Some Kind of Magic (19 page)

he didn"t, he still wouldn"t be near Ray, which was a good

thing since Ray was apparently some sort of target. He

wondered if Benedict and Cal had bothered with another

protection spell, because he highly doubted that if they had,

they would have thought to put one on themselves too.

“Will he? I"m supposed to make sure you actually stay

here and that you eat. Want some more „dinner"?”

He narrowed his eyes. “No. And I still don"t think I"m the

one anyone should be worrying about. If someone
is
out

to…” He hated to say it. “Woo me with this crap, then they

could have at least done their research. There are better

ways to get me to take you seriously than offing criminals or

pretending to be a werewolf. All I need is a bad guy with a

sick crush on me who doesn"t know the first thing about….”

He had a vision of that video of Cal rubbing himself on

his desk, deliberately spreading his scent. He picked up a

piece of paper and moved it to watch it shimmer. But Penn

was looking at him, so he set it down.

“I don"t like it,” Ray announced. His heart was pounding

at the idea that Cal had known
exactly
what he was doing by

sitting at his desk.

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131

“There"s a lot here not to like.” Penn hesitated, then

wheeled her chair to face him. She was eating gummy candy

worms from the same vending machine and scrunching her

nose at the taste.

“Aside from murder?” He grimaced. “Aside from anyone

thinking I"d be
pleased
by all of this? How about that Cal

understood this motive before I—we did? Or that I can"t

smell anyone but
us
at the murder scenes and yet
someone

had to be there. But other than the odd incidental unique to

the environments, all I could smell were the people who were

supposed to be there.”

“How about how there were no signs of disturbance?”

Penn had her own troubling thoughts. “No forced entry, like

they were just let in….”

It was the way she trailed off and glanced around. It was

late. Almost no one was in the bullpen, but that didn"t

matter. Not with the way news and gossip traveled. Even off-

duty officers could hear a rumor, or case details, within

minutes.

Ray didn"t like it. At all.

Thankfully, Penn didn"t say it out loud. It just hung in

the air that there were few people anyone would just let in

their house or office with the expectation of safety, or let in

because they were too scared of say, going back to prison, to

argue about it. Specifically, there was one type of person who

was almost universally, if reluctantly, allowed into homes.

One type of person whose scent at a crime scene wouldn"t

have stood out.

Ray looked over at the lone officer in uniform by the

coffee machine. Then he looked back at Penelope.

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132

“But they"d know me.” Know that he"d spoken when

angry but hadn"t meant it. They all let out frustration like

that.

“But….” Penn stopped, with a rare, wary expression on

her face.

“What?” His stomach growled, and he realized just how

starving and restless he was. That his mouth was watering,

his limbs aching with the need to move. She dropped her

voice.

“Ray. If you were human. Or not even human, if you

simply didn"t know Weres. You"d believe the stories, wouldn"t

you? You"d probably think all that helpless, howling at the

moon, bloodlust stuff was true.”

“You"d think that I"d want this, wouldn"t you.” He didn"t

ask. The words tasted too bad. It was the new stories

Nasreen had told about fairies.
Weird, isn"t it?
Cal had said.

“If I didn"t know them, or you.” Penn agreed. “You

protect people, Ray. You don"t hurt them.”

He had to move. He kicked back from the desk and

pulled off his coat.

“It"s like with fairies, isn"t it? We repeat the stories, the

jokes, but they aren"t all….” He tried to hold back his frown

but kept going. “Cal…. He"d….” Been trying to impress Ray

this whole time and so had seen what Ray couldn"t. “So if

some nutjob wants to impress me—”

“Then they"d do what they thought you wanted to do

and eliminate the people they thought were bothering you.”

Penn suddenly sat up, and Ray copied her as his thoughts

followed hers. “Anyone really. Anything they perceive as

being in your way, in
their
way. And when that didn"t seem

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133

to make you happy or get whatever it was they were looking

for, they got more violent.”

Anything in their way. Like something sitting in Ray"s

chair, in his
lap
. Ray swallowed.

“Penn, what if—” Fuck it. He stood up, pulling his gun

from his desk and hearing Penn do the same.

What if there was any kind of competition,
was what he

couldn"t say. What if the thing in their way
was
an obstacle

to winning Ray"s attention? Like a goddamn half-fairy curling

around him to lovingly stroke his hair.

Ray looked over into a gaze that could wreck ships. “I

just need to prove to myself that he"s okay, Penn.”

God, he loved her. There wasn"t an ounce of hesitation

or debate in her. “Then let"s go. I"ll drive.”

RAY was suddenly cursing the restraint that hadn"t let him

look up Cal"s address, but Penn seemed to know where to go.

She pulled the lights and hit the siren, though they had no

proof of anything, and Ray tried, again, to call Cal. When

there was no answer, he tugged at his collar, yanking off his

tie and trying Penn"s phone in case Cal was ignoring his.

Cal didn"t answer Penn"s call either. Penn took her

phone from him and tried again, darting glances to Ray as it

rang and Cal didn"t pick up. Then Ray realized she was

talking to him, telling him Cal was probably asleep, that"s

all.

She didn"t believe it. He could hear every small tremor

in her words, almost taste the alarm. He rolled down the

window and inhaled. His clothes felt tight, constrictive, but

they were close, he could feel it.

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134

“Ray.” Penn slowed, turning off the lights and siren as

they hit the fairy part of town, all those small houses with

overflowing yards. Ray barely saw them. Not until he saw the

lilies.

“Stop!” There were faint traces of light in the house

straight ahead, but that was it, he knew it. “I"m just going to

check.”

“I"ll go around back, and call if we need help.” She

nodded, understanding, backing his play, and Ray was out

before the car was fully stopped and walking—running—to

the door. He told himself that Cal was fine one last time and

then he heard the crash echo from inside.

His mind processed the noise, the mingling scents of

sulfur, and Cal, and fear, a lot of it, and then he felt a

tugging, a tear, and had to struggle as he changed. His

clothes tangled around him, slowing him down for half a

second, and then he was out of them and leaping full force at

the door.

He slammed into it, grunting as it broke and splintered,

like a flimsy door to a flimsy house where an idiot half-fairy

lived who probably didn"t bother to lock it, and then he hit

the ground and rolled, whimpering from the pain.

When he got to his feet, there was shouting and three

figures in the room. He sought out Cal first, breathing in the

sight of him. Cal.

Alive. Not hurt, but afraid. He was pinned to the wall by

his kitchen, with a demon"s giant hand at his neck. He was

staring at Ray, and Ray caught a glimmer at the edge of his

vision, like a spotlight. Then he looked at the first threat.

The demon was large, horns brushing the ceiling. But it

wasn"t moving, and Ray looked away from it to bring his

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135

mind back to Man, to stand up and become something that

could speak.

As a man the pain was harder to ignore, but he

straightened and followed the sound of someone saying his

name, identifying the other, more dangerous threat.

“Detective Branigan,” Ross said, and even Ray"s shifting

mind could tell the man was flustered. He looked hot,

uncomfortable. He should be. He was dressed in civvies and

standing in a ring of white chalk. There were cups out on the

coffee table, a small plate, as though Cal had offered the

bastard tea and cookies.

Ray looked right into his eyes, willing himself not to leap

at him right now when it wouldn"t do any good.

“You"re early. I was about to have him call you.” Ross

was suddenly, eerily, calm again. Charming. Like this was a

date and Ray had forgotten the time. Ray curled his hands

and felt the spike that meant his claws were out, that he

hadn"t changed all the way back.

That was good. It would take less time if he had to

launch himself at the demon. He looked away from Ross,

detected his displeasure at that but didn"t care. The demon

half-turned, and then squinted at Ray through his glasses.

His partially bovine features were familiar, as were the

carved drawings spiraling down his arm toward the hand

wrapped around Cal"s throat.

Cal was too close to the wall. His wings….

“Ray?” The demon spoke. “Hey, man!”

“Steve.” The name finally came back to him. “Don"t.”

“What?” Steve looked around, saw Cal. “Oh, sorry, bro.

That dude called me, and I can"t break the circle. And if you

do, well, you know how it goes.” He used his other hand to

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136

make a “crazy” gesture at his head, which was a short way of

summing up the uncontrollable berserker rage he"d fly into if

his current Master died without the spell being ended first.

“Ross.” Ray couldn"t look at him with Cal like that,

clutching at Steve"s enormous hand to keep himself up.

“Ross, you don"t have to do this. You can let him go—let

them both go—and that would… I"d like that.”

He swallowed. “That"s why you wanted him to call me,

isn"t it?” Cal"s eyes were so wide, colors spinning. He

sputtered a little at Ray"s friendly tone, unable to pretend

even for a moment. Ray tightened his mouth and looked

away. Back at Ross. “To get me here?”

He should try for a nice, negotiating tone. Go for

brotherhood. Camaraderie, if not outright seduction. But

this man was no kin of his, and the thought of touching him,

speaking to him, even remotely the way he spoke to Cal

made Ray want to be sick.

He glanced over the space again. The small living room

off the kitchen. The wide windows. He imagined Penn in the

backyard. She wouldn"t be able to see Cal and Steve where

she was, but she"d be watching with her gun trained on

Ross, calling in assistance that wouldn"t do much good with

Ross out of reach inside his circle. Ray took a breath,

because the wolf wanted to crush him, not see him arrested.

Cal hadn"t been shining, the lack of glitter betraying just

how frightened he was. He kept trying to speak. “Ray. Ray.”

“I was going to take care of the interfering fairy for you. I

thought—” Ross paused, his handsome face twisting. “You

hated him at your scenes, on your desk. In your life.”

“Did I?” He was too quiet. Ross raised his chin.

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137

“Until today.” Ross gave him an honestly puzzled look.

But his confusion quickly shifted to anger. “How could you,

Detective? With that? A
fairy
? I know how they are, how they

act, but you"re better than that. You"re the best man on the

force. We"re going to be the best team they"ve ever seen.”

Ray couldn"t react, but he must have done something.

His claws dug into his hands, paws, again. Cal was gasping.

“No, Ray.” Ross glanced at him.

“Keep him quiet, demon.” Ray couldn"t look, but when

Cal squeaked and then went silent, he stepped forward

involuntarily. Ross shook his head.

“You"ve got to keep them in line. I thought you knew

that.” The bastard gestured furiously. “I won"t be like that,

you"ll see. You got fooled by the glitter, but don"t worry.”