give them the night, though I really want to get on top of this. But the fire marshal probably won’t be done until tomorrow anyway, and since we know it was a magical signature, we’re not going to be finding much in the way of typical evidence. Even if we do, I doubt if it will be useful.”
I nodded. “Give them the night and by tomorrow, they’ll be able to focus more. Right now the shock is playing havoc with their emotions.”
“I know, I know.” He shook his head, scuffing his foot on the floor. “I just don’t want to deal with the aftermath if the investigation takes us a while. The pressure’s going to be coming from all sides in the Supe Community to find out who did this. And what if we’re wrong and we find out some wacko hate group executed this whole rotten plan? We’re going to be looking at another whole can of worms.”
I bit my lip. Tensions had been growing between a vocal minority of society and the Supe Community. “You really think a hate group would go to these lengths?”
Chase flashed me a sad smile. “They’d go a lot further. Look at my history—at the history of mortals. Look whatwe’ve done to each other in the name of religion, in the name of moral superiority, in the pursuit of money. I fully believe some crackpot group like Freedom’s Angels or the Church of the Earthborn Brethren would toss a bomb into the mix.”
“You’ve changed a lot since we first met you.” I studied him. “You’ve gone from being…well…an arrogant and totally by-the-book detective with a stick up his ass to someone who digs in deep. Who isn’t afraid to get his hands muddy.”
“I’ve changed.” He lowered his gaze away from mine. “I’ve changed a lot. Especially since Karvanak got hold of me. I’ve never told anybody what happened. Chances are, I never will. But it made me realize what we’re facing—how you and your sisters are right. Sometimes you have to skirt the rules.” He paused, then added, “Everything shifted again when you gave me the Nectar of Life. Sometimes I feel like there’s so much going on inside me that I’m caught in a whirlpool. Or like I’m in the center of a tornado, spinning out of control, and I have no clue where I’m going to land.”
He gave me a long look and I could see the flurry of emotions battling within him. I reached out, put my hand on his shoulder, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
“I’m sorry. We really haven’t had much of a chance to sit and talk about your transformation, but we need to. Chase, Camille and Menolly and I really want to discuss the changes you’re going through. Sharah can help you learn to cope with the changes you’re undergoing, but…”
“Yeah, I know. You don’t have to say it. Now that she and I are dating, she might not be unbiased enough to pick up on potential problems. Trust me, I’ve been mulling this over for a long time and the incident with the Elder Fae—the spider freak—sealed the deal. I know things are happening to me that I can’t figure out. Hell, I can barely explain them. That’s why I asked Camille to make me an appointment with the Triple Threat. I took their tests and am waiting for them to contact me with some answers.”
“She mentioned you’d come to her.” Some odd magical connection had sprung up between Chase and Camille. She’d noticed the bond developing and mentioned it to therest of us. Whether it was just the magical energy or something deeper, we weren’t sure.
“So you really think you might be able to help me? Once I know more?”
“We’ll do everything we can to try.” I paused, not knowing whether to say something that had been lurking in my thoughts. Chase and I hadn’t really spoken about our breakup, either. It was almost as though—once it happened—we’d pretended like it was over and done with, a blip on the map. And though I was happy now, and we’d made the right decision, I wanted to be able to talk about our time together,
I nodded. “Give them the night and by tomorrow, they’ll be able to focus more. Right now the shock is playing havoc with their emotions.”
“I know, I know.” He shook his head, scuffing his foot on the floor. “I just don’t want to deal with the aftermath if the investigation takes us a while. The pressure’s going to be coming from all sides in the Supe Community to find out who did this. And what if we’re wrong and we find out some wacko hate group executed this whole rotten plan? We’re going to be looking at another whole can of worms.”
I bit my lip. Tensions had been growing between a vocal minority of society and the Supe Community. “You really think a hate group would go to these lengths?”
Chase flashed me a sad smile. “They’d go a lot further. Look at my history—at the history of mortals. Look whatwe’ve done to each other in the name of religion, in the name of moral superiority, in the pursuit of money. I fully believe some crackpot group like Freedom’s Angels or the Church of the Earthborn Brethren would toss a bomb into the mix.”
“You’ve changed a lot since we first met you.” I studied him. “You’ve gone from being…well…an arrogant and totally by-the-book detective with a stick up his ass to someone who digs in deep. Who isn’t afraid to get his hands muddy.”
“I’ve changed.” He lowered his gaze away from mine. “I’ve changed a lot. Especially since Karvanak got hold of me. I’ve never told anybody what happened. Chances are, I never will. But it made me realize what we’re facing—how you and your sisters are right. Sometimes you have to skirt the rules.” He paused, then added, “Everything shifted again when you gave me the Nectar of Life. Sometimes I feel like there’s so much going on inside me that I’m caught in a whirlpool. Or like I’m in the center of a tornado, spinning out of control, and I have no clue where I’m going to land.”
He gave me a long look and I could see the flurry of emotions battling within him. I reached out, put my hand on his shoulder, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
“I’m sorry. We really haven’t had much of a chance to sit and talk about your transformation, but we need to. Chase, Camille and Menolly and I really want to discuss the changes you’re going through. Sharah can help you learn to cope with the changes you’re undergoing, but…”
“Yeah, I know. You don’t have to say it. Now that she and I are dating, she might not be unbiased enough to pick up on potential problems. Trust me, I’ve been mulling this over for a long time and the incident with the Elder Fae—the spider freak—sealed the deal. I know things are happening to me that I can’t figure out. Hell, I can barely explain them. That’s why I asked Camille to make me an appointment with the Triple Threat. I took their tests and am waiting for them to contact me with some answers.”
“She mentioned you’d come to her.” Some odd magical connection had sprung up between Chase and Camille. She’d noticed the bond developing and mentioned it to therest of us. Whether it was just the magical energy or something deeper, we weren’t sure.
“So you really think you might be able to help me? Once I know more?”
“We’ll do everything we can to try.” I paused, not knowing whether to say something that had been lurking in my thoughts. Chase and I hadn’t really spoken about our breakup, either. It was almost as though—once it happened—we’d pretended like it was over and done with, a blip on the map. And though I was happy now, and we’d made the right decision, I wanted to be able to talk about our time together,
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