“I do not recall that he had magical items, but I will help you seek him.”
“Thank you.” I hugged him. “When you’re not kidnapping me, you’re actually a pretty cool guy.”
“Yes.” He returned the hug, and I smiled, remembering when he used to flinch whenever I tried to touch him. “I shaved my leg.”
“Ugh, why?” I wrinkled my lip at the thought of coarse man hair in my razor.
“Curiosity. I removed only a small stripe.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe that will teach you to stay out of a woman’s bathroom.”
“Yes.”
19
It was almost ten by the time I reached the coffee shop. The lights were off and the door was locked, with no sign of vandalism or trouble, at least at the building. The ice cream shop next door had also closed for the night, and foot traffic was sparse. Surprisingly, the lights to the psychic’s office were on, and I sensed Janice inside. A couple of cars were parked out front, so maybe she had a late-night customer.
Dimitri’s beat-up orange camper van was around the corner. As Zav and I approached, I summoned Sindari.
Dimitri’s missing, I told him as soon as he formed. Can you sniff around and see if you can catch his scent or anything suspicious?
Yes. Is he missing in the same place that Zoltan is missing?
I don’t know yet.
The van was locked. That seemed to suggest that nobody had disturbed it, but I wanted to see inside in case he’d left any clues—like a notepad detailing the lead he’d mentioned to Nin.
As Sindari padded off, I rested my hand on the door and gripped my lock-picking charm. After a moment of willing the charm to do its job, the side door unlocked with a thunk, and I slid it open. I wrinkled my nose at the pot scent that wafted out, mingling with odors of laundry in need of washing.
“We’ve got to get this kid an apartment,” I said. “Possibly a maid.”
“There is very little magic in this area, other than the knickknacks Dimitri has made and houses in his shop,” Zav informed me. He was gazing at the city around us, scouring the area with his senses, rather than breathing in the scents of the van.
“Can you sense any vampires?” I climbed inside. A light didn’t come on, so I pulled out my phone and used the flashlight app.
“No.”
“Shifters or other magical beings?”
“There is a panther shifter and a bear shifter living among numerous large but mundane animals to the north.”
It took me a moment to make sense of what large but mundane animals he might be sensing. “Like at the zoo?”
“There are many types of animals there, and a lake is nearby.”
“Yeah, that’s the zoo.” I made a note to let Willard know shifters were getting free rent there. “Just let me know if you sense any vampires, please.”
The van hadn’t changed much since the last time I’d ridden in it, and I didn’t see any obvious clues. I poked through take-out menus stuffed down beside the seat and was about to give up but spotted writing on the back of one of them. Longevity potion?
I flipped the page, but there was nothing else. Maybe it was something Dimitri had intended to ask Zoltan to make for the shop. But could Zoltan actually craft such a thing? If longevity potions existed, everyone would want them. He—and Dimitri—could get rich selling them. But it sounded more like the kind of thing people wished existed than that did.
“Anything?” I locked the van door and hopped back out.
“Nothing.”
Sindari? I didn’t see him but sensed that he hadn’t gone far.
I detect his scent, of course, since he is often in the area, but I do not believe he has been here since early morning.
That was when I’d spoken to him last. You smell any orcs?
Yes, but also ogres, goblins, gnolls, and kobolds. Their scent trails lead in and out of the coffee shop. It is likely they were customers there today. I believe they came after Dimitri was here and left.
All right. Keep looking around, please.
It would be unfortunate to lose Dimitri. He has good hands.
For making things or for rubbing tiger ears?
Yes.
“Let’s see if the psychic has seen anything.” I touched Zav’s arm and pointed back toward the building. “Maybe she’d like to read your fortune.”
“All lesser beings who are wise wish to be of service to dragons.”
“Naturally.” Before we made it to the psychic’s office, my phone buzzed. “I didn’t expect to hear from you again tonight, Willard.”
“I’m packing.”
“You’re going on a trip? I just talked to you an hour ago.”
“It’s a recent development.” She did not sound pleased. “I’m heading down to Ft. Lewis in the morning for three days of conveniently timed mandatory surprise training.”
“Conveniently timed? What do you mean? Someone’s trying to get you out of the city?”
“Given how quickly this came together, that may be the case. I didn’t tell you, but yesterday, General Dorfman called. He’s my superior who took over for Nash. He said he’d been told to pass along the message to me to leave the vampires in the city to settle their own differences.”
I frowned down at a crack in the sidewalk. “The vampires who attacked a psychic, a car dealership, and my client? And are being kidnapped themselves?”
“Those are the ones. Someone thinks they’re in a territorial pissing match with each other and that we should stay out of it, despite humans having been attacked and even killed. The general sounded exasperated with his superiors and didn’t specifically order me off the case, so I didn’t think much of it, but an hour ago, I got a call about this surprise training and that it might take all week. Major Cecil, Lieutenant Sabo, Sergeant Banderas, and I all have to go.”
“That’s most of your senior office staff. Who’s going to be in charge? Gondo?”
“It’s not quite that bad. I sent word to Freysha about moving into your place. I’ll bring her by early on my way out of town.”
“What do you want me to do while you’re gone?” Maybe I shouldn’t have offered to help, since I had to find Dimitri and protect Weber if he needed it. But I was beginning to suspect everything was tied together and I’d end up in the middle of a huge mess no matter what.
“Buy some cat food, and find the missing vampires.”
“Uh, cat food?”
“You’re taking my cat sitter.”
“Freysha?”
“She watched Maggie when we went to Rainier. I think that was your idea. You shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Uh, no, but… can’t you take her with you to Lewis? You know Sindari’s scent is all over my apartment, right? Not to mention that there was a dragon rummaging through my bathroom earlier. Maggie won’t like that.”
“Why was your dragon rummaging in the bathroom? Didn’t you leave an extra roll out for him?”
“He’s kind of a snoop.” I smiled at Zav, who’d stopped at my side and appeared to be listening to the conversation.
His brows rose. “I was determining if Val’s apartment is adequate.”
“I’m sure it’s not,” Willard said. “Val, I also want you to figure out if your new boyfriend is involved with these vampires.”
“My new what?”
Zav’s keen dragon hearing must have picked up Willard’s comment, because his head swiveled toward me, and his eyes flared with violet light as he glowered at the phone. Hopefully, he didn’t have plans to incinerate it.
“Weber,” Willard said. “There’s a photo of you on his arm at the yacht club in the society section.”
“You read the society section? Keeping up on the weddings of the doyennes of Seattle?”
“You know my people read all the news and track everything that happens in the city.” As Willard was speaking, Zav plucked the phone from my fingers.
“Val is my Tlavar’vareous sha,” he told her. “Inform your city thus, so mistakes are not made.”
“I’ll be sure to get word out to Seattle right away,” Willard said without missing a beat.
“Excellent. That human is weak and inferior and not worthy of a daughter of an elven king.”
I took the phone back from Zav.
“You didn’t go into many details about your father the king, Val. Does that make you a princess, Val?” Willard sounded highly amused.
“I’m told it does not. Half-human mongrels can’t be princesses, but your cat sitter is royalty. Maggie should be honored.”
“I wondered about that when you said the king was Freysha’s father. I had believed she was another refugee. And she let me believe that.”
“No, she’s here to spy on me for the king.” One of the lights in the back of the psychic’s building went out. “I’ll tell you more later. I’ve got to question someone before they leave.”
“Right. Don’t forget to buy cat food.”
I grimaced at the phone, but she’d already hung up. “Where am I going to get cat food at ten at night?”
“I believe your employer was being sarcastic,” Zav said as we headed for the psychic’s door.
“You think she’ll bring her own cat food? She should.”
“I meant about informing the city that we are mates.”
“Oh. Yeah, you’re right.”
“If humans were not so obtuse about observing magical marks, this fact would be self-evident.”
The psychic’s door opened as we were climbing the steps. Janice shrieked and jumped back inside, slamming the door closed. My first thought was that it was an extreme reaction, even though I’d chased her up a drainpipe the other day. Then I remembered she had as much magical blood as I did and would sense exactly what Zav was.