Chapter 6

The next morning,I was fighting butterflies in my stomach. While Ari and I had talked on the phone briefly a few times, this would be the first time we’d seen each other in person since our big fight a few months ago.

Since tonight was game night and I’d promised lasagna, I calmed myself by sauteing onions and garlic in a skillet, then added ground beef and spices. After it was ready, I spooned the mixture into a slow cooker. Adding tomato sauce, I turned it on low to simmer through the day.

I never trusted using the recipes where the noodles supposedly cooked while the lasagna was baking, so I boiled the noodles to an al dente state, rinsed them under cool water, then put them away. Finally, I grated the mozzarella and parmesan, and whipped the ricotta with herbs.

“There, everything is ready. All I have to do is build the lasagna and bake.” I glanced at the time, then set out a plate of cookies on the kitchen table, debating whether I should make coffee now, or offer Ari a latte when she arrived.

“You’d think I was going on my first date or something,” I muttered to myself.

A moment later, the doorbell rang. As I answered, I steeled myself. Meagan had promised that she’d get Ari to come around, but I wasn’t sure how she intended to do that and I wasn’t sure she had managed it.

I opened the door. Ari stood there with her short coppery pixie cut, weighing all of a hundred and five pounds. She was barely more than five feet, but she was a dynamo in a small package. And as I stared at her, I realized just how much I missed her.

“Ari…” I wasn’t sure what to say, so I stood back, inviting her in. She followed me into the kitchen and sat down, looking around. Not much had changed in a few months, but it felt like it had been years since we’d spoken. At least, to me.

“Hey,” she said. After another moment, Ari sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Meagan and I had a long talk. I… I’m sorry. She didn’t feel at all like I thought she would.”

I wondered whether to reveal that Meagan had showed up on my doorstep. If I didn’t tell Ari, how would she feel if she found out later? Duped? Foolish? I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want to find out the hard way.

“Meagan visited me yesterday. I thought she was going to tell me to stay away from the two of you—the four of you, now. But she didn’t.” I ducked my head. “I’m only telling you this because I don’t want any misunderstandings, you know?”

Ari processed this, then nodded. “Yeah, to be honest, she told me she was going to talk to you. In fact… I asked her to. I was too embarrassed to broach the subject. I crossed the line, and she made me see that. Yes, it can be dangerous to be around you, given what you do. But just living in Moonshadow Bay is dangerous, and there’s always going to be something out there just waiting to get you. She made me see that we’ll always face the chance of someone trying to snatch the kids, or spirits wreaking havoc on our lives, or serial killers hiding in the dark. So…I want to apologize. I understand if you need time to think about this?—”

“No!” I jumped up, cutting her off. “I mean…I’ve missed you so much. You’re my best friend. I’m not going to lie. Hearing you accuse me of being a danger to your kids hurt like hell. But I can see how you might be afraid. After all, a spirit possessed you, and it tried to force you to act in ways you would never choose to on your own. I’m sorry. I never meant for that to happen.” I sank down in the seat next to her, tears welling in my eyes.

Ari held out her hands and I took them, giving them a squeeze.

“Nothing will ever separate us again. If I think you’re on a case that’s too dangerous, I’ll just back out for a little bit till you’re done. I’ll keep the kids away if you’re in the middle of something big.” She exhaled a long, slow breath. “Do you forgive me?”

“Of course,” I said, more because it felt like she needed to hear it rather than because I was holding a grudge. “I don’t want to fight anymore. You’re my sister, you know? Sisters of the heart. To be honest, I still feel horrible for backing away while I was with Ellison. I’d do it all differently if I had it to do over again.”

She smirked. “He had control. Ellison hated anybody who was going to interfere with that abusive nature. So tell me, what are you working on now? Meagan said you quit to write a book? Let’s catch up.”

“I didn’t quit. I took a sabbatical, but I’m going back part time starting next week. And yes, I’m trying to write a book, but I’m not enough of an introvert to write full time.” I approached the coffee station. “What do you want?”

“Latte, three shots, vanilla caramel if you have it.” She hesitated. “I heard through the grapevine that you sold your house?”

I began pulling shots for our lattes. “Right. To Killian’s parents. It’s nice having them next door. I know they’ll take good care of my childhood home, and we can see Killian’s parents anytime we want. Serena takes care of Tally’s kids anytime there’s a need.”

Ari stared soberly at the cookies. “I wish I hadn’t been so abrupt. It was the perfect place for a salon. I guess I need to look elsewhere.”

“That might not be a bad thing,” I said. “Money and friendship don’t always mix. I don’t want to play landlord, to be honest. This way, the house is off my hands and whatever they do with it is their choice.” I brought our mugs over and handed her one. “Vanilla caramel, as you asked.” As I sat down, I was practically vibrating, I was so happy.

“You might be right. Anyway, I did find another building for my salon that used to be one, so it has some equipment that comes with it, and I don’t have to do any major renovations. I’m just going to paint, move a few things around, and add a seating area for clients.” She worried her lip. “How do you like living next door to your in-laws?”

“Actually, I love it. Serena and William are lovely people, and they accept me in a way that I almost forgot. Rowan loves me, of course, and Teran, but Serena and William treat me like…well…it’s almost like having my mother and father around. They’re both nurturing people, and it feels like we have somebody watching out for us, you know?”

Ari nodded. “My folks live in Terameth Lake, along with my half-brother. Mom and Dad finally met Colton, and they’re sorting out the relationship details. I think we’re evolving, as a family. My sister’s coming up from California in July and we’re all going out camping together. A reunion of sorts, to seal the new aspects that have come out of find out about Colton.”

“Are you looking forward to that?” I asked.

“Yes. No. Both. It’s a lot, you know, and to add Emily and LaKirk joining our family at the same time, well… I have no clue how things will play out, but it’s going to be interesting, that’s for sure.” She sipped her latte. “Meagan likes you. She also likes Killian. She told me I was being ridiculous back when I got angry. I didn’t want to listen to her. But over the past few months, I’ve come to realize just how much I need you in my life—along with all the work you do.”

“Well, buckle up, because I’ve got something new to face. Actually, something old, but it’s going to resolve one of the stressors that’s been hanging over my head for a while.” I told her what was going on with Briar.

“Oh my gosh, you’re going after a sluagh? I’ve done enough research to know how dangerous they are.” She paled for a moment, then shook her head. “Promise me you’ll be careful, January? I’m not afraid for myself, that’s not why I’m asking you to be cautious. But they’re dangerous creatures, the sub-Fae, and they have absolutely no conscience about killing anyone that gets in their path.”

I cupped my hands around my mug. “I’ll do whatever I can. I just know if I don’t destroy this creature, Briar will be on my back. And having one of the Overkings angry at me is a worse fate than facing one of the sub-Fae.” I hesitated, then said, “I called Val Slater last night to see if he could help. He said he’d call back tonight. I think he’s over me, Ari. He called us acquaintances, not friends.”

She studied my face for a moment. “That’s a good thing, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I hoped would happen, actually. I want to keep a working relationship with him, but I needed him to respect my boundaries and Killian’s boundaries. And it seems like he’s doing just that.” After that, we slid into catching up on the past few months’ gossip, and by the time Ari had to leave to pick up the kids from their morning daycare—they’d let the nanny go down to afternoons only—we were back to where we’d been before.

Well, almost. There were still cracks in the fence, but we’d mended a lot of them, and we were ready to move back into our roles as best buds and cheerleaders, and that’s exactly what I had hoped would happen.

* * *

At one-thirty,I got a call from Millie. “We have another problem and it may be your sluagh,” she said. “Can you come down to the station? I can’t get away and I don’t want to talk about this over the line.”

I told her I’d be there in half an hour. After rinsing out our mugs, I made sure that the cats were set and I had a mixture of mugwort and peppermint tea, then headed down to the police station.

Downtown Moonshadow Bay was a lovely space, with a central building called City Central that covered an entire city block. Built of red brick, City Central encapsulated most of the town’s government offices, including the police station, fire department, the Garrison Library, the PUD, the courthouse, and many other smaller spaces, including several restaurants.

The walls were painted in a warm lilac gray, and the floors were laminate, with a soundproof system that quieted the sounds of footsteps. There was a coziness to the complex, even as large as it was, and even though the jail was located in the police department, the energy was still smooth and muted.

I entered the bulletproof glass doors to the police station. The dispatcher waved at me. She recognized me from enough visits. I waved back and she buzzed me through, handing me a visitor’s pass on a lanyard. I hung it around my neck, then made my way through the labyrinth of desks and cubicles. Some were manned with officers and clerks, while others were empty. By the time I reached the door leading to Millie’s area, I had said hello to half a dozen familiar faces.

The officer nearest the door checked with dispatch before buzzing me through into the gleaming, cool hallway that led to Millie’s office. I passed the restrooms, then stopped at an open door, peeking in to see Millie sitting there.

“Knock, knock,” I said, poking my head around the open door.

“Come in!” She waved me in. “Have a seat. So, how are you?”

“Well, Ari and I made up. We’re good again.” Our argument had gotten around. In a small town like Moonshadow Bay, there wasn’t much to do for some of the locals except gossip. Anything that was remotely interesting made the rounds like clockwork.

“Oh, thank heavens. You two were made for causing havoc together, and heaven help us if that got disrupted.” But even in her snark, I could hear the genuine relief. She was friends with both of us, and it couldn’t be easy when two of her friends were on the outs.

“So, what do you have for me?” I asked.

Millie handed me a file folder. “Warning, graphic imagery involved.”

I steeled myself and opened the folder. “What am I looking at?” But then, I saw the words autopsy report across the top of one of the papers. “Oh…unexplained homicide?”

Millie nodded. “I think it’s your creature. We found the victim—Dwayne Stephens—in a field next to Devil’s Gulch this morning. He was roughed up pretty bad, and the marks are similar in nature to those of a big cat or a bear mauling, just like the first death. But the doctor confirms he’s never seen anything quite like either case.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then began flipping through the report. I knew there were pictures at the end, and I was dreading them, but anything I could learn to help me understand the sluagh, the better. As I read about some of the damage done to the victim, I grimaced. But there was nothing to prepare me for the pictures.

The man had been eaten alive. Well, not all of him, but enough to know just how much pain he would have been in. Bite marks littered his body, deep gashes obviously made by teeth. Chunks of flesh had been ripped out. The worst was that his nose had been bitten off. I quickly closed the folder and slid it back across the desk.

“You said it happened next to Devil’s Gulch?” I tried to focus on the peripheries of the murder, rather than the gory details.

She nodded. “I have to tell you, there’s an energy to the gulch that scares the fuck out of just about everybody. Two of my officers found his body right beside the gulch this morning. A neighbor about two streets over usually jogs every morning along the street that runs parallel to the gulch. He saw the body from the road—the victim was wearing a bright yellow tank top. A.D. Anniston, our runner, wasn’t sure what it was at first, so he darted into the turnout to find out, and saw the blood. A.D. immediately called the cops and then waited on the side of the road rather than next to the ravine. That was probably a good idea.”

I nodded. She was correct. If the sluagh was hiding in the ravine, anybody close was fair game. “He’s smart, at least. All right. And the medical examiner said it’s not an animal attack?”

“She’s never seen anything quite like it,” Millie said. “You saw the pictures. It was worse in person, trust me. No animal did that. Not even a grizzly would leave such a mess. And there was no sign of a human’s hand in it, either.”

“All right. From everything I’ve heard so far, we have a place to start looking. I guess I’d better get home and come up with a game plan. I’ll contact you when we go out hunting. Can you ask Cece and Tyson to be on call? We may need them.” I stood, trying to quell the nausea that rose up when I saw the pictures.

“I will. Meanwhile, seeing what can happen…”

“We’ll be careful. Trust me, Hank and Tad are far more cautious now, especially since Tad’s stuck with a limp forever.” I waved at her and, with one last look at the folder, I headed out. I wanted to stop in the library to find out the history of Devil’s Gulch before I left for home.