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I raised my eyebrows. “What happened to obeying the law and all that?”
He grinned. “You’re the one who told me the rangers won’t say anything if it’s case connected. Don’t blame me if I use it to my full advantage.”
I smiled. “Do you want to do the honors, or shall I?”
He motioned toward the crutches. “It’d be easier if you did it.”
I walked over to the door and pressed a palm against it, just above the handle. The ‘unlock’ spell—like many others I knew—was self-taught, though I’d honed my technique somewhat after witnessing Monty doing it. The quicksilver spell threads glittered briefly before slipping into the wood. A heartbeat later, the bolt unlocked.
“Impressive,” Monty said. “Another variation, but a very efficient one.”
I pushed the door open with my fingers, revealing a small laundry room and a second door—this one half-closed. The still air was thick and warm and held a vague hint of rotten egg.
“That,” Monty commented, “is not a good sign.”
“If you’re implying it’s demon scent, doesn’t that basically confirm at least one of our shifters is working for—or with—the flesh stripper?” I cautiously stepped inside. Other than the soft ticking of a clock, there was little in the way of sound.
“Well, I doubt it’s a coincidence the shifter and the demon were hunting in the same area last night.”
“Except she was headed in the opposite direction until the victim screamed.”
“There’s three of them, remember. One might have been acting as a decoy.”
“I guess.” I carefully opened the next door, my heart rate once again jumping several notches even though there was no indication of danger. The room beyond was shadowed and compact, with the main room being a combined kitchen and living area. To my immediate left was a small bathroom, and on the right, a bedroom. The place looked and felt empty. Or, at least, empty of life. The jury was still out on anything else.
“You want to check the living area?” I said. “I’ll head into the bedroom.”
I walked across the room without waiting for an answer. The bedroom ran the full width of the small cottage and held a double b
ed and a large wardrobe. In a corner near the front window, a new-looking iMac sat on an antique desk. Tucked against the wall close by was a plush executive chair. On the opposite side was a small dressing table. I walked over and skimmed a hand across various items on the dresser, but none of the jewelry—or anything else in the room, for that matter—drew a response.
I wrinkled my nose and headed back out. “Anything?”
Monty shook his head. “The locator is still saying this is the spot, though.”
“Are you sure it’s working properly?”
He gave me a ‘don’t be stupid’ sort of look. I grinned and added, “Then why is the damn thing insisting she’s here, when she’s obviously not?”
“Maybe this is her roost, and that’s what the spell is picking up.” He shrugged. “We’ll have to place a watch on the place, just in case she returns.”
“It’s not exactly a thriving metropolis around here—a vehicle that’s stationary for any length of time will be noticed.” Especially when we were dealing with a winged shifter—even if she didn’t suspect we were following her, she’d be damn wary after being attacked magically. “And as you said in the clearing last night, she’ll more than likely sense any sort of alarm spell.”
“Which is why we’ll use something more mundane.” He motioned for his pack and then pulled out a small camera. “It has got a range of around nine meters, so if we attach it somewhere to the side of the house, it’ll cover a good portion of the yard as well as the back door.”
“How is that going to help us? We still can’t park nearby.”
“It’ll push alerts to my phone, so we can wait at a safe distance.”
“Monty, I have no intention of sitting in an SUV all night waiting for a shifter that may or may not appear. I have to work tomorrow.”
“Then we’ll call Ashworth. He can take over watch duty after ten or so.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be thrilled.”
“Given he’s still technically the acting reservation witch, it is his task to do.” His voice was dry. “Let’s go set things up.”
I locked the door while Monty briefly studied the yard and then headed across to the water tank. The White Lady remained at a distance, and once again I couldn’t escape the notion there was something here she wanted us to find. I frowned and followed Monty across the yard, only to have to do a quick side step as he stopped abruptly.
