"Charles, inform the Honored One that this is not the work of a vampire," Gavin said. Charles asked how he knew that. "The last two incidents happened in daylight," Gavin said. Flavio's voice came on, then.
"You may return if you wish," Flavio said.
"I'm not coming back until I get to the bottom of this," I said. Flavio heard.
"Lissa may do as she pleases, we have no control over her," he said. Nice of him to realize that.
"I will be coming back," Gavin growled, terminating the call.
"You must find your own lodging," Gavin informed me as he and Tony packed to return to London. They could get a pod out that evening, so they were going.
"Be happy to," I snapped. It was one thing to be indifferent, another to be a total dickhead. I went to my bedroom and threw what little I'd unpacked into my bag, including my toiletries in the bathroom.
He can be a bit grumpy, Tony sent.
You don't have to make excuses for him, I returned, slamming my bags in the floor next to the upper floor steps. I'm well acquainted with Gavin, inside and out. I lifted my bags and misted the hell out of there. I didn't even bother to say goodbye.
Hotel rooms were plentiful, due to the disappearances. I splurged and booked a luxury suite near the water, with a great view of Morro Rock. I might have wept at Gavin's treatment, but I was out of tears at the moment. I misted to the roof of the hotel instead, draping my arms around my knees as I stared out at the ocean. Waves slapped against a jetty in the water—the rock structure was placed there to keep the waters calm near the shore. There were sailboats and other watercraft moored there; they bobbed gently upon dark waters that rippled and glinted in the lamplight from the shore.
* * *
"I don't know when she'll be back; Lissa said she was staying until she got to the bottom of this," Charles accepted a warm brownie from Devin when he folded into the villa's kitchen. Drake and Drew were questioning Charles over Lissa's disappearance two nights before. Charles realized quickly they weren't happy.
"It might be different, Charles, if we could locate her by Looking. We can't. And the Larentii are tighter lipped than clams over this. We know they placed a tracking device." Drake almost growled at his fellow Spawn Hunter. He and Drew were angry and out of sorts after Lissa's abrupt departure; neither she nor Charles had informed anyone that she'd left the villa.
"They did place a tracking device, but Ren says that's only for emergencies, and Lissa doesn't know. This isn't an emergency. Is there any milk?" Charles asked. Brownies were best with a tall glass of cold milk. Devin poured a glass of milk and handed it to Charles.
"Charles, are you trying to stand in our way?" Drew snapped. "We want her, and you take her away at the first opportunity."
Charles's hand stopped halfway to his mouth, the brownie poised in midair. Slowly he lowered it to the plate. "Is that what you think? Damn. No, that wasn't my intention," Charles admitted. "I knew Lissa was upset over Gavin, and I was just trying to get him to loosen up toward her. You don't know how much he loved her before. Now he's like an iceberg. Of course it didn't help any that this investigation turned out like it did—I don't think I've ever seen a time when I hoped so hard that the perpetrators were vampires instead of something else."
"Where is she? Tell us." Drake crossed well-muscled arms over his chest and glared at Charles. "You said Gavin and Tony were coming back without her."
"Morro Bay," Charles went back to his brownie. "Don't go tonight, she'll be upset."
* * *
"This is quite amusing." Prince Cridel of the Bright Elemaiya held the gate with his Dark counterpart, Martis. The Ra'Ak had merely asked them to hold gates open on select worlds so the transports might be accomplished with none the wiser. Cridel hadn't seen what was coming through; none of them had. As long as it caused problems and ultimately brought the Ka'Mirai to them, he had no difficulty with it. The Ra'Ak materialized at the edge of the gate after making his brief delivery. The Ra'Ak was in humanoid form; otherwise, Cridel might have worried. Friesianna instructed him to flee through the gate if he saw the Ra'Ak in any other guise. Even she knew not to trust them, although she'd been more than willing to make the alliance with them and their Dark Elemaiya cousins.
* * *
I was staring listlessly at my breakfast at the hotel restaurant the next morning when a jacket was tossed onto the booth opposite mine. I raised my eyes to see that Joshua, the Werewolf FBI agent had found me.
"If you'd bothered to tell me where you were staying, I could have gotten here sooner," he said, sliding into the red leatherette booth. It was retro—1950s retro. The tabletop was plastic, made to look like a black and white checkered cloth.
"I only moved here last night," I said, dipping into my scrambled eggs, which were now cold.
"I went to the ranch yesterday afternoon," Joshua said. "Talked to the owner who said he'd talked to you. He took me to the same spot. Thanks for leaving the evidence there; I collected it and we've got people working on it now."
"I didn't want to disturb it in case you guys did think to look into it," I muttered. My toast was the only salvageable thing on my plate now; the rest was too cold and tasteless. The waitress came to take Joshua's order—ham and eggs, with extra ham. Werewolves were the same, no matter where or when you were. They could still eat more than two normal people. Joshua snacked on my cold bacon while he waited for his food. I pushed my plate toward him and he ate the cold hash browns, too.
I drank my coffee; the waitress had given me a fresh cup that was nice and hot. Joshua didn't even comment on the fact that I was eating toast and drinking coffee. His food came and he ate quickly and efficiently. "How long in your job?" I asked. I knew he was seventy or so.
"Thirty years," he stopped eating for a moment and grinned.
"Who is Grand Master, now?" I asked softly.
"Jason Harper," he said.
"Is he related to Weldon and Daryl Harper?"
"Daryl Harper's great-great-great-grandson. I guess that makes him Weldon Harper's great-great-great-great-grandson. I was born long after Daryl's stint as Grand Master. His son, Daryl Harper Jr. was taken down pretty quick and there was another two not so good ones in between, but Jason came along about twenty years ago and took care of that problem."
"I knew Weldon and Daryl. Daryl's wife was pregnant with Daryl Jr. when I saw him last." I wondered how werewolf history had been affected when I'd been removed from the records of that era.