Midnight Starling: An Urban Fantasy Romance Series Read online

  A wiry man with a white apron and an armload of metal buffet style containers was wobbling his way toward the building.

  “Finally,” I breathed as I got out and scrambled toward him. “Here, let me help you with those,” I said as I pulled the one off the top of his stack.

  He thanked me before identifying who I was. Once he realized I was a stranger, he gave me a suspicious side-eye but started walking again.

  When we got to the entrance, he blindly fished a set of keys from his pocket, and with practiced skill, unlocked the door and pushed himself inside. The glass door swung free, so I followed him in.

  “We don’t open ‘til six, you know,” he said as we went through double swinging doors into the kitchen.

  I waited until he set his load down before putting mine beside it. “Yeah, I know,” I replied straightforwardly, receiving a raised eyebrow at my statement. “Did you know Anna was missing?”

  He paused for a moment, then went back to sorting out his metal containers. “I try not to make friends with the wait staff because they never stay long. I assumed she just quit.”

  His rigid posture and rehearsed reply raised my suspicions. His recollection of who she was and what she did was awfully quick for someone who paid no attention to her.

  “So, you didn’t know her at all?” I pressed.

  He stopped what he was doing and turned to face me. “Look lady, I told you, I don’t keep tabs on the people out front. I don’t even know who she is. I have a ton to do before we open because I’m already running late, so if you don’t mind…” he snapped while gesturing toward the door.

  It was obvious that I wasn’t going to get anything out of him this way. I needed a new tactic. Raising my arms in surrender, I backed out of the kitchen and headed out of the restaurant. Once outside, I slipped back into my car and pressed my fingers to my temples. I couldn’t decide if the guy knew something and just wasn’t telling me, or if he was a naturally gruff human who didn’t give a crap. Either way, a woman was missing, and he was not helping, which was capital C crappy in my book.

  I guess it was too much to expect things to go easily, but a flat-out refusal to help seemed over the top. Hopefully, the other employees would be more forthcoming, but just in case, I made plans to change things up. Obviously attacking this problem head on was not the answer. I needed to be more inconspicuous with my approach. I needed time to consider my next move. There was plenty of time for me to research the angry guy who left that threatening message on Anna’s page before Morgan’s opened for dinner. It was also the first hint that her life wasn’t all rainbows and ponies, which meant I was finally getting somewhere.

  I was almost back in my car when I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to find a shaggy brown dog. His fur desperately needed a brush and trim. I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Hey!” I yelled. He stopped walking and turned his attention in my direction.

  “Do you know Anna?” I asked.

  When he didn’t move, I approached him cautiously but with determination.

  “I said, do you know Anna? She works here.” He wagged his tail when I got a few feet from him. I suddenly had a plethora of questions I needed answered. Was it rude to pet a someone in dog form?

  I decided to find out because what was the worst thing that could happen, right? Reaching my hand out, I ran my fingers across his matted head. He plopped his butt down, tail still wagging, and allowed the affection.

  I was just working my way to the undersides of his ears when the restaurant door opened.

  “Hey lady! Is that your dog?” It was the man I tried to question.

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  “You’re a crappy pet owner, you know that! You need to take better care of him! We’re tired of running him out of the trash around back!”

  I looked back down at the dog when it suddenly dawned on me. I had fully leapt off the cliff into insanity and was trying to question an actual dog, not a Mimic. This was my life now. How the hell was I ever going to be able to tell the difference?

  Surprisingly, I made it all the way across town without running into traffic. When I stepped out of my car, however, I saw the gray tom. Now I was having serious doubts about it really being Isaac. Still, considering my sneezing problem, the stalking Isaac—or regular ol’ cat—was getting on my nerves. I hopped out in a hurry and raced up the stairs to my apartment, quickly shutting the door behind me. It occurred to me that if Isaac had wanted me to know, he would have told me. I made a split-second decision to let him bring it up if he wanted to. I hoped I could keep my big mouth shut long enough for that to happen.

  After grabbing my last soda out of the fridge, I dropped into my office chair and flipped my laptop open. I keyed the nasty commenter’s name in and pressed enter, but his smug face did not appear like I hoped it would. I tried a second time. A million other people with the same name stared back at me, but not a single one was him. His entire profile was gone this time, not just his comment. I clicked off the social media page to search his name the old-fashioned way. Unfortunately, he had a common name, and I had nothing to go on but a photo.

  I tapped my fingertips tips on the desk as my brain churned ideas. There must be some way to… A stroke of genius hit me! I pulled up the data collection app I used at times. It cost money, and I knew it would keep me up till the wee hours of the morning combing through the results, but it was the best place to start. It contained way more than what I could find in a public records search. Just as I was ready to hit enter on the payment screen, there was a knock on my door.

  “Who is it?” I yelled as I scooted my chair back and walked toward the door.

  “It’s Victor. We need to talk.”

  I opened the door with a huff, but I was secretly glad to see him. I just didn’t want him to know that. “Make it quick. I don’t have time for company right now.”

  He frowned and crossed his arms. “Thain needs to talk to you.”

  “I definitely don’t have time for that,” I declared with a heavy dose of sass in my voice. I had to admit that it stung a little to know that he was only here on a mission from Thain.

  His frown deepened. “Bea, this is important,” he insisted.

  “Do you know what’s important? There is a young woman who hasn’t been seen for over a week. That is important. Thain, sitting on his overly important throne with his over inflated ego, is not important. Like I said, I do not have time for this.”

  “There are things going on, big things, that you do not understand. We know Anna is missing. You need to come with me and talk to Thain,” Victor asserted.

  And then it all clicked in my head. “You mean Thain is responsible for Anna too? What am I supposed to tell her mother? That she’s probably already dead?”

  Victor’s expression softened, and I realized my face was giving away my thoughts.

  “No, we don’t think she’s dead. Please, come with me so Thain can explain what’s going on,” he repeated for the third time. It was getting old fast.

  “Why can’t you tell me what’s going on? Why does it have to be Thain?” I asked. A tear was threatening to break free, so I doubled my efforts to look angrier.

  “Because it is not my story to tell,’ he answered.

  I stared at him while weighing my options. Arguing wasn’t going to get me any closer to finding Anna, and I knew in the end I would do whatever it took. Even if that meant going with Victor like a well-behaved hound and talking to Thain. I needed answers, and that jerk had them. If he was responsible for causing any harm to Anna, I would make it my life’s mission to bring him down.

  I shut the door in his face and grabbed my phone off my office desk. Pulling up the last string of messages between Poppy and me, I quickly typed a message to let her know where I was going.

  Victor pounded on the door again. “Bea, this isn’t funny, open up.”

  I ignored him and hit send before I marched back over and turned the handl
e. When I swung the door open again, he had one fist raised, ready to beat on the wood. His hair looked ruffled and out of place. For a split second I felt bad for being difficult, but it faded as I thought about having to deal with Thain again.

  “Fine, but I’m driving my car.” There was no way I was going to get stuck walking home again. Sure, I could be a bit too trusting, but Poppy hadn’t raised a complete idiot.

  By the time we got to Thain’s office-slash-warehouse, I was full on worried that I might have to tell Ellen her daughter was lost forever. If she had any connections to the supernatural world I had just learned about, it set me at a disadvantage. When I glanced over at Victor, a smug smile broke out on my face. He was legit green in the face. It was petty, but it satisfied me to know that my driving scared the crap out of him. Not that Victor deserved my ire. I should have saved it all for Thain. And for myself, for allowing him to shake up my belief in myself the way I had allowed him to.

  Without waiting, I moved past Victor toward the entrance of the building where Thain was waiting for us. His face was full of worry instead of his usual flippant demeanor. My steps faltered as I neared him. “Thank you for coming,” he greeted, ushering me to his office.

  I let him take his seat while I remained standing on the other side of his desk. Franklin stood glaring at me from the far end of the room. I scowled at him and turned back to Thain.

  “Where is she?” I demanded. My anger resurfaced despite my worry.

  “You have bigger problems than Anna. Please take a seat and I’ll explain everything,” he begged.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and refused to obey. “What are you talking about?”

  Thain sighed. “Believe it or not, I was trying to save you the other day by not giving you the details of the world that you haven’t been a part of all of these years. I see now, for your own safety, that that was a mistake.”

  His suggestive words made me want to defend Poppy. She was my family, not him.

  “I’m going to stop you right there,” I said, holding my palm up. “I’ve been filled in on Mimics and Godkin people.”

  “She removed your guise?” he asked. The lines in his forehead creased with concern.

  I sat down and let out a huff. “Well, no, but Poppy told me about everything.”

  “And you know about the Tolve?” Thain asked.

  “The Tolve?” Clearly Poppy had left something out. I cursed under my breath. “What does that have to do with Anna?” I asked.

  Franklin stepped forward. “Sir, if I may?”

  Thain waved a hand in his direction. “Not now Franklin, I got it, but thank you.”

  For just a moment, I saw the visage of control break on the man’s features. There was something frightening about what I saw underneath. My breath hitched in my throat. And just like it had never happened, his mask was snapped back in place and he stepped back into the shadows. Thain seemed not to notice.

  “I need to start at the beginning. This is about where you come from, the hidden world around us. Everything. All non-humans are part of the Tolve. The Mimics, Godkin, and anyone else with magic.” Thain replied, drawing my attention back to him.

  It didn’t take long for my brain to put two and two together. “Wait. You’re saying that Anna isn’t human or whatever?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he replied.

  “Did you already know she was missing?”

  He nodded. “Yes. And we are already investigating her disappearance.”

  I knew Ellen wasn’t telling me everything! From what I understood, being a Mimic was hereditary, which meant Ellen was one too. Unless Anna was a Godkin or adopted. This stuff was so confusing.

  “So, are you like the leader of the Tolve?”

  Thain coughed back a laugh. “No. I’m simply in charge of this small area. The Tolve has an internal hierarchy just like the humans have a government. Each area is divided, usually using the cities and states that are already laid out by humans.”

  “Does that mean there is a Tolve president or whatever?” I asked.

  “Sort of. Each continent has a council of experienced and often older members that decide things. And above that is another set of council member who govern each continent, all the way to the prime council who everyone answers to,” he explained.

  “What are you?” I asked.

  He sat back and frowned. “What do you mean?”

  I rolled my eyes. “What is your title? Are you part of the council around here?” I asked.

  “No, I’m a sheriff. I am here to keep things running smoothly and hidden in this city.”

  I mulled over what he had told me for a moment. As much as I wanted to know more, this wasn’t why I was here or what was important right now.

  “I’m confused. If you knew she was missing and you were handling it, why did Ellen hire me?” I asked, getting back on topic.

  “I’m not at liberty to share any more about that topic with you, I’m sorry,” he said.

  Of course, he wasn’t.

  “But Anna isn’t the issue here. Let me start at the beginning,” he repeated.

  “I’m not sure I want to know everything right now,” I said.

  Thain tilted his head and gave me a sad smile. “There is an entire society thriving in the undercurrents of the city and you don’t want to know about it. Mimics and Godkin, just like yourself. Plus, several other similar beings.”

  “What do you mean by undercurrents?” I asked as my right eyebrow lifted. This sounded a lot more complicated than just a group of council people and sheriffs.

  “Hidden from the eyes of humans because most people can’t understand or process what we are. But there is a balance and a price to all of it. Not everyone in the magic undercurrents of our world can be trusted.”

  There it was. “Sounds like maybe they shouldn’t be hidden if they are doing stuff they shouldn’t be,” I said offhandedly.

  “It’s not what you think. The world is made of light and dark, and some of them are creatures of shadow. It’s just who they are, Bea. It doesn’t make them inherently evil. You just have to be cautious because it’s their nature to be who they are, not who we want them to be.”

  He was silent for a few heartbeats, as if he were waiting for me to say something. Instead, I nodded. Thain leaned forward, holding my gaze with an intense look.

  “Once your guise is removed, you’ll be able to defend yourself, but it will still take you time to acclimatize to using your magic. Until then, stick to dealing with humans and human problems.”

  “You’re a jerk,” I spat.

  His eyes widened. “For pity sakes, you take everything personally. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

  I glared at him. “I don’t need you to take care of me.”

  “You’re putting yourself in danger by poking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

  I shot to my feet. “I can take care of myself,” I repeated. My voice was growing louder.

  “Bea, you don’t even have control over your changes. How could you?”

  “Who do you think you are?! You pull me in here to tell me I’m helpless. Why do you even care?” I shoved a finger in his face. “You and the rest of your freaks better stay away from me and my friends. Do you hear me?!” I yelled, backing up toward the door. When I turned, I almost collided with Victor. “And you! I trusted you! I had no idea you were going to run back to your overbearing overlord and tell him everything I said to you!”

  Victor said nothing as he hung his head in shame. I shouldered past him and flung the door open. Then I ran as fast as I could through the hallway and out the door.

  My chest constricted, about to explode, and I could barely breathe by the time I finally made it to my car door. Fumbling, I started the engine in a hurry and threw the car into gear. I floored the gas, popped my clutch without looking in my rearview mirror, and peeled out of the parking lot in a spin. Everything from the last few days came crashing down on me. I
couldn’t ignore it any longer. If removing the thing blocking my powers was the only way to keep myself and my friends safe, then I had been a giant fool. My stubborn steak was going to get us all killed.

  I drove like a madman as I weaved through traffic, fighting tears so I could see well enough to make it home. I was almost there when a stop light switched to yellow. As I compressed the accelerator further, a horn blared at me from the right. A huge silver truck was zooming in my direction, right toward my passenger side door. Flooring the pedal with all my strength, I swerved, my entire body tensing. The rear end of my car whipped out of the truck’s way by only a hair’s breadth, but I kept going.

  When I finally made it home, I screeched into the parking lot and threw my door open. I clambered toward my apartment, all the while trying to catch my breath.

  As I reached for the handle, the door was already opening inward. There stood Poppy with Isaac right behind her.

  “Bea, what’s wrong?” Poppy asked.

  The air rushed from my lungs as I stumbled past them and landed on the couch, drunk from lack of oxygen and my own emotional turmoil.

  “Poppy,” I panted, “remove the damn guise.”

  The first thing I was going to do with my newfound powers was put a spell on Thain to make him stay the hell away from me forever.

  Chapter 13

  Poppy

  It took me nearly two hours to calm Bea down enough to convince her to wait until later today to remove her guise. Thankfully, there were only a few things left to collect before I would be ready. I was grateful for that fact because my attention was divided. Bea was the PI, not me, but right now I didn’t have a choice but to try my hand at detective work. If we didn’t find the cause of the failing magic soon, we would lose everything.

  I could have killed Thain for pulling her into his office yesterday just to tell her to back off the case she was working on. That and implying she couldn’t take care of herself. I also felt like a horrible guardian, because I did not know that the people she was working to find were part of the Tolve. While I agreed she needed to be careful of the Tolve, I also knew how stubborn she was. The only thing Thain had done was to make her angry and make her more determined to find Anna. And he had taken it upon himself to educate her about a subject I had clearly forbidden. Had I not already explained some of it to her, he could have ruined everything. What was wrong with that man?