Her nails tapped the table. “Yes, but you have neglected to keep me informed of pertinent happenings.”

  Forcing myself to maintain a polite expression, I said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You don’t know about the charms? Ones no reputable clan would craft? Or the burning of the store where they were sold?”

  “I know of nothing I can tell you.” Less than two weeks as an agent, and we were doing this. Some oaths took precedence over clan membership. It was a shame Olivia didn’t recognize that.

  She tipped her head to the side. “But you know quite a bit. My source has you in the center of the cases. Why haven’t you called?”

  “We’ve been over this before. I won’t spill clan secrets to the police, and I won’t tell you police secrets.” Under the table my fingers dug into my thigh.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Is that a threat?”

  “No, minister.” I had to be careful. “It is the bargain we made when I started working for the police. It’s benefited both of us over the years.” It would be if she honored promises, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath.

  “Ah, but then magic was not running wild through the city. Who do you think the police will blame for these charms and murders?” Her fingers tapped as she stared at me.

  Murders. She knew about more than one, but which two did she know about? The fey and the werewolf from the last case, or the bodies from the building and car fires? “The police take their job seriously. They have no desire to blame anyone but the guilty party.”

  She pushed away from the table. “Unlikely, not with a clan nearby to take the blame.”

  “If it isn’t one of ours, we have nothing to fear from the police.”

  “It isn’t a Bausen. Of that I am sure.” She paced the length of my tiny living room.

  I kept my eyes on her, hoping the shielding on the apothecary cabinet was enough to prevent her from finding the Deyr. “How are you so sure?”

  “I asked everyone I thought capable under truth charms. It is not one of us!”

  “Minister, what do you want from me?” I’d do a lot to get her out of my apartment and back at the fringes of my life where she belonged.

  “Get me information on everyone related to that shop, Bumble Bee’s Gifts and More.” Her eyes drilled into me.

  “I can’t do it. I won’t betray my oaths and risk my job.” My stomach clenched. This was it. She’d haul me back to the clan, and I’d spend the rest of my life putting strength charms on rebar or something equally tedious.

  “Get me the information I requested.” She headed for the door.

  “And if I don’t?”

  She glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, Kelsey, that would be most unwise. How has your father been lately? Or that brother of yours?” She swept out the door.

  I stood there, hands clenched, heart pounding. That was the choice. My job or my family.

  How far would I go to keep them safe? That question stayed with me as I drove to work.

  Most of the office wasn’t chatty in the morning, so I took my delivery of supplies, commandeered a conference room, and got to work. I made magical dampening charms for the fire department, and I handed them off to a junior officer for delivery.

  From there, I got to work rebuilding as much of my kit as I could, which was both more and less than I wanted. I also checked the quality of the premade charms I’d purchased. As expected they were well made and I could trust them until I had time to create my own.

  The leftover supplies went in my desk. Someone would probably be unhappy about that if they knew, but the lab was still a crime scene so I didn’t have a lot of options.

  A problem in more than one part of my life.

  Olivia’s visit didn’t sit well with me. If she was so sure it wasn’t a member of our clan, why the fuss?

  The question stayed with me as I stowed the newly finished kit went in my car. I was missing something but I didn’t know what.

  I leaned against my trunk and let the sun warm my skin.

  When Olivia cut me off from the clan years ago, she’d said she would know when or if I talked to anyone in the clan and what was said. I’d believed her.

  But watching someone that closely would take an enormous amount of resources, even for a minister. Sure, she could have clan members assigned to constantly scrying me, but if that was the case, she’d already know about the necromancy, and I’d be dead.

  Any of the more conventional methods of spying were unlikely too. One of the perks of having a clowder of lynx as family was their senses. They would hear or sniff out any mechanical listening device—and the person who installed it. Out of place charms were fair game for the clowder or my dad doing a sweep for magic.

  Listening in on our phone calls was equally unlikely. We all had models with standard anti-magic protections. For all that Olivia was my bogeyman, she wasn’t as powerful as I’d once believed.

  I checked the time and gave Dad a call. He should’ve been at lunch, and I could at least pass along the warning.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Dad.” I couldn’t make myself sound chipper.

  He paused. “What happened?”

  “Olivia payed me a visit. She wants information on a case, or she’ll hurt you, the family, until I give her what she wants.” She didn’t have to be as scary as I’d once thought for me to believe her threats. She had killed Monique. I knew she had more violence in her.

  “Syed,” Dad swore. “We will take precautions.”

  “It may not be enough. If I have to leave the department to keep you safe, I will.” Olivia would win the game we’d been playing for the past six years, but family was worth more than a job. Narzel knew if it wasn’t this case, it would be another. Maybe losing was inevitable.

  “Kelsey, the clan has changed. It’s not how you remember, and it’s not the same as it was back then.” Another voice came through the line in the background.

  “We can talk later.”

  “I’m alone again.” Dad sighed. “She’d have to defend any action she took against me. Lynn and the kids are liked by the local shifters, and they have connections to other clowders. Hurting them to get to you or me would make enemies. As long as she’s thinking logically, she won’t do that.”

  “Shame she’s not better acquainted with logic.”

  “There is that,” he said wryly. “I need to get back. We can talk more tonight, but I wouldn’t worry too much about that threat.”

  “I will anyway. Love you, Dad.”

  “Love you too.”

  I hung up, not sure if I felt better or not. He sounded so sure, but so had Olivia. Dad had never lied to me, but the stakes were different. This wasn’t my future, but that of the entire family. That was a lot to risk if Oliva wasn’t bluffing.

  My future or my family. It was an easy choice when I looked at it like that. Sure, I wanted to stay with the TBI, but that cost was too high. Breaking with the clan, losing Jamie, spending years alone—those had been my choices, and I was the one to suffer. And it had been worth it until now.

  My stomach rumbled. I wasn’t going to solve all the problems now.

  On my way to the break room, I detoured to my desk and snagged my lunch box. The timing was in my favor, with two coworkers at the other table. I wasn’t in the mood for lots of company today.

  Popping open my pasta salad, I stared into like it held the answers.

  A lot to ask of simple noodles.

  “Is this seat taken?” Wayne asked.

  “Nope.” I scooped up a heaping spoonful of yogurt.

  “I talked to Smith. We’re officially partners.”

  “Good. That should prevent issues like last night.”

  “Yup.” Wayne munched on a bologna sandwich. “I thought I’d see your report on the car by now.”

  “Working on it.”

  “Odd, that’s what Nash said when I asked him if he knew the cause of death.” He took another bite of the sandwich.

  “Then he and I are on the same page.” Too many questions and not enough answers.

  “Funny thing,” Wayne said. “Neither of you asked me if I’d learned anything.”

  I glared at him.

  “What? Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

  “Less foreplay, more sharing.”

  “Careful, you’ll have the office thinking our partnership is more than professional.” He winked and popped the last of his sandwich in his mouth.

  “Can’t date. Nekro-sexual over here.”

  He laughed, then choked on the sandwich and started coughing.

  I turned bright red. “That didn’t come out right.”

  Wayne gulped down water. After taking a deep breath without choking, he grinned. “No, I think it came out just right.”

  “Narzel blast! I didn’t mean, or rather I meant because of my...” The officers at the other table were paying us a bit too much attention. “You know. I can’t date. It’s a bad idea.”

  Wayne just smiled. “Like I said, it came out just fine. But next time, no jokes like that while I’m eating.”

  “What was it you were so eager to share?” I ripped open a pack of chocolate chip cookies.

  “The car belonged to the manager of the shopping center, the one with Bee’s Gifts.”

  “Really?” Two deaths related to that shop, both of them going up in flames. Coincidence didn’t stretch so far. “How you check in with Nash? Has he identified the body?”

  “He said he’d call when he knew and not to bother him.”

  “So is the magic user behind the charms killing people, or is someone killing people to get to the magic user?” It could go either way, though the magic used in the fire made me think the magic user was doing the killing.

  “Theft wouldn’t be a bad motive. Kill everyone who has your charms. You get the charms and eliminate witnesses.”

  “I like it.” As theories went it, explained more than it didn’t, which was always a good sign.

  “It would help if the person working on the magic would hurry.”

  “Losing all my gear hasn’t helped. I can’t tell you any more than I did last night. The magic seems to match what I found on CJ.”

  Wayne tossed his sandwich wrapper in the trash. “Maybe we should pay him another visit.”

  “Let me finish eating.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “CJ wasn’t looking good. We’ll have to go easy on him.”

  I started to answer, but my phone rang. The number wasn’t familiar. “Special Agent Pine.”

  “It’s Officer Sage Fuller.”

  I tensed. “What can I do for you?”

  “I h–ha.” She cleared her throat. “I had to check an area for illegal hunting, and I found a dead spot you need to see.”

  My mind raced. “The area drained and ashen like the last one?”

  “No, this one is different. None of the gray, but dark and full of death.”

  Wayne raised an eyebrow.

  “My partner and I can be there in an hour. Where should we meet?”

  “The range is fine.” Fatigue laced Sage’s voice.

  “We’ll be there.”

  “Thank you. Come prepared to hike.” Sage hung up.

  A reminder that was well-deserved, considering how ill-prepared I’d been last time.

  “So, where are we going?” Wayne asked.

  “Outside Ashland City.” I shoved containers back in my lunch box.

  He tossed pushed away from the table. “Another drained spot?”

  “It doesn’t sound like it.” I filled him in as we put together packs for hiking. I even managed to switch to better clothing, including a healthy dose of bug spray. Sadly, given what we were going to do, it was the smelly, non-magical variety.

  Exactly one hour and approximately a thousand questions later, I pulled into the small parking lot by the range in Cheatham Wildlife Management Area. Sage was already there, leaning against the side of her truck.

  After quick introductions and Sage giving our gear a critical look, we piled into her truck. I got the middle. As a kid, it had been the most fun place to sit. As an adult, it left me feeling overly acquainted with Sage and Wayne’s shoulders.

  “What’s the same or different about this area?” I asked between bumping over rocks.

  “It has that creepy feel, but worse. It’s like a thousand eyes are watching you.” Her knuckles were white where they gripped the steering wheel. “It’s littered with dead animals, and it smells bad too. Different than the last one.”

  I swore.

  “Yup.”

  We didn’t talk much after that. For my part, what could I say until I had eyes on the area?

  Twenty minutes later, Sage guided the truck onto a wide shoulder even though the road continued directly ahead. “We walk from here.”

  “I take it we won’t be on the road.” I took my pack from Wayne and settled it on my shoulders.

  “We’re going that way.” Sage pointed down a narrow path obscured by a shaggy holly tree. “I couldn’t get two four-wheelers on such short notice, so we’ll have to walk all of it.”

  “How far?” Wayne asked.

  “Six miles each way, give or take. We’ll be back well before dark.” Sage adjusted her pack. “You brought enough water?”

  “Yup.” But only because we’d over packed. Next time, I needed to ask more questions.

  We set out, with Sage leading and Wayne taking up the rear. Under other circumstances, it would’ve been a lovely day and a fun hike, but comfortable t-shirt weather and sun didn’t make up for walking toward another unknown magical phenomena.

  I hadn’t even had time to research the first one, not beyond a few cursory internet searches. They hadn’t been overly helpful because “drained spot in the woods” wasn’t specific enough to the problem. Only I didn’t know what else to say.

  Times like this were when I missed the clan library the most. The answer would be in there, and in all likelihood, another clan member would know enough to put me on the right track. Olivia might give me access if I told her about the case, but that would break my vows to the TBI.

  Witch clans were masterful at crafting no-win situations. Shame they didn’t put that effort into actually helping the people who made up the clan.

  Four miles in, Sage led us onto a smaller trail. Even if we’d taken four-wheelers from the truck, they wouldn’t have made it down this path. It was hardly wider than a game trail, with tree branches going across every few feet. While they slowed me and Sage, Wayne had no such difficulties. The branches passed through him.

  Slowly, the feel of the forest changed. At first, I didn’t notice how few squirrels rummaged in the leaves or chattered at us as they darted up trees. Or the lack of bird song near us.

  By the time I realized how quiet the forest was around us, I also knew what Sage had meant about thousands of eyes watching. They seemed to be studying me from every direction. Only when I probed, I couldn’t find the source of the sensation. They didn’t show up in my regular vision or when I switched over to see magic. To the best of my ability to sense, they weren’t real at all.

  Drawing my wand, I took point and led us the last of the way to the dead area.

  Sage’s description hadn’t done the scene justice. Small mounds of bones dotted the forest floor, each marking where a creature had died. Looming over them were trees speckled black with a blight that would eventually kill them. The earth itself appeared normal, which hadn’t been true at the last site.

  In the center of the poisoned area lay a slab of rock with a small wooden box resting on top. Each side of the box was flanked by fat candles of indistinct coloration. I didn’t see any sacrifices, though all the small animals who’d died could be standing in place of a larger sacrifice.

  Three feet from the slab, a punch of foul power rose up from the altar.

  I stumbled back, throwing up the strongest shields I could muster and adding a layer of crude purification to it. “Don’t come any closer. The foulness is stronger here than at the last place. And don’t touch anything without gloves.”

  With the shields keeping the magical remains at bay, I walked around the altar. The stone slab could’ve been from anywhere, and it was devoid of any markings. The box and candles were equally bare. Odd. Most witches doing a powerful spell would’ve used runes, etching them into the stone, wood, and wax.

  Harris pulled a camera out of his pack. “I’ll get some photographs.”

  I stood back, trying to figure out what ritual had happened here and why Cheatham had become the hub for deadly and mysterious spells.

  “What do you think?” Sage asked.

  “Don’t know yet.” I tugged the hand-held Energy Sensor out of my bag. It wasn’t as precise as the full-sized units, but it fit in the palm of my hand, and once turned on, a needle would identify the type of energy residue as evil, neutral, or good. Courts and nonmagical types liked the meters because it gave a reading they could easily understand rather than me trying to explain a feeling. “Just a second.”

  The power switch clicked to on, and I held the Energy Sensor out so Sage could see. The dial went from Neutral to Evil in one motion. It landed at the far side of evil, quivering against the bar that limited its movement.

  Sage swallowed hard. “How bad is that?”

  “It literally says Evil, so this isn’t great news.” But it was puzzling.

  Evil magic was rare. Even with everything that had happened to CJ, a meter wouldn’t have said he was evil but instead on the wrong side of neutral. Whatever happened here was an entirely different magnitude of terrible. Not a great thought, since the blood magic had made CJ eat people.

  “I can see that,” Sage said sourly. “What I don’t know is how that scale quantifies evil. Would killing one person create a similar reading? Or would it take multiple murders?”

  A floral scent reached my nose. “Do you smell that?”

  Sage blinked at me. “I don’t see how scent is relevant to a discussion about evil. And this entire area stinks of death.”

  “Not that, the floral scent. It’s subtle, but I’m getting that along with the rot and death.” My stomach clenched, and not from the foul odors.