Page 80 of The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag

‘I didn’t touch my father!’ he protested.

‘No, that would have been assaultandbattery. Assault is fear of an attack, whether physical harm follows or not.’ I cuffed his hands behind him. ‘Let’s go.’

‘Where are you taking him?’ Baldred asked.

‘Our cells.’

Baldred slumped, looking more despairing than ever. I felt bad for the guy, but that wouldn’t stop me delivering justice.

I frogmarched Delvin to the cell, dumped him inside and slammed the metal door shut. The wards engaged and, just like that, Delvin forfeited his freedom.

Chapter 46

Baldred left, promising to get Leif to come in and give me a witness statement about what he’d seen; he also confirmed that he’d forward the incriminating photographs to the Nomo’s office.

I checked my phone and saw a message from Sidnee. All the councillors were on board so we’d have a full house for our raid on the Reef Mine.

‘Sorry, Sig,’ I said. ‘We have an occupied cell now. Do you mind hanging here and watching the monitors?’

She gave an easy smile. ‘No problem.’

‘I’ll send April a text message so she knows we need 24/7 coverage.’

She smiled. ‘Bunny, we’ve got this. You worry about your raid.’

‘Okay. But I should complete the paperwork for Delvin’s arrest,’ I said anxiously.

She made a shooing motion. ‘I can do it then I’ll send it over to the council’s office. Go on, Bunny. And Bunny?’

‘Yes?’

‘Stay safe, sweetheart.’

‘I will.’ I gave her a firm hug goodbye. ‘You’ll look after Fluffy and Shadow?’ I asked quietly. ‘If I—’

‘Don’t say it!’ Her eyes were watery. ‘Of course I will. Go on now, darling. I don’t want you to see me cry.’

I jerked a nod because my own eyes were hot, then grabbed my vest and a bag of weapons and headed out to meet the others at the council chambers.

We had the strongest supernats and humans in Portlock. We had a water dragon, an immortal necromancer, a demi-god, a vampire prince, a walking human armoury and a polar-bear shifter, plus their seconds all had special skills. We also had – I hoped – a top-notch MIB team with modern weapons. It had to be enough.

The minimal intel wasn’t ideal, but we didn’t have much choice other than to attack immediately. We needed to strike before the Knight Stalkers realised what had happened at their bunker, if they hadn’t already. Part of me was hoping that they’d already evacuated the mine and scarpered.

There was a cold ball of dread knotting in my stomach. I was a police officer, not a soldier. I was good with drunk and disorderly shifters, theft or murder – but war? Warwasn’t my thing. Still, it was what the Knight Stalkers had brought to us and I was no shrinking violet.

When I walked into the council chambers, not everyone was there; Liv and Stan were missing. Gunnar was near the stage with a man in camo who must have been the leader of the MIB team. I looked around for the rest, but there was only him; Gunnar had said he was heading a twelve-man team so I hope they hadn’t backed out. I had a moment of anxiety before I realised the others were probably with the boats, weapons and equipment. It wasn’t wise to leave that stuff unprotected.

Stan strode in with Mads Actos, both of them dressed in pull-off clothing for easy shifting. They didn’t really need weapons because theywereweapons: a polar bear and a Kodiak brown bear had to be among the top predators in North America. I definitely wouldn’t want to face them.

Stan’s jocular humour was missing and his expression was dark and severe. I wished like hell he would make a Bunny joke but he didn’t; he was all business.

Calliope and Soapy had their tridents, and I assumed Calliope had her pearlescent shell. Maybe I’d finally find out what it did, but it was more than likely she’d lose her temper, shift and just start eating the enemy.

Liv was the last to arrive – pulling a goat behind her. He seemed docile and trained to walk on a halter, and Iassumed he was drugged because he wasn’t going to live out the night. I wondered what a necromancer could do with the death of a single goat. Liv had freed the banshee spirits and healed the barrier with one, so my hopes were high.

She was wearing one of her colourful kaftan dresses, belted at the waist. Around her throat was a heavy gold choker with her scarab in the centre like a cameo. I shuddered. That beetle always gave me the creeps, plus who wore a dress to a gun battle? Liv, that’s who.

The mayor looked implacable. He was wearing traditional Polynesian garb and holding a short, thick staff. It didn’t seem wise to bring a stick to a gun battle, but I didn’t say so. Hopefully it had a whole array of magical power that he could shoot out of it.

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