Priceless

apt name for the area, was a small motel with an attached bar catering to those needing to be discreet.
    I parked and Alex followed me out, tight on my heels, my command that he stay close still with him. I stretched and he mimicked me as best as his contorted body would let him. It brought a smile to my face and I was glad he’d come to find me at the hotel, though the reason for it sucked.
    The lady at the front desk checked me in, gave me a key and we went to our room. No point in calling in on my friend now, he slept till after noon every day. The Shaman I was here to see was even worse, she would be inactive until dusk. And if there was one thing I’d learned, it was that you didn’t mess with a Shaman’s schedule, not if you wanted their help.
    Double locking the door behind me, I checked the room, and then flopped onto the bed, Alex throwing himself down beside me. Within moments I was asleep. For once, it was dreamless.
    Hours later I pulled myself awake. “Damn,” I flicked open the curtain. I’d slept longer than I’d planned. Jumping out of bed, I grabbed Alex and we headed out to find my friend. Ogre he might be, but he was also the best source of information I knew down here.
    The motel’s door barely creaked under my hand, but a voice still called to us from within the building.
    “Won’t be a second.”
    Knowing who it was, I followed where the voice had come from. A large, pale blue-skinned Ogre stood in front of the stove, his dark blue hair in a long braid down his back. He wasn’t as big as some I’d seen, but he was still large, well over seven feet. He had piercings through his nose, lip and eyebrow, but none in his ears. Absently I wondered if it signified anything or if he was just trying to keep up with the human culture.
    I sauntered up to him, sure of my welcome. “How you doing, Dox?”
    With a roar, he spun and pulled me into a bear hug, slapping my back, much to Alex’s displeasure as made apparent by his muttered grumbling.
    “I’ll be snookered, Rylee! It’s been months since you been down our way. How in freaky fairyland are you?” He held me at arm’s length, ignoring Alex’s grumbles, and inspected my condition. I must not have passed because before I could answer, he spun me around and sat me at the large table. I always felt like a child sitting at a table that was made for Dox and his buddies. “Here, sit and eat.” He pushed a plate of brownies toward me and I snagged one. If Dox was a perfectionist for anything, it was his cooking. He smiled at me, a twinkle in his eye, “Freshly baked boggart brownies are the best for what ails you.”
    I froze with one of said brownies halfway to my mouth. “No boggarts in them I hope.” He laughed at my expression and pushed one toward Alex, who sat at my side, a sceptical look on his face as he sniffed the pastry.
    “Nah. Picked the recipe up from a boggart passing through and added it to my repertoire.” He placed one big hand over his heart. “You wouldn’t truly believe I’d feed you boggart without telling you, would you?”
    I snorted. “I seem to remember a certain meal that consisted of mystery meat which turned out to be—”
    “Ah yes, I remember. Let’s not discuss that. It didn’t turn out well for anyone.” He grimaced and I smiled around the brownie. Goblin meat is not very tasty, no matter how many spices you add to it. And when the process reverses and the meat comes out the way it went in, it burns. I’d eaten nothing for the next week that didn’t hurt all the way down.
    “So, you here needing help?”
    I nodded, my mouth full. He handed me a glass of milk. After a chug of moo juice, I answered him. “There’s a kid I can’t track and there was no evidence of her even being taken. Figured a shaman was my best bet. I was hoping Louisa would help me out.”
    Dox frowned and sat down across from me. “You haven’t heard then?”
    I frowned right back at him. “Haven’t heard what?”
    He let out a sigh and folded his hands on the table. “All the shamans, all except one, have left. Gone. Pfft.” He made a flapping gesture with one big mitt.
    “What? Louisa would never leave, this is her home!”
    “I know, but she’s gone. Not a word about it either until someone went looking and found only this Doran fellow.”
    My eyes widened. “A male shaman? That’s taboo ‘round here, isn’t it?”
    Dox nodded and pushed another brownie toward Alex, who took the square eagerly.