“The only place his Night Court doesn’t control is Spokane and the Colville National Forest. Everything else is his. Whatever territory others in the preternatural community have managed to carve out, they’ve had to pay him for it.”
“Which is why you pretending to be a human servant is a dangerous choice,” Levi said, looking at Spencer.
“It’ll be fine,” Spencer said weakly. None of them looked like they believed him, but it was far too late at this juncture to change course now, and he wasn’t about to disclose who his CI was to assuage their worry. He just hoped they wouldn’t dig too deep in that area.
“Not if it imperils the case or gets any of us killed.”
Spencer shrugged. “So far, it hasn’t been a problem, and it won’t be.”
Kori loudly cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Back to the hunters. From the data we’ve collected, there’s a strong likelihood that the hunter group is local, hidden, and established enough to be a threat in our vicinity but not outside it. The name Spencer got us after taking a stroll around the Cascade Coven’s house doesn’t match anything in the national database. So, they’re new on our radar, but we don’t know how long they’ve actually been around.”
“If the Cascade Coven is employing hunters without saying they’re employing hunters, then are they part of the coven?” Levi asked.
Spencer frowned. “Better yet, is the entirecovena hunter group?”
Kori opened her mouth to speak before snapping it shut, a thoughtful look on her face. “That’s an angle we haven’t researched yet. We believed the two groups to be separate.”
“You wouldn’t think hunters would purposefully infect themselves with the werevirus to take packs out from the inside out, but they tried two years ago. Hiding is what hunters do.”
“If the Cascade Coven is a hunter group, then it wouldn’t be new, but it would be entrenched. It would also make sense why these hunters aren’t in the national database. Most covens are pretty insular and don’t accept everyone who petitions to join them. If they’re hunters as well, they’d be even pickier, and we all know the Adler family is notoriously private,” Levi said.
“So we’re possibly looking at an old coven who may or may not be a long-standing hunter group the government hasn’t ever heard of because they hide behind the veneer of respectability,” Spencer said.
The pained expressions on everyone’s faces told him no one liked that possibility.
“It would make sense why the Cascade Coven was so anti-preternatural community for so many decades and why they have continuous territory disagreements with everyone,” Kori said, drumming her fingers against the table before shoving herself away from it. Her rolling chair skidded across the room, and she used her feet to push herself the rest of the way to her desk. “Hudson, we’re diving into that.”
Hudson stepped away from the table, the pair of analysts quickly focusing on the new angle that had come up. Spencer looked across the table at Levi and arched an eyebrow. “You want to take lead on the case we took over from the PCB and the one I brought in last night? The hunters probably know I’m a mage, but they don’t know I’m a federal agent yet. I’d like to keep up that pretense for as long as possible.”
Levi crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “And what will you be doing?”
“Checking on some packs to make sure they aren’t possessed and figuring out what the hell is going on with the poltergeist. You take the living, I’ll take the dead, and maybe we’ll get somewhere before Easter.”
Levi didn’t look thrilled about their odds, but Spencer thought they had a chance.
Maybe.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
Spencer was squirreled awayin a visiting agent office, in the middle of writing up his report for what had transpired in the woods last night, when his phone rang, Mallory’s name coming up. He answered on the second ring, writing out a silence ward on the desk with his other hand. “Hey. Did Makai make it back last night?”
“Yes, but a little warning from you about what happened would’ve been nice,” Mallory said, sounding irritated.
“I was busy making sure your dire stayed alive and out of the spotlight, and then I had to deal with the sheriff’s office and local police department. Have you heard from the pack we were supposed to meet with?”
“The pack member they are worried about is still under watch and still of concern. When can you get back out there?”
Spencer slouched in the office chair, feet sliding over the plastic mat as he glanced at the clock on the laptop screen. It was creeping closer to 18:00, and his stomach was reminding him he hadn’t eaten in hours. “Not tonight. I’m in the office making up some work. Tomorrow at the earliest, but that depends on what my team needs from me.”
Mallory let out an exasperated sigh. “I think clearing the souls of the people under our protection should be a priority.”
“I’m not saying it’s not, but there are other factors at play I can’t discuss. In my experience, demons play the long game, and if the werecreature in question is actually possessed, I doubt they’ll make any immediate moves.”
“But you can’t know that for sure.”
“No.”
“You realize this is exactly why we rarely accept government help? It can’t be trusted.”
