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"What? What is it?"
I swallowed a lump that had suddenly risen in my throat. "Demonkin. That rope has demonic energy infused into the fiber of every strand."
Chase leaned forward. "Are you sure, Camille?"
I folded my arms and leaned back. "Positive. There's no feeling in the world that even comes close to demon energy. And this rope reeks of it." Which clinched matters. We weren't facing some disgruntled Faerie or dwarf, or any of the other numerous inhabitants of Otherworld who could easily be captured and deported.
Chase stumbled over the same thought. "I thought demons were banned from Otherworld."
"They are, for the most part. Oh, we have some gremlins, imps, a bunch of lesser vampires and the like, but nothing on the order of what it would take to produce this strong of an aura." I stared at the murder weapon. "I hate to even give voice to the thought, but there's a chance that a demon has made its way up from the Subterranean Realms and slipped through a portal."
"That's not supposed to happen." Chase sounded so plaintive I almost felt sorry for him.
"You're right, it's not." When we'd accepted our post, the OIA had guaranteed that demons from the Sub Realms couldn't get through. All the reports said that throughout the hundreds of years they'd been watching the portals, not a single demon or ghoul from down under had made it topside. But then again, the OIA promises a lot of things they never follow through on. Humans have nothing on the Sidhe when it comes to bureaucracy.
He tried again, skirting to find another angle. "You're positive your inner… magic… ticker just isn't off?"
"Inner magic ticker? Oh please, you can do better than that. Chase, you asked me, and I told you. This rope belongs to one of the Demonkin. You can believe me or not as you choose."
"Okay, okay," Chase said with a grimace. "I just don't like the sound of that. What should I do about the OIA? Tell them about the rope and what you sense off of it?"
"Yeah, give it a try." I snorted. "See if that kick-starts their butts. I advise contacting them again as soon as possible."
The Wizards Guild, the IT workers of Otherworld, had set up a communications network for OIA's Earthside contingent. Trouble was, when headquarters didn't want to take a call, they just ignored the message. Of course, when they needed to contact us, we'd be in deep shit if we didn't answer.
Chase glanced around. "Are you sure it's safe to talk here? I can just imagine what would happen if the papers got hold of the news that a demon's running around. It's dicey enough with you Faerie folk and the like."
I didn't bother to remind him that I was half-human and had as much right to be on Earth as I did to be in Otherworld. "You're like a fussy old mother hen, Chase. Chill. I just warded the store against snooping yesterday. We should be safe enough."
"Uh-huh, sure you did. You positive you didn't turn the place into a bullhorn by mistake?" He laughed so loud it turned into a snort.
"Excuse me?" I leaned across the table and flicked his nose. "It was bad enough back home, but now I should put up with this crap from an FBH? I don't think so! I happen to be magically challenged. You have a problem with that?"
"Magically challenged, so that's how you're describing it now? Hey, far be it from me to give you grief, but I'm not the one who ended up nekkid for the whole world to see," he said, grinning as his gaze ran up and down my body.
"Get your mind off my naked body, Johnson. While you're at it, let's see you try your hand at a little magic," I said curtly. "Care to show me what you've got, Superman?"
That shut him up. One thing I'd discovered since we arrived in Belles-Faire, a seedy suburb city of Seattle, was that Chase craved power. He couldn't wield magic himself, so he did the next best thing when he found out about the OIA. He went to work for them. Sometimes I thought he actually enjoyed it when my spells backfired.
He held up his hands to ward me off. "Sorry! I didn't mean to strike a sore spot. Truce?"
I let out a long sigh. Tactless or not, he had a point. And with the pall on that rope, we had bigger fish to worry about than my ego.
"Yeah, yeah. Truce. As to my warding, don't have a hissy fit. To back up my magic, Delilah installed an electronic surveillance system. She has a knack for your technology, and she rewired.it to pick up on any bugs or other listening devices that may have been planted around here."
I didn't tell him that she'd also blown a fuse and sparked herself a good one. The resulting flash of electricity threw her across the room. But Delilah was no quitter. Eventually she'd figured it out and got it working.
"Good girl. I knew you wouldn't let us down."
"Girl?" I gave him a long look. "Chase, I'm old enough to be your mother."
He blinked. "I tend to forget that. You don't look it."
"I'd better not look it," I said, raising an eyebrow. I was damned proud of my looks and took pains to accentuate the positive. One perk about living Earthside: the makeup was fantastic. For one thing, it didn't stain like cosmetics made from herbs and berries. Back in Otherworld, I'd spent longer than I'd ever planned to looking like a Pict when I tried out some face paint made out of woad. Never again. When I returned home, I'd be carting a butt load of M.A.C cosmetics with me, especially tubes of Verushka lipstick and tubs of Soft Brown eye shadow. I nurtured my little vanities.
Chase coughed, and I saw the glimmer of a smile behind his eyes. "All right," he said. "Here's how it went down. This morning I took a call from one of the homeless guys who live in the alley around back of the Wayfarer. He found Jocko's body. The dude's been one of my informants in the past and was scrounging for a few bucks. So I got there first, which was a good thing, considering Jocko wasn't looking all too pretty. Of course, I immediately activated the FH-CSI."
