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It took a good fifteen minutes for Wynona to get from the Droxon estate to the bank. If a human ever wandered into Hex Haven, at first it would look like a normal city with some unique residents. One look at Shade Banking and Loan, however, and every Halloween horror movie they’d ever seen would come to life.
The building was as Gothic as they came and had been around for centuries. Snarling gargoyles sat on every corner, ready to rip thieves into shreds at the slightest provocation, or at least they looked that way. The creatures were made of stone, but Wynona had a sneaking suspicion that they weren’t quite what they seemed. Their eyes in particular, were a little too...alive.
The entire bank was surrounded by a stone wall and an iron gate, much to the consternation of Prim and every other fairy living in Hex Haven, since iron was poisonous to that particular species. The rest of the population were simply frustrated by the lack of doors.
Since the bank was run by shades, the ghostly creatures didn’t require entrances into a building in order to go in or out, and apparently had felt to use that skill to their advantage when the bank was built.
In order for any person or creature to enter Shade Bank, they had to be spelled by the attending security, which was usually a low level warlock with more brawn than brains. The setup kept everyone’s money extremely safe, but made it difficult for even the owner of the money to handle their accounts.
Parking her bike just outside the gates, Wynona stayed seated for a moment, eyeing the group waiting to go inside. She didn’t want to wait in line unless she had to. If Ms. Caseis had gone in before Prim got a hold of Wynona, then odds were the siren should be coming out by now. If Wynona hadn’t already missed her.
A loud catcall caught Wynona’s attention and she whipped her head around to see a group of teenage dryads staring all in the same direction. With their tongues practically hanging out of their mouths, Wynona figured she had hit the jackpot.
Bingo.
A redhead strutted out of the bank, her every move designed to draw the male eye as she headed toward the gate. The guard practically tripped over himself as he let her out, tipping his hat at her in the process. “Come again, Ms. Caseis,” the man stuttered.
Wynona had to admit the woman was aptly named. Delila always brought to mind a picture of a femme fatale and this woman was definitely an asset to her ancestors. “Thank you,” she purred, touching the security guard’s forearm.
Wynona shook her head when the man began nodding a little too vigorously. Sometimes living in a paranormal city was ridiculous.
Ms. Caseis winked at the teenagers still drooling over her, then turned smartly to her right and began walking down the street. Her actions brought her right past Wynona, whom she ignored.
“Apparently only men get her attention,” Wynona muttered to herself. She hopped off her scooter and was about to call out the woman’s name, when she paused. Ms. Caseis had changed. Her walk was less runway worthy and she ducked her head a little. Pausing in front of an alleyway, the siren glanced around, then darted into the darkness.
Wynona’s interest was piqued. Scrambling quickly to lock her scooter, she hurried down the street and carefully peered around the corner. The alleyway looked deserted, but opened up on the far end into another street. Staying in the shadows helped give Wynona cover, but it also meant watching where she stepped.
“Someone needs to put together a street cleaning team,” she muttered as she stepped over yet another pile of foul-smelling garbage. Such a venture would fall under the political leader of the land and Wynona snorted at the thought of her parents taking the time to worry about something so mundane.
She reached the other street and paused before walking out onto the sidewalk. Just like Haven Main, which she had left behind, Runes Road was busy. Haven held most of the shops, but Runes was home to businesses. Skyscrapers towered over her on both sides, making Wynona feel small and insignificant. A feeling she wished she wasn’t so familiar with.
Pushing back her insecurities, she looked around, hunting for bright red hair. It couldn't be that hard to find. Just as she was about to give up, a flash of sunlight reflecting off a glass door caught Wynona’s attention.
“There you are.” Without another word, Wynona darted into the foot traffic and began working her way toward the large, almost solid glass building that Ms. Caseis had disappeared into.
It took a little maneuvering, but Wynona made it across the street and casually went to pull on the bar. The door rattled, but didn’t budge. Frowning, Wynona pulled again. Still nothing. Glancing around, she looked to see if there was any sort of sign or instructions for visitors, but the front of the building was completely blank. Out of desperation, she tried pushing instead of pulling, but the door still didn’t open.
Worried she was making a scene, Wynona tried to glance around, but luckily no one seemed to be paying attention to her. Stepping up to the glass, she tried to shade her eyes in order to look inside, but all she could see was darkness. “What is this place?” she whispered to herself. Her eyes wandered over the whole front, but there was no doorbell or otherwise in order to be allowed inside. Carefully, keeping an eye on the other people, she walked to the side of the building and darted around the corner.
The alley was slightly cleaner, but no less creepy than the one she had already wandered through. This time, however, her aim wasn’t the other street. Slowly, Wynona ran her hand along the side of the building. There were no obvious doors or windows, since the entire building was glass. She began to wonder if there was a spell that protected it from outsiders.
About halfway down the building, Wynona grew frustrated and turned around. A group of businessmen were standing at the entrance to the alley and she decided to ask them about the building. She didn’t come to this street very often, so perhaps these men knew what and who was inside.
“Excuse me!” Wynona waved and walked back to Runes Road. “Do you live around here?” Several of the men looked her way and Wynona immediately dropped her arm. As she drew nearer, Wynona realized that what she thought were business suits were actually dirty hand-me-downs. She stumbled backward a couple of steps as three of the men broke free from the group and began prowling in her direction.
There was something decidedly predatory about their movements, causing her heart to leap into her throat. This was not what she had expected at all.
“You know what? Never mind.” Wynona spun and began speed walking toward the road at the back end of the alley. She wasn’t sure what it would lead to, but hopefully there would at least be other people. Safety in numbers and all that.
As she walked, her ankle twisted in her high heel, and now she regretted dressing up for her meeting with Mrs. Droxon. Pain radiated with every step, but she didn’t stop. At least not until a hand grabbed her arm and spun her around.
“Hello...” the man purred, looking her up and down. “What brings you to this side of the street?”
The other two men chuckled and Wynona swallowed hard. She was in serious trouble. How had it all gone so wrong? It seemed as if her curse extended to more than just binding her powers, which, subsequently, would have been extremely useful right now. “Please let go of me,” she said through clenched teeth, pulling on her arm.
“Those are nice manners,” the man sneered. His face was covered in stubble and dirt, and his yellow teeth matched his eyes. Wynona could tell he was some kind of shifter, but from the looks of it, he didn’t mix in polite company very often.
It wasn’t unheard of for a shifter to go feral, or at least, mostly feral. From the smell of decay and the state of his hygiene, Wynona guessed this man and his buddies were some of them.
“I said, let me go.” She pulled harder, but his hold only tightened, increasing the pain in her arm.
“You asked us a question,” the man said with a wide grin. “What was it?”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“Oh, but it does.” Her captor didn’t look away, but addressed his question to one of the watchers. “What was it she asked, Sim?”
“I think she was curious about the building.” The man called Sim wiped at the corner of his mouth, as if picking up drool, and Wynona had to look away.
Her stomach churned and she began to wonder if throwing up on the men would make them leave her alone.
“That’s right. The building.” The man holding her pulled her closer and Wynona turned her face away. “Just to be nice,” he said, “we’ll answer your question, and then you can help us with ours.”
“I don’t know anything,” Wynona said automatically. Her eyes began searching the ground for anything that could be used as a weapon. She might be able to hurt one of them with her heel, but getting it off and then stumbling around barefoot probably wasn’t going to be very efficient. There had to be something else in this dirty alley.
“Oh, I’ll bet you do.” The man took in a long sniff of her hair and Wynona cringed away. “That there behind you is the Droxon Headquarters.” His yellow eyes flashed. “It’s said the gnome keeps his little black book inside.”
Wynona stopped struggling. “You mean his recipe book?”
A bushy eyebrow rose high. “That’s right,” he drawled. “His office and test kitchen are all inside, which is why it’s so hard to get in.” He chuckled. “Not that you’ll be needing in after we’re done with you.”
Wynona’s neck instantly broke out in a heavy sweat. She needed to get away from these men, and she needed to do it now. Slowly, using every bit of control she had, she forced herself to relax. “What question did you have that I can answer?” she asked, trying to keep her shaky voice calm.
The man barked a laugh. “I didn’t have a question, sweetheart.”
She frowned. “Oh, but I thought you said I could return the favor.” She gave him an innocent smile. Right on cue, his hand relaxed slightly on her arm. Wynona didn’t wait another heartbeat. She quickly wrenched her arm free and stepped back, grabbing a broken piece of wood from the ground.
She wielded it in front of her like a knife, knowing it would do little good, but all she needed was to buy herself some time. If she could just get close enough to the street to scream, surely someone would come help. “It’s been fun, gentlemen,” she said tightly. “But I think it’s time I go home.”
The three men were openly glaring at her, their arms spread out to the side as they tried to herd her toward the building.
“I don’t think so, sweetheart,” the leader sneered. “We helped you. Now it’s your turn.”
“I offered,” Wynona said. “But now I really must go.” She swung her weapon around, trying to keep all three men in her sights and walk toward the street at the same time. She’d only made it a few steps when a growling sound caught their attention.
Her attackers froze, ears perking up like the animals they were. “Get her and let’s go,” the leader snapped, pointing to Wynona.
Sim nodded and lunged.
Wynona screamed and swung the piece of wood blindly, her eyes closing as she prepared herself for the impact of his body.
The alley filled with shouts of anger and pain and Wynona realized no one had grabbed her. Carefully she opened her eyes, only to have them shoot open like saucers and her jaw nearly hit the ground.
Two of her attackers were lying on the ground, unconscious, with their hands cuffed behind their backs, while Rascal sat on another and was finishing locking the handcuffs while his captive squirmed. “Don’t make me knock you out,” Rascal growled at the man, giving his head a shove while he stood up.
“What did you—? How—?” Wynona shook her head. She had only had her eyes shut for a few seconds. How in the world had he managed to subdue three men in that time? And where in the world did Rascal even come from?
“Are you alright?” he asked, walking toward her carefully. He held his hands out as if to keep her from bolting, but Wynona wasn’t about to leave the protection that had just arrived. Maybe she wasn’t cursed after all.
She rubbed her upper arm. “Bruised and coming down from a heart attack, but fine,” she managed.
Rascal’s lips twitched. “Do you mind if I take a look?”
Wynona frowned. “Are you trained in medicine as well as police work?”
He shrugged. “I used to be a first responder. I know enough to keep someone alive.”
Wynona shrugged. “Sure, but I really am fine. I just need a cup of Rose Petal and Matcha, a long nap and I’ll be as good as new.”
“How about we start with your arm?” he asked, closing the distance between them.
Wynona allowed Rascal to slip off her suit jacket. She would be burning it when she got home anyway, along with the pants and boots... Well...maybe she’d keep the boots. She just knew she wanted to get rid of any reminders of what had just happened.
“That’s gonna be rough for a few days,” he murmured, feeling around at the darkening ring on her arm.
“Ouch,” she whispered as he touched a particularly tender spot. “I thought you said you had training.”
“Guess I’m out of practice.” Rascal winked at her. He seemed to do that a lot. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Wynona said with a sigh. She rubbed her forehead. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be rude, but I really would like to go home. Can I do that now?”
Rascal’s playful look turned to one of sympathy. “I’m afraid not, Ms. Le Doux. You’re going to have to come with me.”
“Oh? Why?”
He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “I need to book these guys at the station and I’m afraid I’ll need your statement to do that.”
Wynona groaned. “Just what I needed.” She was losing time. Her shop was set to open in five days and if she didn’t get this murder solved, she could kiss it all goodbye. And that was if she could solve it before all of her customers cancelled because they thought she was a murderer.
Rascal put his hand on her mid-back. “Don’t worry,” he said. “It won’t take too long.” Gently, he led her to the street, where a blue truck was sitting on the curb.
“That’s quite the parking job,” Wynona said with a laugh.
That wink came at her again as he helped her buckle up in the passenger seat. “Perks of the job,” he teased.
Closing the door, he disappeared back down the alley, leaving Wynona to her thoughts. A soft tingling sensation in the middle of her back held most of her attention, however. It was pleasant and soothing, a far cry from the rioting emotions of earlier.
When she watched Rascal emerge from the alleyway, a man thrown over his shoulder and his muscles bulging, that same heat traveled to her chest, neck and face. Wynona forced herself to look away. “Murder,” she reminded herself. “You’ve got a murder to solve. Then a business to open. And then, if things are going well, you can think about men. But not before.”
She couldn’t help but glance at those wide shoulders one more time. “Definitely not before.”