Page 47 of Wishing Upon a Monster
A piercing whistle cut through the din of voices as young and old enforcers alike stopped their babbling.
“Now,” Palmer said, her voice strong with command, “explain what we know and why they went out to begin with.”
“We’ve been trying to figure out why things have been out of the normal, lately,” Rocio explained as the most senior member of the nightshift. “We’ve had an increase in violent, invasive creatures appearing seemingly out of nowhere. This evening, most of us stayed behind here to map out where all of the incidents have been the last two months to see if we could identify a pattern. Once we did, we realized the only zones where there wasn’t any activity besides where we currently are were ‘A’ through ‘H.’ We did find one incident in the northern sectors of F through H, but just one, and it was resolved quickly.
“It was just strange that Cora O’Shea was reported as missing, but the mother and Cora’s boyfriend, Xander, came in to report she had been found. We realized we had no proof that she had been, and with Xander's pretty negative record... we felt a wellness check was in order.”
“Nash and Irene volunteered to go together and check?” Palmer asked.
“Yes, and since it was time for us to clock out and for day shift to come in, we didn't think anything of it,” she said.
“Nash and Irene gave us our orders to check ‘A’ through ‘H’ before they left,” Selene said, taking up the narrative, “andwhile it wasn’t free of incident, nothing out of the ordinary was observed.”
“Except when we got back, and I checked the computers, I couldn’t find a fresh ping on their location. Something happened to their location charms. Someone knew about them or has them somewhere where the tracing charm is nulled,” Yari explained, “That’s when we decided to call you, ma’am.”
Palmer considered their words for a moment, the room silent. “We should assume they found the worst. I want dayandnight shift teams to go to the O’Shea’s. My reserve enforcers, Mac, Allison, and Martín, will go with you. Gerald, Edgar, Wanda, and Helen, I want you to stay here just in case we get any calls for other emergency situations, or this is some sort of plot to take over headquarters.
“It is my hope that this is a huge misunderstanding. But with what Yari said, especially... It is better to overreact with force than underreact,” she concluded, “let’s get you out there in fifteen or less.”
The meeting ended, enforcers rising and sorting themselves out.
“I can’t get a hold of Kenny either,” Selene said, hitting end on her phone. “I hope his wife is okay. He had said Jessica hadn’t been feeling good lately.”
“Kenny is a lot of things,”min skatsaid, “but he does take caring for a sick partner seriously. Chances are, he got so involved taking care of her that he ended up falling asleep at her bedside. We can do this without him; we have the manpower.”
“Oh yeah, we can!” Cece agreed, her snakes writhing excitedly, “It will be nice working with you and the other night shifters!”
I caressed my wife’s cheek. “I’ll leave you to get ready?”
“Alright,” she rose on her toes, and I bent down to meet her,receiving a full kiss that made me hope this would be a quick, uneventful trip that would send her back home in an hour.
I watched as in less than twenty minutes they suited up and left in SUVs to take the dirt roads that would lead them to the O’Shea home.
I walked over to the large map in the lobby, the one that showed the preserve sectioned off into square areas. It did not take me long to find F4.
“It's hard when they are human,” Palmer said from behind me.
I swiveled, facing her, my bearing relaxed, “Yes.” I agreed, not pretending I didn’t understand where this conversation was going.
“I was against her working on the preserve initially,” she said, looking past me at the map.
“That was foolish.” I slid my hands into my pants pockets.
“It was. I don’t like Magic Users. They are brash. They use magic like they are the ones doing the Powers That Be a favor. Aurora seemed to be devoid of that failing, perhaps due to her supposed bad luck of being born without magic. I was not pleased when it was suggested to us to hire Mr. Hemlock, and when my husband then wanted to hire someone who her own kind considered a dud…” She tensed, holding out a hand as if it could stall my obvious anger. “I was prejudiced and very wrong, Olan. Hemlock actually has a brain, and your wife could probably take me down before I could even get my hands on her to siphon even a speck of her lifeforce. All of this to say, I trust that she will come back to you whole and healthy.
“However... it is hard, when they are human. I cannot stop one such as you from following her.”
I inclined my head, acknowledging that I knew she came over here to try to stop me from followingmin skatinto battle, even if it was to just observe from afar.
“But as a woman, I warn that it is wearing on the psyche when one’s partner does not trust one to be able to take care of themselves.” She sighed, no doubt seeing the look on my face. “My advice was not asked for, but I would not interfere unless you find their situation dire. Then I ask that youdostep in as a deputized member of the Nyxian Council; I will back you should there be any consequences of your interference.”
I mulled her words over, finally nodding, “Very well.”
“I would take this road,” she pointed to the road the enforcers had just taken, “But when you reach F3, crossing this bridge here, I would cut through the trees and stay elevated. There is heavy foliage in that area, and you should be able to, with your coloring, stay fairly hidden.”
“Many thanks,” I said, ending the conversation and striding outside. I flew into the air and glided quickly along the road, much like I did withmin lille skatwhen we first bonded. The afternoon was sunny, and the light dappled the forest floor as I traveled. Deer and other creatures scattered as I made my way. Eventually, I made it to the bridge. I veered off the road and leapt from branch to branch. The O’Shea property was small, and the closer to it I got, the clearer Aurora’s emotions grew.
Selfishly, I hoped that she never discovered how to block her emotions from me. Did that make me, what was the new age word... a stalker? I cared not.A stalker formin elskede, I would be.
