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I realised the time: it was nearly 11pm. ‘Sorry to ring so late. Archie has been attacked.’ Jess had warmed to Archie the last time they’d hung out; he’d saved her bacon by letting her ride his back away from a horde of ravening unicorns. Since then, they’d been kosher.
‘Do you need me to come?’ she asked urgently.
‘He’s fine – Amber healed him – but I need to ask him some questions. Can you listen and tell me if you think he’s telling the truth?’ The last line was purely for Archie’s benefit. He didn’t know Jess was a truth seeker; she kept her skills hidden for good reason, but it made sense that I would trust her more experienced judgement.
‘Sure. Put me on speaker.’
‘Repeat what you just told me,’ I ordered Archie.
He ran through his whole story, from the feast to waking up to discussing the black tourneys.
‘Okay,’ said Jess. ‘Take me off speaker.’
Mindful of a werewolf’s superior hearing I walked out to the balcony, careful not to tread on the shattered glass. ‘Go.’
‘He was lying when he said he didn’t know his attacker, but I rephrased the question, and he was telling the truth when he said he couldn’t remember who attacked him. He was telling the truth when he said he didn’t know why Mark was killed, or by whom. He knows something about his attacker, but not consciously. Amber might be able to scry the image out of his mind.’
Or Fred’s mind,Esme suggested.
You clever little wolf!I praised.That’s a brilliant idea.
‘Thanks, Jess. That’s been really helpful. Sorry to wake you. At least you weren’t busy with Emory when I called.’
‘We were busy earlier,’ she said cheerfully. ‘And you can call me any time, you know that. While I’ve got you, I’ve been digging into your adoption papers but the copies I received were incomplete. I’ve made an appointment to go to the offices in a couple of days.’
‘Thanks, Jess. I owe you.’
‘Don’t be silly. I’ll keep you up to date. Love you, Luce.’
‘Love you. Meditate yourself back to sleep. Night, Jess.’
‘Night, Lucy.’
We rang off. ‘Jess believes you,’ I said to Archie. I’d speak to Amber before I raised scrying as an option. People don’t tend to like others screwing with their minds, so I’d check if it was possible first. ‘Let’s get you somewhere safe.’
He grabbed a few things, shoved them into a duffel and slung it on his shoulder. I glanced at the candle on his desk. ‘The candle – is it yours?’
He shook his head, frowning. ‘No. I’m not a candle guy.’
‘Chicks dig candles,’ I said lightly. ‘Let’s go.’ I moved the candle mentally into the evidence column. I’d been too hasty to dismiss it from Mark’s crime scene, but I’m a quick learner.
We went through the communal lounge, where I slipped on the dressing gown instead of clutching a blanket around me. Archie was swamped as the pack moved round him, touching and hugging to make sure he was alright. Their concern and affection was palpable and nice to see. It would have been nicer if some of that affection had been directed at me but, in a pinch, I’d take the new respect they were showing me instead.
I turned to Liam. ‘I want you to take Archie to Rosie’s tonight and stay with him. I’ll see if Maxwell can provide some elemental support.’
Liam nodded. ‘No problem. I charged two days ago, though.’
‘You’re not there to charge, you’re there to keep Archie safe. It’s best if you do it in wolf form.’
Liam puffed out his chest. ‘I’m on it,’ he said proudly.
Manners came to my side. ‘Are you okay?’ His eyes swept over me analytically.
I nodded. ‘Yeah, but I can’t find my phone.’
‘I took it out of your clothes.’ He slid it out of his delightfully large man-size pockets. ‘Here.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, relieved. I tapped out a message to Maxwell asking if two of my wolves could come to recharge and get some protection. He answered in the affirmative almost straight away. Phew.
