Page 28 of The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee

Fluffy whined and I patted his head. ‘We’ll look around in a bit, don’t worry.’ I wanted to check out the rear of the house, but until the fire was out we couldn’t get close enough. I wondered how the stink of the smoke would affect Fluffy’s ability to scent anything that was out of place.

Connor shot me a rueful smile. ‘We’re never going to get out of town for our date.’

‘No,’ I agreed. ‘We can’t leave until the barrier is safe again.’ I’d never forgive myself if it collapsed and I wasn’t there to help Sidnee and Gunnar.

‘I hear you. So instead I propose bringing the city to you.’

I turned and stared at him. ‘That’s a bold claim. How are you planning on accomplishing that feat?’

‘Now that,’ he purred, ‘would be telling.’

I felt a shiver start in my core and it was fanned into delicious flames as his breath tickled the shell of my ear when he leaned in to whisper, ‘Be ready tomorrow. I’m done waiting.’

My throat closed off. I squeaked, ‘Okay.’

He took my hand, gently raised it to his lips, and the usual zing became a roar. When I met his gaze, his eyes were as hot as the flames around us. He released my fingers with obvious reluctance before turning and walking away to speak to Gunnar.

I was left staring at the burning house whilst my insides burned with an entirely different heat.

Chapter 16

It took two hours to contain the fire and for the firefighters to let us look around the outside of the house. They still needed to check the stability of the inside before they would let us paw through the ruins.

We were about to start the search when Stan arrived in his truck, Bessie. He parked up and Liv made a beeline for him, leaving the shaken wind witch cowering in the shadows. ‘This is your fault!’ she exclaimed stridently as she marched up to him and invaded his personal space. ‘I lent the council the stones and look what you have done with them!’

‘Calm down,’ Mafu urged. ‘We don’t know yet whether or not the stone has been taken.’

Liv ignored Mafu and narrowed her eyes at Stan. ‘If it is gone, I will be back for my pound of flesh. You weren’t even here. None of your shifters were here! So much for your vaunted protection!’

Stan’s eyes flashed and he glared right back. ‘Oh hell, no. You don’t get to lay this at my door. If someone got in then there was a problem with your wards!’

I had a death wish, so I stepped between them. ‘Enough! Let’s start the search and find the damned gem, shall we?’

Liv stalked off, still visibly simmering. ‘Fluffy!’ I called. ‘Let’s go.’ He obediently trotted forward, nose to the ground. He started to sniff around but I could tell from his frustrated huffs and sneezes that all he was getting was smoke.

Stan joined me. ‘Did you have a man on the house?’ I asked quietly.

He sighed. ‘Yeah,’ he admitted unhappily. ‘I had someone who was supposed to be here.’

‘Who?’

‘Martin Snow.’

‘Your moose-shifter who was at the barrier protest?’ I asked.

‘That’s the one,’ he agreed grimly.

‘Stan, it doesn’t look good.’ With hindsight, it was obvious that he should have removed the barrier protestor from the gem-protection detail.

‘I know. I’ll speak to him, then you can have him when I’m done.’

I didn’t like his proposed order of events, but supernat politics were murky and Stan was Snow’s leader. ‘Make sure he can still talk when you’re done with him.’

‘No guarantees,’ Stan growled, looking far from the jovial man I knew. He was pissed off and I didn’t blame him: Snow had dropped the ball and it looked like he’d done it deliberately. But I knew he wasn’t working with the fire-gem thief because Aoife was dead. Was Snow’s involvement negligence – or was he part of another gem-thieving plot?

We spread out looking for tracks or anything out of place, but after the devastation of the fire and water any evidence had long since been destroyed. We were still waiting for the fire inspector to give the nod so we could look inside. The crowd had dissipated, leaving the council members waiting anxiously.

Sidnee was bouncing on the balls of her feet and I worried about the effects of the energy potion she’d taken combined with Gunnar’s healing potion. If anything, she now had too much energy.

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