Page 55 of Dead Heat

She traced the carving with her finger. “Except it’s a real place, not a myth.”

“It’s real,” I confirmed.

“Earlier this week, we were visited by a group of Egyptian creatures from their underworld, the Duat,” West said. “They would’ve eaten the guards if Lorelei hadn’t intervened.”

Chief Garcia’s head jerked toward West. “And will the creatures be back?”

“I hope not, but no promises,” I said. “I tried to direct Apep’s attention elsewhere.”

“Apep?”

“The Egyptian god of the underworld. Looks like a giant serpent-devil.”

Her eyes glazed over. “Got it.”

“Isn’t there any way to close the crossroads?” Leo asked.

“We’ve explored that option already,” I said. “The answer is no. There’s simply too much magical energy fueling it, thanks in part to the Falls.”

“It’s also supporting multiple realms,” West interjected. “Maybe if it were a portal to only one realm, we could manage it, but ours is unusual.”

“Lucky us,” the chief said under her breath.

“We post guards twenty-four-seven, and the text chain is active at all hours,” I told her.

She nodded. “I want to be added to the chain.”

“And me,” Leo said.

I peeked at West to gauge his reaction.

“I’ll add you both under one condition,” he said. “The messages are informational only. You are to take no action, no matter what you read.”

“What if it’s a giant sea monster?” Leo asked.

“Then it’s unlikely to come through the crossroads,” I said. “No water.”

“I can’t read about a threat to the residents of Fairhaven and sit on my hands,” the chief said.

“Odds are the threat won’t even be visible to you,” West said in a gentler tone than he typically used. “There’d be nothing for you to do.”

“I promise if there’s a way you can help, we’ll ask you,” I added.

“Teamwork makes the dream work,” Leo said, raising his hand for a high-five.

Aite had made the same remark not long before she died. I brushed the memory aside. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on regrets.

“Thank you for finally trusting me enough to share this information,” Chief Garcia said.

“It isn’t that I didn’t trust you before,” West replied. “I’ve always trusted you. Like I said, I didn’t want to burden you with something impossible for you to deal with.”

“And likeIsaid, I’m the chief of police, West. If there are flying monkeys to bring down, I’ll figure out a way to get it done.” Her brow creased. “Are there flying monkeys?”

“Now those I haven’t seen,” West replied. “Lorelei?”

“I’m sure there’s some creature that resembles a flying monkey, but not like inThe Wizard of Oz.”

“Bummer,” Leo said. “Those are the coolest part of the movie.” He turned to face the crossroads and spread his arms wide. “Should I feel anything?”

---