Lucy and Chase both stopped talking as soon as they saw me. I gave them a suspicious look as I put my phone back in my pocket.
“Why do I feel like my ears should be burning?” I asked as I crossed my arms across my chest.
“No reason,” Chase answered quickly as he looked up at me with a big, nervous smile.
I shook my head and reached between Chase and Lucy to grab a piece of cold pizza from the table. Apparently I was just going to be kept out of the loop on everything. Needing some space, I took a bite of my pizza, then walked out of the room toward the side door that led to Allison's backyard. Thoughts about Allison and Max could wait. Thoughts about Chase could wait. What was important was finding Claire's killer.
I let myself outside and instantly felt better as I was hit by the damp smell of trees. My dad's words echoed in my mind as my feet crunched over patches of snow. Think about what makes you happy. The problem was, I didn't know what made me happy anymore. Bringing a murderer to justice probably wasn't it, but it was worth a shot.
Devin and Lela both arrived around 10pm, and I went outside to meet them. As I watched Devin's cab drive away, I was grateful that Lela now owned her own car, as we wouldn't all fit in Allison's.
I crossed my arms as Devin and Lela both approached. I was the only one that had come outside to meet them, as everyone else was busy watching The Shining. Lucy had thought it would put me in a better mood. It hadn't. Before I found out I was a demon, I really enjoyed watching old horror movies. Now too many of them were a little too close to reality. It took some of the enjoyment out of it.
I moved aside for Lela to enter the house, gliding like a tall, exotic shadow. I offered her a smile and a nod as she passed me. Lela and I had never become close, but I'd actually grown to like her. She was a calming presence to be around, and she was afraid of me, so she never argued. It sounds kind of mean to enjoy someone being afraid of you, but our friendly relationship was easy, and with the current state of my life, easy was refreshing.
I moved to block Devin's way before he could walk inside. I was surprised to see him in the casual attire of a maroon button-up shirt and jeans. I'd only ever seen him in suits.
“What's with the suitcase?” I asked in greeting.
He put said suitcase down beside his feet and ran a hand through blond hair that was almost white, just like mine and my dad's. Fortunately for Devin though, he actually had a bit of a tan, so he didn't look like a monochromatic ghost.
“Well I don't think we'll be solving this murder before bedtime, Xoe,” he said snarkily.
“Well you should probably take your suitcase to a hotel then, Devin,” I replied, mimicking his tone.
“First you make me take a cab all of the way here, and now you're not even going to give me a place to stay?” he countered.
I glared up at him. “I'm seventeen, so no, I don't have a spare bedroom to offer you. I don't even have a bedroom of my own, unless you count the one in the demon underground. You're more than welcome to stay there if you like.”
Devin's face went a little green at the thought. “Fine, fine. I'll get a hotel. Now can we please go inside to discuss our plan?”
I turned around without another word and Devin followed me inside. Lela had made herself comfortable on the couch in between Chase and Lucy, while Allison and Max snuggled up on the loveseat. Without a word, Chase rose and went into the kitchen and came back with two chairs. He sat them side-by-side, forming an arch that started with the loveseat, ended with the chairs, and had the couch in the middle.
As Devin and I approached, Chase offered me his seat on the couch, then took one chair as Devin sat in the other. Allison grabbed the remote from the arm of the loveseat and muted the movie, then everyone turned to look at me expectantly.
Feeling oddly nervous to have everyone's attention on me, I began, “As most of you know, we're going to meet with the local coven tonight to discuss Claire's death. They've hired Jason to investigate, but are willing to accept our help as well.”
“What does the coven have to do with any of this?” Devin interrupted.
I smiled, glad that I'd finally gotten to a piece of information before the illustrious werewolf secret society. “Claire was a witch, and her parents are part of the local coven,” I explained smugly.
Devin squinted his eyes in thought. “So this murder likely has nothing to do with you,” he said finally. “This is witch business, not wolf business.”
I'd considered the same conclusion, but I wasn't willing to give it up that easily. “The last time witches were killed, wolves were killed too, and I came about five seconds away from getting my throat slit. It's too risky to just hope for the best.”
Devin nodded, but not like he liked it. “What time do we meet with the coven?” he said tiredly.
“Midnight,” I replied, losing some of my smugness at the unsettling thought of meeting with the witches. “Though it will just be you and me, everyone else will wait in the car as backup.”
Devin held a hand up to his heart. “Why Xoe, I'm touched that you would think to include me.”
I smiled sweetly at him. “My dad set it up. If it were up to me, you'd still be back in Utah.”
He chuckled. “Now there's the Xoe I know. Where are we meeting them?”
I handed him the piece of paper my dad had given me from where it sat on the coffee table. Devin glanced at it, then shrugged. “I apologize. I didn't memorize a map of Shelby before arriving.”
I smirked. “It's a residential address. That's all we know.”
Devin sighed. “I assume I can at least stay here for the next hour then, or would you like me to wait outside until it's time to go?”
I leaned back against the couch, realizing that maybe I had been a little too rude upon Devin's arrival. “You can stay,” I said grudgingly. “I think there's still some pizza left in the kitchen.”
Suddenly no longer cranky, Devin hopped up from his seat and made his way into the adjoining kitchen, lifting his cell phone out of his pocket, presumably to report in to Abel.
Everyone left in the room looked confused over the quick exchange. I sunk down further into the couch and proceeded to pout. It was going to be a very long hour.
6
The house we pulled up to at a quarter till midnight was more of a mansion, with a high, wrought iron fence surrounding it that clearly said keep out. Chase and I rode in Lela's car with her and Devin, while the rest of our group followed us in Allison's car. As if by magic, the gate swung inward, and Lela pulled her car onto a huge, circular driveway, already populated by eight or nine other cars. Allison pulled in and parked right behind us.
As soon as my feet hit the gravel of the driveway I felt an almost overwhelming buzz of energy, similar to what I would normally feel in a graveyard, only amplified. I walked around to join Chase on the other side of the car. He looked down at me nervously and began humming underneath his breath. It sounded like Que Sera, Sera, and made me even more anxious since I knew that humming was the equivalent of a nervous tick for Chase.
“Does anyone else feel that?” I asked shakily as the rest of our group approached.
“What?” Lucy asked at the same time Max answered, “I don't feel a thing.”
I looked up at Chase again, who nodded hesitantly. “If you're don't come back out within an hour, we'll come in after you.”
I nodded in reply as Lela, Max, Lucy, Allison, and Chase all piled into Lela's car to wait. Devin and I approached the front door, but it opened before we could knock. We were greeted by a woman in her mid-forties, dressed in what could only be referred to as a power suit done in a monochromatic, crisp white. Her bright red hair had been blow-dried to frame her face artfully.
She offered us a warm smile with her perfectly painted, pink lips. “Welcome,” she said in a voice much softer than I'd expected. “Please come inside.”
At her gesture I led the way inside, with Devin following close behind me. The nameless, power suit wo
man turned to lead us into an open sitting room filled with a dozen more normal-looking people, including the pair I'd seen with Jason at Irvine's. I felt like my feet were stuck in mud as I walked forward, as if some unseen force was holding me back, but I managed to advance far enough to stand by Devin.
“My name is Sasha,” power-suit woman announced. “The man that I spoke with said I'd be meeting with his daughter, Xoe, and her escort, Devin,” she added, as if questioning who we were.
“That's us,” I assured, waiting for someone to offer us a drink, or a seat, or anything you would normally do with house-guests. Instead they all just sat there and stared at us like we were something new, and maybe a little bit frightening.
The odd, electric feeling I'd felt outside increased now that I was further into the house. I felt the overwhelming compulsion to leave, and knew that it showed on my face. Something strange was going on.
Sasha's features softened as she moved to stand near a high-backed chair that hosted a small, balding man in a business suit. “I apologize for the discomfort you must be feeling,” she said, surprising me. “The house is warded against evil. I wasn't sure how much it would affect you since you're half human. The magic acts as a sort of . . . repellant.”
I glared at her despite how nervous I felt. Apparently to her, demons were little more than insects. “Why would a ward against evil affect me at all?”
Surprise crossed her face. She obviously hadn't realized that she'd said something insulting. “Because of your demon heritage,” she blurted. “A full demon wouldn't be able to enter this house at all.”
I didn't point out to her the fact that a full demon could only leave the underground in incorporeal form, and only when summoned. Any full demon besides my grandmother, that was. Portals allowed her to go wherever she pleased. I didn't doubt for a moment that if my grandmother really wanted to, she could portal into the middle of Sasha's living room no problem.
Devin gave me a worried look. I imagined he was preparing for me to lose my temper on the nice witch lady, but I felt way too weird to even think about being rude to her.
“Well,” Devin said, clapping his hands together to break the uncomfortable silence. “I say we skip the formalities and get straight to business. Sasha,” he said, turning toward our hostess. “We will need to question each member of your coven individually. Would you like to go first?”
Sasha's eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, I thought that we'd just tell you who we suspect, and you could question them.”
I wanted to cut in and ask who they suspected, but Devin spoke first. “Haven't you ever heard that most people are murdered by someone close to them? The killer may not be who you suspect.”
“But it was a vampire,” the small bald man chimed in. “I'd say that narrows the search considerably.”
I shook my head in confusion. “If you think it actually was a vampire, and not someone trying to make the murder look like it was done by a vampire, then why did you hire a vampire to investigate?”
Sasha's face shut down into unpleasant lines. “How do you know about that?” she snapped.
I blushed. “It's a small town. I can't help knowing the other supernaturals who reside here.” There. That was nice and diplomatic.
Sasha narrowed her eyes at me, but seemed to believe my story. It technically wasn't a lie, regardless. Still, I was surprised that the witches didn't know much about me, considering that everyone else I came across seemed to. They really were the outcasts of the supernatural world.
“We hired Jason because he's a suspect,” Sasha replied indignantly. “Hiring him was the best route to keeping track of him, and if he's not the killer, then he's the best man to find the vampire that is.”
My pulse sped a little at the accusation. I thought again of Jason's anger, but he would never hurt anyone. “Do you want our help, or not?” I snapped.
Sasha eyed me coolly. “I would not have risked inviting a demon into my house if I did not desire aid.”
I walked forward confidently, ignoring the demon comment. “Then we do this my way. We'll question each of you individually,” I said as I looked around the room. “Any volunteers to go first?”
For a moment no one raised their hands, and Sasha looked like she might step in, when a couple stood together. The man was tall, with messy brown hair and wire-rimmed glasses. He looked like a middle school teacher, and the woman looked like the principle with her neat, gray skirt suit and short, no-nonsense haircut.
“I'm Claire's mother, Cynthia,” the woman announced, “and this is my husband Ben,” she finished as she gestured at her partner.
I felt my confidence falter. I should have taken into account the fact that I'd have to question Claire's parents. I'm not known for my tact, and asking the poor couple about their daughter's death suddenly seemed like an extremely daunting task.
Sasha stepped forward stiffly. “You can use my office for the questioning,” she said, finishing with a tight-lipped, fake smile.
Devin and I turned to follow Sasha as she led the way, with Cynthia and Ben following close behind us. I didn't like that Sasha was so against us questioning her coven. Sure, it might have been the demon thing, maybe she thought I'd eat Ben and Cynthia as soon as I had them alone, but I thought it was something else. Something stunk, and it wasn't Sasha's overpowering designer perfume.
Through a large kitchen, then halfway down a dimly-lit hall, Sasha opened a door and flipped on the light switch inside. She stood aside while Devin and I entered the room, followed by Cynthia and Ben.
When Sasha had said we could use her office, I'd expected a small room, filled with scattered papers, a computer, and other office like things. What I got was an imposingly large, dark wood desk, white carpet so plush that my feet sunk down with every step, and what looked like expensive works of art decorating the high-ceilinged walls.
Sasha waited while I awkwardly took a seat behind her desk, leaving the two upholstered chairs on the other side for Ben and Cynthia. Devin stood by my side and a little behind me like a good lackey.
Sasha opened her mouth like she would say something else, but I shooed her away with my hand. She narrowed her eyes at me, then slammed the door behind her, making the paintings rattle slightly on the walls. It was probably a bad idea to antagonize the leading witch of a coven, but she'd antagonized a demon. I wasn't the type to smite people for rudeness, in fact, I wouldn't know how to smite someone even if I tried, but she didn't know that. If she was going to be stupid, I could be stupid too.
Now that we were alone, Cynthia fiddled with her hands uncomfortably and I suddenly didn't know what to say. Devin came to the rescue, once again making me glad for his presence that night. I'd have to start being nicer to him.
“Tell us what happened the night of Claire's death,” he said, getting right down to what we needed to know.
Ben patted Cynthia's hand as she started to cry. “We weren't home,” he began, “and our younger daughter Rose was at a friend's house, which left Claire home alone. We don't know if she talked to anyone that night. The police questioned her friends and went through her phone, but they didn't come up with anything. Rose got home before us and found Claire. She was-” his voice cracked, and he looked to his wife for reassurance.
Instead of looking at her husband, Cynthia looked at me with pleading eyes, like she was trying to tell me something, but I had no idea what. “It was made to look like a vampire kill,” Cynthia said suddenly, looking up at Devin, then back at me.
“It was a vampire kill,” Ben corrected quickly. “All of the evidence was there.”
Cynthia looked back down at her lap, defeated. I would have very much liked to talk to Cynthia alone, but wasn't sure how to go about it.
“And what evidence was that?” Devin prompted.
Ben sat up a little straighter. “The wounds,” he explained, “and the missing blood.”
“Missing blood?” I asked, surprised at the new information.
Ben no
dded. “The cops decided that she had been killed somewhere else, and was put back in her room later. There was blood on her body, but none on her bed. With her wounds . . . ” he trailed off.
“There should have been some on her bed,” Devin finished for him.
“Yeah,” Ben replied distantly.
I tried to catch Cynthia's eye again, but she continued to stare down at her lap. Ben eyed me suspiciously, but his attention was drawn away as Devin asked. “Do you have any enemies?”
“Of course not,” Ben answered a little too quickly, looking at Devin as if clearly offended.
“What about the coven?” Devin pressed, not missing a beat.
“We are not normally involved with vampires and demons, if that's what you're asking,” Ben replied indignantly. “Until our daughter's murder, I'd never even given much thought to vampires, and I definitely never thought I'd meet any demons.”
The way Ben looked back and forth between the two of us made me realize that the witches thought Devin was a demon, which meant that my dad had probably implied it. I'd have to ask him about that later.
“You know, a lot of witches summon demons,” I said suddenly.
Cynthia finally looked up from her lap to show me horror filled eyes.
“What exactly are you implying?” Ben asked sharply as he rose from his seat.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “I just find it strange that you could have never imagined meeting vampires and demons, but you're ready to believe that a vampire killed your daughter. Most people would assume that it was done by a human with a Bram Stoker obsession.”
Devin put a hand on my shoulder to stop me from saying anything else. It wouldn't have stopped me, but fortunately I had said all I needed to say.
“She was drained of blood,” he snapped, like it explained everything.
“It's not exactly difficult to remove blood from a body,” I countered. “A human could have done it just as easily, or a witch.” I bit my tongue as I remembered that we weren't just talking about some anonymous corpse being drained of blood, we were talking about these people's daughter.
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