Shifters and Sabotage

by Lily Webb

  “That’s crazy. Have you checked the security footage? There’s gotta be something on there,” she said, and I tried not to let my annoyance at not thinking of that sooner show on my face. “There isn’t a square inch of this building that isn’t on camera twenty-four seven.”

  “We’re working on it,” I lied, “but I don’t think we’ll find anything that way. My best guess is that whoever did this is someone Beau knows and trusts — someone who knows the building well enough not to get caught on camera.”

  Olivia looked at me sideways. “What makes you think so?”

  “Because as far as I can tell, a box of chocolates from an anonymous admirer cursed him,” I said and bit my lip while I waited for Olivia to laugh. Instead, she screwed her face up in confusion.

  “I’m sorry, I’m not sure I’m following. How the heck did a cursed box of chocolates get into Beau’s office?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out, but that wasn’t the weirdest part. There was also this,” I said as I reached into my bag and pulled out the letter that accompanied the chocolates. I tossed it on Olivia’s desk and waited while she read it. When she finally looked back up at me, she looked like she’d swallowed a stone.

  “This is super creepy,” she whispered.

  “Yeah, no kidding. The worst part is that it’s not the first one Beau’s gotten. Another one showed up in my mailbox this morning, so I’m convinced whoever sent it and the chocolates knows him. We haven’t told anyone other than our closest friends and family that we’re living together, so how else would they have known to send a letter for him to my house?”

  Olivia leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Wait, let me guess: you think it was me?”

  I sat down on her desk, not bothering to care about the scattered papers sitting on top of it. Her laptop was only a few inches away, and I wondered what she’d been writing when I stomped inside. For all I knew, she could have been writing another poem. “No, I didn’t say that. I’m just asking everyone who might’ve had access to Beau’s office if they’ve seen anything strange around the station lately.”

  “Well, you’re barking up the wrong tree with that. I can’t remember the last time I went up to the fortieth floor — Sam never called anyone up there without a good reason — but I definitely haven’t been up since Beau’s promotion. Before he moved to the fortieth floor, he worked up on the thirtieth. We rarely saw each other.”

  I looked her in the eye and focused as much as I could, determined to get inside her thoughts to see if she was telling the truth.

  Olivia looked away quickly and cleared her throat. “I’m telling you the truth, Zoe. If you want to know something, just ask. There’s no need to read my mind,” she snapped, and I stared at the floor as I tried to fight off my embarrassment. “Sam made me at this network. He plucked me up out of obscurity and gave me my show on Channel 666 when no one else thought I deserved one. Why would I go after his son? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “It does if the rumors about you being jealous of Beau’s promotion are true.”

  Olivia scoffed. “Of course I was jealous, who wouldn’t be? Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and my viewers are great, but I didn’t get into journalism because I wanted to be a PV. I took the plunge because I wanted to make a difference, and as much as I used to think I could do that in front of the camera, I don’t believe it anymore.”

  “So you wanted to move up.”

  “Yeah, it was always part of my plan. But it makes sense for Beau to get the job over me, so I’m not bitter. Beau literally grew up at the station, so he knows it inside and out. I’ve only been here for a couple years, but I’ve worked my tail off to make a name for myself, so if you seriously think I’d send cursed candy to Beau so I could leapfrog him into leadership at the cost of my show and everything else I have here, then you must be on something yourself. I’m ambitious, but I’m not delusional.”

  Shame burned on my face. Olivia was right, I should’ve known better than to come barging in and flinging accusations based on nothing more than a rumor I’d heard from Marissa, of all people.

  “Besides, I wasn’t kidding when I said there are cameras everywhere in this building, so how could I have passed along a box of chocolates and that creepy letter without someone noticing? It’s not like I’m an unknown person around here,” Olivia said as she pointed at the posters of her face above the title “The Jump with Olivia Starr” plastered around her office. She thrust the piece of paper back at me. “Honestly, this has all the earmarks of that weirdo new intern of Beau’s.”

  “Rose?”

  “Yeah, the fairy. Have you met her? I’ve only crossed paths with her once or twice in the elevator, but she seems a little, well, odd, don’t you think?” Olivia asked, grimacing at her choice of words. “I mean, I know that’s not the nicest thing to say about somebody, but I don’t know, she just seems… Weird. She’s exactly the kind of person who’d write something unsettling like that. She’s seriously obsessed with Beau, and I’m sure that’s why she got the job working for him.”

  As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t disagree. But that was neither here nor there, because Rose was a fairy and I knew for a fact after months of living with a fairy that they were incapable of lying, so I knew Rose wasn’t the one behind the letters and the chocolates.

  “I dunno if it’s true, but I heard that she actually asked him out once. Can you believe that? An intern asking out their boss? Super weird.”

  “I had no idea.”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have told you something like that. No need to make you jealous. But the weirdest thing about her is that she keeps this autographed picture of him on her desk. That’s more than a little obsessive, right?”

  “Yeah, right.” I hadn’t noticed the picture on Rose’s desk, but then again, I wasn’t the jealous type. Still, I couldn’t help my curiosity. “How long has Rose been working here?”

  “Oh, I couldn’t tell you. Beau and I are way too busy running our respective shows to keep up with each other’s staff, especially interns. They come and go pretty quickly around here. I only know about her because of how much she stands out.”

  “Okay then, when’s the first time you can remember seeing her around the office?”

  Olivia paused for a second while she thought about it. “Maybe two months ago or so?”

  My heart skipped a beat. Sam told me Beau started receiving the letters stuffed into his desk drawer around that same time. It was probably a coincidence, but I couldn’t shake the feeling it wasn’t.

  “Katelyn’s talking about moving Rose to my team since she doesn’t know how long Beau’s gonna be out of commission and we can’t pay her to sit around and wait for him to come back, but I’d seriously rather work with anyone else. She freaks me out.”

  Even if Rose wasn’t the one writing and delivering the letters, she might know who was. After all, she admitted to bringing Beau’s mail to him every day from the company mailroom, so maybe she’d seen someone tampering with it — or someone who shouldn’t have been in the room at all. Not saying so technically wasn’t a lie, and I didn’t directly ask her that either…

  A knock on Olivia’s office door jolted me out of my thoughts. “Who’s there?” I called.

  “It’s me, Sam. Heath just called, he wants us back at the town hall. He thinks he might know something about Beau.”

  I turned back to Olivia. “I’m sorry about all this. I hope you didn’t take it personally.”

  Olivia shrugged. “No, I get it. You might be Head Witch now, but you were a reporter once. You have to chase every lead, no matter how silly it sounds under examination.”

  “Right. I’m glad you understand. Anyway, uh, good luck with the show tonight.”

  “Thanks, I need it. I’m pulling a double and filling in for Beau since it doesn’t look like he’ll be up for it.”

  “I’m sure he couldn’t have found a better replac
ement,” I said, and she smiled as I left. Sam and I boarded the elevator, and when I was sure we were alone, I cleared my throat. “What are the odds I could get my hands on the security footage of Beau’s new office from the last couple weeks?”

  Sam shot me a funny look. “Oh, I could have it to you tomorrow at the latest. Why?”

  “Olivia mentioned the building’s under pretty heavy surveillance, so I wondered if there might be something on tape that could give us a hint about all this.”

  “Yeah, sure, good idea. Do you just want the footage from his new office or something else?”

  “Are there cameras in the mailroom?”

  “Several of them.”

  “Good. Let’s start with the footage from today for his office and the mailroom then.”

  “You got it. I’ll call security tonight and get the tapes to you tomorrow morning. Whatever it takes, we’ll fix this for Beau. I promise.”

  “Thanks,” I said and felt better, even though it wasn’t a guarantee we’d find anything useful. It didn’t matter. I’d turn over every stone if that’s what it took to find out who did this to Beau. I owed him that much and more.

  Chapter Six

  Beau barked and came running when I entered the town hall, his tongue lolling out one side of his mouth as he loped forward. I kneeled down and petted the top of his head, and he licked my face. The sweetness of the gesture crushed me. I’d held on to the hope that when I returned to the town hall, he’d be back to normal and we could all laugh at this whole ordeal as a weird bump in the paranormal road. No such luck.

  “He couldn’t sit still the entire time you were gone,” Heath chuckled. “He’s clearly happy you’re back. Maybe he was worried.”

  Beau barked again and ran circles around me. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Thank you for staying with him.”

  “My pleasure. I just wish I’d unearthed anything useful in the meantime.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “Sam said you had something you wanted to tell us.”

  “I do, but it’s not good news. The best way to fill you in on what I've found is to show you.” Heath beckoned us toward the middle of the chamber where a stool sat. He lowered himself onto it and pulled his wand from his robes to motion to Beau where to stand. Beau trotted into place in front of Heath and sat down on his hind legs.

  “I assumed that whatever caused Beau’s entrapment must be magical, but if that were the case, then there would be traces of magic radiating from him. There are spells that can reveal those traces, though they don’t always tell us what the magic is or who cast it. But watch what happens when I try with Beau. Ostendo,” Heath muttered and waved his wand in Beau’s direction. Beau sat staring and panting, but nothing happened. “If someone used magic to trap Beau like this, tendrils of light would emanate from him in response to the spell I cast to prove it.”

  My brows scrunched as I looked at Beau. “Well, what does this mean then? Could it still be a potion or something that wasn't a spell?”

  Heath shook his head. “It’s possible, but unlikely. All magic, regardless of its form, leaves a mark. Even if Beau drank a potion, the magic within it would've left traces.”

  “So do you think this could be a quirk in the way his shifting works?”

  “I can’t rule it out, though it would be highly unusual. Shifting is instinctual for people like Beau. Shifters don’t have to learn the skill, they come into this world knowing how to do it.”

  “Then what other explanation could there be? If it isn’t magical, and it isn’t something that went wrong in his transformation process, then what happened?”

  Heath frowned and shrugged. “I wish I knew, but I don’t. I’ve never seen anything like this before, and Lilith knows I’ve seen some unusual things in my time. Anyway, I was hoping you could help.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “How?”

  “By trying to read Beau’s thoughts. It might not work, but there’s only one way to find out.”

  Beau barked and nuzzled my hand with his head to encourage me. My success at reading the thoughts of paranormal species was hit and miss outside of witches and warlocks, but given our lack of progress, it couldn’t hurt to try. I kneeled down beside Beau and closed my eyes to focus. As I plunged deeper into the stillness, the ambient noise of the room faded until the only thing I heard was a faint buzzing.

  Beau whimpered and I latched onto the sound, hoping it would help me pierce into his thoughts. I concentrated so hard that a dull thud started in the back of my head, and I realized I’d stopped breathing. Still, no matter how hard I pushed with my mind, I found no signal.

  Defeated, I let out the breath I’d been holding and opened my eyes to look in Beau’s. “I’m sorry. I don’t hear anything.” He whimpered and laid down.

  “Is that normal?” Heath asked.

  “Sort of. I can’t read the minds of vampires and some other paranormals. I’d never tried with a shifter before, but it doesn’t mean I can’t. If something trapped Beau in his dog form, it could also block me from his thoughts.”

  Heath stroked his chin and nodded. “Good point. Well then, I think there’s only one person we have left to ask for help. If anyone can figure out the root of this, it’s Raina.”

  “Great idea. I can swing by her place on my way home.”

  “Do you want me to walk you there?” Sam asked. He’d been so quiet I’d almost forgotten he was in the room.

  “Isn’t that out of your way? Besides, I’m sure Heath won’t let me leave here without at least two gargoyles for protection. I think Beau and I will be okay.”

  “Are you sure? I really don’t mind,” Sam said.

  “I appreciate it, but I think you’ve seen enough action for one day. Go home and get some rest. We can start fresh tomorrow morning with the tapes and anything Raina might uncover.”

  “Okay, if you say so. Good night,” Sam said, waving to Heath and me. I waved back and Beau barked at him.

  Sam patted his head and smiled. “You’ve got the best team of people around you to help you figure this out, son. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want someone to walk with you, Sam? If they went after Beau, there’s no guarantee they won’t come after you too. For all we know, this could be a family affair,” Heath said, and I shivered. The thought hadn’t occurred to me.

  “Heath’s right, Sam. Better safe than sorry.”

  Sam shrugged. “Well, since you’re twisting my paw.”

  Heath gestured for the two gargoyles guarding the door to escort him. “We can’t be too careful. I thought after we expanded the Council this sort of thing would die down, but it seems I was wrong.”

  “I appreciate the extra thought,” Sam said. “Call me if anything comes up between now and tomorrow, Zoe.”

  “You got it,” I said and watched Sam march out of the town hall with the gargoyles. “I’m glad he’s on our side.”

  Heath chuckled. “That makes two of us. Though frankly, I couldn’t imagine anyone as earnest and good-hearted as him being anywhere else. He’s a good fit for the Council, don’t you think?”

  “Well, I’m a little biased, but yeah, I agree.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. I’m going to call it a night myself. But don’t be afraid to get a hold of me if anything important comes out of your meeting with Raina.”

  “Of course. Good night, Heath, and thanks for your help.”

  Heath shrugged. “You know I’d do anything to help you. Good night, Zoe.”

  Before I could say anything else, he vanished in a puff of smoke, and I realized how unfair it was that after all my time serving as Head Witch, I still hadn’t learned how to teleport myself like that.

  “Ready to go?” I asked Beau and he rubbed his head against my leg to say yes. “You know, I never thought I’d say this, but I really miss being able to talk to you.” Beau whined and pawed my leg. “I assume that means you think the same thing. Anyway, come on, let’s get going.” />
  The two gargoyles that had followed me to Channel 666 filed out behind us without asking if I wanted their company — they wouldn’t have listened if I told them not to come, anyway. We walked the few blocks north on Crescent Street to Moonbeam and turned left. Thankfully, the lights were still on at Raina’s house. Since becoming Head Witch, I didn’t get to see her often anymore, so part of me was excited to pay her a visit; I just wished it was for a happier reason.

  But when Beau and I stepped onto her front porch and a guttural growl echoed from the bushes to our right, I wondered if we weren’t so welcome. Tierney, Raina’s poofy orange tabby cat and familiar, dashed out from the brush in a beeline toward Beau, fangs out. Thankfully, Beau was fast enough to sidestep the attack, and the door flung open as Tierney circled around to attack again.

  “Tierney, knock that off!” Raina shouted and the cat froze in its tracks as if commanded by magic. Raina turned her intense gaze from Beau and me to the gargoyles and back again, and a brief look of confusion flashed across her face. “Zoe, is this your new pet?”

  Beau grumbled, but I patted his head to comfort him. “No, it’s my boyfriend, Beau Duncan.”

  Raina’s eyes widened. “Okay, but why is he in his dog form?”

  “I was hoping you could help me figure that out, actually.”

  “What is there to figure out?”

  “He can’t shift back into his human form.”

  Comprehension dawned on Reyna’s face. “I see. Well, why don’t you come in and we’ll see what we can do.” She stepped aside and I led Beau into her small, cozy living room where a fire crackled in the hearth, as always. Tierney chased after us, growling the entire way until Raina shooed him away with her foot. He darted off toward her bedroom and Beau laid down by the fireplace, savoring the warmth.

  “I’m sorry to bother you like this, but Heath and I have done everything we can to figure out what’s going on and we’ve come up empty. We figured you were our last hope.”