Dotty wasn’t pleased.

“Three days, Chloe? Really?”

“It’s only till friday, then I’ll be back.”

“Still that’s too long, too far away. You just came back from a week away, what am I supposed to tell people?”

“I’m with Jodie and Lennie, I’ll be safe” Addie and Sid were still working on the next job, in grim, studious silence.

“The creepy stalker guy who murdered eight people? Yeah, I’m sure he’ll keep you safe” she pouted and fell back on the bed.

“How do you expect to explain this to Tom?” She asked, after I didn’t explain myself

“I have a lot of days off saved up, I can use some of that.” Tom, our manager, wasn’t likely to pry.

“And what about the next job? And the next? You can’t just keep disappearing for days on end. Christ, Chlo, if Sid hadn’t called me I would've thought you were dead. I almost did too.” Dotty cared. She might have cared too much, but that was better than none at all. I was grateful for her, and at the same time deeply sorry. She didn’t deserve what I ws giving her, but it was necessary

“Dotty. Dotty look at me. I’m not going to get killed. This is a diplomatic mission, we’re going to go talk to them, that’s it.” And then commit an act of terrorism with them, I thought, silently.

“With werewolves. You know, the people whose whole deal is being unhinged and dangerous.”

“That’s probably racist, y’know.”

“Whatever.” She stood up and took my hand. “I care about you, you fucking idiot.”

“I know,” I dropped my duffel full of copper wire, clothes, food and medical supplies on the floor with a thud. “I’m going to be okay. Promise.” I pulled her into a hug, she resisted for long enough that it was clear she didn’t approve of the goodbye, but squeezed me just the same.

“Don’t get killed.”

“Promise.”

Lennie leaned against the door of his Honda Civic as he waited for me, chatting at, rather than to, Jodie.

“All good?” He opened the passenger door and took my bag.

“All good.” I didn't want to think about it too much. I didn’t like having to lie to Dotty, though I liked worrying her even less. I slid into the passenger seat and hoped that Lennie’s taste in music wasn’t as old as he was.

We stopped to buy some supplies, mostly tinned meat, and drove for about ten minutes before pulling into an alley.

“The werewolves are in London?” said Jodie from her seat in the back, she’d been resigned to it as the youngest.

“Not likely. They don’t like populated spaces. No, last I heard they were about an hour north. Trouble is, they don’t tend to stay in one place often, don’t like being found.”

“So what’s this for, then?”

“I’ve got a… someone who might be able to help us.”

Why did people never give specifics?

We got out of the car, and Lennie walked into the alley.

“Alex! Alex, I know you’re there!” Nothing happened for a few moments. “Give them a second,” he called back to us, “They take a while.” I felt a shudder of cold, and broke off from Jodie and the car.

“I arrive when is appropriate,” I said, “and my name is Ahleks, not Alex.”

If Lennie was surprised, he didn’t show it “There you are. I have a question.”

“And I have an answer.”

“Good. I need to find Rob Chandler.”

“The answer to your next question.” I said

“What’s that supposed to-” he stopped himself. “Clever. Is that a thing now? Comedy?”

“Was that funny?” I asked, genuinely curious, “Ha. Ha.”

“Is your friend coming, Lennie?” I heard from behind me, Jodie. I turned, and her body tensed, ready to move.

“Her eyes-”

“That’s Ahleks. This is kind of their thing. They’re low fae, the kind of thing that stays in this world more often than not.”

“Get them out of Chloe’s head.”

I didn’t understand what they were talking about, there wasn’t anything in my head

“Jodie I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” I said, “I apologise.” I continued, “you do not enjoy this feeling.” a statement, I felt unremorseful.

“Ahleks is a cryptid, they feed on fear, unease. It’s a reflex, you flinch at a flame, they do the creepiest thing possible, which is apparently possessing your girlfriend.” Lennie explained, “Ahleks is harmless.”

“She’s not my-” I started, but stopped. “What is it you want, Lennie?”

“I told you already,” he said, “I need to find Robin Chandler.”

“Did you?” of course he did, I remembered him saying it. Why had I said that?

“I owe no debt,” I said, “You have no pressure of time to find her prey.”

“I was hoping to make an arrangement. You’re aligned with the Lower Court, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” I responded, simply.

“Well, Ahleks, I’m looking to help your side win the war.” He said, looking straight at me. Why had he called me Ahleks? Was it the same reason Jodie had been worried? Had they been infected somehow, deluded by the magic? Was the cryptid possessing them? Jodie hadn’t left her ready stance, normal-seeming but tensed, able to move any direction in a fraction of a second. Lennie was too close, he could jump out at me. I reached into my hoodie and felt the familiar leather of my knife.

“Chloe, don’t worry.” Lennie, or the creature that had replaced Lennie, noticed me. I only had a moment before he leapt out. I unsheathed the knife and made to dash at him.

Before either of us could react, ‘Jodie’ was behind me. One hand grabbing my wrist, the other around my waist, her chin buried in my neck.

“Shhhhh, it’s okay.” She whispered into my ear, and then louder, “Lennie get your friend the fuck out of her head.”

“Ahleks, switch to someone else.” He said. I responded “Very-”

“Well.” Lennie finished, and I felt something peel off my brain. The gaps in my memory filled in, the words I’d been saying, the things I’d been thinking. Jodie was Jodie, her grip was familiar, sturdy, she couldn’t be faked, not to me at least. Lennie was talking to himself, his eyes shadowed even in direct light, a glint of red underneath. And behind him, curling around him, half hidden in the shadows was the thing that had been in my mind not a moment earlier.

“Why would I care for a Lower Court victory?” he asked

“Because more power to the lower court means more power to you. It’s acting in your favour, not just mine.”

“I function fine as is. Doing this would be a favour to you alone.”

“But you benefiting from it as a side effect doesn’t imply that it’s an even trade?”

“That is not the nature of debt.”

“Good.” said Lennie, “then I would like to call in the debt you owe me.”

Lennie paused for a moment, and then resumed. ”Very well.” The alleyway cleared up, the shadows returned to their positions. Lennie shook his head, his eyes back to their tired blue.

“I really hate working with cryptids.” He got back in the car. “I know where Robert is.”

It was getting dark when we pulled off the M11. Lennie took the car as far as it would go, then parked it in the middle of a dirt road that looked like it hadn’t been touched in a decade.

“Werewolves have keen hearing, we walk from here. They’re a mile northeast and moving westwards. If we’re lucky we can catch them before they pitch for the night.” I didn’t bother asking how he knew that, and handed out guns and knives. Lennie didn’t have a holster and refused to stuff his revolver in a pocket like Jodie and I, so he held it in his off-hand. I also gave him a battery, a tube of copper the size of a stick of lip balm. If the gun ran out of charge, he could use it to quickly recharge the thing. I’d never tested it, but I didn’t tell him that. Lennie was, after all, immortal.

We started in the direction Lennie chose, changing course every few minutes to keep up. Lennie had us trek through fields and mud as often as he did paths, and I quickly stopped trying to keep my trainers dry of mud. I did some rough mental calculations, for us to be changing course so often and so drastically meant that we were either very close or they were very fast. The moon was heavy in the sky, falling upwards. It wasn’t quite full, but it wasn’t far off. Would that be enough? Would we have to win over a pack of bloodthirsty wolves? I wished Addie had come with us. Last I saw the two they were running on more caffeine than sleep and wouldn’t talk about the next operation. If they weren’t talking, I didn’t want to ask.

Jodie stopped, Lennie and I noticed and I fell in near her, he switched hands on the revolver. She closed her eyes a moment and wrinkled her nose. The air turned hot and with superhuman speed she leapt through the air at me.

Past me, pushed me to the mud and landed behind me, knife in hand, at the throat of the ten year old who had been about to grab me. Far from panicking, the child growled and spat. Five more figures crested the darkness and made for us, sprinting faster than a human should be able to. Magic swelled into my bracelet and a rock just out of my vision launched at the first figure. They went to ground and rolled, pushing themselves up in the same fluid motion, and in the next second they were on me. I felt fingernails dig into my throat and saw my attacker, hair lit in silver by the light of the moon. She was old, teetering on the far end of middle age, and the few strands of hair that weren’t white were lit white by the moon, making her glow like she was only half there. Her face was lined with age and cuts alike, and her mouth was twisted into a snarl. Three of her teeth had gone, the rest were too sharp to be human. She glared at me as my vision vignetted from asphyxiation with what looked like fear, the wild animalistic fear that makes a bear attack. Or a wolf.

“Tell them to back off or the kid-” Jodie was cut off with a thud as something slammed into her, and in the same moment my vision cleared. I forced a breath and channelled from the necklace, bringing myself up to look at the moon, uncovered now. The women had left me to make a pass for Jodie.

The two of them were dancing. Jodie was on the defensive, fending off frantic blows and bites, but she was fast. Jodie fought with magic, every hit and movement assisted with a burst of speed, but I’d never seen her move this fast before. I channeled into my glove and turned to the next werewolf, one of them was going for Lennie and winning. He was immortal, though, and I had bigger problems.

Two wolves surrounded me, snarling. I burst fire around me, and they leapt backwards, but one of them pulled out a knife and made for me. I ducked under it and launched a clump of mud upwards to blind him and pulled out my gun. I could have shot him. I would have, if the other hadn’t come for me. In that moment I felt nothing but exhaustion and hatred, and whipped her with the gun.

“Every- Everyone- FUCKING STOP!” Lennie shouted from under his wolves. “Chandler! It’s me, it’s Lennie!” The first wolf spun to his feet and looked. He whistled a shrill call that hurt my eardrum and the woman on Jodie let up, teeth red. The people around me stepped back and I ran to Jodie. She wasn’t bleeding except for a gash on her knuckles from punching the woman, but her nose was smashed into an odd angle. The wolves were all holding back, for the moment, but every one of them looked like they would try for my throat given the chance.

“Can one of you guys- ack- fuck, can one of you guys help me out here?” Lennie stumbled over. The wolves that had been on him had knifed him several times and blood was spilling out around a hand clutched to his belly. I pulled my necklace over his head and channeled into it, his wounds started to close. Slowly, but as he lowered himself to the ground the bleeding stauched slightly.

“Good to see you again, Lennie.” said one of the wolves, the one who I’d blinded. He wiped mud from his eyes. “We aren’t camped far, how about you join us for dinner?”