Page 60 of Married to the Devil

How could I ever deny her?

She continues. “I know Silas has shared the details with you. Are you going to help me or hinder me?”

Are you with me or against me?She doesn’t say the words, but the meaning is clear. She’s doing this whether I help her or not.

“Your wish is my command,” I murmur.

Stoneheart will not be pleased.

We arriveat the address in no time, and it’s simple to talk the landlord into giving us a key. He takes one look at Stella and practically falls over himself to get her what she asks for.

The people of the territory know who their lady is.

Stella doesn’t show surprise at the behavior, but I know she is. The Firefly is full of Stoneheart’s people and shifters of the territory who are expecting to see her. They’re respectful, but not like this. This reaction is closer to reverence. Like she really is some prophesized leader coming to make everything better.

When we enter the apartment, thoughts of the landlord fall away.

The place is cozy, but the air is stagnant. There are the usual things that people surround themselves with. A throw blanket is bunched on the couch, curved in the way as if a child or petite adult lifted their legs out of it instead of casting it off to get up for something. There’s a bowl of popcorn on the counter that’s long gone stale.

The only disruption in all this is the red wax circle on the ground.

“That’s from the trackers, right?” Stella asks, pointing to the wax.

I nod. The presence of the spell is sobering, and I pull up the information I have on this case.

“Carrie and Beth Sova along with their two children, went missing the day Lorenzo was defeated. No one noticed anything until the kids didn’t show up for school on Monday.” I scowl. “And no one alerted authorities until Stoneheart came asking.”

“Do we know what they are?”

“Sirins. Owl women,” I explain. Their file says they fall under the designation of harpies, though that didn’t seem to offer them any additional protection.

“Rare?” she asks.

“Very,” I breathe.

“And no one said anything?” Stella frowns. “This territory is ripping itself apart.”

I agree. The people are letting fear eat them alive, and the sense of community that usually exists in places where paranormal creatures live in such close quarters is absent.

“They’re focusing on surviving,” I say.

“Letting part of the herd be picked off because then at least it’s not them.” Stella’s gaze burns with a frustration. “This type of fear is poison.”

I nod. This is a blight. There’s no trust and no care past those in one’s own household, and since it’s a whole family being taken at a time, there’s no one left to be their voice.

Especially in a territory where the leadership is one of the things to fear. “Lorenzo did a number here.”

“Why not just leave the territory?” Stella asks.

I shrug. “I imagine it’s for many reasons. People have roots here, it’s one thing to feel afraid, it’s another to be completely alone.” I pause for a moment on that thought. “People will suffer much to keep from being alone. There’s also no guarantee for them that another territory would be better.”

Stella avoids the circle on the floor and starts running her hands over objects, paying more attention to things of metal or stone before continuing. “What do the trackers think? The morning meetings are more about the problem as a whole than finding a single family.”

Silas has kept a running report of updates that I have access to, so I don’t have to sift through the information to answer her.

“They’re doing their best, but so far, they haven’t been able to deduce much. The perpetrators could have used a portal spell which would break any trail, but it’s more likely that they took them by vehicle, and the trail is too cold to pick up with starting to look for them so late.”

Stella raises her hands as if she’s feeling the air for a moment before returning to objects. She halts for a moment at a photo frame on the bookshelf before continuing. I can’t pick up onanything, but demons tend to be sensitive to the energy of people rather than places or things.

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