We slipped down the stairs along with the stream of people evacuating the building. There were a few police and firemen running up, huffing and puffing and generally looking stressed out. Considering they probably were worried about further bombs, I suppose they had just cause. I would have told them it was merely exploding shifter wizard minions, but I doubted that would have soothed them.

Once we were out of the building, we simply walked past the fire barges floating in the street and traveled a few blocks to a pub. Slipping inside, we found a dark cozy nook in the corner of the room and ordered a couple of steaks. She ordered a beer and I had a root beer. I think she gave me an odd look, but I ignored her in favor of savoring the sarsaparilla flavoring. When alcohol, stimulants, and other drugs have no effect you take your pleasures where you can.

The pub was made up in a style I recognized from Jeremy’s old movies as the 1930s era. A tiny model train slowly chugged around the wall that didn’t seem like an authentic period decoration. Still, all in all, the décor was set firmly in a simpler time, long before cars flew and nanites melted Australia.

Sighing in bliss at the sweet carbonated goodness, I started the conversation. “So what's a cute werewolf like you doing in a dump like this?” I think I heard a line like that somewhere on our movie nights.

She started and then chuckled, “Well, you brought me here, so you'd know best. Besides, I am not.”

“You're not what?” I asked, having lost track of the conversation. It was a bad sign considering we had just started.

“I am not a werewolf,” she stated calmly, examining me for a reaction.

“Oh. Er... panther?” I offered as a suggestion.

“No.”

“Tabby cat?” This merely garnered a look of mild disdain.

There was a moment of silence. I guess I didn't need to know her sub-species, but it boded ill to a possible partnership if she wasn't willing to share even this much. I hoped she wasn’t a were-elephant. It would feel weird.

“What were you doing in my apartment?”

“Trying to interrogate the people I found there,” I offered. “They didn't seem to belong there.”

The steaks arrived, and we were distracted for a few minutes eating. Both hers and mine were extremely rare. I mentally checked were-elephant and were-whale off my mental list. I suppose a were-killer-whale was possible even though I had never heard of one. Would they be called were-orcas? I finished first since I tend to gulp my food and started another conversational gambit.

“You're Mei Ling?” I asked. It never hurts to be sure you are talking to the right person.

“Yes.” I waited for more. “I’m Derek,” I offered to fill in the silence. After watching her eat for a few minutes, I figured I would start conversational gambit number two.

“So, how is your quest going to kill that wizard guy?”

She stopped her methodical eating and stared at me. I think it was that domination thing that animals do to one another but I wasn't really sure.

“Um... does that mean not so good?” I offered, to fill in the silence. Maybe I should have asked Jeremy to join us. He is good at this talking thing and he could use a few good meals after getting shot.

“No, not so good. My best lead just blew up my apartment,” she spat sarcastically. I did my best to look wounded and innocent.

“Hey, the wizard obviously had the true names of his employees inscribed in a circle of death and was keeping watch on them with a scrying spell.” I shrugged. “I refuse to take responsibility for the actions of evil wizards. It's like the weather and acts of God, even insurance people won't touch that.”

I think I may have seen a hint of a smile, before something I said caught her attention. “You know what the wizard did?”

“Well, it's an educated guess. I know the generals of how magic works, but not how to cast the specific spells,” I hedged. “That would be one way to do it. Rune magic could theoretically do it too, but that is a lot more overkill. Frankly, if it was rune magic you'd probably already be dead.”

“Do not be so sure,” she said with a faraway look in her eyes. “He has had opportunities to kill me many times and has not taken it.” Her voice hardened as she continued. “I will not make that mistake if ever our roles are changed.”

“Hmm. So hopefully you kill him before he summons hordes of demons and does his ‘take over the world’ stick,” I said while waving down a waitress to order some dessert. I ordered three, because well... I like sweet things and I don't have to worry about getting fat. My guess was actually a shot in the dark, but evil mages usually want power. Often it’s power that pure magic can’t give them. The taking over the world bit was a standard ploy though the ‘world’ could be swapped with ‘country’, ‘city’, ‘town’, or even ‘sandbox’. I was even less sure about the demon part, but I had seen that often enough in my home town and it meshed well with the henchman’s final words. What can I say? Demons are cheap labor. They work for the opportunity for slaughter and an occasional soul.

“You must be hungry,” she offered, her eyes slightly wide after hearing my desert list. She hadn’t even twitched at my suggestion. Maybe I was off base on the demon part.

“Not really”, I muttered, thinking ahead to the food I was getting.

“Why were you looking for me?”

“Well, I am something of an occult researcher and...” I was about to give her the entire spiel when she interrupted.

“You cannot have the sword,” she stated flatly. I think I still had my mouth open at this time.

“Um. Okay, no sword. Got it,” I answered, somewhat confused. “Anyway, I heard you were out to kill an evil wizard and I thought that, hey evil wizards have occult books and second, dead evil wizards don't need their occult books anymore.”

“So you don't want my sword?” she asked, looking somewhat doubtful.

“No, thanks, I already have a sword,” I haltingly said. Perhaps she was mentally slow. A pity, she seemed nice when she wasn’t scaring the shit out of the werewolves. “I need books, not swords.” I saw that she was about to protest and continued. “Not that your sword isn't nice.” I waved my hands at her placating. “It seems to be an artifact level rune sword and considering it's in this dimension, that dates it way back at least 6,000 years ago by either a rogue dwarf or a smith-based god.” I paused in thought. “It could be more recent if it came outside this dimension, but it's hard to tell since I only saw it for a second.”

This seemed to quiet her down for a moment. “You seem fairly knowledgeable about magic.” She grudgingly admitted.

“It's what I do these days.”

“So, how would you go about summoning a demon,” she asked.

I could see where this was going but at least we were past the one-syllable answers. Awesome! I had guessed right about the stereotypical magical cheap labor. I have to admit they are superior to werewolf thugs on the minion power scale.

“Well, that depends on if I was a verbal type caster or a circle user,” I paused to let her fill in the blank. She just stared at me, so I sighed and continued. “If he's a circle user, you're screwed. Ritualistic magic isn't as flashy or flexible as verbal magic. It can take hours or days to cast and the ingredients are expensive and rare... however it's also great for slowly gathering and focusing huge amounts of energy. It's perfect for summoning demons from Hell and there's no real limit on the time or place. Although these variables will still make energy gathering better or worse.”

“And if he's a verbal caster?” she asked dryly.

“Then he's going to have to scrimp and save for every jot of energy he can get,” I said with a grin. “That kind of magic is great for waving a hand and tossing a fireball or zapping someone with lightning, but people that do that usually don't have the deep resources that circles naturally build up throughout the procedure and store during the ritual.”

“If he's limited, how is it going to work?” she asked looking intently into my eyes. I seemed to have captured her attention for the moment.

“Well, he's going to have to do this where the walls between the worlds are weakest and at the highest magic flux.”

“Which would be...”

“At the crossing of ley lines during the solstice or equinox,” I said confidently. I thought of something. “Does he sacrifice people for energy? If he's a blood mage of some type he may be able to gather energy at a weaker node.”

“Node?” she asked in a confused tone.

“When ley lines cross, energy pools in the flows and you get nodes. Various cultures also call them other things but let’s just call them nodes. The more lines that cross, the more energy and the weaker the fabric of space.”

“Are there any in the city?”

“A few. The biggest is in Minerva Memorial Public Park. I doubt he'll be able to use that one unless he can find a way to get a few days alone.”

“Any others?”

“A lot of smaller ones but he'd have to be pretty powerful to make use of them.”

“He is pretty powerful,” she said quietly, almost talking to herself.

“If you can give me an idea of his powers I probably can be more specific,” I offered.

After almost a minute of silence, during which the desserts arrived and I started shoveling the food in my mouth, she began. “He appears to be a caster. I never saw him use a circle or found one in his manor houses once he abandons them. He does do that flashy magic you mentioned. Fire, lightning... wind.” Her voice became more contemplative. “I usually fight his minions, he has his reasons for not confronting me. Although lately, it seems easier to track him. I have heard that he is a shapeshifter, but he doesn’t seem to be limited to one animal form nor have I actually seen this. He also usually stays in his human form. All I have is hearsay on that.” That last part was disturbing. It automatically opened up the possibility that he wasn’t human and one of a slew of greater supernatural beings.

“Okay. Start with his minions. He blows them up so he must have some tricks.” I was personally wondering how you would blow a person up without a death circle.

“His followers are all devoted to him, sometimes mindlessly so. I have seen them throw themselves into suicidal situations without a thought. The exploding upon death or capture is new.” Now that she was talking, she seemed almost happy to unburden herself. “Most are shifters of some type and many have supernatural powers. He seems to have more werewolves than other kinds.”

“Powers? Like?” I prompted her.

“It's odd,” she stated, almost unsure of herself. “They seem unrelated. Some are unstoppable juggernauts, others are masters of elements, while others turn invisible or hurl bolts of force.”

My brow furrowed as I thought of what would bring such a wide range of supernaturals under the power of one wizard. “That’s quite an eclectic group you have there.”

“Yes.”

“Given that they can do all of that,” I paused thinking it through. “Why did the shifters we met in your suite have nothing?” A couple of lightning bolts would have made things more interesting.

“Jin just recently arrived in the city. I don’t know how he acquires new followers, but they all start off as normal shifters. I would bet that in a few weeks the ‘elite’ start showing up.”

That didn’t sound familiar. “Do these people have anything else in common?”

“They have strange designs inscribed on their bodies. These are the ones that can use powers that they didn’t previously have.”

Well damn. That didn’t narrow it down too much. Many demons and dragons can shapeshift. My breed for one are exceptional shapeshifters, which is why being trapped in human form was very stressful for me, but any except the very primitive breeds could do it. Demons usually only have a handful of shapes except for the Rakshasa. Those were accomplished shapeshifters and very master-plan-oriented. However, as a demon, they wouldn’t have much trouble summoning more. We would likely be up to our necks in minor demons if it was one of them. The good thing is they wouldn’t bring over greater demons for fear of being overthrown. It probably wasn’t a demon just based on that factor. Unless it was going to summon its master. That would be a worst-case scenario.

Assuming he isn't a random supernatural entity such as a demigod, it was very possible he was a dragon. I would normally sense another of my kind, but that can easily be shielded against. I know I personally do so on an almost unconscious level. Rune magic is pretty much forbidden; there’s no mystical commandment against it, but people that pursue it tend to disappear. However, there are other methods of impressing permanent or temporary abilities onto subjects. These range from inking magical sigils onto a person's skin to alchemical potions that grant temporary power or pacts with demons or elementals.

My breed is somewhat scholarly, as dragons go. My ancestors had dealings with most of the previously mentioned fields of magics. Since we are immune to most toxins, many pursued alchemy either as a hobby or a primary method of study. Even merely thinking about it, I could feel vague concepts and principles ready to bubble up through my subconscious mind. A similarly distracting sensation arose as I thought of painting spells onto a person's skin. Pushing this sensation aside, I concentrated once more on the issue at hand. With a few years of study, I could do everything the girl mentioned except the pacts. The very idea of making contracts with the vermin of the firmament gave me the creeps.

“You know something,” the little Asian girl said, staring intently at me.

“Well,” I paused, not really sure how I wanted to say this. “I have a much better idea of what his abilities are thanks to you.”

“And would you like to share this?” she asked sharply.

Not really, but my poker face really sucked. If I wanted to work with this girl I had to say something credible. I would try the truth. It's usually slippery enough to do the trick. “He could possibly be of a supernatural race some call,” I spit out a name, half cough, half growl. It actually was the term of the overall dragon race given to us by some extraplanar natives whose name wasn't important enough to be included in the racial memories.

“So he is not human or were,” she stated as if this actually explained something. “What is this race like?”

“Oh, a typical supernatural race of shapechangers, magically inclined. The rogue members are prone to have followers that behave like this fellow.”

“They are not all evil?”

“Generally not, most people believe they are extinct,” I added. It must be the scholar in me or I would have just shut up. It really could have been almost any dragon breed, but the description of his minions matched what our ancestral knowledge gave us more of a leg up on. If it wasn't one of our kind then it was likely a very old dragon that had time to branch out or a demon. I shivered as I felt phantom pains from the lines etched in my body. Did I really want to get involved in fighting an older dragon? I had lost everything that was dear to me the last time I had blindly played hero.

“What killed them?” she asked a bit too eagerly, obviously wanting a new weapon against her enemy. I could relate to that; however, this was not my favorite subject.

“Rumors say it was a plague.” I was pretty skeptical of this. We are almost immune to toxins, possessed an insane regeneration, and had the hardiness of our entire race. If it was a plague, it would not have been a natural one. Still, it is true that our numbers aren't what they once were. I have never seen another one of my particular breed since I was born. That’s not saying much considering my modest age.

“Hmm, useless,” she grunted. Couldn't argue with that. “How does this change your analysis?”

I hadn't realized I was analyzing anything, but if she was happy with me talking shop I was okay with that. “Well, it's harder to pin him down. As a major supernatural creature, he will have a larger energy reservoir than a mortal...”

“Mortal?” she asked sharply. “He isn't mortal?”

“I suppose it depends on how you define it. His kind grows old, but they never weaken by age, they only grow more powerful. Most grow bored with life after six to ten thousand years and just go to sleep and fade away.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“He can't be that old if he's playing ‘take over the world’ games,” I offered. Older dragons become more introverted. Wanting to rule the world is pretty immature. At least I was going to grasp that hope with both hands. “However, that means that he could probably make use of the lesser nexus point as opposed to requiring the big one.”

“Do you know where these are?”

“Not really,” I thought back to my travels through the city. I had passed over a few, but I had no doubts there were more. “I know where three are, but I haven't been in the city that long. Are you sure he won't change his mind about doing this in Arc? There are plenty of nodes outside the city.”

“My informants were very sure. For whatever reason, he will enact his plans here.”

“Do you intend to stake out every spot in the city?” I offered, somewhat dubious.

She was silent a moment. “No, I may be able to use the resources of the packs in the city.”

I was a bit surprised. “The packs are that organized? I had kind of thought the vampires had organized the entire legal thing where supernaturals got civil rights and they got dragged along for the ride.”

I was rewarded with a somewhat sour look. “Mostly true. The packs are organized on a smaller scale than vampires. If I want help from the packs, I will have to discuss it individually with each group.”

“And they will help you out of the goodness of their heart because of what an upstanding citizen you are,” I offered, with as much sincerity as I could muster. I was rewarded for my efforts by another glower.

“No,” she admitted reluctantly. “Likely, I will have to offer each pack a separate deal.”

“Sounds pricey. Too bad the mayor's idea of a separate supernatural police department isn't in place yet. I think you may have issues with the present police force when they find out you rented the rooms where the bombs went off.”

She gave a bitter chuckle. “There won't be any police involvement. Jin will ensure that any traces he or I were ever there are gone. His connections go deep everywhere I have gone.”

I contemplated her statement. In today's world of rather intrusive recordkeeping and holo cameras, it seemed more than odd that a master wizard could be a master hacker as well. It wasn't hard to fuzz sensors. I could do it with just my psychic abilities, and almost any supernatural creature's aura tends to make modern technology unreliable. This was the primary reason my appliances blew up daily, and I didn't have a reliably functioning vid terminal. However, computer records were utterly different. This meant that he had most likely enslaved some poor soul to do his dirty work for him. Or maybe he just paid well. Considering I had seen firsthand his retirement plan, I was guessing on the first.

“Hmm. Well, I think support for the new department will get a boost tonight. When the dust settles, I can ask Conrad to give us a hand.”

This seemed to perk her interest a bit. “Why, what's happening tonight?”

“The police department is going to storm a magic user's lair. I suggested they gather a posse of shifters and vampires, but they seemed pretty skeptical.” I shrugged as I took another bite of pie. “I figure when most of the humans die in the raid, it will either trigger an anti-paranormal riot or allow the mayor to get the support he needs for the new department.”

I enjoyed my dessert in silence until I realized it had been going on for a while. Looking up, I saw the girl staring at me in horror. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

“How can you just sit there knowing they are going to die?” she demanded imperiously.

“Um, I don't know,” I muttered. She seemed upset; I wondered if this was a human thing or a woman thing. “The police asked my advice. I gave it to them. If they ignore it and die...” I waived my spoon in tiny circles.

“But you know they will ignore it,” she stated.

“I know nothing of the sort. It's just very likely. It's not like I spoke in riddles. I gave them step-by-step advice in storming the home of a possible circle master. They are adults if they choose to ignore my advice... well, I've heard a lot about Darwin.”

“And you didn't offer any more help than advice,” she said in a low voice.

“They didn't ask.” I considered her words for a moment. “You seem to have a hero complex.”

“You seem to lack any moral backbone altogether,” she retorted scathingly.

I blinked at her, somewhat confused. Did she expect me to throw myself uninvited in the front lines of someone else's fight for no reason? I didn't know how to respond to her statement. Was it an insult?

“You can always contact Conrad and offer your services. They may even accept.”

“I think I will.”

“Conrad seems a rather influential shifter. If he becomes the head of the new department, he may be the most influential shifter in the city. I don't know how that translates into power in the packs, but it sounds like a good start.”

She seemed to get even angrier at my advice. “You are the most coldblooded person I have ever met.”

“Does this mean you don't want my help with the wizard?” I asked to be sure I was interpreting her correctly. Maybe if the wizard killed her, I could sneak into the lair and steal his books while he was busy. I didn't like the idea of leaving what may be one of my kind marauding among mortals, but I certainly wasn't going to challenge an older dragon to single combat. Been there, done that, had the runes on my chest to prove it.

She took a deep breath and seemed calmer after a moment. “No, I definitely want your help. I apologize for my anger.”

I think my eyebrows rose in surprise. That was a bit more than a yes or no answer. “Um, no problem. I just wanted to be sure we were on the same page. So do you want Conrad's number?”

“Yes.”

I pulled out a card that Conrad had given me. I had already memorized the information on it so I gave it to the little shifter. Pulling out a pen, I wrote my address on the back.

“When you get done tonight, come by my place. You can stay there while we plan on what to do with Mr. Wizard.” After that, I finished my ice cream and went over the details on how to storm a circle mage's stronghold and how to deal with zombies. Her participation in the police raid would certainly lower human casualties and would increase the likelihood of the new department getting support while lowering the likelihood of interracial riots. That had both positives and negatives, but I thought that, in general, it was good.