Maybe Susan's driving had scared a few more years off his life. I didn't bring it up, though. Plenty of other things to talk about, and I'd probably look pretty rough if I'd been turned into a statue for three centuries too.

  "About time," Susan said. "Tess okay?"

  "She's not. She tried this drink-vinegar thing that Granny Josephine texted her about, and now she's going to nap, but refused to go to the doctor." I could feel my own head hurting. This worrying about specific people, as opposed to protecting humanity in general, was fairly new to me, and I wasn't sure I liked it.

  Jed folded his arms and gave me a stern look. "In my day, we took care of our women."

  Susan sighed. "Listen, Mr. Shepherd. This is all going to go a lot easier if you quit saying things like 'in my day' and 'our women.' Women aren't property these days. We can vote and everything."

  His eyes widened. "Why would you want to fill your head with politics? The fairer sex is meant to be cherished and loved, so you can care for our children and homes."

  Susan's mouth fell open, but before she could respond, Mackenzie roared up on my bike. Alone, at least, but I'd be happy to see the back of him. I'd promised to help with Iona, though, who was a gentle girl who didn't deserve to suffer for her brother's crimes.

  And, knowing Logan Mackenzie, there were definitely crimes involved. He might even have stolen the damn dagger himself.

  "Hey, Jack. Turns out people in this town like you. Never would have believed that if I hadn't seen it for myself," Logan said, sauntering over.

  Jed made a growling sound in his throat, and his hands clenched into fists. "I don't like you, young man. Be very careful with what you say about my family."

  Logan held his hands up in a show of surrender. "Just making an observation that Dead End seems to have welcomed Jack with open arms. Guess they don't know about the things you did in the war, do they? You're an awfully violent man for such a quaint small town."

  Susan snorted, and Jed and I both started laughing.

  "Clearly, you do not understand Dead End," I said, thinking of the time everybody in the diner had pulled out weapons when some out-of-town mob guys had threatened Tess. Even tiny old Mrs. Frost had pulled a mini crossbow out of her giant purse and pointed an arrow at them.

  "Quaint," Susan said, shaking her head. "If only. I bet quaint towns get a lot fewer dead bodies."

  "Anyway," I said, before the conversation we needed to have got derailed. "How about some coffee? We need to talk."

  We headed into the comfortable old farmhouse that my Uncle Jeremiah had left me when he'd died far too young. Jed stared at everything as we walked through the family room, wide-eyed and narrow-lipped, seeming to be fascinated and disapproving all at the same time. He stopped in front of the coffee table, loaded with piles of books I was reading and a few of Tess's, stopped again next to the big-screen TV, currently off, and then turned to me.

  "This is an enormous home, grandson. Yet it seems you live here by yourself. Why is that?"

  "I'm alone," I murmured, feeling a muscle in my jaw tighten. "My uncle died fairly recently, and my parents passed a long time ago. It's just me."

  A shimmer of pain shadowed his gaze. "My wife and all but one of my babes died from illness, and my only surviving son and I were estranged when he was an adult, over an argument that seems insignificant now. When the Fae queen came to take me, I was alone, and I no longer cared if I lived or died."

  "I'm so sorry, Mr. Shepherd," Susan said, compassion in her voice and expression. "It must have been so hard to live back then, with so many dangers around every corner."

  "Coffee," I said, and led the way back to the spacious kitchen. Flourishing plants lined the windowsill—tigers are good with plants—and the sun streamed into the bright, homey room from two large windows. The three of them took seats at the old, wooden, farmhouse table—almost a twin to the one at Tess's house—and I made coffee in the new machine I'd recently bought.

  Tigers are also good with gadgets.

  When mugs of coffee were on the table, and everyone had the sugar or cream they wanted, I finally spoke again.

  "Okay. It's time for the whole story, Jed. If—"

  My great, great—oh, let's just call him grandfather for simplicity's sake—my grandfather shot me a look.

  "You can call me Grandfather, youngster."

  I felt the grin tugging at my lips. "Yes, okay, Grandpa. Let's hear it."

  He sighed and took a long sip of coffee. Then he put the mug down and sighed again, studying each of us. "Am I to understand Miss Gonzalez—"

  "Sheriff Gonzalez," Susan gently but firmly corrected.

  "Sheriff Gonzalez is your law enforcement?"

  "Yes, you are," she said, less gently this time. "And you can't pretend you don't know what a sheriff is. We derive the word from the Angle-Saxon Shire-Reef, one who collected taxes and enforced order as far back as the late 800s."

  Logan grinned at her. "Who's your source? Robin Hood? If the sheriff of Nottingham had looked like you, we'd never have heard anything about Maid Marian."

  "King Alfred the Great of England," she said coolly. "Some of us like history."

  "The legend of Robin of Loxley came from ballads much further back than my day," Jed said.

  "And, you know, the Disney cartoon," Logan offered.

  I closed my eyes and wished for Tess. She was much better at talking to people. I mostly just wanted to roar at them or maybe hold them down with a paw—while showing them my teeth—until they quit annoying me.

  "Enough," I growled. "Jed—Grandfather. Talk."

  "All right. All right." The old man's shoulders slumped, and I had a moment of regret that this was how we met—under threat of destruction. But we'd have plenty of time to catch up after we saved Dead End.

  "As you probably know, I am the one who negotiated the original treaty with the Fae that granted us the lands that became Dead End and Black Cypress County."

  Logan leaned forward, his forehead furrowed. "The Fae? You didn't negotiate with the Native Americans who were here first?"

  Jed shook his head. "Actually, the Fae were here first. Thousands of years before any humans. And, later, the native tribes were friendly enough with the Fae—or at least respected them—but wouldn't have anything to do with this area. They considered it to be a sacred spot for the Fae. Their wise men and women knew about the portal, you see."

  "Portal?" Susan asked.

  "To the Summerlands," Jed told her. "There are fixed portals or doorways to the Fae lands. The Summerlands, or Underhill, Faerieland. Whatever you call it, it's almost a different world there from here. Men, women, or children lost beyond the portals might spend a day there and return home fifty years later."

  "If they ever return at all," Logan said, his face grim. I knew he was thinking of Iona, but we needed to keep Jed on track.

  One nearly insurmountable problem at a time.

  My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket, hoping it was Tess, but Ruby's name popped up on my screen:

  Is Tess with you? She's not answering her phone.

  I quickly answered,

  No. She's at home, napping, after trying the vinegar cure.

  The little typing dots came up and then:

  Mike and I will take Lou and Tess's car over a little later, then. Thanks, Jack. Be sure to let me know EVERYTHING about the statue who turned into your ancestor. Remember, I'm not just your friend, I'm your MAYOR.

  I sighed and then sent her back a thumbs-up emoji and put my phone on the table, face down, and offered an apologetic shrug. Jed was fading fast. His skin was now tinged with an unhealthy gray tone, and his entire body drooped.

  It was impossible to even guess how hard being trapped in statue form for centuries would be on the body, but I was seeing the results live right in front of me, and it was pretty clear my grandfather needed to rest.

  Or maybe food? With a tiger metabolism …

  "Dinner?" I jumped up out of my chair. "Jed—Grandpa Jed. You must be starving. How about I grill up some steaks, and we eat first and then continue?"

  Susan nodded. "I've got no place to be that's more important than this."

  Logan gave her a smarmy smile. "No man to go home to? How can that be, with such a lovely lady as yourself?"

  "Well, I had a dinner date with an extraordinarily dangerous vampire that I'm missing to be here," she said, her dark eyes flashing. "But my job has to take precedence when someone threatens my town."

  I was pretty sure the vampire she was talking about was her brother, Carlos, who was in an on-again, off-again relationship with my best friend, Dave Wolf. Carlos had been out of town on vampire Council business, but I knew he was back, because I'd seen his new, black, tinted-window BMW sedan in front of his house, which shared an access road with Tess's place.

  I'd lost some sleep over that, too, until I'd gotten to know Carlos. He was good people, and he'd defend Tess—and his sister, whether she liked it or not—with his life. Had to appreciate that in a person.

  Susan and Tess would both defend me and Carlos with their lives, too, and I definitely appreciated that, even though it made me nuts whenever Tess put herself in danger.

  [Tess, are these even things I should put in a case report? Please advise—Jack]

  I showed Jed to the guest room on this floor that had the attached bathroom, because he now looked like even making it up the stairs would be a problem, and then I spent an entertaining few minutes explaining modern plumbing and toothpaste.

  He was a big fan of flushing. I guess after outhouses … although who knew what facilities the Fae had in their palaces?

  "You sleep while I get some food ready."

  He stiffened, but then wearily scrubbed his face with his hands. "Yes. I don't know why I'm so exhausted, but … well. Maybe it would be surprising if I didn't feel tired, considering."

  I started to walk away but then turned and held out my hand. "I'm sorry I didn't say this before, but I'm glad to meet you, sir. Glad you're here. Please consider this to be your home, too."

  He stared at me for a long moment and then took my hand in a firm grip and shook it. "I'm glad to meet you too, grandson. I have a feeling you're a man I can be proud of."

  I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat—I suddenly had family again. I hadn't even realized how alone I'd felt until that very moment. Tess and her family had taken me in, and I would never not be grateful for that, but there was something about shared blood and bone.

  "We'll talk," Jed said gruffly, and I realized he was having the same reaction. "Come get me when the food's ready. And be sure to put at least five steaks on the fire for me. I'm suddenly powerfully hungry."

  I grinned at him. "You really are related to me."

  Before he could reply, my doorbell rang. Susan headed to the front of the house to answer it, and then I heard her welcome someone into my house.

  "Jack," she called out. "The FBI is here."

  Jed trudged toward the bed, and I took a deep breath.

  Suspicious Fae runes carved into the wall of my well, Tess's headache, an unwanted eagle shifter, a surprise ancestor, a threat of impending doom, and now the FBI.

  My day just kept getting better and better.

  11

  Tess

  I woke up at six-thirty from very odd dreams, feeling fuzzy and tired, but thankfully the headache was gone. I glanced at my phone and saw I'd missed three texts and two calls from Aunt Ruby, but nothing from Jack. He knew I was napping, so that made sense, but still felt like a letdown. I quickly texted Aunt Ruby back I was doing much better and then put my phone down.

  Lou was curled up by my feet, and one of my texts was from Uncle Mike, who'd had Aunt Ruby follow him over so he could drop off my car and my cat, so I spent an important and satisfying few minutes cuddling with Lou before I got up to feed her. Then I stared into my fridge for a minute or two, not really seeing anything, while I debated driving over to Jack's to find out what was going on.

  "Or I could just call him," I told Lou, who was paying close attention … to the contents of the refrigerator.

  She looked thoughtful.

  "You're right," I told her. "I should just drive over. With pie. Also, if there are any clues to be found, I should be there to help, right?"

  I'm almost sure she nodded. Then again, she might have been moving her head to more easily clean her paw. Anything is possible in a cat's world.

  I grinned. "I should have asked you for headache cures. Although I'm not sure how much 'push everything you can possibly reach off the mantel' would really help."

  I scooped her up and kissed the top of her silky head, and she started purring, so then we had to spend ten minutes on the couch for ear scratches and belly rubs. Well, she got belly rubs, and I got the lovely, warm satisfaction that people everywhere receive from the unconditional love of a beloved pet.

  Also, tuna-breath in my face, but it was a small price to pay.

  When Lou jumped gracefully up to the back of the couch to stretch and think Important Cat Thoughts, I headed for the kitchen to retrieve the chocolate cream pie I'd hidden from Jack in the produce drawer, the last place he'd ever look for anything.

  The man wasn't a huge fan of vegetables, no matter his false green beans claim.

  Whenever I brought it up, he just looked at me blandly and said, "Tiger."

  Aunt Ruby and I always piled veg and salad on his plate when he ate at either of our houses, though, because we thought his human form might need actual vegetables. And even fruit that wasn't already baked into a pie.

  On second thought … I glanced down at the pie in my hand and sighed. One pie for two shifters? Plus Susan and—if Logan came back—yet another shifter?

  I put the pie down, retrieved a bowl of cookie dough I'd made a few days back from the fridge, and then took all of it with me to the car. The smell of cookies baking might help calm things down, if the situation had gotten tense.

  And, all things considered, it was a fairly good bet that tense would be an understatement.

  When I arrived at Jack's house, he was standing in the front yard with another man who wasn't Jed or Logan. They turned to look at me, and I realized that the man was no stranger.

  I hopped out of the car and rushed over. "Alejandro!"

  Special Agent Alejandro Vasquez of FBI P-Ops—the Federal Bureau of Investigations' Paranormal Operations division—strode over to meet me and then caught himself when he reached out, arms open, for a hug. I hadn't realized we were at a hugging stage, but I was happy he felt that way. Alejandro had helped us on several occasions, and he was a friend to Atlantis too, like Jack. He was also madly in love with his wife, Rose Cardinal, a powerful witch from a magical family in Ohio, and they'd promised to take some vacation and come visit. I was looking forward to finally meeting her.

  "I'm sorry, Tess," Alejandro said, turning the almost-hug into a graceful bow. He knew about what he called my "gift." "I wasn't thinking."

  Jack snorted. "So, nothing new, Vasquez?"

  "Jack, hush," I said, moving away from Alejandro. "Be friendly."

  "Yes, Jack, be friendly," Alejandro said, laughter in his deep, rich voice. Alejandro was from Guatemala, and his accent was lovely.

  He was not at all what I'd thought of when—if?—I'd ever thought about FBI agents and what they might look like. In fact, he was kind of gorgeous, with dark golden-brown skin, black hair, and dark eyes. Today, he wore an elegant navy blue suit. He was also very smart and very dangerous, which made him a good person to have on our side, although he kept asking Jack to become his partner, which would take Jack away from Dead End.

  Away from me.

  Luckily, Jack had no interest in leaving, so I'd forgiven Alejandro. His former partner had quit the FBI over a basilisk issue a few years back, and nobody else he'd tried to work with had measured up yet, he'd told us.

  I sympathized, but he still couldn't have Jack.

  "I guess it's a good thing I brought the cookie dough on top of the pie," I told him. "I'm delighted to see you, but why are you here?"

  Jack homed in on my car like he was in tiger form and it was a fleeing gazelle. "Pie?"

  Alejandro gave me a hopeful look. "Cookies? What kind of cookies?"

  "Homemade Snickerdoodles. And chocolate cream pie. I'll just—"

  Jack stopped me with a hand on my arm, his beautiful green eyes filled with concern. "Pie can wait. Tess, are you okay? How's your head?"

  I blinked. Had he really just said "pie can wait"?

  Wow. He really, really cared about me.

  "Are you ill, Tess?" Alejandro pulled out his phone. "Tell me what's wrong, and I'll call Rose. Healing herbs and spells are among her specialties."

  I started to answer, but then Shelley popped into my mind. "I'm fine, but thanks. It was just a headache. I do have a favor to ask, though. We just found out this week that Shelley has manifested magic. She—well, her mother was a garden witch, as you know."

  Alejandro had helped us expedite Shelley's adoption. Federal and state laws might not apply to Dead End, but my sister would leave town to go to college one day, and we'd wanted to be sure her adoption and any other necessary paperwork were all in perfect order.

  "You'd like advice from Rose?" Alejandro flashed a big smile. "She'd be delighted. She has a lot of experience dealing with adolescent witches from her sisters. And her own teen years, I suppose."

  "She's not quite a teenager yet, but thank you. That's a weight off my mind, since she doesn't have anybody else to talk to. Pretty much all the witches left town after what happened."

  Alejandro nodded solemnly. He'd been there for part of the time when a terrifying and dangerous coven leader practicing black magic had kidnapped Shelley. I didn't even like to think about what could have happened to her—and me—if Jack hadn't been there to help us escape.

  "Anyway, why are you here?" I pulled the pie and cookie dough out of my car and handed it to the guys to carry inside. "You can't have heard about Jack's grandpa already."