by Charley Case
“Find anything…oh god. Is that a bag of squirrels?” Mila stopped, having just stepped into the room and her eyes locking on the bag in Finn's hand. Penny gave the bag a hungry look but locked onto the desk in the corner.
Hopping off Mila’s shoulder, Penny flew to the desk, while Finn dropped the bag back into the chest of horrors.
“Yeah. I think this is where Hellena kept the raw materials to maintain the homunculus. I’ve heard they tend to fall apart without regular maintenance.” Finn scanned the raw materials, looking for anything that might help, but knowing there wasn't much a chest full of frozen meat could say. “She probably needed to update his appearance from time to time as he was aging.”
“We need to be careful with the daughter. What was her name?” Mila asked, taking in the impromptu surgical suite for the first time.
“Stephanie Hess. According to Preston’s people, she just turned twenty-one a few weeks ago. But they didn't have much else on her. I think they were more focused on the brother.”
“Well, the question is, does Stephanie know that her uncle is, or at least, was a monster? She could be innocent in all this, or an accomplice. We need to be careful about how we approach her.”
“Chi!” Penny called out, waving them over to the desk.
Finn and Mila came over, and Penny pointed out the various photos on the corkboard. Finn leaned in, then opened up his phone and compared the photo Preston had sent of Herman to the ones on the board.
“This was definitely him. I have to say I’m impressed Hellena got away with this for so long. These pictures seem to cover the entire twenty years since her quote-unquote death.”
Mila leaned toward one of the photos, then pulled it off the board. “This must be Stephanie. It looks like it’s from a few years ago, but I can see a bit of resemblance between her and her mother. Have to say, the red hair is a surprise; must have come from her father’s side.”
Finn looked over Mila and saw a picture best described as uncomfortable. Herman was smiling woodenly and had his hand on what looked like a twelve-year-old Stephanie’s shoulder as they stood in front of a row of rose bushes. The girl was rigid as if she didn't like to be touched, and she only had the barest of forced smiles, her shoulders half-cocked in a shrug.
“Is it just me, or is that photo staged as hell?” Finn asked. “He looks like a creepy stalker with that mustache.”
“Shir chi.” Penny snickered, landing on his shoulder.
Finn’s eyes widened in shock. “I do not look like that in photos! I look great.”
Mila sucked air in through her teeth, a pained expression on her face. “Actually, you don't. Sorry, babe, but you look like a wooden cutout in most photos.”
Penny laughed, making Finn frown. “Really? I thought I was doing pretty good. For a dwarf, I’m very photogenic.”
“Are there a lot of photos of dwarves to compare yours to?”
“Most dwarves are into having paintings done rather than photos.”
“Maybe they know something you don't.” She patted him on the arm. “Come on, we should get out of here. We need to find Stephanie and see if she knows anything.”
Finn did a once-over of the desk. He picked out some notes regarding changes Hellena made to Herman over the years. It seemed nothing had been done in the last year, though.
“Okay, I don't know about you, but I could use a little food before we head onto campus,” Finn said, leading the way out into the hall.
Penny brightened at that. “Chi, chi.”
Finn gave her a sidelong glance. “Well, imagine that. Penny wants some food. Let me guess, the bag of squirrels got your tummy rumbling?”
Penny rolled her eyes, and Mila chuckled.
Chapter Twelve
Half an hour later, they sat down at a little diner just off campus, with a view of the university and mountains beyond. The red pleather upholstered booth had years of hastily repaired cuts and squeaked like they were full of mice when Finn and Mila slid into them.
After explaining Penny was a service animal and putting the little vest on her, the waitress took their orders, giving the dragon the side-eye the whole time.
Penny didn't help the process by giving the same look to the waitress.
Mila ordered a spinach and feta omelet while Finn got the “Gut Buster” special, which came on four plates. He didn't really want all the food, but he knew Penny would be picking over his when she finished her steak and eggs, so he over-ordered. It was the only way he got a full meal when they went out.
They ate in silence, each of them thinking about how best to approach Stephanie. The first problem was that they didn't know where she was exactly. Sure, she was on campus, but there were another thirty thousand people there along with her, and they didn't even know what school she was attending. The second problem was that they didn't really know what she looked like. They had the photo from the homunculus’ house, but that was at least five years old.
Penny was polishing off Finn's biscuits and gravy, while Finn finished his meal with some sourdough toast slathered with strawberry jam over the melted butter when Mila let out a sigh.
“I have no idea how we find her. There are just too many people on campus. I guess we could just go sit out on the quad and look for all the redheads, but I feel like that’s not very efficient,” she said, her shoulders slumping.
“Wouldn't that look suspicious? Two adults sitting on campus intensely looking at all the redheads?”
“Yeah, I might be able to get away with it, but they would have words with you.”
Finn’s jaw dropped in mock outrage. “That’s sexist!”
“I don't know if an honest threat assessment would be considered sexist. Pretty sure it doesn't work that way.”
“Shir shee,” Penny said, swallowing the last bit of biscuit before continuing, “Chi, squee shee.”
“You do know to impersonate a federal agent is a severe crime, right?” Mila said, going pale at Penny's suggestion.
Finn, however, nodded. “I have my runic papers that would pass as an FBI badge. All we need is a printout of Stephanie’s schedule. We would be in and out, easy.”
Mila's eyes were a little wide. “This is a horrible idea.”
“You have a better one?”
Mila thought it through, but before she could answer, Finn's phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID.
“Who is it?” Mila asked, finishing off her coffee.
“Preston,” he said, before answering. “Hello.”
“Finn.” Preston sounded tired. “How are things going with the Dark Star hunt? Find anything at the brother’s house?”
“Funny you should mention that. Turns out that the brother isn’t real.”
There was a beat of silence before Preston answered. “I have pictures of him. I’m pretty sure he’s real. Did you go to the right house?”
“Oh, it was the right house, and there was something there. Turns out, the brother was a long con. He was a homunculus. Been around for at least twenty years, but in the last few weeks, became twisted and reduced to a monster stuck in the basement eating rats.”
Preston was silent so long, Finn pulled the phone from his ear to be sure the call was still connected. “Preston? You still there?”
“Yeah,” he said tiredly. “I’m here. Please tell me you took care of it? We can't have an uncontrolled homunculus running around Boulder.”
“Mila took care of it, but you might want to send someone to clean up the house,” Finn said, giving the waitress a nod and sliding his mug towards her when she approached with a coffee pot.
“Mila? How did she do that?”
“Used her Valkyrie magic. Honestly, we don't know exactly what she did, but it was pretty damn powerful. Turned the thing to ash at a touch.” Finn’s voice held a hint of pride.
“She burned the thing to ash? At a touch?”
“Nope. Skipped the whole burning part, and went straight to the ashy
leftovers. She was like that big purple guy when he snapped his fingers.” Finn said, giving Mila a wink.
She just rolled her eyes.
“The big purple guy?”
“Squee shir,” Penny said, helpfully.
“Thanos. Thanks, Penny. I was going to say Wrinkly Chins, but I knew that wasn't right.”
“Wrinkly…” Preston sighed. “Okay, I’ll send some people over to clean the place out. Wait, if he was a homunculus, does that mean his daughter is one too?”
Finn's eyes widened. “Honestly, I hadn't considered that, but I don't think so. We’re working on the idea she is Hellena’s daughter, and Herman was a cover story.”
“I suppose that makes more sense.” Preston thought for a second before saying, “I’ll get my people on finding out what they can about her. Give me a day or two, and I’ll send it over.”
“I think we have a plan to meet her. We’re going to stop by the university in a few minutes.”
“You’re on top of it. Good. I’ll still get a couple people on it, too. Keep me informed. Now on to the thing I was calling about in the first place.” Preston went from contemplative to all business in the matter of a sentence. “I have gotten several reports over the last few days of magic not responding like it should. Some people are reporting magic is completely random when casting, while others are saying they don't have access to their magic at all. I fear this is some kind of attack from our mutual friend, but for the life of me, I can't see how it would help her cause. Have you seen anything like this over the last few days?”
“I have a friend who brought it to my attention, but he said it was only a slight interruption or resistance. Penny has noticed it, too, but not to the point it’s messing with her powers.” Finn furrowed his brow. “We thought there would be more time before the magical public noticed anything.”
“Why didn't you come to me earlier with this?” Preston pressed.
Finn shrugged, even though the Minotaur couldn't see it. “It wasn't serious enough to bother you with.”
“Don't give me that shit. I know full well, you are not impressed with my wealth and position. Frankly, it’s one of the reasons I trust you so much.”
Finn chuckled. “That’s true. Where I’m from, you’re middle class. I didn't say anything to you because, frankly, I’ve been so used to doing things on my own I forget some people want to help. It wasn't an indictment on you. I just didn't think about it.”
Preston snorted, the sound especially pronounced due to his bull nostrils. “I can understand that, but things are different now. This ship is your home; we are stronger if we work together.”
Finn glanced over at Mila and Penny having a quiet conversation while he was on the phone. Mila was laughing while Penny juggled three creamers. Finn smiled. “You’re right, Preston. We are stronger together.”
“Damn right. So, if this is some kind of attack, what would it accomplish? I thought Hellena’s goal was to show that magicals need their own place in the world. Why mess with the very thing that sets them apart?”
Finn took a sip of coffee while he considered. “We have a theory that she might be trying to awaken a large number of people all at once. Cause a little havoc that the Huldu can't contain. If the world finds out about magicals, then there would be no turning back. I have no idea if it would work, but it aligns with her goals.”
Preston was silent for a while. “That would be beyond bad. We’re talking world-ending bad. We need to pinpoint where the anomaly is, and take it out. It has to be a device or spell that's causing it, and it obviously has a range limit. We’re getting reports around the Denver area, but they are as far away as a hundred miles. The more reports we get, we will be able to narrow down where the heaviest concentration of disturbances are happening. Hopefully, that will point us in a direction to search.”
“Okay, we’ll go talk with Stephanie and shake something loose from this end,” Finn said, pulling out his wallet and putting a couple twenties on the check the wide-eyed waitress had just left. She had caught Penny juggling, and her world had just gone insane.
“Out of curiosity, how are you going to find her?”
“Pretend to be an FBI agent and have the school print out her schedule,” Finn said, matter of fact.
There was silence on the line, then a heavy sigh. “That is an incredibly illegal thing to do. I’ll be sure if the university calls to check your credentials, they will check out. See, Finn, this is why we need to work together.”
Finn chuckled. “That’s helpful. Thanks, Preston. I’ll let you know what we find.”
“Sounds good. Tell Mila to be safe. She might have destroyed the homunculus, but she’s still new to her powers. She needs to ease her way into them.”
“Will do. Thanks again.” Finn hung up, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at Penny, who was still juggling. “You clowns ready to go? Preston is covering for our FBI plan.”
Penny tossed one of the creamers higher than the others, and hit it with her tail, sending it flying at Finn’s face. He snatched it out of the air, crushing it, leaving creamer dripping between his fingers. Penny's eyes went wide in surprise as the other two creamers hit the table.
Mila burst out laughing, handing him a napkin. “Why on earth did you crush it?”
“Reflex.”
Penny began laughing, not believing it had worked out so well.
Chapter Thirteen
Once they were in the car, Mila spent a good ten minutes on her phone while they sat in the diner’s parking lot.
Finn raised an eyebrow. “Are you playing that game again, or looking for something?”
She smacked his arm without looking away from the phone. “I’m not playing that game, though you did remind me I have to do the daily challenge. No, I’m looking for the fucking admin building. We can't just walk into any building and ask.” She leaned over, showing Finn a map of the campus. “I think we can go here, but it kinda looks like a house. I’m trying to make sure this will work. Be patient.”
“I am patience personified,” Finn said, leaning back in his seat and pulling a box of Charleston Chews from his jacket pocket.
“Okay, I think this is the place. We have to drive around campus to get there, but at least they have a parking lot we don't have to pay for.” She dropped her phone in the cupholder. She pulled the Hellcat out of the lot and gunned it. Traffic caught up to them, and someone honked.
“Crazy drivers,” Mila complained, looking in the rearview mirror.
Finn and Penny shared a look. Finn was dumb enough to say something. “Didn’t you pull out in front of them?”
Penny smacked her forehead.
Mila gave him a look so dirty he felt like he needed a shower. “I had room,” she said, slowly and deliberately.
Finn, nonplussed, looked behind them at the car riding their ass, then over at Mila. “Clearly.”
“I don't see you driving, bub.”
“I’d like to give it a shot if you don't mind me driving your car. I mean, I have driven it, but I would like a little more practice.”
This argument was not going Mila's way, and she knew it. “Maybe you should get something a little less powerful to practice with. Like a corvette.”
“Maybe I should get a motorcycle,” Finn said, staring off into the distance. “Those look fun as shit.”
“Are you serious? They’re death machines.” Mila swerved into the next lane and passed a slow-moving pickup truck.
“Sweet. Death Machine…that’s what I can name it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Knowing you, you’ll enchant it to drive on walls and run on starlight and dreams.”
Finn cocked his head. “Not a bad idea.”
“You know how to do that?”
“No, but it would be cool if I did.” He winked at her before he and Penny burst into laughter.
“You guys suck.” She patted the Hellcat’s dash. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll find some way to make you more fuel-efficient.”
>
Finn stepped into the small lobby of the administration building and whipped his sunglasses off, imitating every crime procedural show he had ever seen. He cocked a hip and looked around the small room with narrowed eyes, spotting the receptionist who was staring at him with a perfectly groomed, raised eyebrow.
Mila squeezed between him and the door frame to get in the building and, tossing him a dirty look, walked up to the counter around the desk, leaning on it and giving the young woman there a smile.
“Sorry about my partner. He’s new,” Mila said, hiking a thumb at Finn.
“New to what?” she whispered, not taking her round eyes off of him.
Mila whipped out a piece of paper covered in runes and folded into fourths. Opening it like a badge, she showed the slightly glowing runes to the woman.
“New to the bureau.” Mila gave her a wink.
“You’re with the FBI? That’s so cool.” She said, her eyes going wide at the enchanted paper.
Finn, noticing that the conversation was moving along without him, snapped out of his pose, stepping forward. He held out his own folded paper, letting the receptionist get a good look at it before snapping it closed and tucked it into his back pocket.
“Miss, we’re going to need a student’s file. Schedule at the least. Who do we need to talk to to get that done?” he said, in a pretty passable Big Jim McLain impression.
The young woman cleared her throat and smiled. “I can get that for you. Who’s schedule do you need?”
Finn glanced at Mila and raised his eyebrows in surprise at how easy that was. Mila made a ‘go on’ motion with her hand.