Page 55 of Half Dead

Leo jogged in place. “What should I feel? Will I be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound?”

“You’re not going to be Superman, I’m sorry to say,” Phaedra said, smiling.

He angled his head to observe me. “You’re a goddess. Shouldn’t you glow or something?”

“I’m not that obvious, even to other supernaturals.”

Chief Garcia looked at me in awe. “But I sense something about you now.”

“You sensed something about me when we met. That’s why you investigated my past,” I reminded her.

“No. This is different. I feel … wary.”

“Makes sense,” Phaedra said.

Leo’s head swiveled left to right. “We need a real test. Show me a dragon. Is there a dragon in Wild Acres? Destiny Woods is probably too small, right?”

“A dragon is unlikely,” I told him, “but let’s walk in the woods and see what we can find.”

Leo practically elbowed the chief out of the way to be first outside.

“I’m glad he’s excited,” I said.

“Better excited than scared,” Phaedra replied.

The chief glanced at us. “I don’t know. A certain amount of fear is healthy, especially in a situation like this.”

She had a point.

We joined the bounding Labrador outside and ventured deeper into the forest. “Let’s go to the crossroads,” I suggested. “If nothing else, you can see werewolves as they truly are.”

Leo whooped with excitement. I was sorry Camryn wasn’t here to witness his first experience with the Sight.

As usual, there were two guards on duty—an older werewolf named Dottie and the one with the crooked nose whose name I could never remember. West and I had devised a schedule so that at least two supernaturals had eyes on the crossroads at any given moment, which begged the question—how had Lucifer made it through without alarm bells ringing? According to West, there’d been no recent activity.

“Hey,” I said, by way of greeting.

The werewolves exchanged wary glances at the sight of us. “Is there a problem?” Dottie asked.

“We’re testing a potion,” Leo announced. “It’s meant to give us the Sight.”

His announcement put the werewolves at ease. “So, what?” Crooked Nose asked. “You want to hang out here and see if you can identify what comes through?”

Dottie scoffed. “They’d be waiting a while, Francis. It’s been exceptionally quiet lately.”

Chief Garcia exhaled a relieved breath. “Quiet is good.”

“Would you mind shifting then?” Leo asked. “I’d love to see a real werewolf in action.”

The werewolves looked to me for guidance.

“It’s not an official order,” the chief added quickly. “Don’t feel obligated.”

“I’ll do it,” Francis said. “I missed the midnight run last night. It’ll feel good to stretch my legs.”

Leo’s smile was so broad, it hurt my cheeks to look at him.

The werewolf’s transformation was quick. Chief Garcia watched him with the steady gaze of a woman accustomed to unpleasant surprises.

---