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The Beaulac PD detectives’ parking lot had been restriped with fresh and perky white paint, and smooth asphalt now filled the hole where lightning had struck and revealed a valve. Fortunately, a physical barrier had no effect on my ability to sense the valve. Damn good, since it allowed me to see the flickers of orange within the normal blue-green hues of the valve. Crouching, I pretended to search for something I dropped while I made a closer assessment. Now that I had a better idea what to look for, I had no trouble discerning the fraying border. Idris would need to put this one near the top of his list.
“Gillian?”
I looked up to see Cory Crawford standing a few feet away, his expression one of pleased surprise. Cory was my former sergeant in Investigations, and one of the few non-arcane people who had any knowledge of my not-so-normal abilities. He hadn’t changed one bit in the six months since I’d seen him last. Hair and mustache dyed the same dull-brown of his eyes. Tan dress shirt, brown slacks, and a tie with an eye-gouging design of purple and green swirls. Until this moment, I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed him.
I straightened with a smile. “Hey, Sarge. Long time no see!”
“Too long,” he said then gave me an openly appreciative once-over. “You look great. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Thanks,” I said, smile widening. “I kinda got in shape.” My time in the demon realm had included quite a bit of physical training, and I couldn’t help but be pleased with the results. I’d actually gained weight, but none of it was flab.
Well, maybe a pound or two. The faas loved to cook, and one of Jekki’s souvenirs from his time on Earth was an Italian cookbook titled, I’m Gonna Make You a Ravioli You Can’t Refuse.
“Pellini told me you’d be stopping by,” Cory said. “Gotta say, I never thought I’d see you two work together without the threat of a court order.”
I laughed. “Yeah, it must be a full moon.”
A wince flashed across Cory’s face. Though he knew I dabbled in “extranormal activities,” he didn’t enjoy reminders. He busied himself with pulling a cigarette out of a pack. “Have you been officially called in on the plantation investigation?”
“Not officially.” I did my best to make it sound as if it was only a matter of time before that happened. “However, I’d like to get an idea of what occurred and determine whether it was an isolated event.” I also need to check the valve node out there, I added silently. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Szerain to keep the node stable, secure, and intact, but . . . I didn’t trust Szerain. With anything. Not at the moment.
“Whatever happened out there was fucked up, that’s for sure.” He lit the cigarette, shifted to stand where the smoke wouldn’t blow in my face. “There’s been a lot of that lately,” he added, unease in his voice. “Agent Kristoff filled me in on a few things after you disappeared last year, but I have a feeling that was only the tip of the iceberg.”
“How much do you want to know?” I asked. He hated the weird, but he was also a damn good cop.
He flicked off ash and met my eyes. “Enough to get out of the way of a shit boulder before it flattens me or someone else. Right now I have no idea what to watch out for.”
“I think we’ll be seeing a lot of shit boulders in the coming weeks,” I said with a wince. “As far as what to watch out for, off the top of my head I’d say earth tremors, weird creatures, or anything that feels off where you can’t put your finger on why. And don’t hesitate to call me, even if you’re not sure it’s part of my particular ‘specialty.’ I need to know about that sort of thing. Also, I wouldn’t park in the middle of this lot if I were you.” I angled my head toward the repaired hole.
He dropped a startled glance to the fresh asphalt and visibly fought the impulse to step away from it. “Should I find a reason to cordon it off?” he asked.
“Might be best. Several feet around it as well.”
“I’ll think of something.”
“Thanks. And I’ll do my best to keep you in the loop.”
“Great,” he said with the tone of a man who really didn’t want to be in the loop at all but knew the need for it.
I left him to finish his smoke and headed inside. Pellini was on the phone when I reached his open office door. “I didn’t ask whether or not you could do it,” he was saying, voice gruff. “Just get it done. We’re heading out that way now.” He hung up.
“Everything cool?” I asked.
“Ran into a snag getting authorization to visit the plantation,” he grumbled. “Kristoff pulled some crap this morning, and now the feds have it locked down tight.”
My desire to check on the valve node ratcheted up several notches. “What did he do?” I asked casually.
“I don’t know any specifics.” Pellini stood and tugged his pants up a bit higher. “There was a strange event that apparently no one can fully remember or explain. Next thing anyone knows, Kristoff has command authority over the entire scene, and access is way more restricted.”
I turned to glance at the clippings pinned to his wall while I fought to hide a face-contorting frown. Easy to get that command authority when you were a demonic lord with the ability to manipulate people’s thoughts and memories.
“You’re on his team. Surely you can get us in.” Pellini’s voice held an odd edge, but I couldn’t tell if it was uneasiness, desperation, or simple curiosity about my role on the task force.
“I can try,” I said as I scanned the clippings. Several were news reports of arrests he’d made or cases he’d worked, but one stood out from the others. “I have my task force ID with me and might be able to bluff my way through,” I continued. Worst case scenario would be that I’d take a long drive with Pellini for nothing. Weirdly, that wasn’t as horrifying as it once was. Especially now that I was looking at a picture of Pellini and Boudr
eaux dressed up as—according to the caption—a Dark Angel and the Crystal Incubus. Boudreaux wore all white sewn with a billion crystals, an intricate mask, and cool-as-all-hell shimmering wings. Pellini, face shadowed in a deep hood, stood half a foot taller than normal in a flowing black robe. Huge feathered wings crested well over his head and folded behind him.
