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"Maybe we should have thought this out better," Camille said, looking woefully at the downed tree.
"Didn't Mother used to attach the tree to the top of the ceiling when we were girls?" Menolly asked.
I blushed, both embarrassed and yet defiant. I couldn't help it if bright, shiny toys were so tempting. When I'd been a little girl, it had been a lot worse. "Gee, I guess I'd better avoid shopping too much during the holiday season, or things could get really ugly, really fast."
The thought of passing by dozens of decked-out trees was a little more than I could handle. At least this had happened at home, where I could slink off to my room without having the good citizens of Seattle pointing at me and yelling, "Grinch!"
As we surveyed the mess—Iris with a few tears in her eyes—the phone rang. She went to get it, and I sighed as Menolly righted the tree. Camille found a sturdy length of wire and a large screw hook and handed them to Menolly, who floated up to the ceiling and began anchoring the fir—which wasn't terribly worse for the wear—against any further mishap. I was about to fetch the broom and dustpan when Iris peeked around the corner.
"Phone for you, Delilah. I'll clean up. And tomorrow I'll buy new ornaments," she said. I could tell she was pissed. She'd worked her butt off on decorating the living room, and I'd just destroyed her winter wonderland in under five minutes. My track record was getting better. Or worse, depending on how you looked at it.
"I'll take the call in the kitchen," I said, hurrying past her with a gentle, "I'm sorry." As I picked up the phone and peered out the kitchen window at the still-falling snow, I was surprised to hear Zachary's voice on the other end.
"Delilah?" He sounded out of breath, unusual for a Were who was as fit as he'd looked.
"Yep, it's me. What's up?" His voice sent chills up my spine, and they weren't unpleasant. The thought that maybe he was calling to ask for a date flickered through my mind, but I quickly pushed it aside.
"You'll still be coming out here tomorrow, won't you?"
"Yeah," I said, and the urgency in his voice told me something was wrong. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"There's been another murder," he said. "One of our guards patrolling the compound's been killed. He was found near the arrastra, just like the others. Delilah, we have to find out who's doing this before everybody's dead."
As I stared at the phone, I spied a spider crawling up the wall and, without missing a beat, slammed my hand against it, squashing it flat.
"We'll be there," I said, staring at the blood and guts on my skin before wiping them on a paper towel. "Zachary, don't let anybody go out alone. In fact, I'd call everybody in for the night."
"Yeah," he said, sounding frustrated. "I just hate leaving our borders unprotected. But we'll just leave the guards at the main gate and up the ante to four instead of two." He paused, then added, "I'll see you tomorrow night then."
"Until then," I said and hung up. We had to find out more about the Hunters Moon Clan. And I knew one sure way, though the thought scared the hell out of me.
We could pay a visit to the Autumn Lord, who ruled over the season of sacrifice. The lord of spiders and bats, of crisp autumn leaves and mists that rose in the night, he was Jack Frost's master. The Autumn Lord lived in a palace of frost and flame high in the Northlands, only reachable by traveling on the north wind. But if anybody could tell us about the werespider clan, it would be him. And there would most likely be a steep price to pay for his help.
* * *
CHAPTER 6
I peeked back into the living room, my stomach twisted in knots. The thought of traipsing off to visit one of the Elemental Lords scared the crap out of me, and I already knew what Camille and Menolly would have to say about the idea. The Autumn Lord was bound to this world, but he also lived in the world of the Elementals. He was related to the Lord of Flames, who ruled a large city in the realm of the dead, though I wasn't clear on their connection.
Then again, when I thought about it, tripping into the arms of somebody bound to the underworld was a lot more appetizing than coping with the denizens of the Subterranean Realms. At least the underworld could be a beautiful and peaceful place, depending on where you were hanging out. The Sub Realms were just nasty.
Iris was sweeping up the mess in the living room. Or rather, the broom was doing the work while she supervised. Menolly had anchored the tree to the ceiling, and they were all debating on what kind of ornaments to redecorate with.
"What do you think will have the least chance of setting you off, Delilah?" Camille asked, turning as I entered the room.
I blinked. Now there was a thought I hadn't even entertained. Anxious to forestall the inevitable fireworks when I told them about Zachary's phone call and my idea, I gave it some thought.
"I tend to go for dangly, shiny things. How about those satin balls? They aren't that sparkly, and they don't break. At least not unless you step on them."
Iris piped up. "Good idea! I also am thinking resin ornaments might work. Of course, I could just erect a barrier to keep animals out, and that might do the trick."
"You can do that?" I asked.
She nodded. "It was a spell my family originally used to keep household dogs and cats out of the larders, but I could easily adapt it to just surround the tree. It won't hurt you. I promise. Consider it a mild deterrent."
"What about when I'm not in cat form?"
"I doubt that it will affect you out of your Were-form," she said, frowning. "I can't promise, but I'm fairly certain."
