The Shadow Project

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE

The breeze tickled my fingers, and my shoulder cramped from leaning over my desk to the open window, but I didn't move. The little intruder c****d its head, its bandit mask giving it an air of insolence. Just another inch or so, and it would pluck the seed from my fingertip. It stretched its neck, and—

The phone rang. In a flurry of wings, the Bohemian waxwing took flight, then alighted on the branch of a nearby shrub and gave me a baleful look.

I checked the number, intending to hit, Ignore, but it was the shop.

"What?"

"I have an emergency." Veronica's voice had taken on an uncharacteristic shrillness.

"What sort of emergency?"

"Something magical. I can't say more. You'll have to see when you get here." Then she hung up on me. The nerve. But if something had my normally staid clerk in a tizzy, it must be bad.

Still, I couldn't leave the birdie without any help. It had sought me out, but I didn't know why. I placed a thimbleful of seeds in the little dish on my desk just inside the windowsill and said, "Fine, help yourself when I'm gone." Then I grabbed my helmet and ran for my bike. The trek between my cottage and the village had never seemed so long even with a little Fae enhancement to my motorcycle's speed. I grumbled under my breath the entire way. And here I'd thought everything would calm down now that Veronica had returned from the States, where she'd been caring for her ill sister.

Yet one more reason for me to not depend on anyone unless I absolutely had to. Unfortunately, as the silent financier of the crystal shop in Lycan Village, I had to rely on mortals to take care of things for me. It sucked when they didn't. Hades, I didn't need a crisis right now.

I quieted the roar of the bike as I slid through the back streets and rumbled to a halt behind the shop. I'd managed to keep my involvement a secret. Whatever happened must be bad if she needed me there.

The bell over the back door chimed. I saw she'd turned the sign to "Closed."

"Veronica?" I called softly, senses alert for an intruder. Or chaos. Or dark magic. Or any magic at all, really. The only sensations that I could pick up came from the crystals, each ringing with its own little chime in a chorus of stone bells, a new chime with each of my footsteps.

Wait, there was something. A whiff of fae magic, but not strong enough for me to tell where it came from. Something had been here, had gotten past my wards. With my heart in my throat, I walked into the front of the converted cottage to find Veronica holding… A kitten?

"What's the problem?" I asked.

"It's this wee moggie," she said and scratched the creature behind one ear. It angled its head into the caress.

Anger flashed through me and burned out the worry. "You called me here for a cat? You said it was something magical."

"It's not just any cat," she said. "There's something seriously wrong with it. Look."

She handed it to me, and I had no choice but to take the warm, soft purring creature and examine him. His little face already had character and perhaps the shadow of stripes to come under his lead-colored coat. The most charming part - one white mitten on his front left paw. I checked under the tail - a boy. It fit in the palm of my hand, and I guessed its age to be about six weeks.

"I'm a physician, not a vet," I said. When I ran my hand over it, the silly thing purred louder, but I felt what she must have meant — a frisson of something that didn't feel right, but I couldn't tell what.

Definitely not an emergency, though.

I handed the gray kitten back to Veronica. "He's fine. He just needs some peace and quiet away from his littermates, at least as far as I can tell. Did your time in the States addle your brain, Veronica?"

The little creature looked up at me with big blue eyes that already had flecks of gold and green in them. Ugh. I couldn't resist scratching him under his silky chin. And my fickle frozen heart melted just a touch when he started purring. I mean, who could resist a purring kitten? I may be a Faerie, but I'm not inhuman.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather watch him for a day? Make sure he's all right?" Veronica's Scottish burr made the words sound innocent enough, but I caught the undertone.

"Wait a minute… Is this one of your tricks to get one of your kittens adopted? Again, not an emergency. Besides, he's too young to be away from his mum." I arched an eyebrow and put my hands behind my back so I wouldn't succumb to the temptation to pet the little charmer again.

"No, I'm truly worried for him." With a sigh, she held the kitten to her ample bosom, where kneaded one of her, er, mounds, his eyes half-closed in bliss. She didn't flinch from his tiny but sharp claws going through her top. Or maybe her sweater was thick enough to handle it.

Then he disappeared.

"What in Hades…?" I asked. To say I was astonished would be an understatement. "Where did he go?"

"Oh, good, he did it. I was afraid he wouldn't and then how could I explain?"

Well, I certainly wasn't going to apologize for snapping at her. "You could've just said that he randomly disappeared." I looked under the cash register counter in her shop but found nothing. "'Acting odd' is a vague way of putting it."

"Would you have believed me?"

She had a point. "Probably not." Then a slight weight on my shoulder, the sensation of tiny claws digging into my neck, and the sound of a small motor by my left ear told me he'd reappeared. Wherever he'd been, it was cold, and I untangled him from my long hair and held him close to warm him.

"How long has this been going on?"

"For about a week now. Since his ears grew to pointed."

"So he's younger than he looks." I held the little lad away from me, and he licked his nose with a tiny pink tongue. Then he licked me, all sweetness and sandpaper. "I truly don't know what to tell you." I didn't often find myself at a loss for words, at least not when dealing with humans, but she had me there.

"So can you please watch him? See what's up? His mother is beside herself, and it's taking its toll on the other babies."

She didn't tell me what I already knew - that this would be mama cat's last litter since she'd be spayed once they were all grown and adopted out. But she didn't want any unnecessary deaths on her hands. I didn't blame her, as much as that sympathy shredded my ruthless Fae reputation. Veronica was the only human I allowed to see this softer side, and that only because she knew what I'd do to her if she revealed my secret. I was a big player in the success of her little shop.

"Fine, I'm intrigued. I suppose I could watch him for a couple of days. What's his name?"

"Raleigh, after Sir Walter Raleigh."

"And you're not afraid he'll come back without his head?"

"Not funny."

I still laughed. "All right, then, Sir Raleigh. Let's get you back to my place and see what's going on with you. Have you noticed any pattern about when it happens?"

She pulled a small spiral-bound notebook from beneath her counter. "I've kept notes. Mostly when he seems to be experiencing some sort of strong feeling. Like just now. But not just positive - it's also happened when he's frightened."

I took the notebook and nodded my approval for her neat handwritten notes regarding dates and time. "Careful record-keeping, as always."

"Speaking of which…" She rubbed her temples. "I'm still catching up from being gone. Your check will be late."

I should have smote her, but it was hard to be in a smiting mood with a purring kitten snuggled on my shoulder. Plus, I knew she'd pay me the rent and my share of the shop's profits when she could. I still couldn't believe the Lycanthrope Council hadn't caught on to our little arrangement. I saw it as an act of rebellion, as did she.

"I know you're good for it. Plus extra for me figuring out the cat."

"Don't worry, you'll earn that. He's got mischief in his eyes."

The disappearance of the cat from my shoulder confirmed her words, especially when he reappeared on my other shoulder just a minute later. Again, that cold air. And again, I untangled him from my curly white hair, which he batted at with his little kitten paws. She'd sent me off with plenty of kitten food and instructions, but how could I feed him if I didn't even know where he'd be?

Once I held him in my right hand, I sniffed him. Beyond the delightful smell of cat, there was something else. Something familiar, but I couldn't place it. I put him on my chest and zipped up my jacket. He snuggled in and didn't dig in too hard, thankfully.

Yes, in spite of his youth, he had a certain dignity that deserved the honorific.

When I arrived at my house, my haven in the countryside, I found the door open. I placed Sir Raleigh and his food on top of the mail in the basket to the right of the front door and latched the lid shut. Not that it would deter the cat if he really wanted to escape, but I wouldn't knowingly bring him into harm's way.

With a deep breath, I drew from the energy of the ley line that ran beneath the house, the creek behind it, and the trees over it, weaving the nature and ley magic into a web around me that would hopefully capture or deflect any dangerous spells that came my way. Unsophisticated compared to what I could previously do in Faerie, but it was my best at the time.

And in case of human intruders, I pulled a small but deadly sharp silver knife from my boot. Its wooden hilt kept the metal from harming me - not that silver did much to me, anyway. Now iron - that was a different matter. I hoped that whoever had intruded upon my home didn't know who or what I was. But who could have found me? I'd kept my address in this realm a secret.

I pushed the door open with the toe of my boot - synthetic, not leather - and crept inside. My eyes adjusted immediately. Nothing seemed amiss, although the air held the quality of having recently been disturbed. My spells and wards hadn't been triggered, so who or what could have gotten in?

The foyer held no surprises. Nor did the parlor to my right. I glanced up the stairway to my left, but I didn't hear anything moving around or breathing above me. That left the living room and the kitchen to the back.

When I walked into the living room, the lights came on. Again, my eyes adjusted immediately, and I spun around, but saw no one. So who had turned on the lights?

Something brushed by me, and a low growl by my left ear told me Sir Raleigh had returned to his perch.

"You feel it, too, huh?" At least the cat helped me to feel less insane. So whoever was in my house was invisible. A ghost? No, my wards should keep them out. So then what?

The lights went out again, and with an eddy of air that smelled of must and decay, whoever or whatever it was ran out of the house. I heard its footsteps, but still not its breath. What in Hades could it have been? The entire house seemed to sigh with relief.

"We all have enemies, Lady Reine," she'd told me. "And someone like you must have powerful ones."

I'd demurred - no one cared about a cast-out Fae like me, but apparently someone did. I walked through the kitchen to my office, which overlooked the back garden, and found my desk, cabinets, and shelves had been raided. I thought about checking the hiding place under the desk, but what if whatever had intruded still watched by some means? I didn't trust my wards. No, I wouldn't show it my secrets that easily.

With one trembling hand, I attempted to soothe the cat, who had crawled half-down my front mewing piteously. With the other, I picked up the phone, cradled the handset between my head and neck, and called the one person I trusted - and that loosely - with a crime of this nature. The best investigator I knew.

"Gabriel?" I asked. "Can you do me a favor? Someone broke into my house."

***

It didn't take long for Gabriel to arrive in his green Jaguar along with a pleasant surprise — Maximilian Fortuna, "Max" for short.

"Well," I said, "I'm honored to have such high-ranking officials visiting me."

Then another car pulled up, and I wrinkled my nose.

"You called Inspector Garou, too?"

"He's the new Lycanthropy Council Investigator," Gabriel said. "I'm not in that game anymore." In fact, while he rarely seemed happy to see me, today his voice carried the extra weight of irritation.

I snorted. "Like Hades you aren't."

Inspector Garou hadn't registered on my Fae-dar as important, but now that I looked at him, I noticed something interesting. He was a "muggle," as the lycanthropes liked to say - a human with no magic or shifting abilities - but his dark eyes sparkled like flint, and there was a hardness to his jaw. No, Garou may not have any current magical abilities, but I'd bet there was gargoyle in his blood.

My indifference hardened, if you'll forgive the pun, into dislike.

"Problem?" Gabriel asked. He'd come to stand beside me, and I suppose he noticed my expression. I could typically hide my emotions, but not when they hearkened to the reason for my exile.

"Garou. He's not one of you, but he's got elemental in him. Water and earth, specifically."

Gabriel's eyebrows lowered as he studied the inspector. I wondered what he saw with his still-burgeoning alpha abilities. "Gargoyle?"

"Yes. I don't want him anywhere near me."

Now Gabriel turned his hazel gaze on me in surprise. "What do you have against gargoyle blood? It must be several generations ago."

"It's a long story, but one was involved in Rhys's mutilation."

"Ah. I'm afraid I can't do anything about him being here. As I said, he's our investigator. You don't want regular humans mucking about here, do you?"

Sir Raleigh chose that point to make an appearance on my shoulder with an irked "mew!"

Gabriel turned away and coughed. Or at least that's what he tried to do. I caught his laugh.

"New friend? Or new hair decoration?"

I swear, every time that kitten appeared, he somehow got tangled in my hair. As I yet again disengaged his little claws from my white curls, the almost-stripes on Raleigh's face made him look amused. I caught the same look on Max's face. Garou wore his customary scowl, and he fiddled with an unlit cigarette.

"Don't you dare light that thing around here," I warned, perhaps more harshly than necessary, but I couldn't bear to be laughed at. Never mind that he was the only one - besides me - not laughing.

"You look good with a kitten," Max told me. He walked over and held out a hand. Instead of shaking it, I handed the kitten to him.

"Here, please watch him. Careful — he likes to —" Sir Raleigh disappeared from Max's hands and reappeared on my other shoulder with an indignant squeak. "All right, then, insolent creature." Rather than pulling him from my curls, I left him. He wrapped his little tail around my neck and started a subtle but content rumbling.

"Where did he come from?" Max asked.

"Veronica." A movement caught my peripheral vision, and I looked over to see that Garou had dropped his cigarette when I mentioned the witch. Interesting.

"Oh, from the mother cat and litter she found. [name] has been bugging us for a kitten ever since she heard. She says there's something magical about them."

"She's not wrong." As we all did, I kept a close eye on Max's daughter [name]. Although barely over a year old, she'd shown an intelligence far beyond her age. An old soul, that one, and likely to be powerful.

Max shot me a nervous glance, his expression remorseful.

"Don't worry, I'm not in the child-snatching game anymore."

Gabriel cleared his throat. "While all this talk of kittens and children is fascinating, you called me over for a reason."

"Yes, you. Although Max is always welcome."

"We were having lunch," Max explained. "What happened?"

I told them about returning home and finding the office a mess. That I'd felt something, or thought I did, but I couldn't explain what. I left out that the creature was unknown to me and disturbed me more than I could say.

"So there's an invisible intruder?" Garou spoke for the first time. At the sound of his voice, Raleigh stopped his purr. I didn't blame him.

"There was."

"Right, then," Gabriel said. "Let's take a look around. Was anything stolen?"

"Not that I can tell, but I haven't looked thoroughly."

The men went inside. I hung back. My cottage looked the same as it always had - a typical "fairy cottage" prototype with its gray brick walls and Flemish tile roof, plenty of plants, cute cutout windows with green wooden shutters... But it didn't feel like home. Not anymore.

Not that it ever should have.

In my long life, I'd learned to trust my instincts. Something was very very wrong. Without thinking, I reached up to pet the cat. He began to purr, a sound that should have been soothing but didn't do much to calm my nerves.

"Can't find anything," Gabriel told me when they came out. "No signs of forced entry."

"And your wards are strong," Max added. "Nothing should have gotten past them unless you invited it in."

I took a breath to say I didn't invite anything in, but Garou cleared his throat and interrupted me.

"Are you sure you felt something?" he asked, his eyes narrow and suspicious.

I looked at the three of them and kept my mouth from falling open in undignified amazement. Then heat came to my cheeks - they didn't believe me. Well, Max might. He looked uncomfortable. But what had happened with Gabriel? I'd helped him for fae's sake.

"I know what I felt," I said. "There was something in there."

"There are lots of strange things in the woods," Gabriel observed. "Maybe you should move closer into town."

"The last thing I need is to be surrounded by people." I made sure to intone the word, people, with enough disgust that, paired with a pointed look at Garou, he'd get the hint.

Gabriel rubbed one temple. Right, he got migraines. Was he fighting one now? Could that be at the root of his less than jovial mood? When he spoke, he sounded defeated. "If something managed to find you and got past your wards and ransacked your office, then it's going to be too powerful for us. We can't protect you."

That made me sputter. "You protect me? Did you forget that I helped you with the murders at the ILR? Hades, Gabriel, I'm not asking you to…" I shook my head. Why had I asked them to come over? Because I'd hoped they would have a simple explanation, perhaps some being the activities at the ILR had attracted, something we could do a spell for and get rid of easily. But nothing with humans was ever easy. "Never mind. I'll handle it myself."

"Sorry we couldn't be of more help," Garou said, but I refused to thank him. He still sounded too doubtful of my story, and I refused to be treated like a hysterical woman. He and Gabriel moved toward the cars, but Max held back.

"Be careful," he said. "I can't tell you too much, but there are things happening. Big things."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Can't say right now. Just… Be careful, as I said." He squeezed my upper arm, a rare gesture for him that brought me back to the days when we'd been students together. He turned and left.

I walked back into my cottage and leaned against the door until the rumble of the car engines faded, to be replaced by a fluttering noise.