The Midnight Moon [ONC 2024]

Chapter 9: Unfamiliar Familiars

'Calm down,' I said steadily to the werewolf. 'I've been on the case since this morning.'

'You can't have been doing a good job if they've come to me inside a day.' The werewolf grinned.

'Well, they're supposed to be waiting for me at the agency. I suggest we head there together and clear up this confusion.'

'It's on the way so I won't object,' Darius said. He sounded confident, like he was doing me a favour. Again, he grinned and I guessed he was amused, thinking he was about to witness my humiliation at the hands of my own clients.  I must admit, I was feeling slightly uncomfortable that this very thing might be about to happen.

We started to walk through the town, and I was trying to ignore the feeling of confusion Darius's announcement had caused. I would never give him the satisfaction of letting him know he had the power to cause that.

'So what did you want to see me about?' the werewolf asked.

'I've been out to see Vanteray and got a reading done for this case.' I noted he glared a little at me out of the corner of his eye, but I wasn't going to let him have one of my cases just because he was laying claim to it.

'And what did the beautiful fortune teller say?'

I also wasn't about to reveal anything pertaining to my case until we had got this mess cleared up. If he was going to continue working the case himself, I wasn't about to help him. He could do his own work.

And as for the reference to Vanteray...I tried to ignore that completely. Yes, she was beautiful. Yes, she had once been mine (if it was possible for anyone to ever possess her and lay claim to her in such terms, which I doubted). And yes, Darius had told me before how surprised he was that someone like Vanteray had taken an interest in me, a lowly, completely human puzzlesolver.

Getting my thoughts back on track, I simply said, 'A number of things.'

'Keeping your cards close to your chest, eh? No pun intended.' He laughed. I had forgotten how quickly his mood could swing between the light and the dark.

'Something like that. But what I can tell you was she directed me to you.'

'Interesting.'

'I hadn't thought so until you claimed my clients had engaged your services.'

'Claimed? You do not believe me?'

'It's not that I don't believe you...it's more like it makes no sense to me. You could tell me what they told you.'

'Like you shared information about the card reading? The answer is no, I won't tell you.'

'Fair enough,' I shrugged. 'So do you know Mistaria Heath?'

'Nope.'

'Me neither.'

'I've heard of her, of course.'

'Of course. Who hasn't?'

Our conversation lulled as we turned off at the Crossroad of the Temple. I started to wonder how long it had been since I left The Green and walked out to Vanteray's caravan. It couldn't have been more than a few hours. What could have happened in the intervening time to make Bella and Jack seek out Darius? Had desperation driven them to it? Time was ticking away, the deadline getting ever nearer. Or was there another twist in this tale? Had they learned something new? Ruefully I considered the possibility that they might have more faith in another of their kind. It was just unfortunate that, out of all the magical folk of Morteton they had chosen Darius.

The streets were quiet now, not empty, but the hustle and bustle of the day had given way to the peace of the night. It was a few hours before the taverns and tap rooms would empty, which brought its own characteristic noise and activity, after which the night would settle down once again. The closer to the north of Morteton you go, the louder the streets became at night, and the more dangerous. Only an idiot would venture that way when the sun went down, unless you had some pretty reliable contacts there.

We left Draper's Row and started up Green Alley. Darius started to whistle. I didn't really care for whistling unless I was the one doing it.

As we turned along The Green, heading towards my agency, I could see the windows below the sign of the puzzle piece glow invitingly. Today had been a difficult day and I was looking forward to putting it to bed. Tomorrow we could start afresh, but before that could happen, I was going to have to resolve this issue with Darius. The closer we got to the agency I noticed, the more my confidence in my clients started to grow, and I once more found myself doubting the werewolf's story.

On reaching my front door, I turned the handle and pushed the heavy door inwards. As Darius was a guest, I allowed him to enter first, and then I followed behind.

As I was closing the door, Tomasina stuck her head out from my office.

'The puzzlesolver's returned,' she called behind her, before turning back to me and asking, 'What news, sir?'

'Before we get to that,' I said, indicating my head in the direction of the werewolf beside me, 'there is something else we must attend to. Darius, if you would like to come this way.'

I stepped into the office and was about to sit in the chair behind my desk when I realised Bella had curled up in it. I sighed.

'Darius, meet Mistaria Heath's familiars,' I pointed to Bella and then Jack, and finally Tomasina, adding, 'and the witch's associate.'

Darius looked from the cat to the crow to the young woman before turning a steely glare on me. 'What game are you playing, Slaine?' Darius, now choosing to ignore the others, turned around to face me. The look on his face was uncertain but he was doing his best to cover it up.

'What do you mean?'

'These aren't Mistaria Heath's familiars.'

'Yes, they are.'

'No, they are not.' He was almost growling again.

'Tell me, Darius. You said you didn't know Mistaria Heath. Had you met her familiars before today?'

'Well...no...but why would those creatures which visited me earlier pretend to be her familiars?'

'That's a good question. A very good question. One we are going to have to work out the answer to pretty sharpish.'

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Chapter word count: 1038

Story word count: 10,864