by Jamie Davis
Quinn didn’t like how little Taylor knew about what she might be able to do, but she understood why her friend couldn’t give her a better explanation. She didn’t know how she’d stumbled upon half the stuff she could do either. At least, now she’d know what she saw when someone used magic once she unlocked the skill in VR, and it should translate across the interface to the real world. That would allow her to build on the skill and do more with it.
Taylor went back to her checklist as she prepped for the system to go live. Quinn tapped her earpiece. “Clark, how close are you to the rendezvous point? I’m ready to go in on this end.”
“I should be there in five minutes. Go into the system, and I’ll meet you outside the restaurant. Remember, Quinn, do not go inside by yourself. These people are extremely skittish. I need to introduce you before they’ll accept you.”
“Got it. I’ll wait in the parking lot for you to get there. See you in a few.”
Quinn nodded to Taylor and the two other women as she lay back and put on the VR headset and goggles. “Ready when you are, T.”
The system started to hum with a smooth tone, unlike the way their older, makeshift system had whined as the power ramped up. Taylor used the appropriated VirSync proprietary gear now. Quinn hoped the transition to and from VR was smoother. She was about to find out.
The faint light from the room that passed through the goggles faded to darkness. The sensation of falling backward took over as it all went black and she dove into VR once again.
Quinn woke seconds later, ready to double over retching like she usually did. That didn’t happen, though. She smiled.
Tapping her earpiece, Quinn said, “No hurling this time, T. Good work.”
“We aim to please. I just checked the GPS tracker on Clark’s phone. He’s still a few minutes away.”
“That’s all right. I’ll wait for him out here.”
Quinn checked the area to get her bearings. She was supposed to have materialized in the back corner of a parking lot behind the restaurant owned by the leader of this small shifter community. The place was supposed to be run by the one Clark used as his point of contact.
Quinn dipped a hand into her pocket to check her phone while she waited. Her hand stopped halfway there when a disturbance over by the restaurant caught her attention.
An ear-wrenching snarl pierced the night, followed by a woman’s laugh. Quinn didn’t like the sound of that snarl, although it didn’t seem like the other voice was scared. Maybe it was nervous, hysterical laughter? Clark had said to hang back, but if someone was being attacked, she should intervene, right?
The snarl had lowered in volume, but Quinn still picked up a persistent low, constant growl as she started across the lot. She approached and ducked behind a car, muttering “mist” to herself. Quinn’s form blended into the night’s shadows. It was best to stay out of sight for the time being, at least until she knew what was going on.
Slipping out from behind the car, she moved closer until she spotted a tall redheaded woman standing with her back to Quinn. She wore a red and black leather head-to-toe suit. The strange superhero costume looked like it had padding or maybe body armor at key locations. Even with the armor, the suit accentuated the woman’s smooth curves. Quinn instantly envied this other woman, if only for the cool outfit.
Opposite the redhead stood a fur-covered humanoid creature about four and a half feet tall, wearing what looked like a dress and an apron. A white and black stripe ran from her forehead all the way down her back, at least as far as Quinn could see when the creature twisted her head to look around. She had to be a werebadger.
The shifter hopped from foot to foot with agitation. She held her clawed hands rigid at chest height, ready to fight or defend herself.
“You can get wound up all you want,” the taller woman said in a crisp upper-class British accent. “You know the mistress is not going to let you go back on your agreement. That’s the only way your particular family problem gets solved. Do you understand? I don’t want to come back here and have to tell you again.”
The werebadger’s snarl increased in volume for an instant, and Quinn was sure she was going to attack.
The woman thought so, too. She brought her right hand into view, holding a samurai sword so its tip hovered a few inches from the shifter’s throat. The threat was clear.
Quinn still couldn’t see her face, and she wondered who this woman was. She wanted to recognize her if they ran into each other again.
Checking the parking lot entrance for Clark, Quinn ran through her options as she tried to decide what to do. He should be here at any moment, but maybe she should intervene.
She reached for her Bowie, in the sheath beneath her right arm, but she never got to it.
The woman in red raised her left hand and snapped her fingers, disappearing from view in a single instant.
One minute she was standing there, and the next, she was gone.
Quinn looked in all directions for the woman, but there was no sign of her. It was like she had teleported away. Or maybe she was using a VR system like Quinn’s?
On a whim, she ran through a quick exercise from her training with Naomi and Miranda. Quinn focused on the area where the woman had stood and caught the trailing edge of two glowing ribbons of magic leading across the lot and around the restaurant building.
The woman was gone, but Quinn now knew she’d used some sort of magic concealment spell to hide as she left.
The werebadger had been as startled as Quinn was by the woman’s sudden disappearance. The shifter also looked around the lot for a few seconds, then changed back into human form. An older gray-haired woman wearing a pale blue dress and a kitchen apron now stood in the center of the lot. She smoothed the apron she wore over her dress before heading to the restaurant’s kitchen entrance.
Quinn continued her search of the magical spectrum for the redhead, just to be sure she hadn’t circled around to attack her from behind. All the residual magic of her passing had faded and there were no other visible signs, at least not that Quinn could make out. She let go of the slight trance she’d used to see the flows. As soon as she did, a new icon popped up in her HUD. She concentrated on it, and a description called it Arcane Sight.
Well, that answered that question. At least she now knew how to find that particular skill again in a hurry.
Clark’s beat-up sedan turned into the parking lot about a minute later. He drove to the rear and pulled into a spot near the back corner.
After a last check for the woman in red, Quinn shook her head and headed back to meet him. She wasn’t sure what she had just witnessed, but she knew he’d want to know about it before he went inside to confront the werebadger clan or pack or whatever it was called. If that whole confrontation had been about the disappearances, they knew a lot more about what had happened to their lost people than they’d told Clark.
Quinn canceled her shadow-hiding as she approached Clark’s car.
He got out and spotted her walking his way. “I thought I told you to wait until I got here?.”
“I was going to, but something happened that needed investigation.” Quinn went on to tell Clark about the strange exchange between the intruder and the old werebadger woman.
“That sounds like you saw Inez, the matriarch of this den. She owns the restaurant.”
“Who was the other woman, though?”
Clark shook his head. “No clue. You sure about what you overheard?”
“Yep. I couldn’t tell if she was in on the disappearances or helping to find the missing people. She did draw her sword on the old shifter, though. That’s not usually the act of someone offering to help.”
“Maybe,” Clark said. “You said Inez was growling. Werebadgers are prickly at the best of times. It doesn’t take much for them to get angry, even at people they know. I need to get in there and talk to her to see what happened.”
Clark gestured for Quinn to follow him as he started toward the restaurant. �
��Be quiet in there and let me do the talking. Inez knows me. All you have to do is stand behind me. Oh, and try to smile and project calm.”
“You act like I can’t do that,” Quinn shot back.
“Just do what I say and don’t react to anything.”
Quinn started to reply, but Clark’s sharp glance stopped her. They’d almost reached the kitchen entrance, and it was probably not a good idea to be arguing as they went inside.
Clark stood at the screen door, with Quinn right behind him. He rapped on the frame and waited. The first thing she noticed as she looked inside at what she could see of the kitchen area was how short everyone who darted past the doorway was. All of them were around five feet tall, and a few were shorter than Inez. Quinn couldn’t see the cooking area from here, so she only saw three or four who went to and from what looked like a pantry. From the sound of the rest of the kitchen around the corner, the place was bustling. It smelled delicious.
Inez came to the door just as Clark was about to knock again. She spotted him and Quinn and frowned, wiping her hands on a towel hanging from her apron before walking their way. From the way she pressed her lips together into a thin line, Quinn guessed she wasn’t happy to see them. Odd that she didn’t seem scared of them the way she’d been with the sword-wielding redhead. She stood inside the door without inviting them in.
“Hello, Inez,” Clark said through the screen door. “I told you I’d come back with my assistant to see what we could do to help you.”
“And I told you I didn’t need it.”
“We both know that’s not true. You’ve never turned down help from the Hunters before. I remember my father talking about you.”
“Your father is long dead, and the Hunters are no more. We must all fend for ourselves as best we can.”
Quinn tamped down the heat rising within her. Who was this woman to talk to Clark like that when he was here to help?
Clark must’ve sensed her tension because he dropped his hand to his side, palm facing Quinn.
The instruction was clear, and she tried to take a deep breath and let it out slowly without the old woman noticing.
“It is true the old Hunter clans are no longer here, but Quinn and I have worked hard to take on that role in this community. You know what we did with John Handon and his followers. We can work to help you, too, if you’ll let us.”
Inez shook her head. “I no longer need your assistance. I should have called you to let you know. Now, I am busy with many customers tonight. I must get back to work.”
Quinn glowered at Inez past Clark. This woman wasn’t going to push them away when she knew the lady was lying. “What about your redheaded visitor earlier? Is she helping you now, so you don’t need us anymore?”
Clark shot Quinn an angry glare.
Inez’s eyes darkened, and her brows lowered. “So, you’ve been spying on me and mine, Clark Hunter? You know how I feel about deception.”
“My associate arrived before me and witnessed the encounter you had earlier. That is all. I have not been back since I left here a few nights ago.”
Inez considered what he had said and answered with a brief nod. Quinn couldn’t tell if it was agreement or acknowledgment.
“I saw her threatening you,” Quinn said. “Tell us what is going on. We can protect you.”
Inez turned her deep-brown eyes on Quinn, boring them into her like a drill. “Foolish girl, you do not know what you’re talking about. What you think you saw is incorrect. That woman is a business contact with whom I have made a specific arrangement. It is none of your concern.”
She turned back to Clark and continued, “I have asked you to leave nicely. Don’t make me resort to force.”
Inez clapped twice quickly, and four members of the kitchen staff came around the corner and stood behind her. Each held a knife or another weapon, and a low, buzzing snarl filled the air.
The hairs on the back of Quinn’s neck rose up in reaction to the sound. Without thinking, she blurted, “We’re not scared of you. We—”
Clark raised his arm and pushed Quinn back to stand behind him and to the side. “What she means to say is we were just leaving. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing here, Inez. We both know you need my help, but I’ll respect your wishes for the time being. You know where to find me if you want to reach out. Until then, I’ll keep my distance and let you tend to your affairs by yourself.”
Inez held Clark’s steady gaze for a few seconds and then nodded. She clapped once, and the kitchen activity resumed as if nothing had happened. Quinn detected an air of desperate readiness, and she wondered if it had been there all along.
Clark nodded to her, and Quinn took the hint. She walked across the parking lot, with Clark just behind her. They were both silent.
“What the heck, Clark?” Quinn said when she reached the rear of Clark’s sedan. “You know she was lying, and you let her back you down like she was your master.”
“You know anything about badgers, Quinn?”
She shook her head. She’d seen a video once online, but it was an animal fighting a snake or something. She didn’t remember specifics.
“They’re among the most tenacious and fierce animals there are. I’d say pound for pound, they’re the most dangerous mammals on the planet when backed into a corner. The human shifter version is no different, and you’ll get nowhere but hurt trying to bully them.”
“But that other woman with the sword threatened Inez, and she backed down without a second thought.”
“Exactly,” Clark said. He paused and waited as if he expected an answer.
Pondering what he’d just said and what she’d seen, Quinn considered, then said, “If Inez is scared of the redhead, we should be, too. Is that it?”
“’Scared’ might not be the right word, but ‘cautious’ certainly is. Whoever she is or represents, this newcomer is worth handling with care until we know more. Somehow, someone has found a way to hold something over Inez’s head, forcing her to go along with whatever’s happening.”
“So, what now?”
“Now we go home. You resume your training while I figure out another way to help Inez without her knowing it. That’ll have to do until we can get a handle on what’s going on.”
Clark got in his car and fired up the engine. Quinn stood by the driver’s door as he wound the window down.
“I’ll catch you back at O’Malley’s. We can sit down there, get some food, and talk to the others about everything. Maybe they’ll have some insight on what to do next.”
Clark backed out of his spot and headed for the street, leaving Quinn alone at the back of the parking lot. Returning to the corner near where she first arrived, Quinn tapped her earpiece and said, “T, you there? I’m ready to come back.”
“Did you find out anything? How about new skills?”
“I’ll tell you when I get back. Clark is on his way, too.”
“Sounds good. Entering the return signal into the system now.”
Quinn felt something tugging at her mind, and she closed her eyes as she fell into the blackness.
Chapter Seven
The whole clan except for Miranda sat in O’Malley’s bar watching country-western line dancers do their thing while the honkytonk band played a song about a lost girl and a pickup truck. Or maybe it was about a lost pickup truck and a girl. Quinn could never be sure with those songs. She much preferred driving rock with girl-power angst behind it.
For the past hour and a half, ever since Clark had returned, the four of them had gone over the encounters at the werebadger restaurant across town. They’d gotten no closer to finding out what it all meant. Quinn wanted to return in secret and do some investigating.
She suggested it to Clark. “I know you want to respect Inez’s wishes and her position, but if she’s in trouble, maybe we have to act on her behalf until she can do it for herself.”
“You can’t sneak in there, Quinn. If they caught you, even if you survived their
reaction, it might still unravel the trust I’ve sought to build over the years with them.”
“I can take care of myself,” she stated.
Naomi shook her head. “Clark’s right. You don’t get a second chance to build trust with werebadgers. Once you lose their confidence, it’s gone forever. We need to be very careful about how we approach this.”
“All right,” Quinn said. “What’s your solution?”
“I’m not sure,” Naomi replied. “Clark, how did you originally discover some of them had gone missing? Did Inez reach out to you?”
“Oh, she’d never do that,” Clark said. “She’s far too proud to ask for help. No, I learned about it when I ran into Dameon Cool, the werewolf pack leader. He reached out to ask how Taylor was doing with her wolf side. He made an offhand comment about it, and I asked him for more info. He’d learned about it from a member of his pack. He offered to help her, too. Inez brushed him off, just like she did us.”
Taylor said, “I say we send Quinn back in. If not into the restaurant, then maybe nearby so she can keep an eye on things. If she can track that redhead by her magical trail, she could follow her. She might lead us to where the missing people are.”
Clark shook his head. “We’re still not sure this newcomer is even part of the problem. She could be part of something else.”
“Then we’re back to where we started,” Quinn said. Frustrated, she leaned back in her chair and looked around for Juni. She needed another soda.
That was when she saw the woman. She was the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen. She stood across the club in the dimly lit area near the entrance. She seemed to be about Quinn’s age, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. It looked light brown in the dim light, but Quinn wasn’t sure. The woman wore tight blue jeans with knee-high black boots and a silky yellow blouse. A bright red leather jacket that came down to her waist topped it all off.
She moved with smooth grace when she walked farther into the bar. Quinn had often tried to pull off that walk, but she always felt like she didn’t quite get it right. The girl stirred feelings she hadn’t let herself experience for quite some time.
