Blue Moon Rising (The Patroness) Read online

  Mathieu stayed silent for a while, his hands deep in his pockets, and then he asked, “So what’s going on here?”

  I took a deep breath and looked back where no trace was left of what had laid there only a few moments ago. “That’s the one million dollar question. That’s what I need to find out.”

  Philippe frowned. “What do you do now?”

  “Well, patrolling seems to be done for the night. I think I don’t really have a choice here. Five shapeshifters were murdered, so it’s out of my hands now. I’ll head right home and call the Council. Then we’ll see what they decide.”

  “Okay, then. We’ll head back, too. Call me if I can give you a hand or some more acid.”

  “Yeah, sure. Thanks for helping me out. I will call you when I have someone who needs to be disposed of quietly,” I smiled at him and added, “Victor.”

  Mathieu grinned.

  On my way home I thought about what had happened in that back alley. I hadn’t seen anyone go in or out of that passage before me. But the slaughter back there must have happened not so long ago or someone else would have stumbled upon the bodies and the cops would have been all over it.

  Why would someone go through so much trouble as to kill five weres – which wasn’t a simple task to say the least – and brand them. Who would be this stupid?

  Well, at least I knew for what the depictions stood; a wolf, a cross, wings, a cat and a ghost. It was the Council.

  The five representatives were a shapeshifter, a vampire, a faery, a witch and a ghost. Given the fact that the so called Big Five were flirting with a coming-out there were, of course, some unhappy factions with an opposite view on things. They’d been heard, outvoted and pretty harmless until now. But it seemed it was getting serious if they were dumb and bold enough to go up against the Council. This was either the work of opposing otherworldlers or a group of humans working together, given the fact that a sole human could never have killed those five shapeshifters back in the alley.

  I doubted that they had actually succeeded with their warning but this sure as hell would piss the Council off, big time. I went upstairs into my apartment, closed the door quietly behind me so as not to awake Pauline and pulled off my shoes. Taking the cordless phone into my room, I took a piece of paper out of the pocket of my blouse and started punching in the number of the Big Five.

  A drunken male answered the phone. “Whats cha want?”

  “This is Maiwenn Cadic, Patroness of Paris. I need to speak to the Council in an urgent matter”, I told him most seriously.

  That was followed by a now perfectly sober and alert “Hang on.”

  After a little classic music and a few clicks I was finally put through. “Alec Tremaine speaking, how can we help you Miss Cadic? I was told it’s important?”

  Alec Tremaine was the Lord of the Shapeshifters. I’d never met him but was told he was a though sonovabitch, someone who wasn’t to be fooled with. “I’ve got a problem over here. During my patrol I came across five dead shapeshifters. I needed to dispose of the crime scene very fast but looking at the pictures of the scene I’m sending you right now you will notice that everyone of them had an intriguing image burned into their-”

  “Dammit.” There seemed to be a loud discussion in the background and heartfelt swearing, which was finally followed by orders being barked so I held the receiver a little away from my ear. “I’ll put someone on a plane immediately.”

  The line went dead and I was left staring at my phone.

  Just great. Looked like I now would have to take care of someone from the Council, too. As if I didn’t have enough on my plate already.

  I was startled as my cell phone beeped. Alec Tremaine had transferred the flight details of his delegate. That was fast. He would arrive the next day at eight in the evening. They were obviously not wasting their time, which was totally fine with me since I didn’t have a lot of it.

  After that was done I pulled out the small evidence bag containing the fur and pinned it to the cork chart nailed to the wall above my desk. Then I unbuckled my leather harness, where I kept Cutter und put it beside the bed. I stripped off my clothes, just shedding them on the floor, put my pajamas on and crawled with a sigh into my bed.

  Chapter 3

  Music woke me and I sat up in bed and looked at Malo. “Did you turn the music on?”

  He looked at me through sleepy yellow eyes and crawled towards me. Guess not then. I freed myself from the tangle of my sheets I had created during sleep – what the hell did I do? – lifted my cat up onto one arm, grabbed my sword with the other one and got up.

  Staying alert I tiptoed my way towards the kitchen trying to avoid the creaky spots of the cool wooden floor, all the while wondering which crazy killer would turn on Scott McKenzie’s “San Francisco” before the kill.

  Then I remembered Pauline, my wild faery guest, and relaxed. When I turned around the corner I stopped in the door, unnoticed, and watched her. The scents of morning filled the air and warm sunlight flooded in through the windows so that now, in the light of day I could make out the coloring of her wings. They were delicate, almost like glass, and lavender with drop-shaped darker violet spots. The lively colors stood in stark contrast with her flaxen hair. Pauline was swearing under her breath and obviously searching for something as she moved around inspecting the drawers.

  “Coffee is in the cupboard to your right. The recloseable can with the sheep on it.”

  She whirled around and smiled. “Oh, good morning. I hope I didn’t wake you up.” Her eyes were that same violet shade as her wings. Pauline was beautiful, not only on the outside but most likely also on the inside, seeing her face lighten up in a smile like this. She was genuine and I felt at ease immediately. She had a slight foreign accent, German maybe.

  After a glance at the sword in my hand though, she added in a deliberately light tone, “I just thought the least I could do is making breakfast for my savior.”

  Glancing down I smiled reassuringly. “Nothing to worry about. Just one of my...uhm, working tools, I guess.” I came into the kitchen and leaned Cutter against the counter. “Oh, and I really liked waking up to music.” I meant it; it was refreshing and almost had the same effect as coffee on me.

  Pauline relaxed noticeably and laughed. “I know it’s like coffee.”

  I set up and stared, and then narrowed my eyes at her. “Do you read minds? That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.”

  She grimaced, nearly squirming. “Uhm, well, sometimes.” She threw up her hands. “It just happens and I don’t know how to control it.”

  Ah, great. Nice to know. Now I had to be more careful around her. On that thought I visualized the image of a smiling sheep in my mind and pinned it to my forehead. That should do it for a while and keep her out of my head.

  “It’s okay, don’t worry.” I grabbed the can and started to prepare coffee, meanwhile Pauline got out the croissants that I had always around. Companionably, as if we had done this together before we sat the table and when breakfast was ready we sat down together at the counter, facing each other. In the background the musical summer of love blasted on.

  “So...thanks for yesterday. Although I can’t remember what actually happened.”

  “No problem. I found you in the Jardin de Luxembourg. You were high and dancing in the fountain.” I bit in my croissant to hide a smile; maybe I was enjoying this a little too much. “You know, the one before the Senate.”

  Pauline buried her face in her hands. “Oh, no. Dammit. I’m sorry. That never happened before.”

  “It’s okay and perfectly normal. Most magical creatures lead a double life and try very hard to be normal, and more often than not it just backfires. After having suppressed their true nature for too long they just snap. And you have to admit, there aren’t that many flowers to dust in a city like Paris.”

  She looked up, a corner of her mouth curling in something close to a smile again. “You’re a witch, right?”

  I lo
oked at her, a little perplexed. “Yeah, but how did you know?”

  “Well, first of all, the fact that you helped me without asking was a giveaway. It told me at least you were otherworldly, too. Then there’s the cat food.”

  Hmm, interesting, maybe she could have made a fine detective.

  “Where am I by the way?”

  “In the 11th arrondissement, near the Place de la Bastille.” And on a hunch I added, “Also dann erzähl mal, wie bist du im Park gelandet?“

  Pauline looked stunned for a moment, then just shrugged. “How I ended up in the park… well, as you already figured out, I’m from Germany. Used to live there in a small village. Then I fell in love with this amazing…asshole as it turns out. He had this brilliant idea of going to Paris and to live in the City of Love and so I went with him. Yesterday I found him balls deep in another woman. I felt trapped, as if my skin wouldn’t quite fit, so I knew I needed a walk in a park. Seems I wasn’t fast enough, though, and the rest you know.”

  I nodded, in understanding and sympathy, but then I noticed something else entirely. Pauline was wearing jeans and a top. “How come you have clothes on? Not that I don’t mind, but I’m sure you were naked when I brought you here.”

  She looked down at herself and blushed. “Ah, I haven’t actually. It’s an illusion.”

  I nearly choked on my croissant as I realized that I was having breakfast with a technically naked woman. Shaking my head I tried to stifle a laugh. “Why didn’t you say something before?” Taking her hand I dragged her into my room, opened my closet and pointed to the clothes in it. “Just pick whatever you like, whatever may fit.”

  Still smiling I went back to the kitchen to give her some privacy and was pretty sure this breakfast was one of the funniest and most surprising I had in a long time. I was also pretty sure that something like a banal daily routine wasn’t anything to worry about while having Pauline around.

  She returned in a real jeans and top this time. “Thanks. I think I should better get going.”

  Pauline was already moving towards the door when I had an idea. “Hey, do you have a place to stay? I mean after what happened with that guy? I’m looking for a roommate, that’s why I’m asking.” I felt good about this. When she looked sheepishly I smiled at her and got more and more confident about the decision I had already made in my heart. “Come on, I’ll give you a tour of the apartment and you can decide.”

  Pauline was thrilled when I showed her the rest of the house and she grinned like a Cheshire cat when I lead her up the spiral staircase that gave way to a rooftop terrace overgrown with flowers, small trees and herbs that I used for making medicative ointments and balms.

  She giggled, and I thought I heard a nearly hysterical note in it. Nevertheless, or maybe because of it, she seemed sweet somehow. “I’m dreaming. There’s a catch, right? It’s just perfect, but I think I can’t afford it. No, I’m quite sure I can’t afford it.”

  “Don’t worry. I think we’ll find an agreement. What time is it? Shit, I have to get going. Work. Sorry,” I explained before I almost flew down the stairs to the bathroom, showered and dressed in record time. As I picked up Cutter and the rest of my stuff, moving to the door, I turned around. “What do you say about having lunch together? I can take a break at noon and then we could talk about everything, okay?”

  “Sure. That’d be great. Uhm, what do you do, by the way?”

  “I’m a P.I. My office is on the first floor. If you need anything, just drop by. In the meantime make yourself at home. Choose a room, other than mine of course,” I added with a grin and was out the door.

  Right at noon someone knocked at my office door. “Come in.” It was Pauline carrying a tray, laden with two plates.

  “Hey, I thought you’d like something to eat. Viviane came by and she told me that you mostly forget to eat or that you’re too lazy to cook for yourself. I like to cook, though, and thought you might be hungry by now.”

  “Thanks, and yes I’m hungry. What else did Viviane tell you?”

  “She told me about the Patroness thing. So you carrying a sword makes much more sense now.”

  “Does it bother you? My ‘job’ I mean. It would mean I come home late at night and sometimes it might get rough. I can’t even guarantee that you’ll be safe in the house, although I’ll do my best to make it as safe as possible here for both of us.”

  “I think it’s great what you do and if you need my help, just let me know, okay?”

  I felt surprisingly relieved and noticed that I had held my breath. I hadn’t expected that her understanding and acceptance regarding my mission, my way of life, would be so important to me. And I had to give Viviane credit, she was right, there were people in this world who knew about the residual magic and who were ready to deal with the consequences. I had stopped believing that. “I’ll do that. So what did you make us? It smells delicious.”

  Pauline beamed at me. “Mixed salad with chicken breasts. Considering the heat out there I thought it would be better to go for a light lunch.” She gave me a plate and silverware.

  It tasted like heaven. Having a roommate might turn out to be not such a bad idea.

  Pauline looked at me in a way I knew there was something going on inside her beautiful head. The most timid I’ve seen her so far she started, “Viviane also told me that you want to reconstruct the first floor and I have a suggestion.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I want to help you with the reconstructions,” she took a deep breath and continued a little faster, “and after that I want to rent a little surface to open up a flower shop. You would get money by renting it and I would have even more flowers to take care of, making life in the city manageable for me.”

  “Okay.” When she looked at me surprised I added, “What else could I say? It’s logical and I like the idea.”

  “Wow, well. Great. Now that that’s settled I’ll leave you to your work and head back upstairs. I’m surfing in the internet for furniture.”

  “Nice. By the way, which room did you choose?”

  “I’ll take the one near the staircase so I can make a beeline for the terrace, in case of a dust emergency,” Pauline winked at me.

  I grinned. “Very good choice.”

  She took the tray and moved towards the door.

  “Oh, Pauline, I’m working on a big case and expect someone sent by the Council. He’s expected at eight but I need to go out patrolling tonight. I’ll try to make it on time but…”

  She waved a hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay home and see to it. See you later and be careful.” With that she was out the door.

  Maybe I should ask Viviane if she might be able to help Pauline control her telepathic powers. My thoughts were interrupted as a woman came into my office. She was small but elegant, looked fifty-some and held her head high. She reminded me of Viviane, in a more regal version though.

  I stood and extended my hand which she grabbed almost like a lifeline. “Bonjour, I’m Maiwenn Cadic. How can I help you?” I indicated the seat in front of my desk and waited for her to sit down.

  “Bonjour, my name’s Jacqueline Benneteau. My granddaughter is missing and I want you to find her.”

  “Why me and not the police?”

  “I’ve already been there but they haven’t taken me seriously. They told me all this rubbish about young teenagers running away for a few days…fools, all of them. ...And I also know what lurks in the dark, so do you as I understand it.”

  There was no reason then to beat around the bush, so I came to the facts. “What’s her name? Do you happen to have a picture of her?”

  “Yes, of course.” She took her wallet out of her purse and showed me a picture of a pretty young girl with brown hair and soft green eyes. Eyes that had stared back at me, blank and lifeless, the day before yesterday. The girl that’d been killed by the rogue. “Her name is Judith. She’s sixteen.”

  I swallowed against the lump in my throat. I hated situations like thi
s but gathered up my guts and looked her in the eyes.

  “I know that she’s dead. I haven’t been quite honest with you.” An elephant coming into my office wouldn’t have surprised me more. I stared at her, frowning and trying to figure out what was going on. “I want you to find those responsible for her death.”

  “How did you know that she’s dead?”

  “There’s still a little magic in our blood. I felt it…when Judith died. Our connection…broke.” As did her voice now. Tears filled her eyes, so I handed her a tissue.

  After she collected herself I cleared my throat. “I’ll take the case. And I’ll do everything I can to find the bastard.”

  Madame Benneteau had returned to her regal self. “Thank you very much. Here’s my card. I don’t want you to keep me posted or anything like that. When you call me, it’ll be to tell me that you’ve found him and brought him to justice. Did I make myself clear?”

  “Perfectly, Madame.” She wanted me to kill him. I had given this woman my word, my promise as a witch to find the murderer and that’s what I was going to do. I took the picture that she’d left on the desk into my hand, studied one last time and then tucked it away under my left leather wristband.

  I closed the office earlier today to follow up on some phone calls I’d received from folks struggling with magical problems. Which were quite a few and given the fact that we were still living in technically non-magical times. I really couldn’t wait to see how business would be doing after The Turn. It would probably be chaos.

  At first I headed a little out of town to the zoo where a Púca, some sort of nasty goblin, had caused quite a stir during a festival by changing into a pony and giving the kids a really wild ride. An hour later I had to fight with a nymph who wouldn’t come out of a garden pool and then I had to stop a jealous Incubus from draining all the energy of his lover’s new lover.