Murder, Mayhem, Monsters, and Mistletoe

  Chapter Eight

  On the way to Wolf's Crossing, Tyson put in a call to Sabine to let her know that he would be home shortly. He noted that she answered the call almost immediately; so quickly she would have had to already be in his office when the phone rang. He cursed himself for being a jerk. The woman was probably sitting by the phone waiting to hear from him. He shouldn't have left her alone. That thought brought up another one that he needed to consider. He was going to have to make arrangements for her while he was gone. He would need someone who wouldn't scare her too much. Maybe he could have her stay with Lillith at the Spellcaster estate. One of the women there may be able to come up with a spell or potion to help bring back her memory while he was gone. No. That was a bad idea. If she got her memories back and they were bad ones, he should be around to keep her calm. That could wait until after the trip.

  He pulled up to the community's gate and went through the security measures of a spoken code, fingerprint, and ocular scanning before the giant iron gates with the Luminosi crest swung open to let him in. A few Shifters were standing just inside. Tyson pulled up and pushed the button to make his driver side window go down.

  "What's the deal guys?"

  One of them, Kyle, was barely an adult, but he was a fast and strong Cheetah Shifter. "We're patrolling the grounds. Cayden's got us on high alert for possible Hunter activity."

  Tyson looked at him, confused. "But they don't know our location, do they?"

  "No telling what they know. I guess we got to be careful, huh?"

  "Yeah." Tyson waved and continued down the drive and through the neighborhood to the end of Sunrise Court where Cayden's Psychic estate and the Luminosi offices were located. He pulled in along the large driveway and got out half jogging to the front door. He entered the foyer and turned to the right to where the door to the offices and conference room was wide open. There was a bustle of energy and movement in the large area from all the administrative Daimones. They were on the phones talking in various languages to allies around the world. Several were racing from one place to another, iPads in hand, checking on surveillance tapes from around the city. Everyone was noticeably on edge, waiting to see what Jackson Price's next move would be.

  Tyson was always amazed at how wound up everyone, including himself, could get about the Prices. Lycos was the most evil being ever to walk the Earth. Not even Lucifer's vile ass compared to Lycos, especially since he was killed by the Great Beast over five thousand years ago. Yet when it came to these Hunters, who'd had a vendetta against the Fallen since The Great Flood, the Luminosi had no clue how to handle them. On one hand, they hunted down and destroyed all the Daimones they could, with no discretion. On the other, they were human, and therefore off limits according to the Luminosi and their code of honor and protection towards all humans.

  Making his way around the desks and through throngs of busy people, Tyson stuck his head into Cayden's office. The entire council was in there. Heads of every race of Daimon that belonged to the Luminosi. There was Cillian O'Fallon, The King of the Irish Werewolves who, though he and his people could no longer shift, thanks to a curse by Lycos, had an amazing tactical mind. He also led all of the other varying types of Shifters. Delilah Stiles, the leader of the Elementals, was standing directly next to Cayden Masters, The Angel of Truth and Justice, leader of the Psychics, and of course, all Luminosi. They were arguing with Lillith Blackwood of the Spellcasters and Jude Knight, Vampire, and also The Angel of Peace and Love.

  Tyson cleared his throat and all heads turned to look at him. Cayden looked at him with that steady gaze of his and said, "Now is not a good time, Lieutenant."

  "But sir, I have important information about the Javier Price murder."

  "You investigated the scene."

  "Yes."

  "And you think Breanne Miller was involved."

  "Yes."

  "But you are not quite sure she did it."

  "Well, yes --- I mean, no--- I mean..."

  Cayden gave an exasperated sigh. "She either did or didn't. I don't have time to discern the truth from her or discuss the details. You wanted to tell me that she learned to control the fire."

  "Yes sir. Very well, I believe."

  "Good. Go tell Thelan you all are leaving tomorrow night and that she's going with you. We'll figure out what to do about the rest later."

  "Okay." Tyson frowned. He had something else to say but...

  "Lillith, Tyson wants to know if his dead, yet mysteriously resurrected, lover can stay with you while they are gone."

  Lillith looked confused. "I...guess."

  "There, Lieutenant. All your issues are solved. You are dismissed." With that the leaders went back to their arguing as if he'd never been in the room.

  Tyson left and headed down the long hallway that lead to the back of the estate and Thelan's quarters. He really hated having those sort of conversations with Cayden. Most of the time he was patient, and let you say what you had to say, even though Truth was his dominion and Psychic power. But when he was stressed, he would just basically have the conversation with himself and make his subordinates feel like children. Not that it mattered now that Tyson was standing in front of Thelan's door, about to knock on it tell him that his human girlfriend might be a killer who just started a war. Regardless, she was still going to have to join them on a trip to Antarctica tomorrow to fight a bunch of Ice Daimones and a giant named Ullr. And all of this was to free the body of Raphael and several other lost allies from a frozen prison.

  He knocked on the door three times with his forehead instead of his knuckles. Sometimes he really wished he could live the simple life of a human; completely oblivious to pretty much everything.

  He heard a beep, and then a click of the electronic lock before Thelan opened the door, looking quite disheveled with a strange glow coming from the room behind him.

  "Tyson, my God, have you found her?"

  "Wait. Bree's missing?"

  "Well, not exactly. I've talked to her on the phone, but she said she's not coming back until shit dies down."

  "I hate to tell you man, but that may not be happening."

  Thelan stepped aside to let Tyson in. As soon as he entered, he was bombarded by multicolored lights everywhere: hanging from the ceiling, wrapped around the loft's posts and beams, and encircling the spiral staircase. The lights were accented with giant red and gold bows, but the focal piece was an evergreen tree taller than the both of them and decorated with shiny ornaments including one that read: "Our First Christmas."

  "Man! Did Christmas get drunk and throw up in here?"

  "It's Bree." Thelan looked around and cringed a little. "She put everything up right after Thanksgiving. She said she's using optimism and positive thinking techniques to ensure victory in Antarctica by preparing to have a big holiday celebration when we get Rafe back."

  Tyson whistled low. "Humans and their traditions. She realizes we don't celebrate Christmas, right?"

  "I'm not denying her this, Tyson."

  "You might want to hear what I have to say first, Viking."

  "Viking? Have you been hanging around with the Stiles girl?"

  "Well see, that's the thing..." With that, Tyson spilled his guts about everything from the training to the possibility that Bree was involved in Price's death and ending with the news that Cayden wanted her in Antarctica with them. When he was finished, Thelan simply sat down and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  After several long moments, he finally said, "Okay then. Rest up and go home. I'll take care of this."

  Tyson and Thelan were barely what you'd call friends, therefore it would be strange for him to console the man. Nevertheless, he felt bad for him. Not only was his girlfriend and the lover that possessed her wanted for suspicion of murder, but Thelan also had to take her into a dangerous situation where he could risk losing them both.

  He settled on a light pat on the back and said, "Take it easy, man."

  As Tyson left, Thelan pulled ou
t his cell, said "Dial Bree," and, after a moment, "Get your ass home now!"