“But you might need the phone,” I said to her, and she jumped. “Or some first aid. After all, Annabelle, you never know what you’re going to meet up with.” Though I’d started out smiling, there was no smile on my face by the time I finished.

People should make an effort to be polite.

“Thanks again for the use of your land. We’ll be heading into the woods,” Alcide said quickly. The dark was falling steadily, and I could see the other Weres drifting into the cover of the trees. One of the women threw back her head and yipped. Basim’s eyes were rounder and more golden already.

“Have a good night,” I said, as I stepped back and latched the screen door. The three Weres started down the front steps. Alcide’s voice drifted back. He was saying, “I told you she was telepathic,” to Annabelle as they went across the driveway into the woods, trailed by Ham. Jannalynn suddenly started running for the tree line, she was so anxious to change. But it was Basim who glanced back at me as I pushed the wooden door shut. It was the kind of look you get from the animals in the zoo.

And then it was full dark.

The Weres were a bit of a disappointment. They didn’t make as much noise as I’d thought they would. I stayed in the house, of course, all locked up, and I pulled my curtains closed, which wasn’t my normal habit. After all, I lived in the middle of the woods. I watched a little television, and I read some. Somewhat later, while I was brushing my teeth, I heard howling. I thought it came from far off, probably near the eastern edge of my property.

Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, I woke up because I heard car engines. The Weres were taking their departure. I almost turned over to go back to sleep, but I realized I had to get up and pay a trip to the bathroom. After I took care of that, I was a little more awake. I padded down the hall to the living room and peeked through a gap in the front curtains. Out of the tree line came Ham Bond, a bit worse for wear. He was talking to Alcide. Their trucks were the only remaining vehicles. Annabelle appeared a moment after.

As I looked at the early morning light falling across the dewy grass, the three Weres walked across the lawn slowly, clothed as they had been the night before, but carrying their shoes. They looked exhausted but happy. Their clothes weren’t bloody, but their faces and arms were speckled. They’d had a successful hunt. I had a Bambi twinge, but I suppressed it. This was little different from going up in a blind with a rifle.

A few seconds later Basim emerged from the woods. In the slanted light, he looked like a woodland creature, his wild hair full of bits of leaf and twig. There was something ancient about Basim al Saud. I had to wonder how he’d become a werewolf in wolfless Arabia. As I watched, Basim turned away from the other three and came to my front porch. He knocked, low and firm.

I counted to ten and opened the door. I tried not to stare at the blood. You could tell he’d washed his face in the stream, but he’d missed his neck.

“Miss Stackhouse, good morning,” Basim said courteously. “Alcide says I should tell you that other creatures have been passing through your property.”

I could feel the pucker between my eyes as I frowned. “What kind, Basim?”

“At least one was a fairy,” he said. “Possibly more than one fairy, but one for sure.”

That was incredible for about six reasons. “Are these tracks. or traces. fresh? Or a few weeks old?”

“Very fresh,” he said. “And the scent of vampire is strong, too. That’s a bad mixture.”

“That’s unpleasant news, but something I needed to know. Thanks for telling me.”

“And there’s a body.”

I stared at him, willing my face to stillness. I have a lot of practice at not showing what I’m thinking; any telepath has to be good at that. “How old a body?” I asked, when I was sure I had my voice under control.

“Around a year and a half, maybe a little less.” Basim wasn’t making a big deal about finding a body. He was strictly letting me know it was there. “It’s quite far back, buried very deeply.”

I didn’t say anything. Geez Louise, must be Debbie Pelt. Since Eric had recovered his memory of that night, that’s one thing I’d never asked him: where he’d buried her body after I’d killed her.

Basim’s dark eyes examined me with great attention. “Alcide wants you to call if you need help or advice,” he said finally.

“Tell Alcide I appreciate the offer. And thanks again for letting me know.”

He nodded, and then he was halfway back to the truck, where Annabelle sat with her head resting on Alcide’s shoulder.

I raised my hand to them as Alcide started the truck, and I shut my door firmly as they left.

I had a lot to think about.

Chapter 2

I went back to the kitchen, looking forward to my coffee and a slice of the applesauce bread Halleigh Bellefleur had dropped off at the bar the day before. She was a nice young woman, and I was real glad she and Andy were expecting a baby. I’d heard that Andy’s grandmother, ancient Mrs. Caroline Bellefleur, was beside herself with delight, and I didn’t doubt it for a moment. I tried to think about good things, like Halleigh’s baby, Tara’s pregnancy, and the last night I’d spent with Eric; but the disturbing news Basim had told me gnawed at me all morning.

Of all the ideas I had, calling the Renard Parish’s sheriff’s office was the one that got almost zero brain time. There was no way I could tell them why I was worried. The Weres were out, and there was nothing illegal about letting them hunt on my land. But I couldn’t picture myself telling Sheriff Dearborn that a Were had told me fairies had been crossing my property.

Here’s the thing. As far as I’d known until this moment, all the fairies except my cousin Claude had been barred from the human world. At least, all the fairies in America. I’d never wondered about those in other countries, and now I closed my eyes and winced at my own stupidity. My great-grandfather Niall had closed all the portals between the fae world and ours. At least, that was what he’d told me he was going to do. And I’d assumed they were all gone, except for Claude, who’d lived among humans as long as I’d known him. So how come there’d been a fairy tromping through my woods?

And who could I ask for advice on the situation? I couldn’t just sit on my hands and do nothing. My great-grandfather had been looking for the self-loathing half-human renegade Dermot until the moment he closed the portal. I needed to face the possibility that Dermot, who was simply insane, had been left in the human world. However it had come about, I had to believe that fae proximity to my house couldn’t be a good thing. I needed to talk to someone about this.

I might confide in Eric, since he was my lover, or in Sam, because he was my friend, or even in Bill, because his land shared a boundary with mine and he would also be concerned. Or I could talk to Claude, see if he’d give me any insight into the situation. I sat at the table with my coffee and my hunk of applesauce bread, too distracted to read or turn on the radio to catch the news. I finished one cup of coffee and started another. I showered, in an automatic sort of way, and made my bed and did all my usual morning tasks.

Finally, I sat down at the computer I’d brought home from my cousin Hadley’s New Orleans apartment, and I checked my e-mail. I’m not methodical about doing this. I know very few people who might send me e-mail, and I simply haven’t gotten into the habit of looking at my computer every day.

I had several messages. I didn’t recognize the return address on the first one. I moved the mouse to click on it.

A knock at the back door made me jump like a frog.

I pushed back my chair. After a second’s hesitation, I got the shotgun from the closet in the front room. Then I went to the back door and peeked through the new peephole. “Speak of the devil,” I muttered.