Page 34 of The Mermaid's Bubble Lounge
Benvair and Alec’s gaze cut to the side. She patted her grandson’s arm, but she was staring into my eyes. “I’ll check. Perhaps I’ll find a familiar scent.” The lightness of her voice didn’t match the severity of her stare.
When I started to turn to see where Benvair was going, Alec grabbed my hand and kept me where I was. Clive stilled, but neither of us turned. There was something behind us.
“I’m sorry you missed dinner tonight,” Alec said to Clive, though he seemed to be focused over Clive’s shoulder.
“Yes,” I said, not wanting Clive to speak. “I was sorry about that as well. It was a lovely dinner.” If he hasn’t heard your voice yet, he won’t be able to mimic it.
I understand.
“Perhaps another time,” I said to Alec. “Our friends made lasagna, asparagus, and garlic bread. It was all delicious.” If this thing was human, he’d know something was up because this conversation was so blandly stilted, it was painful. “Our friend here also made us dessert, which was amazing.”
Alec’s gaze returned to me for a moment, one side of his mouth kicking up. He understood I didn’t want to use his name if we were being overheard. He lifted his head and inhaled deeply and then, staring over our shoulders, shook his head. “Next time you’ll have to tell me what your favorite dessert is so I can make it for you.”
A ball of fire erupted behind us. Before I could react, Clive had Fergus and me across the street, away from the weak glow from a distant streetlight. We watched the pier where we’d been standing. A few minutes later, Alec and Benvair crossed the street to us.
Voice so low, even I had trouble hearing, Alec said, “He can mimic animal shapes as well. There was a cat slinking up the side of the pier building. It ignored a rat that ran right past it.”
“Yes,” Benvair said. “That’s what caught my attention as well. I feigned interest in the food stand so I could get closer to him. He didn’t smell like a cat.” She thought a moment. “More like a rat, actually, though it was quite faint.”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “When Fergus was pulling me toward the stand, a rat ran past us and Fergus didn’t even turn his head. Maybe he was slinking around, looking for his next victim as a rat and when Fergus and I showed up, he turned himself into one of the last people he’d studied: Clive.”
“I was, perhaps, thirty feet from him,” Benvair said, “when he turned to watch me. As I didn’t want a killer wandering around town with my face, I burned him,” she said. “Unfortunately, though, I didn’t kill him. He ran, his body scorched. He was fluctuating between shapes and then he just disappeared. I hurt him—I know that—but I didn’t kill him.”
“Better than I did,” Clive grumbled. “I chased him but, as with you, he disappeared.”
“The cat,” I murmured.
Clive nodded. “Yes. I just realized that as well. When I went on the roof of The Bubble Lounge, I saw a small cat hiding behind the air conditioning unit. He was up there, watching us last night.”
“If he can appear to be anyone or anything, how will we ever catch him?” It felt like we were farther from an answer than when we started. “We can’t sniff the entire city until we find a cat or maybe a rat or—Oh. That’s how he disappeared. He probably shifted into a cockroach or something and dropped between the wooden planks of the pier.”
Clive rubbed a hand up and down my arm. “We’ll figure it out.”
“We’re going to go home now,” Benvair said. “If you think of a way we can help, let us know. I, too, will put out feelers. Someone has to know what it is and how to kill it.”
“He’s fae. His eyes swirled black and gold when he was trying to mesmer—wait,” I said, grabbing Clive’s arm. “Blood. Did you see blood on him? I cut off one of his hands and buried my claws in his chest.”
Clive lifted my hand to study it. The claws were gone, but I still had some blood under my fingernails. “We need to preserve this. Dave may be able to find him through the blood.”
I glanced down at Fergus. “I was so worried about him being hurt or my needing to comfort him, I was petting him and probably rubbed off the blood on my hands. Stupid.”
Clive kissed my forehead. “Stop. One thing you are not is stupid.”
“But the blood, the injury.” I glanced between Benvair and Alec. “You both scented him. Did you smell blood?”
They both shook their heads. “And the cat wasn’t missing a paw,” Benvair informed us.
I blew out a breath. “So, he heals when he shifts? Shit.”
“But,” Alec said, “you cut off his hand and made him bleed. If he bleeds, he can be killed.”
“Indeed,” Clive agreed. He turned to me. “Where did you park?”
“Stheno’s place.”
Clive took the leash from me. “I’ll drive you home. Try not to touch anything. We’ll call Dave in the car.” He turned to Benvair and Alec. “Thank you for coming out tonight. We’ll keep you informed. And Alec, you’re looking quite hale. It’s good to see.”
Alec tipped his head to Clive and then he and his grandmother walked in the opposite direction, back to their own car.
