took. When I left the precinct, I kind of did so in haste and left them on my desk."

"Why, Koda, be careful, or I'll start to think you care."

"Too late," he grumbled before he left the room. Pity he couldn't take my trepidation with him.

My agitation meant I couldn't stay in bed. I swung my legs off the edge, opposite the tray of food. As my feet hit the floor, I stood and regretted it. Dizzy spots danced in front of my eyes, and weakness plagued my limbs. I felt myself falling, only someone caught me!

Surprised, since I knew Koda hadn't returned yet, I found myself gaping into the face of a very handsome man. His skin a burnished ebony, his hair cut short, his eyes a vivid blue.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?" I huffed just as a man with light skin but dark hair and matching blue eyes stood behind him.

"Hekate sent us," the dark-skinned guy replied in a low tone.

It took me a second to make the connection. "You're the dogs!"

"We are," said the second fellow.

"Why did Hekate send you?" A surprise since my goddess had been even quieter than usual of late.

"She thought you could use help, and since she's busy and we were bored…" The man with the light skin grinned. "Who wouldn't bark at the chance to help an attractive witch?"

"Unhand her!" Koda's sudden roar had me whipping my head. My partner had returned and appeared ready to attack. I might be a strong independent woman, but I'll admit a part of me enjoyed his macho reaction. Still, that didn't mean I could let the hounds be hurt.

"It's okay. They're here because of Hekate."

"They're naked," Koda growled, a fact I'd not noticed until he pointed it out.

And of course, then I just had to look. Muscles. Abs. Limp dicks. Impressive in repose but nothing like Koda's. That man could have given them penis envy. "They shifted. Of course they're nude," I replied, trying to defuse the situation.

"They should have found some clothing first before sexually harassing you." Koda continued to glare.

"I'm sure they would have if they'd had time."

"She almost fainted," added the one who'd not caught me.

Immediately, Koda's concern turned to me. "Are you okay? Do you need to get back in bed?"

"I'm fine. Just a little lightheaded from the exertion. That spell I used in Lenora's yard kicked my ass." My explanation didn't stop Koda from sliding close to me, ready to be my chivalrous knight should I stumble again. What did it say about me that it tempted me to swoon on purpose?

"That was some epic spellcasting," said the shifter who'd caught me. "Hekate mentioned you were strong, but damn."

"Who are you that you're so familiar with a goddess?" Koda questioned.

"According to the history texts, we're her personal pets," joked the fair-skinned guy. "Which is insulting. We're her scions, tasked with acting on her behalf."

"What's your names?" I asked.

"I'm Orion," spoken with a bow by the more jovial of the pair. "And this grumpy dog is Ambrose."

"I am not grumpy," grumped Ambrose. "I just happen to take our work seriously."

"How is it I'm only finding out you're shapeshifters now? If I'd known, I would have never left you alone with Marissa." Koda still appeared pissed.

"You never asked." Ambrose shrugged with his reply.

"And your witch was perfectly safe. The goddess sent us to protect her. A good thing too, or she'd have been barbecued."

A reminder that only pinched Koda's lips further. "Go find some clothes," he snapped.

"Jeezus, for a skinwalker, you're awfully prudish," grumbled Ambrose as he stalked out of the room with a nicely flexing ass.

Orion took a moment to say, "We're not interested in your woman, so you can relax," before he left.

The comment raised my brow. "Your woman?"

Koda's jaw tensed. "Don't know what they're talking about."

"Says the man having a jealous fit," I pointed out.

"Not jealous," he mumbled.

"Then maybe I should call them back in," I teased, to which I received a glare. My lips quirked. "It's okay if you like me. I like you, too. And that kiss… I wouldn't mind another one of those."

"That can't happen. We have a job to do."

"And you think us having sex would affect it?"

"Yes."

My smile widened. "I'm flattered you think I'm that good, but here's a different perspective. Our ignoring our needs might be more distracting."

"How so?"

"Well, for one, I might not be listening for danger, if I'm too busy masturbating."

His jaw dropped, and he appeared speechless.

Me, I had more to say. "Really, if we want us to be at our best, then we should be fucking to get it out of our system."

"That's crude."

"But honest," I added. "Here's the thing. I find you good-looking. Very much so as a matter of fact, and I think you're attracted to me as well."

"Understatement," he muttered under his breath.

"So we're both hot for each other. We're also both adults with a strong sense of responsibility, meaning we're capable of having sex without any of the emotional drama."

"Are you seriously advocating for us to become lovers?"

Was I? "Would that really be so bad?"

He raked fingers through his hair as he sighed, "No."

"Maybe once you get a taste of me, you'll lose the jealousy."

"Doubtful," his dry reply.

"I didn't take you for the possessive type." And I liked it more than I'd have imagined.

"That's just it, I'm not. But there's something about you…" He shook his head. "I can't believe we're having this conversation."

Me neither, and yet it felt liberating. Especially since when I moved close to him, he didn't retreat but rather placed his hands on my hips, drawing me nearer.

I tilted my head and pursed my lips. "Kiss me."

"You're still recovering," he reminded.

"The ache I've got isn't from an injury," I teased.

His nostrils flared. "Now might not be the time. We're not alone."

"I don't see anyone else in the room, do you?" I draped my arms around his neck.

"You make it hard to say no."

"Then don't," I whispered, leaning as high as I could, but it took him bending to meet me before I could touch his lips.

His groan of surrender made me quiver, but his kiss melted me.