Page 20 of Oracles Always Win

Well, let’s just say this was not your usual supernatural town.

I'dnever seen so many different types of supes in one room outside exclusive clubs in the city, where our kind were forced to co-mingle in hidden underground havens to escape the overwhelming number of humans who thrived in urban areas.Inmore rural places like this, supes tended to stick close to their own kind.Wolvesusually stayed with wolves, mages with mages, and so on.Butthe eclectic mix at least partially explained the magicI’dtasted when we’d first arrived.

Theother part—the energy embedded in the place itself—well,Istill wasn’t sure what to do about that.AtleastI’dhad a bit of time to acclimate.ButIcontinued to feel its enticing invitation, and no matter howIpoked at it with my own magic,Icouldn’t see anything artificial about it.Ifit was a constructed lure, made specifically to trap me here, it was the most seamless piece of magicI’dever encountered.

Thesituation made me cautiously optimistic.

Itwasn’t a feelingIwas used to, but the longerIspent inWillowLake, the moreIwondered ifWillowLakewas the answer to my most fantastical dreams.TheonesI’dspent most of my life believing would never come true.

Fuck.

I’djust quit fantasizing about the bartender and nowIwas daydreaming about the town.

Lettingmy guard down or allowing distractions to rule my mind was dangerous and risky.Thegoblin’s cohorts were a serious threat.Irefused to let my team down, soIinhaled a long, deep breath and let it out gradually.Calmand focus settled over me again.

“So, are you going to tell us what happened at the bar a minute ago?”Nelsonasked quietly.

“Justgetting to know the locals,”Isaid, not wanting to go into any details with so many people listening.Mywords should be enough to let him know there wasn’t an immediate threat.

“Right,” he said, like he didn’t believe me.

Iscanned the room again.

Thetroll, whoJakehad calledOldThom, was huddled in the corner, curling his body around his drink.Thesuccubus at the bar, having unbuttoned her shirt again, was stroking her forefinger along her cleavage.Thebear shifter by the billiard table was grunting and huffing as he leaned over to make his shot.

Aredheaded man, who was entirely non-magical, was flirting heavily with a shy minotaur.Everytime the ginger brushed his hand over the minotaur’s arm, the beefy guy’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment like he was savoring the touch before he carefully stepped away and put space between them again.

Thenthere was the small raven shifter in a shimmery top and tight purple pants, who shared a mate mark with a massive wolf shifter.Thesmaller man was dancing to the music on the jukebox, putting on a sexy show for his mate, who simply stood and watched him, like they were performing an elaborate mating ritual.

Andthose were only a few of the people in here.Everytime the door opened, more came in.

Somuch for having a quiet space to talk to the hellhound when he arrived; the place was filling up fast and most of these people would have enhanced hearing.Therewould be no private conversations here, which wasn’t ideal.

Vanhad to have known the risks when he suggested meeting here.Hadhe hoped to rattle the thieves with our presence?Whileit was true that if they became anxious, they might make mistakes, he should have told me his plan.Ididn’t like getting blindsided by situations.Investigationstended to be messy enough as it was, andIfirmly believed everything else that could be controlled should be.

Basedon whatIknew of the hellhound,IdoubtedVanwould have suggested meeting here if the wolf pack we’d come to investigate hung out here too.Butany of these people might have allegiances that weren’t immediately obvious.IwishedIcould push out my magic like a blanket over the crowd and pluck everyone’s thoughts from their head, but it didn’t work that way.Toget a read on a person’s desiresIhad to focus exclusively on them, but even that wasn’t as reliable as people tended to think… nor did it always speak to a person’s actions.

Fewpeople ever thought:Mygreatest dream is to kill someone today soIcan harvest their organs.Itwas more like:Mygreatest wish is for my dad to get matched with a kidney donor before it’s too late.Thetwo thoughts could potentially lead to the same murderous outcome, but the wishes were very different.

Itwas almost funny how my thoughts went immediately to murder.

MaybeDavinaand the others were right to be worried about my state of mind.Iswallowed down my ale to wash away the dark thoughts.

Iwould never be known as the life of the party or even overly friendly, butIalso wasn’t typically such a pessimist.Iwas a realist with a bit of cynicism thrown in for flavor.Ialways had been.Allmy years wandering this planet had just reinforced my outlook.

Mygaze landed onJakeagain.Therewasn’t anything dark about him.Hewas almost too light for the likes of me.Sowhy didIkeep looking at him?Washe just a puzzle to solve?Ididn’t like messy things, andJakeseemed very messy to me.Hewasn’t unkempt at all, but his magic was messy, like he'd been wrapped in a thick invisible blanket.Muffled.Buffered.Hidden.

Itmade me want to study his magic untilIfigured out how to unravel all the tangles.Thatwas the only wayI’dbe able to tidy it up again.

"Weirdplace, isn’t it?"Isaacasked quietly as he tapped the side of his pint glass.Despitehis earlier complaints about me being too slow to get it in his hands, he hadn’t touched his drink.Normallyhe’d suck back wheat ale like it was water, but even he seemed to appreciate we shouldn’t relax inWillowLakejust yet.

Heleft his mouth open a little, and his torso rose and fell noticeably.Hewas inhaling deeply but trying not to give himself away.Somesupes didn’t like strangers scenting them.Onceagain,IwishedAdrianwas here, but his last update said their truck had finally been repaired but they were going to be late to our meeting.Adrian’ssense of smell was superior to any of the rest of us.Isaacwas doing his best, but a centaur’s senses weren’t as sensitive as a wolf’s.

"Arewe going to talk about the troll in the corner drinkingWitch'sMilk?”Nelsonasked as he turned his pint glass in his hands.Healso hadn’t taken a sip of his dark ale.

"Ihate trolls,"Isaacmuttered with a shiver.

"Arewe reporting the bar owner?"Nelsonleaned forward, keeping his voice low, but his eyes kept straying to the pool table where the hulking bear shifter was bending over to make a shot.Thebig shifter wasn't my type, but the guy did have a nice round ass. “TheSCwould want to know about that.”