I had 99 problems, and my stalker was 98.

  “Pine, it’s Agent Mitchell. I’ve got another case that needs your attention.”

  “It’s four in the morning,” I groaned. At least I’d slept long enough for the headache to go away, and both pools of magic were back. “Whose bad side did you end up on to get stuck with endless night shifts?”

  “You’re funny.” Fatigue laced her voice. “I’m looking at a deer, or what’s left of one, that bears a striking resemblance to the body we looked at two days ago.”

  “Narzel…” I scrambled out of bed. “Send me the address. I’ll be there as soon as I can, and I’m sorry about the night shift joke. Forgot you’re a dark elf.”

  “Thanks, and don’t worry about it.” She hung up.

  A moment later, my phone dinged with an address not far from my place, along the lake in Long Hunter State Park. The mile marker that came with the address wasn’t encouraging.

  By the time the tea brewed, I was dressed and holding a protein bar that would have to count for breakfast. Fabian grumbled a bit at the hour, but I could hardly blame him. The engine, and therefore the heat, barely had time to warm up before we crossed the bridge and the flashing lights caught my attention. I parked with other police cars in a gravel lot.

  With Mitchell’s words still ringing in my ears, I took the time to grab the purification kit and settle it around my waist. I closed Fabian’s trunk and took a deep breath of clean evening air: pine, water, and a touch of death.

  I hadn’t even crossed the police line when I spotted the deer. It wasn’t a great feat on my part. Portable lights shone on the carcass like mini suns. Thanks to my family, I’d seen half-eaten animals in daylight. Night didn’t do this creature any favors, with hard shadows giving the scene a grimmer cast.

  That was me, the mighty necromancer who looked at deer remains and saw spooky. The clan really had something to fear.

  “Pine, what do you make of it?” Agent Mitchell broke away from the group studying the remains from a respectable distance. Even night couldn’t hide the fatigue lines etched into her face.

  It took a moment to adjust my shields. They went from blocking out everything to letting me sense magic through them. The deer was awash with magic. Not just any magic, but blood magic. “It’s like before.”

  Mitchell swore and rocked back on her heels. “That’s not good.”

  “Nope.” I gave the deer and surrounding grass, which was speckled with bits of magic and likely the blood carrying it, a critical assessment. “Move everyone back a few more feet. The magic spread a bit.”

  She shouted over her shoulder. Everyone retreated twice as far as they had to. “What else can you tell me? And can you flag the danger zone?”

  “Yes to the second, and not much to the first. It looks like the same magic as from the previous scene, and I promised the medical examiner I wouldn’t destroy it until he got here.” I met her puzzled look with my own dry interpretation. “Apparently, he wants a better idea of how the blood magic, and its removal, affected the remains.”

  “Ah. Well, in that case, I’ll keep everyone out of the way while you flag it, and then we can enjoy this balmy early morning together.” Her smile was on the toothy side.

  “Can’t wait.” The breeze picked up across the water and found a sliver of exposed skin on my neck. A chill raced down my spine. Biting back unprofessional words, I adjusted my scarf. “I’ll get those flags.”

  It didn’t take that long to mark off the area. I found a three-foot-wide path that could fit two people examining the deer and marked it before doing a circle around the rest of the blood magic. Then I joined Mitchell and two locals as we shivered and waited for Nash.

  “I promise I called him and forensics,” Mitchell grumbled.

  I stuck my gloved hands up close to my armpits. As much as I wanted to complain, he had to get the van from work before he could come out to the scene. That added time to his commute. Frankly, I was lucky to have gotten around that, but there were several medical examiners and only one police witch. I’d used that to my advantage to supply two kits, one for my work car and one for personal, as well as permission to take off-hour calls in my car, specifically ones where the scene was secure.

  This was secure, but for the ten cars there were only five of us out here, one standing next to the “do not cross” line and four of us huddled together shivering. “Where are the rest of the officers?”

  Mitchell jerked her chin toward a set of wobbling lights in the distance that I’d figured were out on the water. “Looking for other deer. I thought about how much damage was done to the body and figured there could be more than one kill. This one was visible from the road, called in a few hours ago by a concerned citizen on their way home from working swing shift.”

  “Any dogs out?” They wouldn’t be trained for something like this, but I hadn’t met a dog that wouldn’t run to deer remains.

  “No.” An officer with a City of Nashville badge piped up. “Only one on duty is working a drug case on the other side of town. We’re on their list, but I’m not holding my breath.”

  I nodded. “After I help Nash with this scene here, I’ll look too.”

  “Thanks.” Mitchell blew on her hands. “Later, I’d like you to come with me for an interview.”

  My pulse picked up. “What?” It took a minute for my tired brain to figure out she wanted me to go with her, not to interview me. “I mean, who?”

  If she noticed my momentary panic, she didn’t mention it. “Alpha of the local wolves. Yesterday, I called to inquire about a missing werewolf and was told they didn’t have any missing wolves.” She quirked an eyebrow.

  “Are they hiding a wolf?” That didn’t make much sense. They’d have to know we wouldn’t stop looking simply because they said the wolf wasn’t one of theirs.

  “Neither. Turns out the owner of the shop, CJ, is a lone wolf. They’ve been trying to get him to join for two years, but he likes being a lone wolf.” Mitchell gave me a look. “I want you in case they’ve gotten hold of some blood magic.”

  “I’m going to the office after this. Give me a call when you’re ready.” I’d have another report to write, the fun part of my job that never made it onto the TV shows.

  Headlights cut across our group. The van settled in next to a car, and the shiny letters on the side caught the light, spelling out Medical Examiner. Time to get to work.

  Nash got out of the van. As much as I enjoyed looking at him, elves set unrealistic standards for the rest of us. The four of us humanoids looked like we needed a good night’s rest, concealer for the bags under our eyes, and fillers for the lines. His Elfness appeared fresh as a dew-kissed flower, not a line or dark circle daring to mar his face, hair pulled back in three French braids. Each of those would’ve taken me near an hour to get right and wouldn’t have looked half as tidy.

  I started his way as he suited up in coveralls. “You made it.”

  “Hope you weren’t waiting too long.” He flashed a cheerful grin. “It’s going to be a beautiful morning. I can feel it.”

  I asked the earth for patience before I opened my mouth. “It’s a crime scene, Nash.”

  His grin faded. “Yes, of an animal corrupted with blood magic. An atrocity we are here to investigate so we can catch the person or creature with such disdain for life and foul practices. I am aware of the job.”

  “Most people don’t seem so cheerful at crime scenes.” It wasn’t an apology, but it would have to do.

  “This is a beautiful sunrise. I’ll not let a monster steal my joy in the earth and sun celebrating a new day.” He snatched a case out of the van and shut the door harder than necessary.

  Elves.

  I turned and marched toward the carcass. No matter how beautiful the sunrise, in this space, there was less joy. Blood magic was evil, and its type of evil liked to spread.

  People had been saying similar things about necromancers. Now wasn’t that a comforting thought?

  “Thank you for marking safe passage.” Nash came up beside me and studied the flags. “How high off the ground and the remains does the magic extend?”

  I pulled my thoughts back to the current problem, ignoring the pool of cold power in me. “Not far. Stay a couple of inches away and you should be fine.”

  Nash carefully followed the path and crouched a foot from the dead deer. “I’m not seeing any knife marks. The teeth impressions are similar, can’t say if it’s the same werewolf or not. The deer though, a good portion of the meat is gone. Unlike last time, this does look like a meal for a hungry carnivore. A doe this size has about forty pounds of what humans consider meat, more for a werewolf.”

  “Got it.” Mitchell finished adding the information to her note pad.

  Since this was way out of my area, I waited for the doctor to come to something that needed my help.

  “What kind of magic are you finding?” Nash asked.

  Wishing there was a less dangerous way to verify what my eyes were telling me, I extended a delicate probe over the deer. As before, I found spell fragments. They were a bit more intact. “A type of stimulant for the body. It’s a harsh spell, but I still can’t tell what it’s stimulating.”

  Nash backed away from the deer. “Can you purify it? I want to feel how it changes.”

  I started walking in a circle around the deer, dropping a line of salt and herbs. “Watch your eyes. The humans at the last scene could see the magic.”

  “Got it.”

  With the circle closed, I levitated the rune-embroidered cloth into the center and started the spell. It wasn’t as corrupted as last time, so it didn’t take as much power. The magic started dark before glowing gold. I closed the spell and carefully tucked the cloth back into its bag.

  “Not enough of a warning, Pine.” Nash glared in my general direction in between rubbing his eyes. Behind him, another set of headlights moved across the group as the forensics van parked.

  “How was I supposed to know how bright it would look to an elf? I have witch eyes!”

  Nash glared at me again before stomping over to the deer. This time, he rested a gloved finger against an intact part of the hide. Seconds ticked by. He lifted his hand away from the deer. “I’ll need the lab to confirm, but it seems like it stimulated the adrenal system, even after the deer died.”

  “That’s not supposed to happen, right?” Dead was dead. Unless I’d had another necromancy accident.

  “Body systems can keep working for a short while, but not usually to this extent.” Nash waved over the waiting crime techs. “I’ll be ordering more tests on the previous victim.”

  “I want to know as soon as you get official results.” Mitchell eyed the body. “First a humanoid and now a deer. Werewolf or big canine?”

  “I’ll run some tests.” He frowned at her. “Evidence from the first body was werewolf.”

  Mitchell’s phone rang. She answered and then pivoted until she was looking roughly north. “Be there soon.” She hung up and pointed at Nash and me. “You two, come. We’ve got another deer three-quarters of a mile that way.”

  Predawn had lightened the night sky. Between us and the direction Mitchell indicated, the lake curved, and a thick strip of trees blocked us from seeing shore. Before leaving, I ran a critical eye over the group. No one had any blood magic clinging to them. Good, the procedures were working.

  Mitchell and Nash were ahead of me, but a short jog closed the distance. I unsheathed my wand before we got to the woods, where it would be easier to ambush us. Call it self-preservation or paranoia, but I didn’t want to be on the menu for hungry blood magic or a hungry werewolf.

  We made it through the woods and to what passed for a beach without incident. The two officers were standing well back from the carcass, probably because this one smelled more than the last one. Or it smelled different, more putrid and less bloody.

  “Do you want to look at it before I purify the area?” The officers were contaminated, as was a sizable area around the deer. Likely the blood had splattered more, as this kill wasn’t as tidy.

  Nash shrugged. “I think I got what I needed.”

  “Mitchell?” I asked.

  “Do what you need to do.” Fatigue laced her voice.

  “Got it.” That was all I needed. The officers were more than happy to cooperate, and I had them and the contaminated areas surrounded by salt in no time. “Watch your eyes, Nash.”

  “I’m not an idiot, Pine.”

  Smiling slightly, I started the purification. It took more magic than the last one, but it was a larger and more heavily contaminated area, so that was to be expected. By the time I closed the spell, I was ready for a big breakfast and rest before I had to cast again. Purification spells were power-hungry, and last night hadn’t done my reserves any favors.

  “All clear.” I gave the officers a reassuring smile. “No more blood magic.”

  While they thanked me, Nash examined the remains. He was still squinting at the deer’s neck when Mitchell rescued me from the officers. I half-listened to her questioning them about the find and half-watched Nash. Other than being concerned about the werewolf coming back, they hadn’t seen anything but the mangled deer, which Nash was finding worth extensive study.

  Mitchell had the officers setting up a perimeter when Nash stood up, looked at the deer, and headed over to Mitchell and me. “Initial exam indicated this deer was killed about twenty-four hours ago by the same creature. I’ll have to do a full exam to verify that.”

  My stomach growled. “Sorry, too much magic with too little food.”

  “It happens.” Mitchell said.

  Nash just looked at me.

  If we kept working together, I’d have to ask what his problem was. Until then, I wanted to find waffles. “Do either of you need me to do anything else?”

  “Perhaps after I have a chance to run some tests. But not now.” Nash sighed. “Until the forensic team is done, all I can do is wait.”

  Mitchell sighed. “I can’t think of anything else for you to do here. I’ll meet you later to talk to the alpha.”

  “I’ll be ready.” I glanced at Nash. “Let me know if you need anything.”

  The walk back to my car wasn’t as creepy. Even this early, when my alarm would be getting ready to go off, morning light filtered through the trees, reducing the shadows that could hide a werewolf.

  I set the purification pouch back in Fabian’s trunk. As I pulled onto the road, I made a mental note to restock. I only had one more ritual’s worth of salt. With the number of scenes I’d dealt with so far, that simply wasn’t enough.

  My stomach rumbled again. “Hush, you. We’re almost there.”

  I took a right into Narzel Blast! I’m Awake!, my favorite breakfast diner. Even at this hour, their parking lot was half-full, but I managed to find a spot near the front door. A wave of warmth chased the cold away when I walked inside.

  The entrance could’ve been from any diner, with a bench seat along the wall and a hostess station weighed down by a stack of menus. The real character was further inside, where wallpaper featuring various explosions provided a backdrop for quotes. Featured squarely on the wall between the dining room and kitchen, bold letters proclaimed, “Caffeine, then blast Narzel!”

  Tomasina, full-time employee and brownie, hurried over. Like usual, her near-black hair was pulled into a tidy bun, and her red lipstick was as bright as ever. A single menu floated off the pile. “Just you?”

  The door opened, stealing the heat. Tea. I really needed tea to go with those waffles. “Yup.”

  “Pine, is that you?”

  I turned, hoping it wasn’t who I thought. “Harris.”

  He grinned cheerfully. “I told you, off work, it’s Wayne.”

  All I wanted to do was growl. Right now, he was standing between me and my food.

  “One or two?” Tomasina asked, another menu already lifting off the pile.

  “You don’t mind, do you?” His smile faded a touch.

  Narzel blast. It would be like kicking a puppy. “No.” At least this way, he wouldn’t be between me and my food.

  “Follow me.” Tomasina headed into the dining room, menus floating behind her. Three other brownies with dishes floating around them served customers and cleared tables. She took us to a booth in the very back, directly under a heating vent.

  I all but dove into the warm stream of air, leaving Harris to take the other seat. He settled in with an amused expression. Tomasina took our drink and breakfast order before hurrying off.

  Harris leaned against the table. “You are looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning.”

  “It’s been a long day,” I said dryly.

  Tomasina returned with a tray of beverages, water for both of us, coffee for Harris, and tea for me. “Your food will be out soon.”

  He waited until she walked away. “Only a case would have you out of bed and looking so official.”

  I’d forgotten I was wearing my TBI jacket. “Marvelous powers of observation.”

  “Mm-hmm.” He sipped his coffee. “Any relation to your other two cases? The incident at Get Magic Goods ended up on my desk.”

  “That’s right, ballistics.” Since I’d been involved in the incident, the investigation portion hadn’t been my job.

  Tomasina delivered our food, and I dug into the blueberry compote-slathered waffle. “How’s that going?”

  “Good.” He shoved a forkful of eggs in his mouth. “Need to recheck some calculations and finish up the final report this morning.”

  “Hence the early morning.”

  “Yup.” He poked at his omelet. “Every time I go through it, I can’t believe what Jameson did.”

  It felt like the last bite of waffles was lodged in my throat. I tried to wash away the sensation with water, but it only partly worked. Maybe one day I wouldn’t blame myself, but today wasn’t that day. “I wish I’d done more.”

  “Hey.” Harris pulled my attention away from my plate. Like a few days ago, he offered a mix of compassion and a haunting shadow of similar regrets. “I’ve gone through the scene at least a dozen times. It wasn’t your fault.”