The Shadow Project

by Cecilia Dominic

  He didn't ask anything else as we drove to the CPDC, and I didn't volunteer any information. Why did my mother want me there, in truth? And why hadn't I questioned her more? Because she knew exactly what to dangle in front of me to make me comply. So, did that mean I wouldn't be allowed back in Faerie? No, she'd made a Fae bargain. If I fulfilled my part, she'd have to let me back in, unless she’d found some loophole.

  That made me feel worse. If there were such thing, my mother—indeed most Fae—could be described as an expert on loopholes.

  21

  At nine o'clock, the core team convened for a donut and coffee breakfast meeting in Cimex's office. Lawrence didn't take one, citing a new low-carb diet, but I knew the true motive for his abstaining. I was hungry, so I took a filled donut with bright pink icing from the box.

  "You eat donuts?" Lawrence asked.

  "Yes, and don't you dare make a note in your phone about it," I teased.

  He laughed. "Noted."

  I ate the sticky sweet pastry while Selene and Corey gave their report of what they'd found in the files they'd been reviewing—essentially nothing.

  "And how are the staff interviews going?" Cimex asked.

  "I'm still working on them," Selene told him. "Although nothing has popped out as particularly incriminating for anyone. You're sure you've told us about all of the projects here?"

  Cimex nodded, his face open and guileless. If I could pick a runner-up suspect, it would be him. No one was that nice, especially no one who worked for any government.

  "Yes, I have given you all of the information I have," he said. "I suppose that something could be going on behind my back, but it would be difficult to hide."

  "So, no one was working on mapping out the DNA of paranormal creatures," Selene said. "Just to confirm?"

  "Not exactly. The CLS vector was originally designed to be a treatment for pups who were having difficulty expressing their lycanthropy when they came of age."

  I looked at John and Beverly, who both studied their hands. Their pup wasn't expressing her talents well, although I couldn't think of what use the vector would be for a witch. They had a long history of not getting along with lycanthropes.

  The meeting adjourned as most committee meetings did, with not much being revealed or decided. Selene and I walked into an empty conference room, where she and Corey had brought the piles of folders.

  "How did the ceremony go?" Selene asked.

  "It was fine." I filled her in on the Ostara ritual and the parts of the conversation with my mother that Selene would need to know, namely that we were on our own with the soul-eater. "How about your end?"

  She sighed and put her hair back in a ponytail with the elastic she kept around her wrist. "I feel like we're missing something obvious, but it's so in our faces that it's out of focus and we can't see it."

  "Or it's being hidden from us."

  She looked up, her blue eyes wide. "What do you mean?"

  I pulled out my phone and showed her the notes I'd found. Then I surprised myself by saying, "But I don't know if Lawrence was involved in the vector leak. These must refer to something else."

  "Oh?" She looked at me with a grin. "I think someone is developing feelings for a certain gargoyle. These look pretty suspicious to me. Have you asked him about them?"

  "What? And no to all of the above." I couldn't admit my feelings to myself, so definitely not to her.

  "Seriously, what's going on with you two?" she asked, her blue eyes wide with curiosity. Humans. They thought they could sniff out scandal from a mile away, and once they found one, they couldn't let it go.

  "Nothing," I said. "What about you and the handsome Agent McLendon?"

  "Nothing." She crossed her arms and lifted her chin, so I knew she'd felt more challenged than I had. "He's very attached to the Graves girl, and as you well know, I'm engaged to Gabriel."

  "Still, one shifter's as good as another, eh?" I asked with a wink. Gods, why couldn't I have a normal conversation with the woman? Something about her made me want to challenge her, make her squirm.

  "No, and why are you such a bitch?" she snapped.

  Oh, so the stress was getting to her. I took a deep breath. There was no need to make an enemy of her, even if all my instincts told me she was competition. While we might need human cooperation, it didn't mean we liked working with them.

  "I'm sorry," I grated out. I hated those words. I filled her in on the vampire encounters and the soul-eater’s stalking of me and threat.

  "So, on one hand, you suspect Lawrence is involved," she said. "On the other, he's been nothing but protective of you."

  Huh, I hadn't realized that had come through. Maybe she was a decent therapist, after all.

  "Yes, I've been trying to watch him to see if I can find evidence of some sort of misconduct, but so far, he's been a bit of an ass, but nothing else."

  "Are you sure that's all?" she asked.

  I narrowed my eyes. "You doubt me?"

  "Well, he's been poisoned, and it may have something to do with him guarding you. Did that occur to you?"

  Actually, it hadn't. What if he had become a target because he'd been assigned to watch over me? Or, if what he'd told me was true, maybe it had occurred because someone guessed he would be guarding me.

  So, what did that mean for me?

  "Right, but that would make him innocent, right? At least of the breach, of giving the CLS vector sample to the industry rep."

  "Maybe, maybe not." She tapped her lips with a long index finger. "Perhaps he later had regrets, changed his mind. It happens."

  I refrained from snorting. She didn't know gargoyles very well. Admittedly, neither did I, but I did know one thing. "Gargoyles are notoriously stubborn. Once they set their mind on a course, they'll see it through no matter what." Which made me wonder if the one who'd assisted in Rhys' maiming had been working on a bigger mission. That sent a shiver down my spine.

  "Then at the very least, he bears watching," she said. "I can't do all this by myself, Reine."

  I drew back. "What do you mean, do all this by yourself? I'm helping."

  "By doing what?"

  The force of her irritation drove me back another step, and Sir Raleigh ducked under the table. "What do you mean?"

  She'd just gotten warmed up and continued, "Interfering with séances, going to vampire clubs—yes, Corey knew where you were—playing with your cat, and attending Equinox rituals? You've gotten ceremonial duties, and I've been doing all the work."

  "Hey, what happened during the séance wasn't my fault. And all this is tied into what's going on in Faerie somehow."

  "It's never your fault, is it?"

  What the…? "Oh, I know what this is about," I said. "You're still pissed about me kissing Gabriel. And you still don't trust me."

  Before she could answer, a soft knock echoed through the room. A soft voice called through the door, "Doctor River? Doctor Rial? May I have a word?"

  I took a deep breath and gestured for Selene to answer.

  "Yes," she said. "Of course."

  The door opened, and the behavioral epidemiologist walked in. She looked between the two of us with her dark features drawn into an expression of trepidation. How much had she heard of our argument?

  "I'm Latonya Francis," she said. " I've been looking for the opportunity to talk to you outside of the hearing of the investigative committee. You see, I have information about John Graves."

  Aha! I knew it. "What sort of information?" I gestured for her to take a seat, and Selene and I did likewise.

  "I am not sure how to explain it. I was in the lab late one night and saw him here as well." She looked between the two of us.

  "In the lab?" Selene prompted.

  "Yes, but in the hallway between Cimex's office and the file storage room. He looked around, and I ducked back around the corner. And then he disappeared."

  "Disappeared?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

  "When I looked back, he'd vanished, and
I heard a click. He didn't come back toward me, and he also didn't go the other way. I would have run into him."

  "So, you're saying there's a secret room." Selene sat back. "That would make sense. Especially considering how we keep running into dead ends. They're not telling us everything, and I bet the key to the mystery is in there. Can you show me where later?"

  "Yes, this evening. The lab typically clears out around seven. Shall we say nine?"

  "That works for me," Selene said. "How about you, Doctor River?"

  I caught the edge in her tone. I had better be there, or I'd forever be branded the slacker Fae. "I'll be there. But what to do about our shadows?" I explained to Latonya about how we'd been assigned Lawrence and Corey as our guards.

  "Corey isn't an issue," she said. "I've long suspected he's here as a spy for the PBI. But I haven't been able to get close enough to tell him my concerns. As for Lawrence…" She smiled. "Honestly, I don't know. He's always been gentle and kind, especially with his animals. I'll leave that up to your discretion."

  Sir Raleigh took that moment to make an appearance, and he hopped on to my lap.

  "Oh!" Latonya's grin widened. "Is that your cat?"

  Cat, not kitten. At this point, Sir Raleigh had lost his kitten roundness and turned into a dark gray mini-panther with one white paw.

  "Yes, he's my emotional support animal."

  Selene coughed, likely to cover a laugh.

  "He's darling. May I?"

  She held out a hand, and Sir Raleigh sniffed her fingers. He pressed his head under her palm, and she scratched him behind the ears. I can't explain how, but he intimated to me that I could trust her. All right, then. He jumped down to the floor.

  "Thanks so much," I said and stood. The others also got to their feet. "So, tonight at nine? Here?"

  "Yes. See you then." She walked out.

  "All right, partner," I said to Selene, who appeared to have settled. "What's our task for today?"

  Again, before she could answer, someone knocked. "Reine? Selene?" It was Lawrence.

  "Yes, come in," I said.

  He walked in, and he held the card Ashlee had given us. "I called and got Robert Cannon. His assistant agreed he'll meet with us in an hour."

  "All right, then," I said. "I should do that interview in case he needs a little Fae-style push to give us the info we need."

  Selene's eyes narrowed, and she inclined her head toward Lawrence, but all she said was, "Oh, okay. I'll continue interviewing people here."

  "Reconvene around lunchtime?" Lawrence suggested. "I'll pick something up for the four of us."

  Smart man, keeping in control of his food. "Sounds great," I said. "Would you excuse us for a moment?"

  "Fine, meet you outside."

  Once the door had closed again, and I locked it, I turned to Selene. "Let me make sure I read your hint right. I'll keep a mental eye and ear on the interview for any signs Robert Cannon and Lawrence have had previous contact."

  "Smart move."

  "Also, one thing to consider—remember, someone poisoned Lawrence, so he may be less involved than we think. I'll have to explain later."

  She astonished me by smiling. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you? Yes, tell me later. That explains why you're suddenly more into him." Then she shocked me further by putting a hand on my arm. "Don't screw it up by doing what you normally do—pushing people away."

  My jaw dropped, and she walked out. How dare she say that to me?

  And, worse, how dare she be right?

  22

  "Where are we going this time?" I asked Lawrence. This was getting to be a habit.

  "Not sure. He gave me GPS coordinates, and it looks like it's in the middle of nowhere."

  "Is there a lot of 'nowhere' in Georgia?"

  "You have no idea."

  Indeed, in twenty minutes we were outside of the city heading north. Occasionally we would pass exits with stuff on them, the usual assortment of fast food restaurants and gas stations, but even those got sparse after we turned on to a secondary highway.

  I leaned back and closed my eyes, more fatigued from the events of the previous day and night than I wanted to admit. The charge I'd gotten from the mountain that morning still held me at about sixty percent, but the underlying exhaustion from being so far away from my home territory lingered. Fae didn't get sick like humans, but I imagined this must be what it felt like to fight a virus on the cusp of going into a full-blown flu.

  Sir Raleigh curled up on my lap, and his soft purr comforted me.

  I must have dozed because the next thing I knew, Lawrence pulled into what looked like an abandoned rest area and turned off the engine. He checked his phone.

  "This is the place," he said. "Did you have a good nap?"

  "Yes, thanks."

  "I didn't realize that Fae snored." He typed something on to his phone, and I grabbed it from him.

  "I do not!" I said and looked at the screen. He'd typed, Gotcha.

  I laughed and handed his device back to him.

  "No, but you may if you were lying supine."

  I thought about making a flirtatious comment along the lines of he was welcome to observe my sleeping, but not in a lab, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. But I didn't automatically deny the possibility, either.

  "So, what's the next instruction?" I asked.

  "Get out of the car and walk into the woods about two hundred yards."

  "Isn't this how horror movies start?" But I got out of the car, and we found the path behind the crumbling red brick building.

  Once we'd lost sight of the parking lot and could no longer hear the highway, Sir Raleigh, who'd trotted along behind us, raised his hackles and growled. A second later, Lawrence stuck his arm out.

  "Stop," he said. "I smell wolf."

  I opened my senses and felt the presence of a lycanthrope. "That may be him."

  A rustling in the underbrush behind us made us both turn, and Lawrence's skin took on a gray tone as his eyes went from slate gray to black.

  "Don't shift," I murmured. "I don't feel in danger, and you're not fully healed yet."

  He took a few deep breaths, and his pallor faded back to its usual tan, but his eyes stayed dark. "I'm going to protect you whether you like it or not."

  "Oh, stop it with the alpha crap. Even here I have more power than you." Which might or might not have been true, but I couldn't heal him again if his shift went wrong. Plus, I didn't drive cars, so I didn't know how I could get him out of there if he did lose consciousness.

  He nodded and crossed his arms. Good.

  A man stepped out from a thicket of mountain laurel. His wrinkled and red clay-stained clothing looked like it had been sitting outside for a couple of weeks, and dark circles emphasized the bright green of his eyes. Even in his disheveled state, he had a certain attractiveness that said he’d probably, at one point, eaten female interns and younger colleagues for lunch.

  "Robert Cannon, I presume?" I asked.

  "Yes, Doctor Gordon and Doctor River?" His voice came out raspy, and he coughed. "Forgive me, I haven't spoken to anyone in months."

  I couldn't sense any familiarity between him and Lawrence. When Robert and I shook hands, his curiosity and wariness came through, but also relief. Could he be ready to spill the beans and assuage a guilty conscience?

  "How did Lawrence get in touch with you?" I asked.

  "My wife. She sent me a message."

  "So, you don't talk to her regularly?"

  "I doubt we're here to talk about my marital situation," he said. "She mentioned you have questions about my role in the CLS vector?"

  "Yes," Lawrence said. "You were the primary researcher on its spread, correct?"

  "Yes."

  All right, a man of few words.

  "But you also were the liaison between the laboratory that created it and your company?" I asked.

  "I'm not admitting to anything," he told us.

  "Then why did you agree to meet with us
?" Lawrence's eyes had returned to gray.

  "She said a CLS researcher may be in danger." He rubbed his temples. "Sorry, headache."

  Lawrence looked at me, and I shrugged. Then he inclined his head and gestured at Robert, who'd closed his eyes.

  "Oh, right," I mouthed. I took the opportunity to give Robert a mental nudge to open up to us. Nothing too blatant.

  "What if they are?" I asked and channeled my best television detective bluffing skills. "You know the government is closing in on the origin of the vector. It's only a matter of time."

  "And what does a Scottish Fae care?" Robert shot back. "What's your motive for helping out?"

  "I'm here as a physician associated with the Institute for Lycanthropic Reversal," I said and pushed a nudge more. "I'm trying to help the victims. If we know who created it and who leaked it, we can come up with a less dangerous cure."

  "Oh, you're the one who trained the physicians there in safe"—air quotes around safe—"blood magic. But at what cost? Believe me, I know your kind, and there are always layers. Be careful, Doctor Gordon."

  "If you're not going to tell us what you know, we can't help you in your situation," I added gently. "It can't be fun living in the woods, even as a wolf, for months on end."

  "Who do you think I'm hiding from?" he spat. "If I told you what I knew, she would find out where I am and come after me."

  "She?" I asked. I added a layer of innocent and trustworthy to my aura.

  "Yes, she. Fine, there's something. Your surprised look says it all. She's clever."

  "So who are you concerned about?" Lawrence asked. "At the very least, let us help her."

  Another slight push, and Robert rubbed his temples again. "More information, huh? Fine. Her name is Latonya Francis. She's a behavioral epidemiologist. I trained her, and she put me in contact with…the person you're looking for. But she doesn't know what she did, what her role was. If she did, she'd never forgive herself."

  I stumbled where I stood, and Lawrence caught my elbow. A mental check revealed I'd drained myself to forty percent. Hades, how could I do anything useful if this was what would happen? I extracted my influence from Robert as gently as I could and allowed the glamour I'd added to myself fade. My heart raced, and I forced myself to swallow through my dry throat.