Of course the council had poked at me again. It no longer surprised me when they took every opportunity to screw with me.
Mrs. Baker slammed the door in my face and I turned, finding Kyla waiting for me on the street. I clomped down the porch steps.
“I hope you had better luck than me.”
She attempted a smile. “Witches don’t like wolves. We’re immune to some of their magic. It pisses them off.”
I wiped a hand over my face and she nudged me with her elbow. “I’m starving.”
“I could eat.”
We turned toward my car and Kyla went still. Her gaze was fixed on a teenager walking down the street toward us, and her head cocked in a way that was all wolf.
“I know that kid. I saw him last night. He was staring at the house while it burned.”
The teenager lifted his head and froze. Then he promptly turned on his heel and headed in the other direction.
I raised one eyebrow. “Well, that’s suspicious.”
We stalked after him. He glanced over his shoulder and broke into a run.
One minute Kyla was next to me, and the next she was gone. I gaped. She’d already caught the kid, and she was holding him by his throat against a power pole.
I jogged up to them. “Jeez you can move,” I said. It made sense, but I’d never seen a werewolf run. I’d bet she was even faster in her other form.
“Let me go, I don’t know nothin’. Let me go!”
I surveyed the street. We had to get this little chat over with quickly, otherwise the local witches were going to decide to find out exactly what all the noise was about.
“Quiet.” Kyla snarled. Her claws slid out as her hand tightened around the neck of his shirt.
The kid went chalk white and froze, barely breathing. I sighed. Obviously I’d have to be good cop.
“Ease back a bit,” I said, and she relaxed her hand slightly.
“Why did you turn around and walk in the other direction when you saw us?”
He strained against Kyla’s hold on his shirt, his eyes rolling. “I realized I’m late for an appointment. You don’t own the streets!”
“Uh-huh. What were you doing here last night?”
The kid started shaking. “Nothin’. Nothin’, I swear.”
I held up the Mistilteinn Dagger as it glowed red. “See this? It can tell when you lie.”
He stared at the blade and went silent.
“You want me to slap him around?” Kyla offered.
I chuckled. As a werewolf, Kyla could probably lift my car. If she slapped a human, he’d likely be dead before he hit the ground.
“Don’t let her hurt me. Please!”
I rolled my eyes. This kid wasn’t a killer. But he might’ve seen something. I glanced at Kyla and she held her hands up and stepped back. The kid straightened his clothes and took a deep breath.
“You looked mighty interested in those flames last night,” Kyla said, and the kid flinched.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
