by Rhiannon Lee
Victor knew I was out. Hopefully, he was hustling his tail back to Thain's under the assumption that I'd venture there. If so, I was more than happy to leave him with that misconception because my plans didn't involve his interference. I was headed to the hangout that Ellen told me about. It was a place Mimics frequented; a nightclub close to my apartment.
Tuning into my heightened avian senses, I dropped altitude so I could see the buildings of the city well enough to guide the rest of my way. I was pleased at how easy it was to spot the lit-up sign from the air, so I made a last dive for the flat roof.
Ellen had also given me rough descriptions of the riff raff crew who hung out there, although it was second hand from Anna, so the details remained sparse. When I showed her the screenshot of the guy who left Anna a nasty message, she just shrugged but agreed it could be one of them. There were physical similarities, but all of them were too general and her descriptions too broad to be truly helpful. Still, I hoped to find the guy from the photo or to use the information she had given me to pick the others she had described out of a crowd.
I landed with a soft thump but picked myself up quickly enough. Shortly afterwards, I shuffled over to the ledge overlooking the front of the building to glance down. It looked like a seedy crowd. People were waiting in line to be admitted by a rough pair of men guarding the entrance. One was bald, dressed all in leather, and wore shiny silver rings from various places all over his face. The other was shorter, but he also had a no nonsense look to him and seemed to enjoy the piercing shop as much as the other. The shorter of the two was snatching photo ID's out of hopeful entrants' hands, inspecting them, and handing them back, while the taller one pulled the main door open to allow the approved ones into the club. About every third person in line seemed to be turned away, but since none of them looked underage, I assumed that there was another factor at play as to who was allowed in and why.
I momentarily contemplated trying to sneak in when the door was ajar but thought better of it. There had to be some place else people were hanging out outside. Overindulgent drinkers needed fresh air, and smokers always had an outdoor reprieve in places like this.
I hopped gingerly along the roof's edge, stopping every few steps to look for stragglers.
When I got to the edge of the building, I noticed a small crowd forming in front of a second exit. A few yards down from them was a dumpster. I was in luck. Now I just had to get down there gracefully enough with no one noticing. Since my perception of the world had expanded to include other animal shifters, I could no longer assume I would go unnoticed.
I waited until there were only a couple people left leaning against the brick outer wall to make my move. Walking as far as I could to the ledge, I unfurled my wings, wiggled my tail feathers, and launched. This was always the simple part. Instead of heading straight down, I caught the draft and glided in a circle to make sure I had things under control. Once I was confident that my feathered body was under control, I tilted my head toward my metal destination and let myself sail.
To my amazement, my feet grasped the edge of the dumpster and I landed without mishap. No one even looked in my direction. A small surge of pride bubbled up in my chest, but it was short-lived when the club door opened again. I quickly hopped onto the overflowing piles of garbage and nestled down under a stray paper bag. The smell was putrid, but I tried my hardest to dismiss my discomfort. I had a job to do.
I settled in, adjusting myself to be as comfortable as possible, and listened.
The first group chatted about trivial things and love interests. The conversation was so dull I was dozing off. Thankfully, I managed to stay mostly awake because at about the two-hour mark a set of voices caught my interest. Moving slowly, I peeked my head out of the bin to pay attention.
"Did you hear about that missing server?" one girl asked her friend, who dressed in a red sequined mini skirt.
"Yeah. I also heard there's a reward for anyone who knows who took her," her friend added.
"Fat chance anyone is going to narc to Thain," the first girl commented with a chuckle.
The second girl stumbled, clearly tipsy, but her friend caught her before she could fall.
"True," she said with a slight slur, "but I hope she's okay though." There was something strange about the way her face looked for a moment, almost like she was hiding something, but after I blinked it vanished. I must have been more tired than I thought.
Before the girls could say anything else to each other, the door busted open and a man appeared. "You two get back in here, I've been looking for you everywhere!" he yelled.
Both girls scrambled, their fear clear in their quick responses. I scooted forward to get a better look at the yeller before he disappeared since something about him seemed familiar. Once my eye was angled in his direction, it clicked. He looked way more threatening in person, but this was definitely the guy who had posted the threatening message on Anna's profile. I'd recognize that smirk anywhere, and it was currently on full display. He was enjoying the fear radiating from the girls while they tripped over their own feet to do what they were told.
My feathers ruffled. I wanted to punch him. Or at least claw his eyeballs out; but he was gone before I could hop back up on the side of the dumpster. My squawk was cut short by the closing door.
I sat there breathing heavily, willing myself to calm down. After a few moments, I started processing what I just heard. If the girl they were talking about was Anna, and Thain had put a reward out for her, that meant he wasn't involved, right? And if that was the case, it also meant he was telling me the truth when he claimed he was trying to find her.
I needed more time to process this recent information. I was now even more unsure of what to believe, but I was glad that my evidence seemed to point away from Thain. As much as I didn't like him—and Poppy seemed infuriated at the mention of his name—she had once loved him, and I knew that some of her venom toward him was caused by her protective nature over me. She would never admit it, but I knew she was lonely. But now that I had a lead, I needed to talk to her, not sit in a dumpster and think about it. She deserved an actual conversation about it.
Fluffing the stink out of my belly feathers, I spread my wings again, this time feeling more hopeful as I made my way home.
Chapter 18
Bea
The glaring sun pulled me out of my slumber. I cursed to myself and pulled my phone off the nightstand. I was nearly ten in the morning. I swore again and swung my feet over the side of the bed and got up. I'd wasted most of my morning sleeping when I had a million things to do. I threw on a fresh shirt and pants, then unlocked my phone on the way to the coffeepot. Six missed calls, five from Thain and one from Ellen.
The ones from Thain gave me pause, so I changed direction in mid-stride to Poppy's room. The door was closed, so I knocked and waited. Nothing. I knocked again. She should be home. I hadn't checked in on her last night because I was too busy sneaking in. I didn't want her to know what I had been up to. I honestly just assumed she was asleep.
Concern fluttered to life in my belly. I turned the handle and pushed the door open. The empty darkness that greeted me turned the flutter into full on worry.
My thoughts rounded back to her being lonely. Maybe she went to see Thain. And they had worked things out since I was no longer working for him. I mentally shook the thought from my head. It was stupid.
I pulled the door closed and dialed my messages.
Thain's voice asked, "Bea, is Poppy home? Please have her call me if you get this message."
I clicked the button to play the next message.
"It's Thain. I'm trying to reach Poppy. Nothing to be concerned about, just please have her call me as soon as you see her."
I played the message a second time. Something was seriously wrong. Thain sounded flustered, even though he said nothing was the matter.
Coffee forgotten; I was at Isaac's door in less than four heartbeats. I beat at the wood until he pulled it ope
n.
"Jesus, Bea. You could have waited for me to wake up before you came to harass me again. I'm too tired to shift," he said.
"Is Poppy here?"
"Poppy? I don't think so." He turned, leaving the door open, and walked inside. "Poppy!" he yelled.
I pushed past him to find an empty couch. Pressing on, I checked the empty apartment for any signs of her, hoping that she might have fallen asleep here last night. Back in Isaac's living room, I found him standing still, confusion on his tired face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I have a series of weird messages from Thain asking to speak to Poppy as soon as I see her. She's not home, and I'm worried something is wrong."
"What do you mean, weird messages?" he asked.
I pulled out my phone, dialed up my voicemail service and handed it to him.
He listened to them intently, worry steadily growing on his features.
"What the hell is going on?" he finally asked as he handed the phone back to me.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. Do you have any idea where she could be?"
He shook his head. "I spoke with her yesterday, but she didn't act weird or mention anything unusual."
"We have to find her. Something is wrong," I insisted.
He nodded and sat down on his couch. "Where do we start?" he asked, but I was out of patience. There wasn't time to sit around a form a plan.
"You stay here in case she comes back. Call me immediately if you see or hear from her, okay?"
"Alright." If Poppy was in trouble, I needed to focus without worrying about Isaac too. "And lock your damn door."
He nodded.
"I mean it Isaac. The second I leave, lock your door," I insisted. He stood up to let me know he was going to do what I asked him to. Satisfied, I left, but paused long enough to hear the lock click into place behind me.
After racing to the parking lot, I hopped into my car, fired the engine up, and threw it in reverse.
I was almost to the edge of the parking lot when Victor's head shot into view. I slammed on my brakes before I could turn him into roadkill and threw my car into park.
I threw the door open and stepped out. "Have you seen Poppy?"
He growled and barked and then turned around and took off. "Got it, follow you," I said to myself and jumped back in my car.
I spun it around so my nose was facing the main road and I saw his lumbering body waiting for me. The moment our eyes met, he turned and took off again; I stepped on the gas and screeched out of the parking lot.
After a little, I realized he was headed to Thain, just as I suspected.
I lost sight of Victor after a few moments, but he reappeared as I braked hard in front of the building.
I was greeted by a worried set of wolf's eyes as I rushed to the door. The thing almost smacked me as Thain rushed outside.
"Something is wrong. I wasn't sure before, but now… she–they have been gone too long. I can't reach any of them," he said breathily.
"Gone? Where?" I asked, but he just stared at me.
"Where is she!?" I screamed a second time.
"She went with Aaron and Franklin to the alleys. I should have gone, I'm so stupid." His head dipped downward.
"Where are the alleys? What is going on?" I asked a grief stricken Thain who was being no help. Anger and frustration flooded through me and before I could stop myself, I smacked him across the face. "I don't understand what is happening. Snap out of it and tell me so we can help her!"
Suddenly, Victor was there again, but this time he was human. He grabbed my hand and my focus as my head tilted toward him, my eyes pleading for his help.
"He never stopped loving her," he whispered and gave my arm a tug. "He's trying, but he's a mess."
Thain, who was glaring at me with blood running down his lip, glanced toward Victor and then back to me. "Yes. I'm sorry. Let's get inside."
I nodded shortly and followed Victor inside.
Thain made up the rear and my feet shuffled impatiently of their own accord as I waited for him to hurry and sit down so he could start giving me details.
"I sent Poppy, Aaron, and Franklin to the alleys to find a woman named Sonia. Our connections said she could be vital to fixing the decay of magic. But they've been gone for hours. It wasn't the plan."
"Sonia? Alleys? Thain! I don't know anything about what you're talking about!" I shouted, trying to further snap him out of his babbling.
Victor moved in between us. "There has been a problem with the flow of magic, and Poppy was investigating it by herself. She came to Thain for help and we were investigating, trying to find out what is causing it. It seems as if the Ouphes are responsible. There is a Mimic named Sonia involved with the Ouphes' leader, and Poppy went with Franklin and Aaron to question her. We haven't seen her, or them, since," he explained.
I looked past him to Thain. He motioned his hand and nodded in agreement.
"Why did it take you so long to realize something was wrong!?" I demanded.
"She was just starting to smile when she was around me, I didn't want to crowd her or made her think I thought she couldn't take care of herself," he said, and then put his head in his hands.
"Because he pretty much implied it while she was here," Victor added.
Thain jumped up to his feet. "Bastard!" he screamed at Victor.
Victor turned and just stared at him. "Well, it's true, and right now truth is what we need to find her and the men."
Thain visibly deflated with a sigh. "You're right," he muttered and sat back down.
I threw my hands in the air. "Okay, but why aren't you looking now? Why are we standing around debating anything?!"
"I already sent more men out to where she was supposed to be. No one saw her, so I don't even know if she made it there."
"Can't you retrace her steps?" I demanded.
"I wish I could. She teleported with my men from my office. From right where you're standing. There is no trail."
"And so you just stopped looking?!"
"I wanted to make sure she wasn't home before I sent out a larger search party for nothing and alerted the Ouphes that we were on to them."
"Well she's not home! Why are we still standing around?!" I demanded.
Thain wasn't moving fast enough, so I stepped forward, pulled up Poppy's contact information, and handed my phone to him. "Can you trace her phone? Here is her number."
He picked up his own phone and punched in a number, then plucked mine from my hand. Someone answered, and he spoke for a few seconds before reading off Poppy's number to whoever was on the other end. After the full minute of friendly chatter followed, my agitation was at its limits.
I was on my way to snatch the phone from his hands and threaten the stranger on the line when Victor grabbed my arm and leaned into me.
"He's not going to get it done by being rude," he whispered.
I hated that he was right. I stayed put, but I pulled my arm from Victor's grasp with a grunt of defiance.
"No, I'm sorry it can't wait. This is an emergency. I promise you'll be well compensated," Thain uttered into his phone, then added a "Great yes, I'll be waiting."
After he hung up, he peered up at Victor and I and said, "It should only be a few moments."
"Tell me about the people we're dealing with." I ordered.
Thain sighed, nodded, and began talking. I was trying to hold on to every detail about the Ouphes and their ploy to destroy the magic, but it wasn't working because the image of my best friend in trouble was wrecking my concentration. The one truth that I kept coming back around to, even without Thain mentioning it in so many words, was that Poppy, with her enormous heart, had raced off to save the world that might kill her. I also didn't believe in coincidences.
"Could Poppy's disappearance be connected to Vincent's death and Anna's abduction?"
Thain opened his mouth but shut it again for a moment. "You might be on to something. We didn't think Vincent and Anna's ci
rcumstances were connected but…"
"But what? Tell me what you know."
"I mean, it does seem strange for all of this to be happening at one time. It almost has to be related, but I'm not sure how Anna ties into any of this. What have you found out about her?"
"I know that someone was trying to shut her up for creating an online blog about Mimics and that she worked for you, at Morgan's," I said, and then told him what I found out at the club last night. "What do you know?"
"Honestly, not much about Anna or about where she is because we've been primarily focused on tracking down the people who killed Vincent first."
"And you stopped me from looking for her?!"
Thain raised an eyebrow. "We obviously didn't stop you from anything."
"That's not the point. If I could have found Anna and discovered whatever is going on here, I could have prevented this who situation with Poppy!" I yelled.
"Listen, we know that Vincent's death was a direct hit to my authority and the governing officials in the area. Maybe even the council itself. That kind of defiance is not something we can allow because it puts the entire Tolve in jeopardy. The only reason we have a hierarchy of officials is to keep us hidden and safe from humans. If they ever found out about us, it could be a full out war," he explained.
"Yes, fine. Whatever. None of this is helping us find Poppy."
"No, you're right. As much as I think Anna and Vincent could be connected, I just don't know how so we need to figure something else out, and fast," he said.
His words made sense, but there was a tugging in my gut that told me the answers we needed were wrapped up in what happened to those two.
"Did they know each other?" I asked, ignoring his insistence that we find another plan.
"I don't think so. Vincent spent most of his time here working on my books, unless he was with other clients, and Anna was a server who never visited my office. I'm not sure I ever met her, to be honest with you. I'm rarely on that side of town."
"You never eat at your own restaurant?" I asked in disbelief.