Demons of Good and Evil by Kim Harrison

            “David wouldn’t be involved in this,” I said, glancing at my phone again.

            “Time to go.” Al stood, one hand on my shoulder, the other pointing his cane at the ley line between us and the growing pack. The ever-after would be a convenient escape. True, neither of us could jump to a line at the moment, but even a witch could stand in one and translocate realities. Once, the demon’s practice of abducting witches for servants had stopped them. Now it was only a lingering fear that kept everyone out of the demons’ realm.

            “Unless Madam Subrosa wishes to help?” he added sardonically, and I stood as well. There were too few I.S. agents for what they were walking into.

            Help the I.S.? It would go nowhere in improving my relationship with the vampire-controlled police force, but this was too weird. “And get hauled in for starting it?” I said as I sent a quick mental call to Bis.

            As expected, there was no answer from the kid. It was as if I was shouting into a void, and I frowned, worried as five I.S. agents paced past us and over the footbridge to confront the growing pack. Where the Turn is Bis? I thought as Al and I followed them, heading for the ley line on the other side.

            Weres were one of Inderland’s most model citizens, even the alpha males and females law-abiding and easygoing. Oh, they tagged buildings to show territory and were not above mischief, but they always scattered when confronted, preferring to fight another day on territory of their own choosing. This outright aggression between multiple alphas was almost unheard-of. I’d only seen it once before, and a trickle of angst tightened my spine as I called David again.

            “And now, the news,” Al said dryly as an antenna-draped van parked sideways to take up three spots.

            “The Turn take it, David, answer your phone,” I said, eyes down as Al guided me to the footbridge. Even living vamps would think twice before confronting an entire pack of snarling wolves, and the five agents ahead of us slowed, waiting for reinforcements.

            Finally David picked up, my first words catching as his low, pleasant voice filled my ear with his annoyance. “Rachel? If someone isn’t on fire, I’m hanging up.”

            “Turn on your TV,” I said, and the confident man sighed.

            “Is it the vamps or demons?”

            “It’s the Weres,” I said, both hoping and dreading that their aggression would keep the live camera feed off Al and me.

            David’s surprised grunt was joined by a higher voice, her words muffled. Cassie? I thought, recognizing her accent, not really surprised. David and the werefox had been dating since David had appraised her damaged casino boat.

            “Try one forty,” David said faintly, and then a louder “What the devil?”

            “They are alphas, both the males and females,” I said, sure he was seeing what I was seeing. “The I.S. is out here and no one is backing down,” I added as Al drew me across the wide footbridge, my boots scuffing. “David, it’s bizarre. I’ve never seen Weres do this before.”

            But I had, once on an island in the Straits of Mackinac—and my worry tightened.

            “Where are my pants?” David said, but I was no longer listening. The I.S. had brought in a chopper, the wind and light only making the Weres that much more agitated. I stopped, pulling from Al’s grip at the top of the footbridge when the chopper’s moving light fixated on an angry older man surrounded by snarling Weres in fur. My pulse quickened, and a stab of fear shocked through me, funneled by memory.

            White hair in a short military cut, camouflage pants and jacket, strong jaw, military bearing: it was Walter.





CHAPTER


            2

            “David? It’s Walter!” I shouted into the phone, jerking when the old Were shot a handgun at the chopper and it swung away. Son of a bastard, he shot at the I.S. They’d get mean now, and I looked behind me to see several more agents getting out of their cars.

            “Walter?” David said tersely, and I heard a car door slam through the phone. “The guy you stole the focus from?”

            “I did not steal it. Nick did,” I said, but I was sure Walter didn’t recognize the distinction, seeing as I hid it from him, knowing that in the wrong hands it would shift the balance of Were, elf, vampire, and witch too rapidly to prevent pushback. Weres were kept in check by their mild demeanor, their loyalty to their alphas, and their slow birth rate. The focus nullified all of that, making their alphas willing not only to look to one leader but to follow him or her into any number of aggressive acts. Even their population could skyrocket, as whoever held it could turn a human into a Were with a bite. I had given it to David. Walter probably wanted it back.