Chapter 7

The Garrison Librarywas the only part of City Central that was two stories. As I entered through the double doors, I crossed to the customer service desk. My friend, Charles Crichton, worked on the second floor. He was a member of the Moonshadow Bay Historical Society, and he was also a research librarian. It occurred to me that Charles might know more about the sluaghs, and that would be easier than trying to find out the history of the gulch.

“May I help you?” The librarian looked overworked and harried, but she still managed a smile.

“Is Charles Crichton in today?” It was always better to check with the main desk, in case he might be working on some project that he needed to focus on. He was so polite that he wouldn’t hesitate to stop what he was doing, and I didn’t like interrupting.

“Charles is in his office, yes. Would you like me to call him to see if he’s available?”

“Thank you. Tell him January Jaxson’s here and I’m wondering if he has a few minutes to help me out.” I waited while she picked up the landline and punched a button.

A moment later, she rested the receiver back in the cradle. “Charles says for you to go right up to his office. Do you know where it is?”

“Yes, unless he’s changed offices any time lately. Thank you,” I said. I headed toward the elevator. A moment later, I was knocking on the door with his nameplate on it.

Charles opened it, ushering me in. A tall man—six-four if he was an inch—he was close to eighty, but his posture was straight and he was in good shape. He had smooth silver hair, neatly trimmed and slicked back, and he had on a pair of brown trousers and a lightweight sports jacket over a pale blue shirt. He had a wide smile and twinkling brown eyes.

“January, what a lovely surprise! Come in, please. Here, have a seat. Would you like some coffee? Water? I think I have a scone left, if you’re hungry.”

No one could ever accuse Charles of being impolite. “Thanks, I’m fine for now. It’s good to see you, too, Charles. How have you been?” I didn’t want to start off with an immediate request. I settled into the chair opposite him.

“It’s been a difficult past couple years, actually. My lovely wife died. She was hit by a car while she was out on an evening stroll.” His eyes dimmed and I could feel his sorrow.

I immediately prepared to leave. “I’m so sorry—I don’t want to bother you. I’ll go.”

He let out a sad sigh. “No, please stay. It’s been six months. It’s still very difficult, but anything I can do to take my mind off of it helps. I’ve spent more time at work than I have in my home for the first time in years. It’s so quiet there. We lost our cats a few years ago—they reached a dignified age. And now, the house echoes with memories that I can’t face.”

I wanted to hug him, but he seemed fragile, as if he’d shatter if I touched him. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Charles. Please, if you ever just want to talk, you can call me. We can go somewhere and have coffee or tea, and just…talk or sit in silence.”

He adjusted his glasses. “Thank you. I may take you up on that. I can tell you stories about all the haunted houses and areas, and you can tell me about your ghost hunting. I think that would be a pleasant evening.”

I pulled out my mini-planner, the one I kept in my purse. “What are you doing a week from tonight? Come over to dinner. You can meet my cats and husband, we can talk or watch a movie.”

He seemed surprised. “Really? You mean it?”

“Of course. I like you, and I like talking to you. I should have invited you and your wife over before, but it’s been a rough past year and I’m afraid I didn’t have the spoons to go around. I’ve developed a chronic illness, and I am managing it but it was really hard in the beginning.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that. If you want, feel free to talk about it, but I won’t pressure you.” He consulted his calendar. “I can make it on the fourth. Sevenish? Can you drink wine?”

“I can drink a little but it’s better if I don’t, given the herbs I’m on. But if you’d like to bring dessert—we’re always open to a good dessert.” I jotted down the note that Charles would be coming to dinner at seven p.m. on Saturday, May fourth.

“I make a mean tiramisu,” he said.

“That sounds fantastic. Okay…” I took a deep breath. “I came in to ask if you might know anything about the sluagh. I need you to keep this quiet, please.”

“Of course,” Charles said. “I give you my word.”

“Thanks, it’s more important than you know. There’s one loose around town and…through a long series of mishaps, it’s up to me to destroy it.”

“Ah, the sluagh. Well, January, if you’re tasked with destroying it, you’re in for a rough fight. I’ll need a little while to do some research. Can I call you tomorrow?” He jotted down a note on his notepad.

“Of course. That would be great. I should be off.” I paused, then said, “I’m meeting one of the Fae tomorrow, Charles. I ended up having to ask him for a favor and now it’s being called in—that’s why I have to find and destroy the sluagh. Do you have any advice for me when I go talk to him?”

Charles slowly withdrew his glasses. “Oh, dear. That’s a sticky wicket. All right, my best advice for you: think over everything you say before you say it.”

“I know enough not to thank them,” I said. “Is there any other phrase that might get me in trouble, besides ‘Can you help me?’ ”

Charles stared at me for a moment. “My dear, the only advice I can give in good conscience is to skip the meeting. But I also understand that, if summoned, you must attend. Be aware of every word that comes out of your mouth. Listen to every word the Fae says. Every single word can be nuanced and have multiple meanings. Go and may the gods be with you. And I will see you at seven on the fourth. Thank you, for humoring a lonely old man.”

“I’m not humoring you, and you might be older and lonely, but you’re far more than that.” I paused, then added, “Would you be offended if I gave you a hug?”

His face crinkled, his lips turning up for the first time in our talk. His eyes were watery. “I think I’d like that,” he said.

I stepped around his desk and gave him a gentle hug, and while he was cautious in returning it, I could feel the need for touch, the need for a hug or a kiss. I leaned up and gently kissed his cheek. “We’ll see you a week from tonight. Call me if you need directions, but it’s easy to find. I’ll text you the address.” I gathered my things and left.

* * *

By the timeI got home, it was time to prepare dinner.

I cleared off the dining room table—that’s where we held our game nights. Then I pulled out all the ingredients that I’d prepared that morning and began to assemble the lasagna. I glanced at the clock. It was five, and they were supposed to be here by seven. I tucked the lasagna back in the fridge, covered with clear plastic cling. I’d take it out at five-thirty and pop it in the oven at six. It would be piping hot and ready by the time they arrived.

Next, I prepared the lemon poundcake mix. While it was baking, I tossed the blueberries in a pot with some sugar and lemon, and began to slowly simmer it so that it reduced. The compote came together without a problem. Finally, I poured it into a dish and set it in the fridge. By then, the cake was done and I turned the loaf pan over, sliding the poundcake out of the tin. I set it on a rack on the counter and slid the lasagna in the oven. Food prep, done.

I was just finishing up with the cake when Killian came through the kitchen door. He caught me up in his arms and kissed me, then sniffed.

“It smells heavenly in here. Ooo, cake!” He reached for the poundcake and I smacked his hand.

“Not till dinner. Hey, I haven’t had a chance to clean up yet. Can you set the table while I go change clothes?”

“Sure,” he said, kissing me again. “Go. Change. But hurry, so I can change too.”

I dashed into our bedroom and slipped out of my clothes, taking a couple moments to rinse off under the shower, then slid into a pair of palazzo pants and a silky tank top. It was a matching set—cobalt blue with gold and black geometrical designs. I fixed my makeup and brushed my hair back, and settled on a pair of silver satin block-heel slides.

As I entered the kitchen, Killian whistled. “You look good enough to eat.” His eyes twinkled as he added, “Maybe that can be arranged later?”

I winked at him. “Sounds good. But for now, go get gussied up for your sister and her husband.”

“Gussied up? I don’t live on the prairie, love.”

“No, but I like the word,” I said, grinning as he took off for the bedroom.

Killian had set the table and placed a netted hood over the cake and compote to keep the cats out. Lemon poundcake or fish sticks, Klaus tried to eat it all. We had to watch him around human food. I opened the bottom drawer of the sideboard and brought out a stack of board games. We usually stuck with two or three each game night, but it was always nice to have a choice. The timer went off on the stove and as I turned it off, the doorbell rang. After I took the lasagna out and set it on the table, I answered the door.

“Tally, Les, come on in.”

“It smells wonderful,” Tally said, giving me a hug. She wasn’t as tall as Killian, but she was athletic. She was shorter than her brother, lanky and lean. Her hair was light brown and her eyes were also green. She had angular features that seemed almost sharp, and her movements were fluid—she was as graceful as she was in wolf form.

Les was the opposite. He had dark hair that hung to his shoulders, and vivid, dark eyes that gleamed with gold flecks. He had been the assistant to the Pack’s shaman until they moved here, and even though he had given up the mantel of the job, he still radiated shifter magic. The shamans were the few magical members of the Packs, and they were both highly feared and respected. Les was as lean and lanky as Tally, though, which gave him a hungry look.

He, too, gave me a hug and a grunt, then headed over toward the table. “Ooo, you came through on the lasagna. You’re the best sister-in-law, ever!”

Tally followed him, her eyes on the food. “I never seem to eat enough lately. Victoria and Leanna keep me so busy following them that I never have time to sit down. Thank gods for my mother.” She reluctantly left the table and came over to sit by me in the living room. “Did I tell you that I got a job as manager of the Red Rock Café?”

“No, when did that happen?” The Red Rock Café was a new restaurant that had opened up down by the shore. It was somewhere between a diner and a fast-food joint, but the food was good and the décor was pleasant enough.

“I just got the call yesterday,” she said. “I start in a week. That gives me time to prepare. I’m only working twenty-five hours a week. I wanted to pay Mom for her time. She told me under no circumstances is she charging me, but I don’t want her helping out for free. I finally agreed, but we’re planning on buying her a monthly gift certificate to a day spa. A standing monthly appointment.”

I knew how expensive that was going to be, especially since Les and Tally were on a tight budget. “What about if Killian and I help you out on that? We can afford it, and they’ve done a lot of nice things for us, too. We can go half on the gift certificate and make it a full day of beauty for her.” If Killian or I made the arrangements, we could get away with telling Les and Tally that it cost less than it did, and not wound their pride.

Tally glanced at Les. He caught my gaze and I realized he knew what I was doing, but he just smiled and nodded.

“I think that’s a great idea, honey. Thanks, January, for wanting to be part of it,” he said, sitting opposite her. I brought ice and sparkling water to the table and began to pour all around as Killian appeared.

Tally jumped up to hug him, and Les gave him a hearty handshake. As we gathered at the table for dinner, I realized this was what it felt like to have some sense of normalcy in a family. I felt it now and then, like when we hosted Thanksgiving, but not often. Then again, what constituted a normal family? The answer was: family looked different to everybody. No single definition worked for all.

Shrugging, I stopped thinking for the evening and began dishing out the lasagna. As we fell to eating, I told them about going back to work and we settled into comfortable dinner conversation.

* * *

By eight-thirty,I had just won my second game of Trivial Pursuit—thanks to my ever-present curiosity—when my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID. It was Val.

“Go ahead and play. I need to take this,” I said. I moved to the living room so I wouldn’t disturb them as they shifted over to Scrabble. “Hey, Val,” I said, curling up on the couch as I answered the call.

“Hey, yourself. Okay, I have information.”

“Let me guess: the sluagh is in Devil’s Gulch?”

Val sputtered. “What on earth gave it away?”

“A murder,” I said. “Millie called me this morning.”

Val grunted. “Well, then that lines up with what I found. I sent a couple of my men out. They damned near didn’t come back. They got word through the grapevine that there was something going on in the gulch and so they went to check it out. Sure enough, there’s something there and it’s deadly. I’m guessing, by their description and by yours, it’s the sluagh. By the way, if you would tell that damned Fae dandy that he needs to keep a tighter rein on his underlings?—”

I snorted. “Not on your life. You tell him, if you want to chew him out. I’ve learned the hard way just how frightening the Fae are and I’m in no hurry to make enemies.”

“Woman, you stab me in the heart,” Val said, laughing. “Okay, so what I can tell you is that, though the gulch runs for several blocks, the creature seems to have made its lair near a culvert smack in the middle of the ravine. You won’t notice it at first, but if you pinpoint where the runoff meets Devil’s Creek, you’ll find it. Be cautious, though,” he said, his voice sobering. “The creature is more powerful than I think you realize.”

I could hear the danger through his voice. Part of me wished that his men had taken it out themselves, but I fully understood that they didn’t want to get involved in Fae politics. That was never a good thing. “Thanks, Val. Did your men actually have to fight it?”

“January, the minute they saw it, they ran. And you know my men, my people—vampires—we don’t run from much. The sluagh seems to have an aura that stirs up fear and it works on vampires. They couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

I thanked him and hung up. We knew where it was, now we just had to prepare to destroy it. As I dwelled on the thought, I returned to the dining room where Killian had just won the game. Talley was two points behind him, and Les, forty behind both.

“Who was it?” Killian asked.

“Oh, just a friend,” I said. Right now, just for tonight, I didn’t want to think about the task in front of us, or the hazards if we failed. I accepted a tile rack and picked seven tiles to start with as we started a new game, but my mind was far away, in the depths of Devil’s Gulch, wondering just how hard this was going to be.