Page 22 of Queens Will Play

“How about you?” Delilah asked. “Did Aeval really threaten you about—” She paused as Marion walked up. Tall and lanky, almost gaunt, Marion had red hair and a dark tan that made her look older. Coyote shifters seldom looked young, and they almost always looked like they had some rough experience under their belt.

“Marion!” I stood up, giving her a hug. “It’s been a long time. I’m sorry we haven’t been in for a visit⁠—”

“That’s all right,” she said, pulling out the fourth chair at the table. She sat next to Delilah. “I know how busy you all are. I’ve been swamped, too.” She sighed. “We rebuilt the house, and then ended up selling it and buying elsewhere. Which appears to be the problem. We’re into urban farming now, and I’ve been scrambling on keeping this place open, which—in this economy—isn’t the easiest. But we’re above water and I manage to pay my workers a decent wage, so I guess all is well. At least, in that regard.”

“What’s going on?” Delilah said. “You said there’s something giving you trouble out at your house?”

Marion nodded. “Yeah. Whatever it is, it killed our hens. And I don’t mean ate them—it seems to have just drained them of life. Now, it’s after us. Douglas thought it was a coyote or something until the other night.”

“What happened?” I asked.

She grimaced. “I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling like something was choking me. I managed to break free, and when I flipped on the light, there was nothing in the room. But I had these…” She pulled down her turtleneck to show her throat. There were bruises around it, looking like hickeys. “Douglas was terrified that somehow, he might have done it in his sleep, but I knew it wasn’t him. So, we set up a camera in the bedroom the next night.”

Marion pulled out her phone and opened it up to a video. She held it out so we could all see, and started the vid. In the frame, she and Douglas were sleeping side by side. Marion fast-forwarded through until the time stamp read two AM. At that moment, she began to thrash. The sheet flew off of her and she was trying to pry something invisible away from her neck. It was obvious she couldn’t break free. Douglas was still asleep, totally unaware of what was happening.

As we watched, Marion’s eyes began to bulge, but a moment later, she went limp and whatever force had been choking her seemed to vanish. She sat up gasping and slapped at Douglas, who shook out of his slumber, looking dazed.

Marion stopped the video. “This has happened twice since last Wednesday. Last night, I wore a loose but hard-shelled neck guard. Whatever it was tried to choke me again but the neck guard prevented it from reaching my flesh. However, it shook the living daylights out of me.”

I stared at the video, horrified. “So, whatever it was, it’s not just energetic. Otherwise, it would be able to choke you regardless of the guard. A physical barrier can stop it.”

She nodded. “Douglas is terrified now. He said he’s going to start sleeping at his office during the day so he can keep watch over me during the night. But we might just end up going to a motel. Whatever it is, I can feel it around.”

“Can you send me that video? Text it to me,” I said.

She nodded, and in seconds, my phone pinged as she texted it. “So yeah, we’re out our flock of chickens and now…it seems that I’m the main target. After it started targeting me, I decided it can’t be an animal spirit. Animals don’t choke you, unless we’re talking about a constrictor.”

I nodded. “I doubt if it’s an animal spirit, either. Can we come over tonight to suss out the energy?” My advisors wouldn’t like it, but too bad.

“I’d appreciate it if you could.”

I turned to Delilah. “If you can, I’d like to have both you and Menolly there.”

Menolly nodded. “I can make it.”

“What about you?” I asked Delilah. “You can see ghosts and spirits⁠—”

“Most of the time,” she said. “Not always. But I’ll talk to Shade and Hanna. Pick me up around one?”

I nodded. “I suppose you should go take a nap,” I said. “You look tired.”

“You too,” she said. “We want to be in top form.”

As we finished our appetizers and drinks, Marion thanked us and headed toward the back. Before we left, the waitress handed us a bag filled with cinnamon rolls and she refused to take our money. I insisted on leaving a tip, though, and we headed back out, into the storm.

Vanzir blew through the door at precisely seven-thirty. “That woman’s the most unreasonable, pathetic excuse for a mother!”

We’d finished eating dinner. I was reading, stretched out on the sofa. Trillian and Smoky were playing chess, and Morio was answering email about his blood-business. Frowning, I put down my e-reader. Vanzir looked about ready to kill.

“What happened?” I asked, dreading his answer. It couldn’t be good.

“Aeval is farming Lahi out to some woman in the Barrow—not as a nanny, but to live with her as a foster. I absolutely refused to allow it, and she kicked me out. I’ll fucking steal my kid from her before I let her go to some stranger,” Vanzir said.

My heart sank. I’d half expected it to come to this. Aeval was determined to secure her place on the throne, especially with the news about Desanguas. And she’d fed me what I wanted to hear to get me off her back. “That bitch. She’s ruthless. She lied to my face. Either that, or she changed her mind.”

“She never intended to let me have access to Lahi,” Vanzir said. “I’m no substitute for a mother, and hell—I’m not going to claim to be the best father in the world, but…”

“But you love Lahi more than she ever will,” I said. “Let me think. Maybe I can think of someone she’ll listen to.”