Page 33 of Shadow Dreaming

“I’d be surprised if they offered us any information freely,” I said. “But I think it might come down to that.” I didn’t like the plan. I had strong doubts as to whether they’d willingly volunteer anything.

As I sat there, something in the back of my mind shifted. I felt uneasy, and the more we discussed how to approach Brim Fire, the more irritated I was. I had the feeling we might not get the answers we were looking for, and that made me want to drag Terrance back here and shake him until we got the answers we needed.

“I have a radical thought,” Sophia said. “We go to the police. We talk to Destiny and let them help us.”

“I already did, remember? They took a report but that was the last I heard from them. No, they’re not going to do anything,” I said. “Destiny might try to help, but you know the police have large pockets and they don’t care who fills them. I wouldn’t trust them to get my cat out of a tree, let alone find Penn for us.”

It was unfortunately true that the police were as corrupt as a lot of the criminals. If you didn’t have much money, yeah, you went to jail. If you were wealthy, well…chances were you’d be offered a way to buy your way out.

Sophia sighed. “I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t suppose Destiny could help us on her own?”

“I don’t want to ask her to risk her job, but I suppose it couldn’t hurt to get her feelings on the subject. Let’s see what Terrance has to say, and then decide.” I glanced at the clock. “I also want to talk to Seton. I need a little guidance.”

Seton Anthoy was a demon specialist. I had no idea whether he was a shifter, a witch, human, or something else, but he was a doctor who specialized in demon anatomy and rare Supes. He ran a program to help half-demons learn to control their powers, and he worked in conjunction with Devon, my trainer, who was also half-demon.

Mostly, for me, Seton acted as my therapist. I visited him twice a month to talk over some of the emerging powers I was experiencing. My half-demon side was coming out, and I needed to get a handle on her before she overwhelmed my human side.

Twice in my life, she’d come to the forefront, and both times ended badly.

The first time, Dante saved me from the police when I’d killed a would-be rapist in the park, savaging him with the claws that emerged from my rage. The second time, Penn had been the one to prevent me from going full-demon on my mother’s serial killer. She’d been the one to step in and take him out, so I wouldn’t lose total control.

I put in a call to Seton. “Hey, can you see me either tonight or tomorrow? It’s kind of an emergency. I’ll probably be free tonight after…I don’t know…”

“What’s going on?” The worry in his voice was comforting. I knew that my friends had my back, but Seton understood what it meant for my inner demon to be waking up.

I told him about Penn. “I’m afraid that, at some point, my inner demon’s going to break out and go whoop-ass on whoever’s at fault, and I won’t be able to control myself. Especially if they hurt her.”

“Call me if you have time this evening. Otherwise, I can see you at eight tomorrow morning.” Seton paused, then added, “I hope you find her.”

“We’d better, or life is going to get awfully dark for whoever kidnapped her.”

At five, we were waiting in the parking garage for Terrance. From what Carson had been able to find, Terrance’s shift ended then. We had his car’s make, model, and license plate, and we stationed ourselves nearby, ready to fence him in before he could take off. I didn’t like ambushing people, but given he was part of Brim Fire, I didn’t feel guilty. Carson had provided us with pictures of Terrance, so we wouldn’t mistakenly stop the wrong man.

Sure enough, around ten minutes after five, Terrance came out of the elevator and strode toward his car. He was looking at his phone and I waited for him to pass me by, then stepped out behind him. Simultaneously, Orik stepped out from behind a car to block his way forward. Duran and Dante appeared from the sides. I’d left Carson back at the office. We needed to preserve Carson’s anonymity on the Brim Fire forums, and so I opted to remove any chances of Terrance figuring out the connection.

Terrance froze the moment Orik appeared, and when Dante and Duran appeared, he went into a fight or flight stance, prepared to battle us if we attacked him.

“We aren’t planning to hurt you,” I said. “Not if you answer some questions.”

He glowered, but seemed to realize he was overpowered. If he had any powerful magic we didn’t know about, given he was a member of the Brim Fire, he didn’t seem to be preparing to shoot a spell our way.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m Penelope Fircrest’s roommate,” I said, watching his face carefully.

He kept his expression set, but I saw the barest of eyebrow lifts, enough to tell me he knew the name. “And…what does that have to do with me?”

“I think you know,” I said. “She’d better be alive, and safe, or you’re going to find yourself in a world of hurt. I’m half-demon. I’m prepared to let that side of myself out and you’ll discover why your organization’s goals are stupid beyond measure.”

Brim Fire was dedicated to opening the gates so that Demonkin had an easy entrance into the world. They had no clue what kind of fire they were playing with.

That seemed to get a response. He blinked. “You’re half-demon? Then you should be grateful for the work we’re doing.”

“You didn’t mean to say that, did you, Terrance?”

“I don’t make a secret that I belong to Brim Fire,” he said. “Contrary to what most people think. I’m proud of my affiliation. The world’s on fire, we might as well burn it to the ground so that we can start over again.”

“You’re on the side of Mordor, my friend, and we’ve all seen the movies. We all know how that turned out.” I leaned in. “Where’s Penn? What have you done with her? We know why you want her,” I added.

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