“Shocking.” Cyrus turned to Wren again. “How’d you enforce it? I might need tips.”
“You’re both assholes. I hope you get infected with a flesh-eating parasite. I’ll create a very special scrapbook for you.”
“The-ra-py,” Cyrus said.
“Fuck. You,” Black said, kicking at his shin.
Cyrus bent down and caught Black’s kicking leg by the ankle, holding it up and making him hop in place.
Wren was pretty impressed. Not a lot of people could put up with Black, but Cyrus had been working with him for years without killing him.
“Anyway,” Cyrus said. “I came to ask if you had a second to talk about a case.”
Wren frowned for a moment, thinking of the ongoing cases he had and whether any of them would be of interest to PUMA. “I don’t have a lot of active ones.”
“No guarantees you took one of these, but I figure it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
Wren shrugged. “Shoot.”
“We’ve had several cases of people causing public disturbance, acting violently, destroying property and such,” Cyrus said.“When questioned they don’t remember doing it, and everybody in their vicinity either doesn’t want to talk about it or is actively covering for them.”
“Okay?” Wren frowned, not sure how any of that had anything to do with him. “Were any of them on four legs?”
“What?” Cyrus asked. “No.”
“Scales? Claws? Fur?”
“What are you…?”
“He’s asking if there are animals involved,” Black said, finally freeing his leg from Cyrus’s grip, kicking his shin again, and hopping away before he could be caught.
“Because if not, I’m not sure I can be of any help,” Wren said, shaking his head at Black.
“Right. That’s the thing. After reaching out to several other departments in other cities, we have learned that these individuals seem to be on some sort of drug, and the drug might be made from the venom of various cursed animals.”
Wren’s head snapped up.
His hackles rose.
Bile burned his throat and a wave of rage washed over his insides.
“People are the worst thing that ever happened to this planet,” he hissed through his teeth. “The depravity they’re willing to engage in, hurting those who can’t defend themselves…”
“Okay, babe,” Black said. “Calm down or your head’s gonna explode. Or don’t…because that’d be sick to see.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Cyrus said. “Yes, it’s disgusting, but it’s happening and we need your help stopping it. So do you have anything that might help us?”
Wren thought back to the feral raccoon he had freed and the weirdness surrounding his encounter with the woman and her husband.
The whole thing had left him unsettled.
And then there was the syringe he’d found on their property. Was that the drug Cyrus was talking about?
“I might. I was called out on a case because of a feral raccoon.”
“A feral raccoon is not a cursebreaker job,” Black said. “Did it foam at the mouth though?”
Cyrus walked over to him, taking his chin between his fingers and lifting his head up.
