Chapter One

In the distance, Leif heard a deep voice give out a strangled cry. He tensed, gripping the straps on his backpack more tightly.

"Leif!" Julia said over his comms set. "Somerset"s been injured. Can you get to him?"

He tapped a button on his earpiece. "I heard! Um, he"s not far, I"m south of his position, I think. Headed there now."

"Cohen will meet you there and provide support. Stay safe, the beast was headed west at last sighting, but it could be a feint."

"Understood.Moving out."

Taking a centering breath, Leif oriented himself. All around him was a maze of snow-covered shipping containers, sometimes stacked two or three high, and with various ladders and catwalks attached to them. Fortunately, all six of the operatives in the squad had consumed at least one of his magical potions, which meant that he could track them using his innate spiritmancer senses.

Being mindful of patches of ice, he set out at a jog. He had to turn around once when he encountered a dead end, but with the glow of Rickert Somerset"s spirit firmly in his sights, it was only a matter of a minute before he rounded a corner and saw his muscle-bound friend laying up against a metal Conex, a hand pressed up against his abdomen.

Rickert turned towards him as he approached, his demonic face lined with agony, and he raised a trembling, red-skinned arm up in his direction. Rushing the last few yards, Leif knelt down heavily, taking the gargoyle"s hand in his.

"Bro," Rickert said weakly. "How bad is it? Am I going to pull through?"

Leif looked down at the front of Rickert"s bare chest, which was marred by four large, jagged claw marks made from forest-green glitter. As he watched, the glitter combined with the falling snow, leaving shimmering rivulets as it trailed down Rickert"s hand and torso.

Leif put a hand up to cup the side of Rickert"s cheek, staring into his eyes and speaking solemnly. "It looks bad, but don"t you worry. I got you."

Trying not to break character, Leif swung his alchemist"s kit off of his back and undid the latches, rifling through the contents to find the ingredients he needed in order to mix a healing cocktail.

Leif was proud of his kit. Not wanting a repeat of the incident from several months ago where he"d gone up against a powerful fire spirit with a bare minimum of supplies, he"d spent thousands of dollars and days of organizing to put together a tactical backpack. Weighing about twenty-five pounds, it held several dozen different liquors and mixers in stoppered bottles ranging from 200 mL of fine scotch to a half-liter of Everclear, quality bartending tools, shatter-proof drinking glasses made from engineered stone, and even an enchanted thermos that could keep ice frozen for up to a month at a time.

And today he was getting to use it, yay!

Wait, hold on. No smiles. Super serious mode, his friend has just been gravely injured.

As he began pouring lime juice and "gin" into a shaker—actually just flavored water—he heard the rapid approach of Jamie Cohen, sensing it as she took up a defensive stance near him, her paintball gun at the ready.

"Oh no," she said in a monotone. "Rickert."

"Don"t worry, mage bro says I"ll be fine."

"Oh. That"s good, then." Jamie"s head turned slowly as she scanned the area. "How"d he get you?"

Rickert laughed. "No fucking idea! It just felt like a sudden gust of wind. He"s fast."

"Damn."

Leif finished pretending to add a special homemade simple syrup, returning the rare ingredient back to a mini cold box.With all the components gathered, he paused for a few seconds to simulate enchanting the alcohol with his spirit magic, then did a quick shake before pouring the cocktail into a highball glass.Ginger and mint garnishes were added as a final touch.

Leaf shifted closer to Rickert, lifting the cocktail up to his smooth snout. He helped him to drink it, then fell back as the gargoyle leapt to his feet, wings and tail swinging wide.

"Ha, thanks little bro! Back in the game!"

"Hooray," Jamie said with terribly acted enthusiasm.

"It usually takes a minute for the healing potion to work," Leif corrected.

"Oh, uh, I mean..." Rickert put on a pained expression, hunching over and clutching at his stomach as he fell back against the container. Leif couldn"t hold back a giggle. "Ooh, ah, it hurts so bad—"

"Oh no," Jamie said again.

"—but I"ll get better soon, in exactly one minute... and then the beast had better watch out!"

The three of them paused as their communication sets began crackling.

"Shit!" a female voice said. Leif heard the pap pappap of paintballs being fired. "Lilithian"s down, northwest quadrant. There"s—ah, shit. Uh..."

The voice trailed off awkwardly. After a moment of silence while Leif packed away his supplies and hefted his bag, he heard Julia back on comms.

"Lilithian and Fontaine are down, at the border of areas one and two. Cohen, status?"

Jamie tapped at her comms unit, but didn"t take her eyes off the surrounding containers. "I"m in area six with Leif and a... healed Somerset?"

Leif estimated the time, then nodded. Rickert jumped back to his feet, pumping a fist and checking over his paintball gun.

"Yes, healed. Good to move out."

"Rendezvous north with Deimos and Wood, then move as a group for a rescue. See if Leif can stabilize them, at the least."

"Acknowledged," Jamie said, then turned to nod at each of them.

Rickert took the lead, his thick lizard-like tail swaying behind him as he jogged down the path. Leif followed closely behind, while Jamie covered their rear. At a four-way crossroads, Leif indicated the direction of their squadmates. Rickert did a quick aerial surveillance, flying up thirty feet for a split second before coming back down. Path memorized with his gargoyle brain"s near-perfect recall of structures, he led them left, and soon they came across their fellow operatives.

"That"s three of us down in, what, three minutes?" Deimos asked rhetorically from where he stood back-to-back with Wood, both on guard. The minotaur detective shook his bovine head in a mixture of exasperation and admiration. "He"s getting faster."

"Nevermind that for now," Jamie said. "Let"s go save the others."

Jamie handed out a few quick commands, and then they moved in formation westward, Leif being kept secure in the middle of the group. They slowed as they neared the northwest zone, clearing each area before venturing forward.

Fontaine was laying on the ground in the middle of an empty clearing, and she waved at them as they approached. Sitting demurely on top of a container was Lilithian, a mythblooded sylph, green glitter coating her rosy face.

"Are you two okay?" Jamie called out, using gestures to direct the team.

Leif crept forward slowly, pretending not to notice the approaching beast.

"I"m dead, sorry," Lilithian answered before going back to drawing in the snow with a finger.

"I"m alive, but unconscious!" Fontaine said, raising her head briefly.

The beast circled around behind them, moving silently up and over a container. Leif noticed Lilithian glance that way, before returning to her drawing.

"Leif, help Fontaine. Deimos and Rickert, cover him. Wood and I will keep watch."

"Yes, ma"am," Leif said.

The beast came closer...

Leif set his bag down beside Fontaine, but couldn"t help himself. As he undid the latches, he lifted his head up to watch the action.

With the four remaining agents and detectives watching all the wrong directions, Leif was the only one to notice the beast lower his jaw down, biting at Jamie"s neck. A large paw on her shoulder unleashed a spray of glitter at the same time, coating her neck and upper body.

"What the ever-fuck!"

The other squad members turned around, but not having his spirit senses, Leif knew that they would only see a distortion in the air with a few trailing green shimmers. Wood popped off a half dozen shots in the general direction, but didn"t manage to strike anything. Leif saw the beast go up and over a Conex.

"Oh no, Jamie!" Rickert pointed at her. "You"ve been bit and are super-injured!"

"Really?" Jamie felt at her neck, then nodded. She paused, then let out a realistic, blood-curdling scream, as if she"d been saving all of her acting for just this moment. After several seconds, she stopped, then laid herself down on the ground, muttering about the frozen concrete.

"Did either of you see anything?" Deimos asked, taking over command and pulling the other two back to where Leif was nearly done making a pretend Recovery potion for Fontaine.

"Nope!" Rickert said. "He must be really fast."

"Not fast," Wood said, giving Leif a side eye. "Invisible. Really, Leif? Come on!"

Leif laughed, then helped Fontaine up and had her drink the flavored water—with a full day of training planned out, it wouldn"t do to get the agents drunk by giving them too many real cocktails, or to deplete his actual supply of alcohol.

"It was Julia"s idea," he said. "Mix things up a bit, you know?"

"Hold on," Rickert said. "You mean Tucker drank one of cute bro"s Camouflage potions? No wonder—"

"There!" Deimos shot a few times at where the beast was... notactually at. "I thought I heard footsteps."

Fontaine got to her feet, brushing some of the glitter off of her chest. "It"s not full invisibility. Watch the falling snow, there will be a distortion, an area where the snow just kind of vanishes. Let"s circle up and get to Jamie."

Leif hurried to gather his kit, keeping his eyes on the ground as they moved so that he wouldn"t give Tucker"s position away.

In three, two, one...

Leaping off from a triple-stacked container, Tucker landed behind them with the faint sound of crunching snow. Before Deimos could even aim his weapon, Tucker took him out, swiping hard with glitter-coated paws and sending him tumbling.

Leif hurried past Rickert as the gargoyle began barking commands, trying to stay out of the line of fire. He crouched next to Jamie, who was sitting up so she could watch the fight progress.

It didn"t take long, and Leif had to use his spirit senses to even tell what happened. After three or four passes, bounding between the operatives, Tucker managed to land killing blows on each of them, then turned towards him.

"Leif!" Tucker said, while Julia called a cease fire over comms, ending the scenario. "Hi!"

"Hey, Tucker!" Leif stood up, watching the canine shifter approach, leaving a trail of glitter in his wake. "I"m pretty sure you won this round."

Leif"s Camouflage potion rendered Tucker practically invisible to everyone else, but Leif could see through his own magical effects. Standing over a foot taller than his own admittedly short frame, Tucker"s weredog form was three-hundred plus pounds of lean, furry muscle. As a lemon beagle, he had mostly white fur with a few yellow spots, short floppy ears, and brilliant green eyes that were squinched nearly shut from his obvious delight. The potion didn"t mix well with clothing, so Tucker was entirely nude, and Leif had to work to avoid staring at his boyfriend"s prominently displayed balls and furry white sheath.

With his tail wagging madly, Tucker bounded forward to wrap Leif up in a tight hug, picking him up off the ground and smearing glitter across his back, courtesy of a Glitter Cannon potion. "Yes! It"s all thanks to your magic. You are amazing, Leif, and I love you bunches and bunches and bunches."

Tucker began licking his face, and Leif squirmed in the air, trying to brush him aside.

"Oh, no!" Rickert said, laughing. "Now the beast has Leif, too! We"re totally done for."

Tucker set him back down, and Leif spent a moment scratching at his boyfriend"s chin with both hands, causing him to whimper and kick at the ground.

"Alright, agents," Julia said over everyone"s comms. "Let"s bring it in. We"ll reset and break for lunch, then do a few more scenarios after everyone"s had a chance to warm back up."

As the other agents acknowledged and began the trek back to the training center, Leif took a moment longer to give Tucker some well-deserved pets. After a final heartfelt kiss, Leif hurried to shoulder his alchemist"s kit, then took the offered ride on Tucker"s back as they headed in and out of the cold.

◆◆◆

"Here," Tucker said, setting two cups down in front of Leif. "The hot chocolate"s still kind of hot, darlin", so be mindful."

Leif looked up at his super amazing boyfriend, back in his human form and no longer invisible, and blew him a kiss before grabbing the second cup, which was filled with water. It was a little difficult to focus, but he managed to drink most of it without choking or spilling any.

It was now three o"clock, and they were all back at the headquarters of DOMA, the Department of Mythic Affairs, waiting for the after action report and then an early Friday release for the weekend. Julia Winters, a good friend of his and the department"s top mage, was discussing some last minute observations with Director Wu and Executive Director Clairmont.

Leif wrapped his hands around the hot chocolate"s paper cup, warming fingers that were still a bit chill from hours spent outdoors in the Minneapolis winter. He glanced worriedly over at Tucker as his boyfriend took a seat, but he didn"t seem outwardly bothered by Clairmont"s presence.

Leif turned back, studying the man. His initial impression upon seeing Jack Clairmont for the first time had been a dom leather daddy—or sub, you never knew—and the image had stuck. Leif had the feeling that the director would be just as comfortable running the show in his well-tailored suit as he would in a jockstrap and harness. At fifty years old, Clarimont had broad shoulders, short gray hair with matching beard, and a bit of muscle hidden beneath a sandy-brown suit jacket. He seemed to have a nonchalant attitude, all smiles and laughter, and not at all like the kind of guy who would casually try to use Tucker as a scapegoat.

Leif leaned into Tucker, speaking in a too-loud whisper. "I know we"re supposed to not like him, but the director is really kind of hot."

Both directors paused and looked in his direction, Jamie snorted a laugh, and Leif heard Tucker clear his throat.

"He"s had six drinks in the last hour," Tucker said, "plus another four throughout the day. Please don"t take his words to heart."

"So you"re saying I shouldn"t feel flattered?" Clairmont asked, expression pleasant. "But it"s fine, reduced inhibitions are hardly the worst consequences of magical overusage I"ve seen. I"ve worked with one mage who passed out from casting just two spells in a given day, and another who would projectile vomit if she cast while in direct sunlight.As long as Mr. Becken is minding the toxic effects of alcohol in his casting, all of us here can overlook the occasional slip of the tongue. Director Wu, if you"ll begin?"

Leif sat up in his chair. Yay, his favorite director! Of course, he only knew two.

"Good work today, operatives," she began. "Let me start by recognizing Agent Winters, who orchestrated today"s training and oversaw the different scenarios, and a special thanks to spiritmancer Becken. His Bullet Barrier potions added an extra safety margin, and he helped us to simulate different scenarios, such as escorting civilian personnel through hazardous areas."

There was a brief round of applause, and then Director Wu began going into specifics details of the twelve scenarios that had been coordinated. Leif slowly sipped at his hot chocolate, trying to pay attention but spacing out for much of it.

Leif jerked as Tucker nudged him, and he looked up.

"Mr. Becken?" Director Wu asked.

"Um..." He tried to recall what she"d just been mentioning. "Oh! Yeah, I can for sure add the Camouflage potion to the weekly supply, no problem."

The director nodded. "Thank you. In both of the "Invisible Beast" scenarios, even after the agents were forewarned, a near-invisible shifter was able to decimate the team. Kudos to Wood for being the only one to hit Detective Johnson."

"Speaking of Johnson," Clairmont said, shifting in his chair. "I have questions for him."

The executive director began going over the scenarios in which Tucker had played the part of the villain, asking about his methods. Why did he choose the targets that he did while hunting? Why did he several times shift into human form? Could he have gone faster in any of the scenarios? Leif frowned, narrowing his eyes at the blatant interrogation.

"In the fourth scenario," Clairmont was saying. "You were able to leap in, grab Mr. Becken despite all the agents arrayed against you, and escape with your hostage without hesitation or complication."

"Yes, sir, that"s right."

"Then explain to me what changed in the final scenario? Mr. Becken was the last man standing, and I counted at least three times when you could have taken him out. Instead, it was like you were toying with him, even allowing him time to craft potions mid-fight until he was able to bind you in snow and ice. For a loose definition of bind, I question that you weren"t strong enough to have broken out."

"The executive director is aware that my shifter side has..." Tucker paused. "A personality difference?"

Which was a polite way to say substantially neurodivergent.

"Yes."

A couple of loose pens around the room began rattling, and the remaining water in Leif"s cup floated out of it, slowly beginning to freeze into a brittle ball of ice as Leif subconsciously activated the ongoing effects of his Telekinesis and Blizzard potions. Leif felt it as Tucker laid a hand on his, squeezing him tightly, and Leif let the water settle back into his cup.

Tucker nodded. "Protective instincts, sir. In that fourth scenario, to my canine brain, I was rescuing Leif from a group of hostiles. No conflict, there. In the last scenario, however, no amount of mental gymnastics would allow me to think of Leif as an enemy."

"Do you two never play competitive games? Tag? Sports? Video games?"

Tucker shrugged. "Unfortunately, sir, this was a simulated battlefield, and that overruled any thoughts of a friendly competition. Before I could come up with an imaginary workaround, Leif had me bound. And if you"ll allow me to say so, I didn"t break out because I knew that Leif himself was holding back. Had he gone full strength with his chains of ice... that I wouldn"t have been able to break out of, shifter strength notwithstanding. He"d won, and fairly."

Clairmont nodded, then shared a look with Director Wu, who was shaking her head.

"And if you"ll further excuse me," Tucker said in a dry tone with the smallest hint of deferment that could almost be seen as mocking. "Why the focus on myself? I reckon we could tell a dozen stories about the exploits of our Flying Red Baron, or Ice Queen Lilithian."

"I"m sorry for all the question, detective, but I needed to see where you were at mentally," Clairmont said, leaning forward on the table.

Director Wu laid an arm on his shoulder. "Sir, I don"t think—"

"There was a report last night from the DOMA branch in North Dakota," he continued, and Wu settled back slowly. "There have been a string of burglaries these last couple of weeks, the first one occuring the day after Christmas. The targets were all museums, with Mythic and Indiginous items taken, and disparaging comments left behind."

Tucker"s hand clenched suddenly, and Leif noticed his face paling.

"By accounts, it looks like Germaine is active again after two years, and heading back to our jurisdiction." Clarimont leaned back in his chair. "I was debating who to assign the case to if he gets this far, and after today"s performance, I"m now certain. I know your last encounter with him had... certain consequences, let"s say, like the unfortunate dismissal of Agent Basu, but I think you deserve a second chance to set matters right. Wouldn"t you agree, detective?"