Page 73 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

“Yeah, that pisses me off too. But like you said, Leon wasn’t expected. At that point, he was an unknown.” Johnny cocked his head to the side, truly contemplating the matter. “As much as I hate to say it, considering the illegal activity they were involved in, killing Leon doesn’t sound that out of character.”

“While that may be true,” Lucroy agreed, “the offered price for proof of Leon’s death was not. Her contactwantedLeon dead. They wanted proof and were willing to pay handsomely for it. Leon has survived long enough to have created enemies on his own. He is also my second, so Arie Belview is not the only possible culprit. However, the vast majority of those enemies are not located so near my territory.”

“If they were vampire—”

“I would have eliminated them,” Lucroy stoically answered.

Johnny agreed. “Damn right you would have.”

“So,” Phlox said, “what you’re saying is that Alpha Belview is the only one within your territory, or at least within the one-hundred-mile radius, that would react that way.”

“Precisely,” Lucroy answered. “And then there is the matter of Arie’s wolves frequenting the bar, along with the timing.”

My hiss rivaled Phlox’s cat. “Aurelia.”

“Precisely,” Lucroy confirmed against Johnny’s muttered “shit”.

Phlox raised his eyebrows in question, and I explained. “Last night, Lucroy asked me when Arie’s wolves began frequenting the bar.”

“It was after Aurelia’s appearance,” Johnny quickly filled in. “Maybe not straight away, but soon enough.”

“Unfortunately, Aurelia made an appearance in front of Arie Belview,” I explained. “From his reaction, it is safe to assume he was under the same assumption as the rest of us, that if djinn ever truly existed, they were no more. Djinn have mostly been relegated to modern-day fairy tales and little more.”

“More like nightmares,” Johnny said.

“Most fairy tales do read more like nightmares.” Phlox stared down at his bare toes, their nails so dark blue they nearly appeared black.

“True enough,” Johnny easily agreed, then the full horror of the situation hit him. “You mean to tell me Arie Belview is after his own djinn?” Color fled Johnny’s face, leaving him blanched and pasty.

“Worse. What I am telling you is that we believe Arie Belview has found a djinn.” Lucroy’s voice was devoid of all emotion. I envied the ability. Maybe that’s what three hundred more years into your second life gave you—the ability to eliminate the abject horror and fear your imminent death brought.

ChapterTwenty-Four

Phlox

Found one?I processed those two words again and again and yet they still made no sense. Or, perhaps, my brain just couldn’t cope with the terrible meaning and didn’t want them to compute.

“Tell me you’re lying,” Johnny begged.

“Then I would be lying to you, Johnny.”

“I’ll take that lie.” Johnny swallowed hard and I reached out a hand to steady him. I understood how he felt. “Sweet goddess above. That’s… I can’t even find the words.”

I could. “If he’s found one, then why are we all still alive?” I wasn’t sure if Alpha Belview would come after me straightaway, but if he was out to get Leon, then I knew where I’d be, and it wasn’t cowering in a corner.

“An excellent question,” Lucroy answered. “Of course, it is not certain he truly has the djinn in his possession.”

“Then why do you believe he’s succeeded?” Leon asked what I was thinking.

“Again, Sylvie’s computer. During her communications with her contact, they made it clear they would be stepping away from the smuggling ring. She was very upset about this until she was reassured others would fill the void. Her contact simply stated he’d gotten what he needed out of the endeavor and had other, more pressing, concerns to attend to.” Lucroy maintained his emotionless tone.

I slumped, shoulders rounded and wings lax. “All this loss of life…” I could hardly fathom it. “All this suffering…for money.” I spat the last word like the curse it was.

“Money was only the means to his main, end goal,” Lucroy corrected me. “If we are to presume the mastermind is truly Arie Belview, then he used his ill-gotten gains to fund his djinn search. Possibly, he’s used those same funds in other nefarious ways.”

“His pack,” Johnny said, voice fading. “That note Sedrick got. Do you think it was the real deal?”

Lucroy silently contemplated the question. “I believe it is possible. Arie has become a single-minded alpha. Revenge is a dangerous obsession that often harms the wielder as well as the recipient.”

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