I squeezed his hand once before I let go. “Stay close to me in there.”
He glanced up at the tree where the raven perched, then toward the open window the bat had disappeared through.
“Trust me,” he said quietly, “I’m not going far.”
We were here to further our investigation. It shouldn’t have been a problem, but for some reason, I had a bad feeling about this brewery tour. I couldn’t say why, but I was sure that whatever waited in that brewery was trouble.
We were early, but there were already some people milling around, eating tacos and hot dogs from the food trucks out in the parking lot, waiting for the tour to start. The door to the brewhouse creaked when I pushed it open, and warm air, heavy with hops, rolled over us, thick enough to taste on the back of my tongue.
“Hey, Roy!” I called out, but no one answered.
Just then, Mellgren fluttered in from the upper walkway, shifting from bat to vampire mid-air with a grace that always made my wolf bristle with envy. He landed silently, smoothing his vest like he hadn’t just fallen twenty feet.
“Mellgren, what are you doing here? I thought you were at work,” Az said.
“I was, but I was coming to see Gideon about something, and Sable said I’d just missed you.” He looked at Declan. “I took a chance and flew over to the cafe. I figured you would need to fuel up.”
“What was so important you flew all this way?” I asked.
“I was going over the booking for the upcoming shifter conference, and while your old pack has reserved a block of rooms, they said the alpha and his luna would be staying elsewhere. I just thought it was weird and wanted to let you know.”
“That is odd, but thanks for letting me know.” Knowing there was a shifter conference coming to town that I wouldn’t be included in left me feeling some kind of way, especially since my old pack would be attending, but that was a problem for another day. Today, we had other things to deal with, like a rogue witch using her powers to influence the brewing competition.
A clatter from deeper inside the building made Declan stiffen beside me.
A moment later, a tall man with curly hair and wide eyes popped up from behind a row of kegs. Caesar had been working at the Black Feather tent at the festival, and Roy had mentioned that he’d hired him after he’d fired his previous assistant, Beckett. Not that I knew him well, I’d always liked Caesar.
“Oh, thank God,” Caesar said, breathing out a deep sigh. “I thought you were more tourists here for the brewery tour. I told them to wait out front until the tour started.” He rushed forward, wiping his palms on his apron. “Have you heard fromRoy? He’s not answering his phone. He was supposed to be here to lead the tour an hour ago, but he still isn’t here. He’s never late. Never.”
Well darn. Looked like my intuition was right, and something was wrong here. As excited as Roy was about all the perks of winning, I couldn’t imagine him blowing off a chance to show off his brewery.
Declan stepped closer, voice softening. “You haven’t heard from him?”
Caesar swallowed hard. “No. I even called Nadia, but she doesn’t know where he is either. His truck is here, though.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“Umm, yesterday. He was really excited about the tour. He thinks winning this contest is going to really put us on the map.”
I looked around, but I didn’t really know much about brewing ale, so I wouldn’t know if anything was out of place. “Do you know for sure if he got?—”
“Gideon,” Mellgren said. “I think you need to come look at this.”
I turned to find him standing in front of a row of large copper vats in the middle of the room.
“What is it, Mellgren?” He didn’t look all that good, like all the color had drained from his face, which said a lot for a vampire since he was already super pale.
“There’s blood in that vat,” he said quietly, his voice a little shaky.
If it had been anyone else, I would’ve asked if he was sure, but I knew Mellgren wouldn’t have said it if he wasn’t.
“Not again,” Declan groaned.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” I murmured.
I approached the vat, the copper warm beneath my hand. Even though the lid was closed, the scent hit me: hops, yeast, with something metallic hiding underneath.
“How do we see inside?” I asked Caesar.
