Bad Omens

by Lorraine Kennedy

  But back to the problem at hand, my lost sister.

  The fact that Petrova seemed to like the same vampire show as me wasn’t my only surprise.

  When I looked into his eyes, there was something familiar about him. I didn’t actually recognize him from anywhere. He was tall, dark, and hot as hell, with a dash of mysterious thrown in, but I couldn’t get over the feeling that I knew him from somewhere.

  But there was no way I could. I was pretty sure I'd never even heard his name before my return to Raven Point.

  Was he someone I’d known in high school?

  Nah. I hadn’t been that lucky as a teen. Petrova was one of those guys that could send every molecule of the female body into a spin. And those blue, ethereal eyes were like an angel's eyes, but with a wicked glint.

  The part of me not connected to my hormones was screaming at me to turn and run, but I couldn’t budge an inch. All I could do was stare into those hypnotic eyes.

  The dark hair that curled around the white collar of his shirt just screamed for someone to run their fingers through it, and that someone was definitely me.

  Nope. There was no way I would have missed this guy in high school or anywhere else.

  I was a little surprised that he even remembered my name, but that could have something to do with my stinky tuna casserole.

  Tuna casserole!

  I can’t believe I gave this guy a tuna casserole. How embarrassing!

  Like I have been known to do, I covered up my discomfort with aggressive behavior. Folding my arms across my chest, I put on my most accusatory but seductive smile. “Your club is strange and so is your insistence that I meet you here instead of at Shadow Grove.”

  His smile was disarming. “Not at all, Miss Summers. I thought you’d be more comfortable here. You see, Shadow Grove is still in bad shape so I prefer not to entertain guests there.”

  Jeez! He sure did talk fancy. Who did he think he was, the Prince of Wales or something?

  For that matter, what was with all his employees calling him master?

  I couldn’t even imagine one of my employers demanding something so ridiculous and if they did, they would be told exactly where they could shove their job.

  Still, it did seem like a logical reason to ask me to meet him at Wicked instead of his house. I couldn’t think of a comeback so I said nothing.

  “Did a cat get your tongue?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

  Damn! Could he read minds too?

  He had sure guessed what was on my mind and he’d done it without even trying, though that could have had something to do with the dumbstruck expression I was wearing.

  It was time to get down to business before I made a complete fool of myself. “As you probably know, my family lives only a few miles from Shadow Grove. My little sister went missing yesterday. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

  Damian shook his head. “No, I wasn’t aware that your sister had gone missing. I have to admit that I’m a little offended that you would think I’d know something about such a thing and not inform your family.”

  His bewildered expression seemed a little too contrived. It was either that, I wasn’t ready to let go of my suspicion. I thought both scenarios were true. One thing was certain; I wasn’t ready to give up on my interrogation.

  Frowning, I hit him with a laser-focused look of doubt. “So you haven’t seen a little girl running around the woods lately? You haven’t heard anything about a possible serial killer in the neighborhood or a human trafficking ring?”

  “Nothing about your sister.” He shook his head. “But I have heard rumors there may be a human trafficking ring operating out of Raven Point.”

  “What have you heard about it?”

  “Not much.” He shrugged. “Just that people have been disappearing in nearby cities and that a body was discovered on the toll road. Some believe these people are being used as human prey.”

  “Human prey?” I echoed, horrified at the idea.

  When I’d first heard about the body discovered near the toll road, I figured it might have something to do with magic but this was just as bad. It also meant that wolves might be behind it. They liked to hunt and I could only imagine that humans would be more of a challenge than deer or moose.

  “Sorry.” Damian again shrugged. “But that’s all I know.”

  Damian’s eyes slid from my face to the cleavage hanging out of my tight-fitting black jacket and then onto my too tight pants.

  His gaze was like a caress of fire.

  He thought I was easy but he had a surprise coming. There was something about Petrova that wasn’t quite right.

  “Thanks. If you do hear anything will you please let me know?”

  Damian nodded. “Don’t be a stranger. You’re welcome at Wicked anytime.”

  I noticed how he didn’t say anything about my being welcome at Shadow Grove.

  Why not?

  What was he hiding at Shadow Grove?

  I couldn’t get over the feeling that he was keeping people away form the old mansion for more than its lacked recent renovations.

  Chapter 13

  To say I was deflated would have been putting it mildly. I had hoped to dig up something useful at Wicked.

  Still, I was glad to get the hell out of there.

  Pippa was right. There was something really off about the nightclub.

  Sighing, I started for my car but was stopped by a little bald man with a top hat. Smiling, he handed me a couple pieces of paper before disappearing into a group of people headed toward the club's entrance.

  One flyer seemed to be an advertisement for a new resort opening in Raven Point. Dreams R Us. This exciting Virtual Reality resort owned and operated by Wicked Inc will open next weekend.

  What the hell was going on?

  Was Damian Petrova taking over the entire town?

  The other flyer was another advertisement for Back Street Recoveries.

  Looking for a few good recruits. Plan a new career today by scheduling your interview now.

  My eyes rolled nearly to the back of my head.

  Did they actually think they were going to find recruits at a Goth club full of drunks, and creatures of the night?

  Folding the flyers into a little square, I stuck them in my pants pocket and started for my car. Sam was still keeping watch from the backseat, which was good. If only he’d actually watch the car instead of whatever horror he was seeing in his mind’s eye.

  The dead did sometimes have a problem separating the past from the present.

  Not that I could blame them. If I were killed, I’d probably have a difficult time putting that crap out of my mind too.

  The one thing I like about small towns is the short commute time. Within minutes, I was pulling into the driveway. The house was completely dark so either everyone was gone or they were all asleep.

  I was putting my money on the theory that they were asleep. David would never stop looking for Ember until he found out what happened to her. He might have been a jerk at times, but he was a good father.

  What I did find strange was that the temporary base for the search party was gone.

  Had they moved the base somewhere else?

  By now the woods surrounding the house had already been thoroughly searched so it kind of made sense to move the operation.

  But where?

  David had probably figured out that Ember’s abduction wasn't exactly a regular abduction. There was something really strange going on – something wicked. I’d felt it from the moment I arrived.

  Things had changed in Raven Point and not for the better.

  The door was locked and since I no longer had a key, I had to lift one of the old tulip pots that my mom had kept on each side of the front door and hope the spare key was still there.

  It was.

  Letting myself in, I started flipping on lights. Like Mom, I also hated dark houses. Way too many unsavory creatures could be lurking in dark corn
ers. She’d been right about that.

  If only I could find out what kind of dark creature had been lurking in the corners the night she was killed.

  I couldn’t wait to get out of Pippa’s clothes and into something a little more me, like jeans and an extra baggy t-shirt. This seduction crap wasn't for me. Either a guy liked me or he didn’t. Why did I have to dress like loose Lucy to get a guy's attention?

  As I was pulling on the red Dr. Pepper t-shirt that I’d won in a sweepstakes a couple years ago, I heard a ruckus in the kitchen.

  Grabbing the closest thing I had to a weapon, which happened to be one of my old curling irons, I started back down the hall.

  Whoever was in the kitchen, they didn’t seem to care too much about the noise they were making. They had to be the loudest burglar I’d ever heard.

  When I reached the arched doorway between the dining room and kitchen, I flipped on the light and raised the curling iron over my head like a club.

  There were pieces of white bread scattered across the kitchen floor and a large gray wolf crouched, ready to pounce. Growling, the massive animal bared its teeth to let me know it meant business.

  I was pretty sure that a chunk of Destiny Summers was probably a bit more appealing to a wolf than a bag of week-old bread.

  I was in big trouble!

  My fight or flight mode kicked in and I was definitely leaning toward flight, but if there was one thing I’d learned in the years of sharing an abode with wolves, it was that showing fear was a big mistake.

  I resisted the urge to step back.

  Forcing myself to meet his wild, yellowish eyes I stood my ground. “Is that you, Joby?”

  Joby always shifted into a gray wolf, which is what his mother had been and he did take after his late mother. Jasper took after his father, who was a Timber Wolf.

  For someone such as myself, who’d never had the misfortune of living in a wolf’s skin, one flavor was about the same as another, except, of course, Gray Wolves were gray.

  “Joby,” I took a step in his direction, careful not to make any sudden moves, which was a sure way to set off a wolf.

  The growling stopped but the wolf’s hair was still standing on end.

  Taking a chance, I lowered the curling iron and reached out to rub my hand over his back, hoping like hell that I wouldn’t lose my hand doing it.

  I’d been gone too long. Joby didn’t recognize me while in his wolf form. The poor kid had to be under a lot of stress and he’d always had a difficult time controlling the changing when he was stressed.

  Some kids wet the bed or sucked their thumbs. Not Joby. He’d turn into a wolf and chase the neighborhood bobcats.

  Finally, I felt him tremble and the whining started. It was far more painful to make the change from human to wolf form than it was to revert. Still, it could still be a bit painful no matter which direction one was shifting.

  When he’d completed the change back to human form, I opened the kitchen drawer and grabbed one of my mom’s old table clothes and tossed it over him. There was no sense in letting him be humiliated when he realized he was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, naked, though wolves didn’t seem to be as easily embarrassed by nakedness as full-blown humans.

  My heart ached when I saw the tears streaming from his eyes. “Joby, it’s okay.”

  “What happened? I was in bed,” he said, somewhat breathlessly.

  “I don’t know. You were eating bread,” I said, pointing to the torn bread pieces that littered the white tile floor.

  “Maybe you were sleep-shifting,” I suggested momentarily forgetting that Joby hated to be reminded of one of his bad habits.

  The idea that he’d shifted while sleepwalking wasn’t so far out there. He’d sometimes done it as a kid.

  With all that had happened, I wasn’t surprised he was so stressed out that he’d started sleepwalking again.

  Joby eyes fell on the curling iron and he started giggling uncontrollably. This time the tears streaming down his cheeks were from laughter. “What were … you … planning to do with that thing? Curl my hair?”

  Frowning, I grumbled, ‘Stop your smart mouthing.”

  He was right. A curling iron wasn’t too intimidating. If I planned to have a career in law enforcement, I really had to come off as a little scarier.

  At that moment, I heard the front door open.

  “Destiny! Are you still up?” Dad called.

  Joby looked at me, fear in his eyes. “If Dad finds out I’m sleepwalking again, he’ll send me back to that psychologist.”

  “Well, get out of here then,” I whispered, urgently.

  I couldn’t blame Joby for his reluctance to go back to the shrink. If the kids at school found out he’d be teased, mercilessly. Kids could be so cruel.

  Joby made it out the back door just before Dad stepped into the kitchen. He took in the mess of bread on the floor and gave me a funny look.

  “What’s this all about?” he asked.

  “Umm, I came home and found it like this. Maybe an animal got in the house,” I suggested as I grabbed the broom and dustpan from the pantry closet and started sweeping up the mess.

  “Did you find anything yet?” I asked.

  Frowning, Dad shook his head. “I’m afraid not. They moved to Wolf Lake. There’s now the theory that she might have gone in that direction if she was running from someone, but there’s no sign of her.”

  What he really meant was that they thought she might have shifted and gone toward the Raven Point pack’s home turf, which happened to be around Wolf Lake.

  “Where’s Pippa?” Dad asked. “Her car isn’t in the driveway.”

  “You’re asking me? I thought she was with you.”

  Dad shook his head. “She got a call a few hours ago. She said that someone she knew might have some information and she left.”

  “She shouldn’t have gone by herself,” I pointed out, unnecessarily.

  Dad shrugged. “That’s what I told her but she didn’t seem worried. I figured since it was someone she knew it wouldn't be a problem.”

  “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that knowing someone doesn’t necessarily make them harmless,” I told him as I was pulling out my phone I dialed Pippa’s number and listened to it ring.

  There was no answer.

  Damn! Not another one!

  “She’s not answering.”

  The fear in Dad’s eyes was heartbreaking. He might have been the alpha of the Raven Point pack but this was too much. As had been ready to tell him what we’d learned from Joby about a possible serial killer but changed my mind. Until we knew more, it was best not to put that on Dad too.

  “Don’t you go anywhere,” Dad said. Spinning on his heels, he headed out of the house.

  “I’m going to the police to file a missing person’s report,” I yelled.

  I couldn’t tell if he heard me or not. It didn’t matter. As far as I was concerned, it was way beyond time to get down to business. I’d been too young and inexperienced to do anything after my mother’s murder. That wasn’t the case this time. If the police screwed this up, I’d be right there to point it out.

  Chapter 14

  Pushing through the double glass doors I entered the Raven Point Police Department. It started off pretty much the way I expected. Mel Grady was on a call so I was forced to stand there and wait for him to finish.

  I wouldn’t have minded if it had been important but the conversation seemed to center on the big game between the coming weekend’s football game between the apply named, Raven Point Ravens and the Crossroads Cougars.

  Crossroads was another Zone town but there were far more fae residing in there than witches. For as long as I could remember, there had been a rivalry between the two high schools. Not so unusual for small towns except the rivalries between these two schools could get ugly.

  After hanging up the phone, the elderly man turned to me and smiled. “How can I help you, Miss Destiny?”

  I l
iked Mr. Grady. He’d been the school principle before retiring and taking a part time job with the police. I’d never really understood why people retired and then took another job.

  “Mr. Grady, I need to file a missing person’s report. Pippa has disappeared.”

  “How do you know she’s disappeared?” Grady frowned.

  “She isn’t answering her phone.”

  Sighing, Mr. Grady gave me one of his ‘now you’re overreacting’ looks. It was the same look he’d give me when I used to complain about all the preservatives they stuffed into school lunches.

  He hadn’t taken me seriously then and he wasn’t taking me seriously now. I could already tell.

  “Well, you know how Miss Pippa is. When she gets busy, she loses track of time,” he reminded me with the same gentle persuasion in his voice, but this time it wasn’t going to work. I was no longer in high school and he was no longer the principle.

  “Yes, but Pippa wouldn’t just not answer her phone. Not with Ember missing. My sister was going to meet someone who might have information on my Ember’s abduction. That was hours ago.”

  That seemed to get Mr. Grady’s attention, as it should. I found it especially irritating that the police automatically brushed off a missing person case as someone losing track of time or running away.

  Did they think they knew my sister better than I did?

  “That was foolish,” Grady grumbled.

  He wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know. Pippa had always been too impulsive.

  Grady handed me a sheet of paper. “Feel this out. As soon as Sheriff Barker gets back, you can talk to him.”

  “Where is he at?” I asked.

  Since I had yet to see him anywhere near where the police were searching for Amber, I didn’t think he was part of the search party.

  Normally, the sheriff of a small town might be part of the search party when a child goes missing, but Tate Barker wasn’t fond of outside help. Since the state police were involved, it didn’t surprise me that the sheriff was off doing something else.

  “I can’t talk about that, Miss Destiny. Police business.”