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I shook my head. "I'm not sure, but I tell you, I was picking up on some very strange flares in his aura. His energy field was all over the place, and some of the spikes I recognized as Fae energy."
"I don't get it," Chase said. "Can you give me the twenty-cent version?"
"Hold on," I said, digging into my fruit salad. "Damn, I'm hungry. My head hurt so bad, it was about to pound me into the ground."
"Eat. I'll put on the kettle for tea and fetch dessert." Iris put the kettle to flame and broke out the chocolate pie I'd bought, dividing it into thick, creamy slices.
I patted my lips with my napkin. "Okay, maybe if you think of it this way it will help. Imagine that Benjamin is a star—like the sun. I can see the corona around him. Now, imagine there are several types of suns. Say human suns, Fae suns, demon suns, and each one has a halo that's a different pattern, depending on what race they are."
"I'm with you so far," Chase said.
"Okay, I looked at Benjamin, who should be a human sun, for example, with a plaid pattern. What I saw was an aura with a little bit of—oh, call it a polka-dot pattern—mixed into the plaid. And since polka dots belong to the Fae suns, it means that he has Fae energy in him."
Menolly snickered. "Polka dots? What, are mine, blood colored?"
I stuck my tongue out at her and turned back to Chase. "Of course, that's just an example, but do you get the drift? I can tell Benjamin's not FBH. He has some Fae in him because his aura has some Fae energy mixed into it."
Chase nodded slowly. "I get it. If you were looking at his DNA under a microscope, it would be a different pattern than mine. And his energy signature is a different pattern than mine. Okay, so you say he doesn't know he's part Fae?"
"I doubt it. The blood is probably recessive. Somewhere along the line, there was an intermarriage or liaison with one of the Fae. Long enough ago to fade the powers down so much they almost died out. But something sparked them off, and it's my bet that entering the cave triggered everything. The energy there probably awakened the Fae blood in his veins, and he had no idea what happened."
I suddenly felt very bad for Benjamin. He was locked up for something he couldn't help, he wasn't a danger to others, and yet he'd been tossed to the side in order to keep his precious family from being embarrassed.
Delilah stared at her plate. "How can we help him? You said he wants to escape?"
"Yeah, but I have no idea what to do once we manage to get him out of there. Where can we take him? We certainly can't take care of him, and we don't dare bring his family down on us." I frowned at the table.
"What about Smoky? He takes care of Georgio. Could this Benjamin live out there with them?" Menolly sipped at her blood wine. She was staring at the chicken with open lust, and I realized that she must be craving what she'd had to leave behind.
"I don't think Smoky would go for that," I said as Chase's cell phone rang.
"I'll be right back," Chase said, stepping into the hall to take the call.
"Even if Smoky agreed, Benjamin's family would eventually track him down. They have money. Even though they tucked him away in a nice quiet padded cell, they'd use every means they had to trace him. I know people like that. No, if Ben's to get out of there, he's going to have to go somewhere they can't follow him."
Morio caught my attention and stared at me. "We know of one place they can't trace him."
"You're talking about Otherworld?" I put down my fork, suddenly full. The thought of turning Benjamin loose in OW was frightening. He'd end up dead in no time. There was no way in hell that he was prepared to take on an entirely new world. He couldn't even cope with the one he was already part of.
"I think—" I stopped as Chase returned, a strained look on his face. "What happened? More Cryptos run amok?"
He shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Though it's hard to tell for sure. I just got a call that the rug shop—the one you were checking out because of the demons? It's burned down, along with the building next to it. The cops think it's arson. Know anybody who might be out firebombing a demon's hangout?"
Delilah slowly pushed her chair back. "You don't think it was one of us, do you? Chase, how could you? We'd never endanger innocent lives that way!"
Chase sputtered and held up his hand. "Did I say I thought you guys did it? The fire marshal is down there, talking to Mr. Karvanak. He apparently passes himself off as a pretty tame human. What crosses my mind is this: if this demon is as tricky as you say he is, won't he mention that you guys don't like him? He knows you aren't going to go blabbing about Shadow Wing's attempts to take over Earth, so he's safe from you outing him."
Holy hell. The thought that he might use FBHs to interfere with us hadn't even occurred to me. "We all have excuses. I was out at the Mountain Aspen Retreat with Morio, and they can vouch for that—"
"No they can't," Morio said. "You charmed the nurse and told her not to mention our visit so that Benjamin's parents can't ask any uncomfortable questions."
"No, I told her not to mention it to Benjamin's parents. Let's see… Delilah and Menolly's asses are covered. Iris, too." I squinted, staring at the table. The chicken caught my eye. My stomach rumbled.
"So we can prove your whereabouts. Good. What about the unicorn and the pixie?" Chase was jotting down notes as fast as he could. "Could they have done it?"
That quieted us all down. Feddrah-Dahns was still missing, and we had no idea where he was, or even if he was okay. I was about to say something when the doorbell rang. I excused myself and went to see who it was.
Smoky was standing there. I gazed up at him, and before I realized what I was doing, I was pressed against his chest as he wrapped himself around me. His lips lingered on mine, his tongue toying with them just enough to get me going. The stress from the day made me tremble, and he ran his thumb down my back, pressing my spine taut.
