Gunmetal Magic: A Novel in the World of Kate Daniels

everyone, until Kyle’s crew invaded her den.
    Such an awful waste. None of this was necessary. At least one person died, many others were injured, and this great magnificent beast and her brood lost their lives all because Kyle Bell wanted to make a quick buck on the side. He stood by the remnants of the tent now, arms crossed, barking orders.
    I marched over to Kyle. He saw me, opened his mouth, and I backhanded him. The blow knocked him to the ground. “This is your fault. You brought these people here. You knew this place was dangerous.” I pulled him upright and spun him toward the dead beast. “Look! People died because of you. Do you understand that? If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have had to murder her. She was just protecting her children.”
    “She tried to kill us!”
    I backhanded him again. “She tried to kill you because you broke into her house.”
    The workers stood around us, their faces grim. Nobody made any move to help their boss.
    I looked at them. “Anything you reclaim here is contaminated. Being here is a crime. Taking anything out of this zone is a crime. You need to know this.”
    Kyle stayed down, until I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him up, his face two inches from mine. “I will ask this only once. What was in the vault under the Blue Heron?”
    “What vault?”
    “You answer her,” Felipe said. “You tell her everything now.”
    “I don’t know what the hell this bitch is talking about.”
    “If you don’t answer me, I’ll kill you.” I shook him, my bloody claws staining his shirt with the behemoth’s gore. “What was in the vault?”
    “I don’t know!” he screamed. “I don’t know anything about any vault! I swear!”
    “Did you have something to do with the murders at the Blue Heron site? Answer me!”
    His pupils dilated and he was hanging in my hands, completely limp, paralyzed by fear. He wasn’t lying. People in a state of complete panic freeze or run. Mother Nature turns off their mental faculties, so her favorite children don’t think themselves to death. Kyle was too terrified to formulate a lie. He truly had no idea what I was talking about.
    I dropped him and looked at his crew. “He’s all yours. You need to clear out. I’m reporting this site to the first cop I see.”
    I found my bow and quiver and walked away. Ascanio jumped off the beast and joined me. His voice was a deep growl, shredded by his teeth. “It. Wash. Aweshome.”
    “This was a tragedy.” People came before animals. I knew that, but when you turn into an animal, your perspective is a little different.
    “Yesh. But aweshome.”
    He was a boy. What did he know?
    “Sho, we didn’t learrrn anyshing?”
    “That’s not true. We established that Kyle Bell had nothing to do with the murders. We can eliminate him from our suspect pool. Are you hungry?”
    “Shhtarrrving.”
    “Good. Let’s go find something to eat.”

CHAPTER 5

    The best thing about Big Papaw’s Cookout was their brine. Big Papaw guarded its secret like it was weaponized plague, but there is very little you could keep from a shapeshifter’s taste buds. That brine had root beer, paprika, garlic, pepper, and salt in it, and after the pork ribs had soaked in it for at least a day, Papaw threw them on the grill with some hickory wood chips. I could smell it a mile off, two if the wind was stronger, and it made me drool.
    The restaurant was located in an old abandoned gas station, with smoke grills in the back, outside. I parked the Jeep in the parking lot—my beastkin feet were smaller than Ascanio’s huge warrior-form paws, so I had to drive—and Ascanio and I went inside.
    Colleen, Big Papaw’s oldest daughter, manned the counters. She gave me the evil eye and kept one hand under the counter, which I decided not to hold against her. When two furry, blood-soaked creatures walk into your place, anybody would get alarmed.
    I dug in my pants and pulled out two twenties. “Hey, Colleen. We need as many ribs as this will buy.”
    Colleen raised her eyebrows. “Do I know you?”
    “It’s me, Andrea. You can quit stroking the shotgun now. We’re not a threat to anything except your barbeque.”
    Colleen blinked. “Andy? I didn’t know you’re a shapeshifter.”
    Neither did anybody else. “Surprise, surprise.”
    “We ish harrrmlesh,” Ascanio assured her, smiled, and winked, flashing huge teeth.
    Colleen winced, swept my money off the counter, went tothe back, and came back carrying a