Xavier slowly nodded. “I had a feeling that was the case. There are some humans who can see through our glamours. I take it a preternatural is the one who told you about my company?”
“He’s the only person who knows what I see.”
“Thank you for trusting me with that information. So, you said you had a couple of reasons for wanting to meet with me?”
“Something attacked me last night in the parking garage of my office. Something I couldn’t see.”
“Describe what happened. Did it say anything at all?”
“No, it just let out this low laugh a couple of times. It was invisible—mostly. I did catch shadowy glimpses right before it would punch or slap me, but not enough of a glimpse to tell what it was.”
“Was there any kind of odor?”
He frowned, thinking back to that awful smell. “Yes, there actually was. It’s hard to explain. Earthy and pungent. Kind of like a wet dog scent.”
Xavier sat back in his seat and regarded Julien closely. “You were attacked by a penumbra.”
“That tells me nothing.”
“That’s the name preternaturals have given it. Its other name is a hide-behind. A nocturnal creature that usually terrorizes people in the woods. It lives to cause fear, so it probably wasn’t there to kill you, just scare you badly.”
He thought back to how damn helpless he’d felt because he couldn’t see it. “Not much scares me, but I’ll admit this did the trick. It’s hard to fight something you can’t see.”
“That’s because they’re fast. Normally, there are only shadowy glimpses of them in your peripheral vision. Though Idoubt your death is what it’s after, it would be a good idea to have a bodyguard with you for a time until you can figure out who hired it.”
Surprise raised his eyebrows. “Someone hired it?”
Xavier nodded. “More than likely. You don’t strike me as someone who deliberately causes issues in forests that would have pissed it off.”
Julien’s lips twitched. “No, you’d be right about that.”
Xavier studied him for a few moments before tilting his head. “What was the other reason you came to me?”
And here was where he skirted the law. He’d thought long and hard the night before about whether to share this information, but now, after meeting Xavier, he had the strongest feeling this sorcerer was maybe the only one he should share this information with. “I own and run a cloud storage company and came across some suspicious data. I haven’t been able to figure out exactly what’s going on, but apparently some very powerful people are gathering in Seattle.”
Xavier leaned forward again, frowning. “That is concerning, and I’ll share that it actually coincides with some things we’ve already discovered. If this is what I think it is, then you are in bigger danger than from just the penumbra. I urge you to consider a security specialist. I already spoke to one after you contacted us, and I can send him to your office this afternoon.”
Julien nodded, though the thought of having his life interrupted didn’t sit well with him. But he knew Xavier was correct in thinking he was in danger. Seeing that private information alone would have been enough to be actually attacked at his place of work. The fact that it came so soon after discovering the information was the only thing throwing him off. How the hell could they have already known what he’d seen?
“What do you think it could mean?” he asked. “All these powerful people gathering in the city?”
“Nothing good, but I don’t have enough information to know what’s going on yet. I assure you I’m working on it already. If you’d be willing to share what you found, it would help me get closer to an answer.”
Though it wasn’t entirely legal and went against the strict security his company promised, Julien made the decision to turn over the data. “It’s not something I’d normally do but I can’t shake that this feels like special circumstances. Who will see it?”
“Just me and one other. Daniel is the one who already found the information similar to what you shared. He’s discreet, so you have nothing to worry about.” Xavier opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a folder. “This is the contract. Your bodyguard is Emory Sterling. Don’t worry—he’s exceptional at what he does and will keep you safe. He isn’t here at the moment, so I’ll send him to your office.” He handed the contract and a pen to Julien.
Julien settled in to read the contract, which was straightforward and again promised discretion. He signed it before handing it back.
“I’ll continue to monitor those channels and pass along anything else I find,” he said before he stood and held out his hand.
Xavier stood as well and shook his hand. “You’ve made the right decision to hire a bodyguard. Thank you for putting your faith in us.”
A bodyguard was the last thing Julien wanted, but he was dealing with the supernatural, and he was smart enough to accept that this was the kind of help he needed.
Chapter Four
Emory
