The creature turned to its brethren as if looking for help. Its eyes were sad, and Jasmine couldn’t help but feel sorry for it. Although it didn’t belong in this nest, she didn’t get the impression it was dangerous.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but what are you?” Jasmine asked.

  The creature met her gaze, resigned. “We are Mmoatia.”

  “Mmoatia? I’ve never heard of anything like you.”

  “That’s the way we like it.” The Mmoatia spoke on behalf of the group that shuffled uneasily behind it. “We don’t hail from your lands. Our kind rarely travel. We come from afar, way across the seas.”

  “Then what the hell are you doing here?”

  “We fled to your country for safety.” The leader’s thin lips flapped as it spoke. “We escaped the dangers of our land in the hope of a safe new tomorrow for our troop.”

  Jasmine frowned. “You thought the best place to put up a tent and call yourself home is in the subbasement of a DIY Fix-It warehouse?”

  “We didn’t want to,” the Mmoatia explained. “This wasn’t our first port of call. We tried to escape a terrifying darkness that chased us. It gave us no choice but to flee far beyond our country and our known world until we sought shelter in the first place we could find.”

  Jasmine’s ears perked up. Since becoming a revenant, learning of the power of necromancy, and the schools of that culture, any mention of darkness and shadows intrigued her. Perhaps in the future a nugget of this information would be the key to her revival if that was possible. “Darkness chased you? What did it look like?”

  The Mmoatia shook its head with terror in its eyes. The others behind it gibbered among themselves, as frightened as their leader was.

  “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what you’re running from,” Jasmine pressed.

  The trembling Mmoatia looked at Jasmine and uttered a single word: “Sasabonsam.”

  A shiver ran through the group, and a few of the Mmoatia faded back into the darkness.

  “What is a Sazza-bone-some?” Jasmine’s curiosity was piqued. She was unaware of Toby climbing to his feet behind her, his face white as a sheet. “You’re using words I’ve never heard before.”

  “Sasabonsam is big, dark, and terrifying. Sasabonsam is the ultimate enemy of our people,” the Mmoatia clarified. “It’s a terrifying force that makes light work of Mmoatia as its meal, sweeping into our nests without a whisper and swallowing our kind whole.”

  Jasmine waited for further explanation, but none came. She motioned around the place. “Well, be that as it may, there are better places to hide than a festering basement below a warehouse. You might be worried about this…Sasabonsam…but something even bigger and scarier will come for you if you don’t clear out of here soon.”

  She paused for effect. “Corporate America. You don’t belong in a place like this. You can’t stay. You need to get out of here.”

  “We want to,” another of the Mmoatia put in. Their voice was low and croaky. “We want to return to our home and find trees, nature, a place where we can be under the sun. Only…”

  The leader took over. “We’re too afraid to leave.”

  Jasmine considered their predicament. She scratched her head. From where she was standing, she could see half a dozen Mmoatia on the fringes of the shadows. She wondered how many more there were and how to transport them to safety.

  After a moment of thought she turned to Toby. “I don’t suppose you’ve got a box big enough to fit these guys?”

  Toby frowned but nodded.

  Leaving the Mmoatia to the darkness, Jasmine and Toby exited the subbasement. When they reached the door they made their plan.

  “Are you sure this is going to work?” Toby asked uncertainly. “You know what security’s like around here.”

  Jasmine scoffed. “Yeah. It’s shit. If you want to clear your pest problem, this is what we’re going to have to do. Ironically, the thing we’ll need is darkness.”

  Jasmine left the facility and busied herself arranging things and securing a vehicle. When night fell she returned to the warehouse. She keyed in the number at the side door and cautiously opened it.

  She peeked inside. It was almost pitch black now. The place was empty. She cupped her hands to her mouth and called into the darkness, but no one called back.

  She snuck through the warehouse until she found the stairs leading to the sub-level. She took each step slowly, holding the handrails to ensure she didn’t trip.

  When she reached the bottom there was no light. The cone of illumination they had stood beneath earlier was off. For a fleeting moment Jasmine wondered if everything that had happened earlier had been a dream.

  She called into the darkness. “It’s time!”

  Her words echoed back at her.

  She waited for what felt like ten minutes. Time stretched like taffy. Eventually she heard the gentle pattering of small feet.

  Their scent was subtle but distinct and barely detectable above the dense cardboard stink. She wasn’t sure how close they were, but she waved at them. She wondered if they were waving back.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” a voice called from nearby.

  “No,” Jasmine replied. “I’m not sure it’s safe, but this is the best chance you’ve got.”

  When she reached the main warehouse with the Mmoatia in tow, she heard footsteps. She paused and moved a hand behind her to shush the creatures. She had no idea how many were in the darkness behind her, but she guessed it was quite a few.

  The footsteps grew louder and out of nowhere a bright light stung her eyes and obscured her vision. A deep voice boomed, “Hey! You there!” It echoed around the warehouse.

  Jasmine shielded herself and tried to see the blackened silhouette behind the flashlight.

  “Do I need to call the cops?” the voice demanded.

  Jasmine stepped forward and let her bone claws slowly push from her fingers. Then laughter erupted, and the flashlight turned to the man holding it.

  Toby stood in front of her, chuckling. “You should have seen your face!”

  “Awfully cocky now that Mommy’s sorted out the threat for you, aren’t you?” Jasmine snapped. “That was some bullshit.”

  Toby shrugged. “My apologies. Are we ready to do this?”

  He swung the flashlight to the Mmoatia who looked even freakier under the harsh illumination. They shielded their eyes, clearly averse to light. There were cries of “We’re ready!” and “Turn it off!”

  “Listen to them,” Jasmine commanded. “Get the light off them.”

  Toby obeyed and aimed the flashlight at the floor.

  “Have you got what we need?” Jasmine asked.

  Toby gestured. “Follow me.”

  He led the congregation through the warehouse and to the other side of the room. A large arch accessed another part of the building.

  Vehicles and conveyor belts stood like monolithic metal sentinels. Toby led them to a bright yellow forklift. Its metallic prongs rested on the floor with a large wooden crate balanced on them. The top panel of the box was off, and a stepladder led inside.

  “It’s not going to be comfortable,” Jasmine warned the Mmoatia. “But it is going to help.”

  The Mmoatia paused for a moment and looked uncertainly at each other.

  “You can trust me,” Jasmine urged.

  The lead Mmoatia nodded. Without using the stepladder, it gracefully scaled the crate’s side and dropped in. One by one each Mmoatia found their way inside until the bodies of the strange creatures uncomfortably packed the box.

  Toby held up the keys to the forklift. “Do you know how to drive this thing?”

  Jasmine shook her head. “I was hoping to God you did.”

  Toby grinned. “Good. Go open the door.”

  Jasmine crossed to the large steel garage door that led into the city. She thumbed the button to initiate the whir of gears, and the mechanism noisily peeled the door open.

  Toby secured the top of the box and climbed into the forklift. He flipped the ignition, and the vehicle roared into life. Using one hand to steer, he navigated out of the warehouse and turned left, down the empty street toward where Jasmine had secured a pickup truck with a flatbed from one of Eddy’s contacts.

  He raised the crate with the forklift. Together they worked the box onto the back of the flatbed. Jasmine secured it in place and joined Toby by the forklift.

  “Are they going to be okay?” Toby asked.

  “Don’t worry about them.” Jasmine smirked. “You’re going to miss them, aren’t you?”

  Toby waved that off. “Am I sad to see them go? No. Am I beyond tripped by what I’ve seen tonight? Absolutely.”

  Jasmine chuckled. “Don’t think any more on it. You’ll be safe at work now with only rats to worry about.”

  She climbed into the cab of the flatbed and pulled away. She took her time rolling down the street and was careful going over bumps and dips in the road as she navigated through the dark city.

  The streets were quiet. Only a few cars drove by as she crossed the sleepy shopping district. A few blocks later she entered a vibrant square of bars and clubs. There were crowds along the sidewalk and music thumping from inside the buildings. She sped up a touch to distance herself from possible detection.

  Soon enough she was on the outskirts of the city. Concrete faded into grassland, and a sign with the national park symbol blurred past. Jasmine’s stomach clenched. She knew in her heart that this was the best place to take the little critters, but she was unsure how the pack would take it.

  She drove through the dark into the trees as the ground sloped toward the crest of a hill. She split away from where she had encountered Delilah a few nights ago and instead aimed for a patch of forest that appeared unoccupied.

  She switched off the ignition. Silence pressed down on her. When she stepped out of the truck she could only see what was in front of her thanks to the flatbed’s headlights. The trees were dark and the canopy clustered above her like a thick blanket.

  Based on the way the Mmoatia had talked about their tree homes, she hoped this might be the perfect spot.

  She knocked on the side of the crate. “Guys, you’re home.”

  She climbed atop the flatbed and used a crowbar to remove the crate's lid. The Mmoatia rushed out, each of them longing for freedom. They were all covered in sweat. Jasmine couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be stuffed in there together. There had been holes for oxygen, but the group of them clustered that tightly couldn’t have been a comfortable experience.

  They leaped out with grace that was impressive to watch and landed on the soft grass around her. As they explored their new surroundings, one of their number ran to the nearest tree and scaled the trunk as easily as if it were running downhill. Another one of the Mmoatia approached Jasmine. She assumed it was the one she had spoken to earlier, but it was difficult to tell in the milky light.

  The creature grabbed Jasmine’s hands. The smile on its face was twisted, not pretty to look at but kind nonetheless. “Thank you, Jasmine.”

  Jasmine nodded. “We’ve got to stick together. It’s a big bad world out there. If we don’t take care of each other, who will?”

  The Mmoatia smiled before turning to join its brethren, who were already running toward the trees.

  “Oh, one thing before you go,” Jasmine warned.

  The Mmoatia stopped and looked over its shoulder.

  “Just a heads up, you might have some company in these woods,” Jasmine informed it. “Some friends of mine, my pack, they live around here and… I’m just saying… Try not to get in their way, okay? There’s plenty of space here for all of you.”

  The Mmoatia offered her another small smile before it disappeared into the trees. Jasmine heard them and saw the boughs moving and the canopy shaking, but she couldn’t make out any of their shapes. The cackling excitement filled the air around her like odd chirpings of birdsong.

  She returned to the cab of the flatbed and started the engine.

  All in all, not a bad night. Helped out a nervous fella with his rodent infestation and managed to relocate some refugees to safer pastures. A pat on the back for Jasmine. Now, let’s see what the morning brings.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Probation

  The next day began quietly enough.

  Jasmine managed to get her customary two hours of rest. She somehow kept away the worst of the nightmares, but her slumbering body fidgeted, and her eyelids flickered. When her eyes snapped open, she could hardly remember her dreams with any clarity.

  She awoke energized and headed down into the Nest. Ivan was in his usual place, wiping down a bar that already gleamed and sparkled.

  What does he see that I don’t? She wondered if Ivan had vision that lent itself to detecting micro-bacteria skittering around the bar. She imagined this place was probably more clinically clean than anywhere she had been before.

  “Morning,” she announced. Ivan nodded acknowledgment as Jasmine sat at the bar.

  “Did you deal with pest problem?” Ivan asked.

  Jasmine wondered how much Ivan knew. How much of the rumors and gossip of the city did he pick up as he wandered between bar seats on his day and night shifts? He would have been an amazing source in her former life when her investigatory tactics relied mostly on coercing tight-lipped people who refused to talk.

  “It’s done.” Jasmine felt no need to explain further. Of all the people she had met, maybe Ivan could have given her more information about the Mmoatia and where they came from. They seemed so out of place in a built-up urban landscape like this.

  A small smile played on her lips as she imagined them flying through the treetops and getting comfortable in their new home. Maybe the national park could be a sanctuary for all refugee supernaturals. But would they be considered supernatural?

  Ivan pushed a glass her way. The bright orange juice swam with little red and black flakes. She let the liquid soothe her throat and savored the heat and tingling sensation running into her body.

  She closed her eyes and yearned for actual flavor, to remember what orange juice tasted like and to remind herself what chocolate, coffee, and vodka did to her tastebuds. She thought back to the night of the full moon when she had been overwhelmed and dizzied with sensation. Was there an in-between? Could somewhere be found between the extremes instead of living on either end of the spectrum?

  “What news from the Nest?” Jasmine asked. She slid her empty glass back to Ivan who prepared her refill. When he brought it to her he also gave her a small box. “What’s this?”

  It was a pointless question, given the image of a cell phone on the front.

  “Save you using mine all the time,” Ivan replied. “Your grandmother called. I give her new number. I no longer need to be go-between.”

  Jasmine took the cell phone from the box and examined it. It was basic and designed for older adults with no clue about electronics. The buttons were large, and so was the screen.

  “Not the flashiest gadget,” she teased. “An iPhone would have been nice, but this will do.”

  Ivan chuckled as Jasmine turned on the cell phone. She went through the standard setup procedure. She was finishing her final configurations when the cell phone rang and made her jump. She answered.

  “Hello? Jasmine?” her grandmother’s raspy yet energetic voice came back. “Please tell me you haven’t done what I think you’ve done.”

  Jasmine sat up straighter. “I’m sorry. Who’s this?”

  “Don’t mess with me, Jasmine.” Her grandmother’s exasperation was clear in her voice. “Please tell me you haven’t brought a foreign presence into pack territory.”

  Jasmine’s smile faded. “Oh, that.”

  “Yes, that,” her grandmother agreed. She could almost see the older woman on the other end of the phone with a hand on her forehead, shaking her head with disapproval. “Are you purposefully trying to make this difficult?” she demanded.

  “Well, first tell me what you know, then I’ll tell you what I know. How about we go from there?”

  “The strange-winged goblins darting between the trees up in the national park?” her grandmother asked. “I received a call from Kendrick this morning. They smelled them the moment they woke up. We don’t need this kind of aggravation on top of everything else. You’re already walking a tightrope.”

  Jasmine tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “How did you know it was me?”

  “Because we managed to catch one of them. Well, Kendrick did. When pressed to find out where they had come from and what they were doing inside the pack boundaries, they informed him that—and I’m quoting here—'the dead girl’ took them there.”

  Dead girl? How obvious is it to other creatures that I no longer have a heart that beats?

  “Look,” Jasmine protested. “They were terrified, hiding in a basement beneath the city. I got reports from a friend that something was watching him, and when I spoke to them…

  “Well, they don’t belong down there. They belong somewhere where it’s free, safe, and they can exist in the open air and stay in their natural homes. I figured it would be fine. It’s a huge patch of land. There’s plenty of room for everyone to co-exist.”

  An audible sigh came from the other end of the line. “Jasmine… I understand that you have a big heart. Larger than most…”

  Not one that works, Jasmine thought.

  “And I understand that you want to do good, and looking after these creatures—whatever they are—helps your purpose as a Good Samaritan. But please, before you do anything like this, run it past me first. You don’t understand the importance of pack territory, the fragile line you’re walking.”

  “That place is gigantic,” Jasmine shot back. “There’s plenty of room—”

  Her grandmother interrupted. “Yes, there is, but there’s a reason for that. The boundaries of the territory indicate a place where Weres can be safe, away from humans, away from creatures that we could harm. You know firsthand that first changes can be chaotic, and Weres of the Ghost Throats, at least in that area, have a place where they can run, where they can be destructive without being harmful to humans or any other sentient beings. By bringing those creatures there—”