“Goodbye,” Spencer said pointedly, ending the call.
Wade laughed, slouching in the seat, his wavy dark brown hair flopping over his forehead. “So what’s up with this poltergeist?”
Now that they no longer had other people in the car listening in, Spencer was free to talk about the case with Wade and bring him up to speed. It probably broke protocol, but he trusted Wade to keep the information confidential. Besides, few people in the government were privy to Wade’s true identity as a dragon, and Spencer knew everyone back east would like to keep it that way. He had no intention of introducing Wade to anyone at the SOA field office if he could help it.
The Seattle Night Court was an entirely different matter.
They went to the Four Seasons, where Spencer stayed in the car out front while Wade grabbed his things and checked out. Once he returned to the car, he tossed his carry-on into the back seat, not wanting it to be near Spencer’s outerwear and whatever scent he was getting off them.
The drive back to the condo was made in amicable silence. That silence was broken when they made it to the hallway outside the condo and Wade sniffed loudly at the air. “Ugh. Did you really give out your key to a vampire?”
Spencer frowned over his shoulder at Wade as he unlocked the door. “What?”
Wade peered past him, scowling in disgust. “I remember you.”
Spencer turned his head, staring at where Takoma stood just outside the range of the door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. His piercing gaze was focused on Wade, one eyebrow rising minutely toward his hairline. “Fledgling.”
“I can’t believe you invited him inside,” Wade complained as he squeezed past Spencer and Takoma to enter the condo. “I’m telling Patrick. He’s never going to let you live this down.”
“Patrick isn’t the boss of me, not like how he is with you,” Spencer said.
Wade wheeled his suitcase into the kitchen and started rifling through the cabinets. “He likes to think he’s the boss of me.”
Spencer let the door shut behind him, refusing to get sucked into an argument with Wade about his choices in life. He didn’t lock the door, knowing Takoma wouldn’t be staying long. The master vampire’s gaze raked up and down Spencer’s body, lingering on the wet and muddy wool coat slung over Spencer’s arm.
“What happened?” Takoma asked.
“Rufus doesn’t care about your territory borders. He sent some vampires to Black Diamond,” Spencer replied.
Takoma moved to stand in front of him in an instant, cool hands reaching out to frame his face and tilt Spencer’s head to the side. He’d dropped the narrowly set look-away ward after Wade’s comment, so the bruised bite mark was easy enough to see. It would heal up without scarring, but walking around with what amounted to Takoma’s claim on his body made him shiver.
Takoma pressed his thumb against the heated skin there. “Did any of them touch you?”
“What do you think?”
Something dark and furious flashed across Takoma’s eyes. “That’s twice now they’ve ignored my territory claim. I would consider that breaking the treaty.”
“That’s not all they did.”
Rather than have the conversation in the small hallway, Spencer pushed at Takoma’s hip to get him moving. They retreated to the living room so Spencer could drape the dirty clothes over a couple of dining room table chairs and pace a little to shake off the lingering tension. He brought Takoma up to date on the evening’s events, the master vampire’s gaze cutting to the mageglobe with its containment spell resting on the coffee table when he finished.
“Is it safe to keep it here?” Takoma asked.
“You aren’t taking it,” Wade called from the kitchen.
“Neither are you,” Spencer called back, never looking away from Takoma. “Fatima will guard it tonight, and I’ll bring it into the office tomorrow.”
Takoma studied the mageglobe for a couple more seconds before returning his attention to Spencer. “Did anything cross over?”
Spencer pursed his lips. “Something tried before Wade destroyed it. The sorceress who was with Caitlin at the gala and at the cemetery tonight was probably part of the Cascade Coven, but there’s no way to be certain now because she’s dead. I don’t like the implications of hunters targeting far-flung rural packs that no one might miss.”
“They weren’t missed.”
“Only because we knew what to warn for. I don’t know why the vampires were there, but if they’re partnering with the Cascade Coven to hunt werecreatures, then that’s a problem.”
“Adler despises anything that comes from the preternatural and supernatural communities or anyone who doesn’t adhere to her viewpoint. Her targeting werecreatures isn’t unusual.”
“Yeah? What about vampires? You say she’s just using Rufus for advice, but it has to be more than that. How many people in history have teamed up with people they hate to get what they want? The enemy of my enemy is my very temporary friend.”
