Page 9 of Shadow Dreaming

“Got it,” she said, jotting it on a paper. “What about you, Carson?”

He thought for a moment. “Fried rice, potstickers, and spicy pork.”

“Okay, got it. What do you think Dante might like?”

“Get family size of everything and we can mix and match,” I said. “Have you heard anything from Orik, yet?”

She shook her head. “No, but I was going to suggest that you should call him to see how things are going. Or I can, if you like.”

“No, I’ll do it. Order lunch. Let me know when it gets here. I’ll be in my office,” I added. I headed for my office, stopping at the breakroom for more coffee. After filling my mug, I returned to my desk, settling in before I pulled out my phone and called Orik.

“Hey, Kyann,” he said.

“How’s it going? You have Rowan under surveillance?”

“I do,” he said. “She apparently works at Guilder’s Floral. She’s in there, behind the counter, making bouquets.”

“Well, that’s something new that we didn’t know. She’s there?”

“She is, but given it’s noon, I’m going to follow her to see where she goes next.”

“Good. I’ll let you go. You have anything to eat with you?” I asked.

“I do. When should I come back to the office?”

“See what she does on her lunch hour, then return here so you can meet our new client. We can’t spend all our time following Rowan. Dante’s getting his locks changed, and she’s banned from his apartment building. His landlord likes him and he’s not going to let someone in who might be detrimental to the tenants.”

Orik hung up, and I went back to my computer, trying to figure out what the hell to do about the unhinged Ms. Leaf. But ten minutes later, I was interrupted by a call from Benny. Frowning, I picked up my phone.

“Heya, Benny, what’s up? No hard feelings for last night, right?”

“Last night? No. You had a right to blast me, and I’m grateful that you let me go with my skin intact. I have some intel for you, Legs.”

I put down my pen. “What is it?” Benny volunteering info was probably his way of underscoring his promise to stop playing a double-game.

“I hang around a lot of the lowlifes in Lower Seattle, and I heard something as I was sitting at a coffee shop near a couple of sorcerers. They’re not witchblood, I think. At least they didn’t seem like it, but they do use magic. They were talking about some organization called Brim Fire. I know you’ve mentioned them before.”

I perked up. “What did they say?”

“They were talking about “the gates” and how they—I’m not sure whether they meant themselves or the organization—thought they might have figured out how to manage opening them. I don’t know what that means, if anything. I don’t know if it’s important, but even I didn’t like the way those guys felt. They’re beyond shady, Kyann.”

“They are beyond shady,” I said. “Brim Fire is a dangerous group, Benny. While I appreciate any info you can give me regarding them, I don’t want you putting yourself in danger for it.” Benny might be a goblin and a little putz, but that didn’t mean I wanted him putting himself in the line of fire. Literally, demon fire.

He paused. “When you’re warning me off something, I know there’s a problem. I won’t take any chances, but I’ll see if I can find out more.”

“You do that and I’ll double what I pay you. But as I said, don’t take any chances. You didn’t by chance hear any names, did you?”

“Let me think…” He paused, then said, “No real names, but I did hear them talking about Glider Park.”

Why did that sound familiar?

I frowned, then it hit me. There was a portal to the UnderRealms in Glider Park, and Penn was the one in charge of watching over it.

“Benny, you’re a genius. I’ve got to go. Let me know if you find out anything else, but don’t risk your neck.” I hung up, then hurried to call Penn. She didn’t answer and I was getting frantic, but then, on the fourth ring, she picked up.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“I got some info from Benny. Your portal in Glider Park, it leads to the UnderRealms, right?”

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