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“Me?” I can’t imagine how I can help. “I’m just an actor.”
“A brilliant one, from what I’ve heard,” Mags says, indicating the direction we should walk in. “According to Rush, you’re the talk of Wolf-Haven.”
“The movie hasn’t even released,” I protest.
“I think they’re raving about a toothpaste commercial,” she says, laughing. “You may be responsible for single-handedly improving the dental hygiene of shifters across the region. They’re so proud to claim someone famous as one of their own, it doesn’t matter what you’ve appeared in.”
She leads me to an austere building that looks like something one might find on a university campus or at a research facility, but it’s so tall, I can’t see the top. It’s intimidating.
“Why do you need me again?” I stare up and up, but there’s no end to the rows of windows.
“It’s your blood we’re after,” she says cheerfully, stepping into a revolving door and pushing.
I follow her because what else am I supposed to do? “I’m not kidding when I say this feels like a kidnapping, Mags.” The interior of the building is filled with rows of doors along each hallway. Our footsteps echo as we make our way to an elevator bank. Mags presses the button for the 55th floor.
Examining the panel, I murmur, “Ninety-nine floors.”
“More than that.” She waves her hand at the control panel and it rotates revealing another set of buttons numbered 100-199. She waves her hand again and it rotates again, revealing floors 200-299. When she reveals a fourth panel, it only shows buttons numbered 300-372. As I watch, another button appears labelled 373. “This place is still under construction,” Mags explains. “The entire Shadow Realm is constantly changing.”
“Doesn’t that get confusing?” I try to wrap my mind around the idea of a constantly shifting world.
“It’s not any different than human construction, except ours happens magically, while yours takes manual labour.”
“Remind me to call you when I want an addition on the house.”
She grins and holds her hands up, wiggling her fingers. “I’m good at that. I had to add onto the tower for our expanding family.” Her hand drops to her flat stomach.
Gasping in delight, I exclaim, “You’re pregnant!”
She nods. “It’s our first. Rush doesn’t like the idea of me being here while I’m pregnant, but he accepts it because he knows I’m as safe as can be. He just can’t be here to watch over me.”
“Why can’t he come here?”
“Lots of reasons.” The elevator dings at our floor and we step out. “But the main one is that shifters aren’t allowed here except under extreme circumstances.”
“Why not?” I’m starting to think ‘why’ is going to be my go-to word while in the Shadow Realm.
“Shifters are children of the natural order and as such belong on Earth where the natural order is strongest.” The corridor seems endless, all the doors the same except for the number plaques, which are getting numerically higher as we walk.
“So Rush can’t visit you here, huh?” I ask sympathetically.
Her eyes dim. “I love it here, but sometimes I resent it too. Duty often draws me back to the Citadel, but my heart is with my mate.” She takes a breath, shaking off the sadness and announces, “We’re here.”
We stop in front of a door labelled with the number 55117. Mags knocks, then opens it, waving me inside.
I’m not sure what I expected, maybe a mystical witchy setup with cauldrons and swirling green lights, like the portal. Instead, I’m greeted by what looks like a well-used laboratory. Tables containing computers, lab equipment and books fill every corner. A large fridge labelled ‘specimens’ sits in one corner, and oh, there is a cauldron! A futuristic version though, with what looks like digital temperature settings.
A woman looks up from where she’s reading a huge book that dominates most of the table she’s reading at. I’m struck by her resemblance to Mags.
“Vanessa, I want you to meet my mother, Lilith.” She waves toward the blond woman before indicating another person standing behind the steaming cauldron. “And that’s Oracle.”
“Oracle?” I ask, staring at them. They resemble a small, unassuming older human, but I sense an attitude of power and mystery about them.
“Yes, one of some. All called Oracle. We’re very lucky to have their expertise. Oracle’s usually stay out of human concerns.” Mags joins her mother at the table. “Did you find anything while I was gone?”
Lilith gives her a narrow-eyed stare. “Not much, and you were gone longer than you were supposed to be.”
Mags avoids eye contact with her mother. “Time moves differently here, right?”
