Page 11 of Mystic Justice
He shrugged. ‘I get enough spam calls to know how to make one. They hung up on me none the wiser.’
I sighed. ‘Don’t do that again – impersonating someone never ends well. Come on. The grove is this way.’
I ushered him and Krieg through the greenery. The summer sun meant that the park was packed: families were out in force with bikes, ball games and picnics. The atmosphere at weekends was always fun and festive when the weather was good. We skirted around the Palm House.
‘Inspector,’ a low voice called sharply.
I turned to see Peter Glenn marching towards me, hands clenched into fists. He was a local dragon who hoarded all things plant – and I immediately registered that he was extremely pissed off.
Peter grew all manner of rare potion ingredients at the Palm House. Kass would have given her left arm for free access to his hoard, but I certainly wouldn’t ask any favours when he was so visibly steaming.
‘The trees are in mourning,’ he said as he drew closer. ‘What’s happened?’
‘A dryad has been killed,’ I confirmed.
His mouth tightened. ‘Horrible business. More and more the creatures are being targeted.’ He wagged a finger at me. ‘I hope you’re looking into the Anti-Crea. That mess with the Chester grove was awful.’
That ‘mess’ had been Jude Jingo taking over. He’d killed a number of elders and usurped their power because they’d had the temerity to tell him ‘no’. It was, however, nothing to do with the Anti-Crea. I’d been surprised when I’d learned that doppelgangers were also technically creatures; no one knew what their birth form was, but Jingo had told me he’d been born with four legs rather than two.
‘An investigation was carried out into the Chester grove, and I can confirm that the Anti-Crea weren’t involved,’ I stated firmly.
Peter pushed his wire-framed glasses up his nose. ‘That doesn’t mean they’re not behindthisatrocity.’
‘No, indeed. The investigation is ongoing and we will explore all avenues.’
‘See that you do. The reason that I came over is that I reported an imp was attacked yesterday and no one has come to take my statement! It is simply not good enough, Inspector. Imps may be small in stature but they should be treated with the same respect as everyone else. It is unconscionable that no one cares about the attack.’
I frowned. ‘Channing, check SPEL.’
Channing opened his phone and pressed some buttons. ‘The report is there – vampyr attack – but it’s currently unallocated.’
‘Allocate it to us, then,’ I ordered and Peter’s shoulders softened a fraction. ‘We need to break the news to the dryad family, then we’ll be back. Has the imp stayed in the area?’
‘Resting in my glen,’ he confirmed. ‘The shock damn near killed her – even now I’m not sure she’ll make it. Time is of the essence if you wish justice to be served.’
I shot him a hard look. ‘I always wish justice to be served.’
‘She didn’t want to see a witch or a healing wizard?’ Channing asked, trying to diffuse the tension.
‘She didn’t see the point. Her tail is gone so she’s doomed. She wanted to die in my glen and I will damned well honour her last wish.’
‘She’s not dead yet. She needs Amber DeLea. She can regrow it,’ Krieg promised.
Peter’s eyes widened. ‘I didn’t know that was possible. I’ll call her. She’ll come if I promise her some black kiteen.’
‘She doesn’t need bribing.’ Krieg’s voice was dry. ‘She’ll come because it’s the right thing to do.’
I looked at him, surprised. He’d said he didn’t have friends but there was something in his voice – affection? No, not so strong as that. Respect, maybe. Either way, I agreed with his assessment. DeLea was hard faced but I suspected she was also kind-hearted; you couldn’t become a coven mother without some instinct to care and coddle.
‘You call Amber DeLea and we’ll come back once we’ve done the death notification,’ I promised.
Mollified, Peter disappeared into the Palm House to make the call.
Now I just had to go and rip a family in two.
Chapter Six
Bryar and Sorrel Hollings were tense when they stepped out of their trees. They clutched at each other’s hands, knuckles white. Ordinarily, I would have asked to enter the relatives’ residence when I passed on a death message, but as a non-dryad that simply wasn’t possible.
