Page 376 of Castings & Curses

Kallen sat down with us and I could feel the energy radiating off him like a tangible thing — it was electric and intense.

He kept his gaze on me as he spoke. "I knew Misha for many years," he said quietly. "He was troubled, but I never expected something like this would happen to him."

"Why was he troubled?" Raphael asked before finishing his drink and setting the glass down in front of him.

"He had a history that he feared would come back to haunt him," Kallen explained. "I trust you know some of it already?"

I traded glances with Raphael and he replied, "Not especially."

"I have a suspicion," I admitted. "It seems unlikely that he was human, given the company he kept. I could be wrong, of course."

"You're not wrong," Kallen replied. "Please, keep going. I'm curious to see what you've deduced."

I thought about continuing, but I wasn't ready to reveal my innermost thoughts, because the nature of the evidence we found contributed to the conclusion I'd drawn.

"I'm still considering it," I replied.

I had no obligation to tell Kallen anything that I'd learned. If anything, I'd already said too much, so I returned to my drink and let the conversation flow to other matters.

It did, though I noticed Kallen watching me. I realized it must've been a curiosity for him to be there with angels withholding information and whose minds he couldn't read. It might have even been frustrating.

"I'll help you both if I can, but it's important to me that I know what happened to Misha, and who murdered him. He was a friend, you see, and it saddens me that he might've suffered."

I wondered how much Raphael had already told him about Misha's death and the investigation.

"Are you sure there is no way to retrieve his soul?" Kallen asked.

"If time travel was possible, there might be, but unfortunately it's beyond the realm of us all. I cannot speak for the Powers that Be, but it isn't something I've ever seen on this world or any other."

"I understand," Kallen replied. There was a palpable sadness in his eyes.

I glanced away, giving him a moment of privacy. I wished there was more I could do. Perhaps justice would offer some measure of comfort to him.

"We're searching for a young woman named Melinda. She was Misha's patron and has been difficult to locate." Raphael glanced Kallen's way.

"Goddess of Chaos and Mischief Melinda? You can't think—?" Kallen left the question hanging.

"We need to speak with her and find out what she knows. Can you tell if anyone else here has seen her recently?"

"It would be inappropriate to pry into their minds without their consent," Kallen said. "So no, I'm not going to do that. Besides, I saw her not half an hour ago. I don't know where she went, but she was here before you arrived."

Startled, Raphael rose to his feet, and I caught his glass before he knocked it over. It had little drink left in it, aside from blocks of melting ice.

"Show us where," Raphael demanded.

Kallen immediately led the way, and we followed, close on his heels.

A doorway led to the games room, where a billiard table took precedence. There were couches on either side, a dartboard on the wall, and a large television set. The room was empty, but another doorway was on the opposite side of it.

We walked through and followed the corridor into the bowels of Enchant. The corridor took us through to the kitchen, while another corridor branching off led to another bar room. Stairs led down to the basement, and another flight went upstairs.

The kitchen had a single member of staff working — a man with sandy blond hair who appeared to be in his thirties. I could sense the energies from him, and I knew he was more than mortal. He felt like a shifter to me, as his form felt fluid. Changeable. He wasn't radiating any form of aggression, merely confusion about why we were there.

Raphael summoned a picture of Melinda so the staff member could see it.

"Have you seen this woman?" he asked, his voice firm but direct.

The man shook his head and went back to his cooking. Raphael glanced my way, and then had a look out the kitchen door before leaving the room.

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