Page 76 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part One

“Wait, I think I hear two more. Each on opposite ends of what sounds like a very big room.”

Ricky was right, and I nodded my large head. Ven, to her credit, crouched a bit away from us behind the empty receptionist desk, watching keenly.“I’ll take the sleeping one and the one to the right. You take the farther one to the left?”

“Sounds like a plan. On your count?”

“Three, two, one!”

We burst through the doors, and I was on the sleeping guard in a second. Since I didn’t know if he was an innocent man or the brothers’ evil co-conspirator, I only knocked him out. Still probably wasn’t great for his health to have his head bounced off the wall, but it was better than the alternative.

Ricky and I made quick work of the others, then paused, waiting for an alarm or reinforcement, but after nearly a minute, there was only silence.

Ricky and I shifted back, then fetched Ven. Just like the reception area, it was the most milquetoast, corporate space I’d ever had the discomfort of being in.

Granted, it wasn’t like I’d ever been a corporate wolf, but the entire place was completely lacking in any sort of personal detail. The cubicles were all completely identical. The vending machines were all full, the kitchen was perfectly organized, and the fridge was empty.

“This is kind of giving me the spooks,” Vanessa said after a while, and honestly, I couldn’t blame her. There was something very uncanny about the building, and it wasn’t just because it was a liminal space.

“Isn’t this supposed to be a medical testing facility?” Ricky said eventually, sounding like he was growing a bit frustrated. Quite frankly, me too. While, sure, I liked that it wasn’t a knockdown, drag-out fight at the moment, I hadn’t really expected our possible encounter with the brothers and their property to be so...boring.

“I mean, I’m no expert,” Ven murmured, “but this really isn’t what should be here at all.”

“These are warlocks we’re dealing with. Perhaps we should assume that we’re being tricked in some way,” I said. As the seconds ticked on, it seemed more and more likely.

Ricky let out a frustrated groan. “We’re missing something; I know it! These brothers may be arrogant, but they’re not stupid. This building has to be some sort of decoy or red herring, and we’ve fallen right into it.”

“I suppose there are worse things that could have happened,” Ven said calmly. “We can still use this as a jumping-off point to try to find another cluster of your pack.”

I wasn’t quite convinced. “Let’s hold off on throwing the towel in just yet. I just feel like there’s something we’re missing.”

“It’s not like we’re in a rush,” Ricky said. “Let’s do a full search of the place again. Start with a walk around the perimeter and just slowly work our way inward.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

We were halfway back to where we’d started, about to begin our more thorough search, when Ven paused and frowned at the restrooms.

“You can go if you need to,” I said, hoping I sounded assuring. Some people could get a little bladder shy. “Ricky and I will guard the door for you.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… do the proportions of this area seem weird to you? And aren’t bathrooms almost always up against the wall? I’ve never seen a place with them just smack dab in the middle of a floor plan like their own rooms. Not that I’ve worked in many offices.”

I hadn’t either, but now that she mentioned it, it did seem a little odd.

“Hold on, let me check it out.”

Carefully, in case it was some sort of trap, I slowly walked toward the dimly lit entrance of the restrooms. As I approached, I realized there was indeed something wrong.

Even if a bathroom was just cleaned, it should smell like abathroom. That meant standing water, hand soap, and the strangely distinct scent of toilet paper, but I couldn’t pick up on any of that. In fact, the whole area smelled a bit like stale air and…

Oil?

That didn’t make any sense. But we were dealing with warlocks and magical creatures, after all, so was it really surprising that something might not be quite as it appeared?

“I think there’s some sort of glamour here,” I said.

Ven had, once again, saved our rears. Maybe Ricky and I were stupid, but I didn’t think either of us would come up with the idea that the office itself could potentially be glamoured. We did need to get better about that stuff.

“What, really?” Ricky asked, striding past me. I heard him sniff around, which I let him do without interruption—his nose was better than mine. It was one of the reasons why he made such an excellent scout. “You’re right! I don’t know what’s past these doors, but it ain’t no bathroom.”

“I suppose there’s only one way to find out.”

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