The radio suddenly changed stations on its own, playing a haunting melody—the same tune Elder Thornberry had been humming in the forest. It played for precisely ten seconds before dissolving into static.
"Did you hear that?" Delilah asked, suddenly alert. "That's the melody I've been hearing everywhere."
Sam nodded, glitter falling from his hair. "Elder Thornberry was humming it too."
They looked at the map, now innocently lying between them again, covered in glitter.
"I think," Delilah said slowly, "the map is trying to tell us something."
"Yeah. Stop arguing or suffer the consequences."
"No." She pointed to a new marking appearing on the parchment. "It's giving us our next destination."
The map's new marking pointed toward Whisperwind Lane, a rural road that cut through farmland on the outskirts of Assjacket. Sam brushed more glitter from his shoulders, scowling as it settled into the Jeep's upholstery.
"This will never come out," he muttered, flicking a particularly stubborn sparkle from his forearm. "Do you know what glitter is to a werewolf? It's like supernatural dandruff that follows you for life."
Delilah suppressed a smile. "I think it's an improvement. Adds some personality to your whole..." she gestured vaguely at his entire being, "brooding wolf detective aesthetic."
The map wiggled between them, seemingly pleased with itself.
"Don't encourage it," Sam growled.
They turned onto a narrow road bordered by a vast field of emotion-sensing flowers—a local attraction that tourists loved and locals avoided. The blossoms, normally a peaceful blue, shifted to a mottled purple and red as the Jeep passed.
"Those flowers are picking up some serious tension," Delilah observed.
Sam kept his eyes fixed on the road. "They're just flowers."
"Empathic flowers. And right now they're practically screaming 'unresolved sexual tension mixed with stubborn denial.'"
Sam nearly swerved off the road. "They are not?—"
Red and blue lights flashed in his rearview mirror. A police cruiser appeared behind them, siren whooping once to signal them to pull over.
"Perfect," Sam muttered, easing onto the shoulder. "Just what we need."
The map instantly dove under Delilah's seat.
"Coward," she whispered to it.
Sheriff Moonwater approached, her tall frame casting a long shadow through the driver's window. Her uniform badge caught the sunlight, momentarily blinding Sam.
"License and registration, Wolfe." Her tone was professional but her eyes narrowed at the glitter coating his shoulders. "And an explanation for why you're leaving a trail of sparkles all over my county roads."
Sam handed over his documents. "It's not what it looks like, Sheriff."
"Really? Because it looks like you're transporting illegal fairy dust. We've had three cases this month alone."
"It's just regular glitter," Delilah offered helpfully from the passenger seat. "From a... map tantrum."
Sheriff Moonwater's eyebrow arched so high it nearly reached her hat. "A map tantrum."
"We're on official town business," Sam explained, trying to sound authoritative despite the pink glitter now visibly stuck in his stubble. "Mayor Grimble's special investigation."
The Sheriff leaned down, peering into the vehicle. "Then where's your?—"
The map shot out from under the seat, hovering between them. It folded itself rapidly, corners tucking and edges folding until it formed a perfect replica of an official Assjacket badge. The words "EXTREMELY IMPORTANT MAGICAL BUSINESS" appeared in golden letters across its surface.
