Page 22 of Oracles Always Win

Ifit hadn’t been for the being disguised as a fat cat on the bar, who knows whatImight have done?Thecat had met my surge in power with his own.It’dbeen a warning, no doubt about it.

Veryfew beings had the strength to negate a demon’s power, butIsuspected the cat could have ifIhadn’t backed down.Icouldn’t identify what kind of supe the being was, butIdoubted the cat body was his natural form.Itwasn’t often that a supe surprised me, but the cat had.Itwas just one more thingI’dneed to watch, and we hadn’t even sat down with the hellhound yet to have a proper debrief.

Andthen there wasJakehimself.He’dlooked ready throw himself between me and the angry troll.Itwas such a stupidly misguided reaction that it distracted me before my demonic side could fully engage.

Thislittle town was more complicated thanI’dexpected.

Thatwas fine.Wehad time.Ileaned back in my chair.Wewould stay here for as long as it took.AndifIhad to keep returning to theWillowLakePubfor research purposes—my gaze coasted over toJake, who was still busy behind the polished oak bar—well, that wouldn't be so terrible.

Thepub door was thrown open just as someone hit a ball out of the park onTV.Thethick oak door banged against the wall, and everyone jumped in surprise.Awerewolf stomped inside the bar and lifted his head to sniff the air.Hiseyes glinted with a golden light when he spotted us.Hisface contorted in a menacing scowl that stayed on his face as he stalked through the room to our table.

Wasthis wolf from the pack we were here to investigate?Wouldn’tthat be convenient?

Thewolf slammed his hands on the table, jostling our drinks.Thesmell of motor oil and grease clung to the man.Dirtand grime covered his hands, like he’d stopped in the middle of rebuilding an engine just to come and scowl at me.Heleaned over and put his face right into mine.

“Whothe fuck are you and what are you doing inWillowLake?”

“Youthe alpha here?”Iasked calmly.

Werewolvesdidn’t scare me.Veryfew supes did.Theguy had the energy of an alpha, but it wasn’t as strong asIwould have expected.Hispack mustn’t be very big.Maybethis wasn’t the guy who’d stolen those boxes.

Fromthe corner of my eye,Isaw the strange supernatural cat jump onto our table.Thecreature settled himself amid the drinks like he had every right to be there.

“Answermy questions.”Thewerewolf’s eyes flashed gold, showing again how close his beast was to the surface.

“Idon’t answer to you.”

Thewolf growled. “Getthe fuck out of my town.”

Ilifted an eyebrow. “Didyou miss the part whereIsaidIdon’t answer to you?”

“I’mserious.Wedon’t need assholes inWillowLake.”

“Someonecalled you.”Ileaned back in my chair and glanced around the room.Mostof the supes were watching.Thebear shifter lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes at me.Notmany supes could hold my gaze, soIwas impressed.AndnowIalso had a good idea who’d called the alpha.

“Youthreatened my…”Thealpha paused.Alphaswere driven to protect their packs, but this one seemed to struggle saying the word.

Ilet my demonic power rise.Theability to read people’s greatest wishes came in handy in times like this.Angels, our traditional counterpart, read people’s greatest fears.Onoccasion, people’s wishes and fears were entwined so deeply that every part of their identity was revealed to me even thoughIwasn’t an angel.Thatwas the case with this alpha.

Thewolf shook his head but didn’t seem to realizeIwas poking around in there.Heobviously hadn’t been around any of my kind before, or he’d have realized what was happening as soon as my eyes changed color.

“Youthreatened my…my—” the werewolf tried again, “—mytown, and nowI’mtelling you to get the fuck out.”

“No.”Ireached for my dark ale and took a long slow drink.I’dseen enough to know the wolf wasn’t one of the ones we were investigating, butI’dnot allow him to bully me into obeying him either.Thevery idea of that happening was laughable.

AlthoughIdidn’t look atIsaacandNelson,Ifelt them bracing for a fight.

“Sitdown,”Isaid to the wolf, throwing a bit of my own power behind the command. “Thenyou can tell me why you’re okay with a troll attacking the bartender but are getting mad when someone steps in to defend him.”

Thewolf shot a look atJake, then atOldThom.

“Iwas told some stranger was throwing his power around.Theplace reeks of unfamiliar magic.”Herubbed his nose as if to emphasize his point. “Andnow thatI’mclose to you,I’mgetting the same stink off you.Idon’t have to be a genius to figure out it was you.”

“Thetroll pissed me off.”Iwasn’t going to apologize for that. “Butyou can see he’s still over there.Nothingwrong with him.NursinghisWitch’sMilk.Interestingly,Idon’t see anSCpermit, do you?”

Thewolf winced and dropped into one of the empty chairs.Anotherruckus at the door interrupted the wolf’s answer.Ah, yes.Thehellhound was finally here.Thegood-lookingBlackman in a police uniform marched over to our table.

“Well,”Vansaid with a grimace, “Ididn’t think asking you here was going to cause such a shitshow.Thephone lines at the precinct have been blowing up all afternoon.Whatin the name ofMagicis going on?”