Janice drove while Duke spoke on the phone. He wanted to notify Windi of what they had discovered. Working with DH was an unstable relationship. Duke fed them information, they refused to help fix his problems, but they did give him opportunities to feed. In a way, it wasn’t much better than what Kenelm had wanted to do with those jiangshi.

“It’s not as easy as approaching the tribes directly,” explained Windi. “We must have evidence that they were in the wrong first before we even approach them.”

“I will ask Verlsa to scan the documents and process them into a PDF. She will be able to email it to you,” replied Duke.

“Yes… Thank you…” Muttered the over 200-year-old Windi.

Duke realized his mistake and backtracked on his statement. “Is there someone at your organization who is better suited to be the recipient of such items?”

“I will have Vila contact you. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”

Janice looked at him out of the corner of her eye as he hung up. “Adi is going to be safe, right?”

“Verlsa is an excellent caretaker. She will keep him safe,” replied Duke. The looked around as they pulled up to the farm. “I do not expect you to work on reconnaissance. You do what you can to ease the mood and I will ask around to see what the denizens know.”

They entered as a pair and saw that the fights were already in full swing. The naga from before was fighting against a tiger. Duke was happy to see that those here held just as much regard towards endangered species as they did towards mithryn, and he felt joy in a strong, sarcastic sort of way. He scoffed at the scene as they headed towards the rooms.

Kenelm was wearing nothing but a silk robe as he relaxed upon his couch. He was scratching behind the ear of a woman neither Duke or Janice recognized, but she was wearing a leopard printed catsuit with an interesting zipper placement. They were watching the fight together on a large flat screen.

“The deal with my women is that they are supposed to stay by my side for when they’re needed,” scolded Kenelm as his eyes locked onto Janice. “I am simply not a plaything for you to have at night.” He scratched behind the new girl’s ears harder, and she let out a purring sound.

Janice also began to purr. “Aww, Kenny.” She walked over and rubbed a hand sensually against his shoulder. “It was so generous that you got me a new playmate. I can’t wait to play with the both of you together.”

Kenelm wasn’t amused. “And how will I know that you won’t run off again?”

Duke partially raised his hand. “I would like to know what work there is assigned for me to do today.”

A scoff escaped Kenelm’s lips. “We are stuck in a limbo as we lay low for the time being. I have no urges to go out and sightsee for the time being. You are free to do as you wish, but be certain that I will not be paying for time not spent with me or my entourage.”

“Understood, sir.”

Duke quickly excused himself while Kenelm made up ways he was going to punish Janice’s lack of loyalty. Some of the entourage retired early, but Enid stayed up late. She was in the bedroom, watching the fight by herself. Tinnlie, the female fairy of the group, was sprawled out on the bed.

Enid was sitting next to the bed, and she and Tinnlie were splitting a bowl of popcorn while they watched Star Trek. Sci-Fi shows were especially popular among the mithryn crowd. Worlds where humanity worked hand in hand with humanoid creatures without fear of prejudice. Twas the dream that was denied to the majority of them.

“Evening,” muttered Duke as he walked over. He stood behind Enid, leaned against the nightstand, and watched the show with them for a time.

“Where are you always hopping off to?” Enid looked over her shoulder.

“Elixir is fine and all, but the warmth of a human life is far more satisfying,” he replied coldly. Enid shrugged and turned back around. A few moments passed before Duke spoke again. “Pardon for the intrusion, but is the reason for your presence here due to you not being close to a pack?”

Enid looked over her shoulder again, this time with a harsh glare. “We don’t call it a pack,” she growled out. Duke raised an eyebrow, and she replied with a sigh. “We’re tribes. Packs are wild animals. And for your information, I am in between tribes at the moment. When we come of age, we venture out into the world and decide if we are going to rejoin our own tribe or join another.”

Tinnlie grinned widely. “And we are going to spend Enid’s freedom partying!”

That was pleasant and all, but Duke needed Enid for information about the tribes. “I heard an ill rumor from my nest that a hunter has taken up working again. Former associates of a man named Wenzel Wulfert.” Duke paused, only now realizing what a horrid name the man had been cursed with. “Regardless, I had heard he had died in Seattle, and that the tribes might know more.”

All Enid had wanted to do was to enjoy an evening relaxing, but this vampire was trying to ask her all sorts of annoying questions. “I hadn’t heard of him.”

“Those of my nest had informed me that Mister Wulfert had been massacred by werewolves. He was torn asunder in his own home.”

“And my kind doesn’t kill any humans in Seattle. That’s the treaty we have with the SIA. Any humans who find out about our world or interfere with it are to be reported to them. If your brood is being bothered by organ hunters, they should report them too.” She grinned. “Oh wait, you can’t. SIA will be more than happy to tear apart hoppers like you.”

Tinnlie rolled closer to the edge of the bed and pawed at Enid’s leg. “Heeey. Let’s be nice, okay? We should just all watch the show together and play games afterward, right?”

“He isn’t our friend. He’s Kenny’s employee, and he’s staying here when we leave.” Tinnlie pawed at her leg again while pouting. “Fine.” She looked over to Duke again. “We’re going to be playing Carcassonne after this episode. It’s this weird board game where you build and claim cities, but Tinnlie loves it. You going to be around?”

“Perhaps at a later date. Kenelm has notified me that he will not be needing my services this evening, and I will be leaving again shortly to get myself another meal.” Duke put his hands on his hips as Tinnlie rolled on her back and began to paw at the air near him. “A man has got to eat.”

As he excused himself, Duke retrieved his phone. He began to text Windi. DH would either have records for Wenzel Wulfert or be able to get them from the SIA. Small steps at a time. They will find out who is behind these murders.

***

Adi eyed Sable as she paced back and forth by the patio door. She was whining, but she would block him off if he attempted to open it. “Did Sable get dinner?”

“Yeah, I fed her some beef tail and gave her a piece of yam afterward,” called back Verlsa. She was working on the couch.

He continued to watch her as she paced about. “You spoil her too much.”

“She still thinks she’s a dog. Let her do dog things,” replied Verlsa.

Adi saw some bushes in his backyard rustle about. “Sable.” The dog looked up at him. “It’s probably just a raccoon.” She growled. “You’re the one who is supposed to guard this house, and you let one little raccoon bother you?” She growled again, this time in a low and deathly tone. “I will chase it off myself then in order to show you how it’s done.”

Sable immediately grabbed onto the hem of his shirt and began to tug on it. Adi ignored her and flung open the patio door. He had to brace himself, and he held his arms up as he was assaulted by a strong gust of wind. Verlsa let out a yelp and began to flail about in an effort to stop all of her papers from flying about.

“Shut the door!”

Adi immediately shut it. “Yeah, sorry.” Sable continued to growl loudly while tugging on his shirt. “Let go.” He flicked her nose, which startled her. She began to bark loudly at him. “What is your problem?”

“Because you didn’t listen to her,” muttered Verlsa. “She wants to protect you, and you go against what she asks.”

Adi began to head to his room. “Right, right. I’ll make sure to not give her a reason to bark at me again,” he muttered as Sable continued to growl at him.

Verlsa continued to pick up and organize papers. It wasn’t long before Sable’s growling had stopped completely. Adi returned shortly. He had put on a jacket and was heading towards the front door. His hand was digging around his pocket as he looked for his car keys.

“What are you doing?” Verlsa looked up from her work, too tired to deal with anything at the moment.

“Getting munchies,” he calmly replied.

“... Why?”

“Because why does anyone get munchies?” Adi smoked an invisible joint to demonstrate his point.

Verlsa looked from Adi to her work, to Adi again. “I’ll go.” She stood up and began to put on her own jacket.

“Cool. I want-”

“Nope. The only thing that goes with weed is my stoner rice.” Verlsa frowned as Adi stared at her in a bewildered manner. “It’s curry fried rice mixed with pepper bacon, crispy chow mein noodles, and topped with teriyaki glazed dinosaur chicken nuggets.”

“That sounds amazing, but way too much effort for a blunt,” replied Adi.

“We have almost everything for it, I just need to pick up the chicken nuggets,” said Verlsa. “I just need you to put a few strips of bacon in the oven at 400 for twelve to fifteen minutes.”

Verlsa headed out and picked up everything she needed plus a little bit extra. Her phone began to ring as she was on her way back. Duke was calling. First, he refused to answer her calls, but now he wouldn’t stop bothering her.

“Yeah?”

Duke spoke in a hushed tone, and Verlsa could hear that he was driving in the background. “I have had some time to think about it, and I believe that you and Atticus should head to a pet-friendly hotel immediately.”

“We’re fine at the house, Duck-young. Even if the inugami shows up, it’s only going to be one guy. I can handle one guy.”

“I have a different concern,” he muttered. “I spoke with Windi, and she passed on the details of the case involving Atticus’ uncle. When SIA contacted the tribes, they provided evidence that Mister Wulfert was in the organ trade, and that they were concerned that he was a victim of self-defense. The victim was likely in hiding out of fear of what would happen to them if they came forward, as part of the treaty states that the werewolves are not to take actions against humans directly.”

“And they bought that fuckload of lies?”

“Precisely. However, the more I think about it, the more I believe that this is simply the hypothesis the tribes came up with, and they themselves know little of what is happening. If the targets were known, why use the inugami to possess those around them? Mister Wulfert was enough to get revenge against his sons, and Atticus, and then he would have either killed himself or gone to jail for murder. Even a foolish killer wouldn’t choose such a roundabout method to finish the crime.”

Verlsa pulled to a stop at a red light. “Robbie’s boss was the one possessed. If it were me, I would’ve targeted him to use against Atticus, but it was mentioned that he married a gypsy. I was thinking that they used some sort of magical protection.”

Duke pulled up to in front of Adi’s house and stopped the car. “I hold a different theory. What if the inugami is unable to possess the members of the Wulfert family? Or if the possession doesn’t work properly? There is some evidence among the family’s records that show that they may have been true hunters at one time. That role may have been brought about due to some natural resistances against harmful magic.

Windi was given pictures of Mister Wulfert’s body, and she theorized that he was attacked by a large dog or wolf, not a werewolf. I believe that the inugami did attempt to possess Mister Wulfert, was somehow driven back, and as it panicked for a solution, accidentally killed him in process.”

The news worried Verlsa. “Even if the inugami could attack Adi directly, Sable has been protecting him. Robbie was an ass by calling Adi out in the open, but we can handle it.”

“I fear that I may have weakened him. When we faced off against the wendigo, I felt as though I wouldn’t be able to safely fight the creature and protect Adi at the same time. I consumed much of his energy in an effort to give the creature trouble in tracking him. It may have weakened his natural resistances against possession.”

“He still has Sable and me. If it makes you comfortable, then Adi and I will take Sable and head out to a hotel a few hours south. We’ll make our way to Portland or something.” Verlsa pulled up to the house as well, frowning at the sight of Janice’s car in the driveway. “Did you seriously not trust me enough to watch Adi on my own? Where’s his car? Did you kidnap him?”

Duke was in Adi’s bedroom. “I fear not. You should come inside.”

He looked down at Sable with a frown. The poor barghest had her legs wrapped up in duct tape, and her muzzle was so covered that she couldn’t even breathe. Duke knelt down and began to do what he could to work the tape off of her.

“Oh, god.” Verlsa stared at the scene from the doorway. She pulled a knife from her pocket and began to cut the dog free. Sable began to whine loudly and struggle against her bindings. “It’s okay, girl. We got you.”

“I haven’t had the chance to look around yet. It’s quite possible that Atticus is lying dead in some other part of the house or the backyard.” Duke took a step back so Verlsa could do the brunt of the work. Touching the dog made him nervous, and he preferred to not do it.

Verlsa shook her head. “I think something happened to him. There was a strong gust of wind when he opened the back door for Sable, and he tried to leave on a snack run right afterward. Bastard took off when I went off for him. She smiled as Sable stood up. “It’s okay. Sable is going to be the one to fix this.”