Raj was waiting for us when we unlocked the door and turned off the security alarm.
“Raven and Kipa! Raj has been good. Raj didn’t do anything Raj wasn’t supposed to,” he said, bouncing around.
“What did Raj do all day?” I asked.
“Raj watched so many of his TV friends. And he took a nap in his super-soft bed. And he watched the neighbors poke around the windows?—”
“Whoa!” I turned to Kipa. “Listen to this.” I motioned to Raj. “If Raj would repeat what he just said, Raven would appreciate it.”
His leathery gray head bobbing up and down, Raj gave a little wriggle. “Raj watched the neighbors poke around the windows in the side yard.”
“Which neighbors?” Kipa asked.
“The neighbors from across the street. Trefoil and Meadow! Raj will be happy to say hello to them again.” Raj sniffed. “Raj has dinner?”
“Raj can’t have the dinner Raven brought home, but Raj will get tasty food.” Relieved, I headed toward the door. “Mind if I invite them over?” I asked.
“Go for it,” Kipa said. “They can fill us in on all the scuttlebutt we’ve missed.”
Trefoil and Meadow O’Ceallaigh were brother and sister, and they were magic-born. They worked for LOCK—the Library of Cryptic Knowledge. A secret organization, LOCK gathered all the arcane knowledge it could find, and it had two branches—research and a paramilitary side. Trefoil and Meadow were both in the military branch. They were fun and friendly. While they couldn’t discuss their work with anybody outside of LOCK, they were always up to something interesting.
I darted across the street. My house was in a cul-de-sac, at the end next to an entrance to UnderLake Park. UnderLake Park was haunted by restless spirits, and it had been the place of my first fiancé’s murder. While I had healed from losing him, the park—with its shaded paths and restless energy—always made me nervous.
I knocked on the door. Kipa had bought the house, but he rented it out to the brother-sister pair, and they had been good tenants for several years.
Trefoil answered. His spiky platinum hair mirrored a young Billy Idol or Spike, off of Buffy, and both he and his sister were lean, lanky, and strong. He grinned.
“I figured Raj would tell you we were over in your yard. We just wanted to make certain it was you, and not somebody trying to break in.” He called over his shoulder, “Meadow, Raven’s here!” To me, he added, “Come in?”
“Actually, if you aren’t busy, we thought you might like to join us for dinner. We have plenty of food. We thought we could catch up,” I said.
Meadow appeared behind her brother. She had fiery red hair and was about the same build as her brother. “Hey, Raven! Good to see you.”
“I came over to check whether Raj was right in saying he saw you outside in our yard, and second, to invite you to dinner.”
“Yum, I was about to cook, but I’d rather curl up with takeout and friends.” She glanced at Trefoil. “Shall we?”
“We’ll be over in a few minutes.”
I turned and headed back to the house, relieved to know that it had been the brother-sister duo, and grateful that they cared enough to check out what was going on. When I opened the door, I found Kipa had set out paper plates, napkins, and silverware in the living room. He had also opened a bottle of plum wine, and he had fed Raj.
Raj looked up from his bowl of plain rice and chicken—he couldn’t have garlic or several other foods, so we had to be cautious about the prepared foods he ate. But he loved chicken and rice, and we would make up big batches of it and freeze it. But we hadn’t had time to prepare any since we arrived home.
“How did you—” I started to ask.
“I used instant rice and canned chicken breast. It’s not ideal, but he likes it,” he said. “I added some butter and a little cheese.”
“Trefoil and Meadow will be here in a few minutes,” I said. “They were over here today checking out who was in the house.”
“Carry the glasses for me?” Kipa asked, carrying a tray with the takeout cartons on it.
I picked up the glasses and the plum wine and followed him into the living room. We had no sooner arranged the cartons of food when the doorbell rang. I answered it, leading Trefoil and Meadow into the house. As we settled down in the living room, it occurred to me that they had access to one of the most extensive libraries on arcane knowledge that ever existed.
“You know, before we catch up, it just crossed my mind that maybe you can help us. We’re working with the Wild Hunt again. We’re trying to figure out what kind of creature can kill by dissolving their victims into jellyfish goo, and can drain the salt out of the victim’s system.”
One thing about the Wonder Twins, as I had dubbed them in my mind, was that they had encountered all sorts of freaky shit and nothing I could say could shock them.
Trefoil cocked his head. “Let me take a look.” He pulled out his tablet and began tapping away.
