Within moments, Wyatt opened the door. He nodded in deference. "Mr. Thorne, Ms. Wallis." He stepped aside, inviting them to enter.
A redhead stood behind him, gray eyes bright, smile strained. Her face was narrow and pale, rather unlike her mate's – he had an almost square face that was as tanned as the rest of him. It was easy enough to sense that Wyatt was a cop, Harper thought. It was in his stance, his expression, and the authoritative air about him.
"We haven't met before," she told Harper. "I'm Linda. It's a pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face, Miss Wallis."
Harper gave her a quick smile. "It's good to meet both of you. Call me Harper – the Miss Wallis stuff makes me feel awkward."
Rather than leading them further into the house, Wyatt lowered his voice as he spoke. "The clean-up crew you sent to the hospital to destroy the boy's hospital record and blood samples were almost done when I left."
Knox nodded his approval. "How is he?"
Wyatt jiggled his head from side to side, but his tousled peanut-brown hair didn't move, thanks to whatever gel he was using. "He seems all right, which I didn't expect. His mother didn't just try to burn him in the oven, she tried to burn the house down – as if to be sure he died. McCauley told the police that he managed to get out of the oven before she switched it on and then he scrambled out of the house. Since he has no burns, they believe him." Demons were impervious to normal fire, so the oven would have done him absolutely no harm. "Danielle Riley" – another demon from their lair – "was his appointed social worker; she's going to log in her file that he was placed with relatives and make it all look official."
"Who do you think his biological parents are?" Linda asked Knox, folding her arms.
"I'm not sure yet," replied Knox. "But I'll find them."
"He's welcome to stay here until then," Linda offered, sounding overly casual. "I mean, if that's okay with you?"
"If you'd like to take care of him temporarily, that's fine," said Knox. Linda's relief was clear to see on her face. Wyatt didn't look so delighted, Knox noticed. "Where is he?"
"The living room," said Linda.
"Lead us to him."
With a nod, Wyatt headed down the thin hallway and into a homey room with apricot walls, a lush beige carpet, and a cream leather sofa. In front of the large T.V. sat a little dark-haired boy, eyes locked on the cartoon that was playing.
"McCauley," said Wyatt, "these are the friends I was telling you about."
The boy turned to look at them, his face surprisingly blank. Being part of a large family, Harper was used to being around kids. Used to their nervous energy, their tendency to hop from one thing to another, and their boundless curiosity. But this boy's big brown eyes held no curiosity. No interest, no wariness, no happiness, nothing. And something about that raised her hackles.
///
Given what Knox had told her about changelings, Harper had expected him to be so low down on the power spectrum that he could pass for human. No demon would ever mistake this boy for human – he was by no means weak.
Knox spoke first. "Hello, McCauley. I'm Knox. This is Harper."
The boy's eyes bled to black as his demon surfaced, making its presence known and sizing them up. It retreated after only a few moments.
Knox tilted his head. "It fears me, doesn't it? The entity inside you. The one that drives you. I have my own, just as Harper, Wyatt, and Linda do."
McCauley didn't react.
Harper caught sight of the drawing on the coffee table. It was a standard family drawing, really – two adults, one boy, one girl, and a dog that looked like a golden retriever. But his pen control and attention to detail were impressive. "You're good. Is that you?"
He nodded.
She pointed to the little girl. "Who's that?"
He shrugged.
"Your mother has been arrested," Knox told him.
"Teri wasn't my mother." It was said with no emotion whatsoever. It didn't even seem like he was suppressing emotion. He genuinely didn't seem affected by the matter, one way or the other.
"No, she wasn't," Knox agreed. "Do you know who is?"
The little cambion shook his head. He didn't look particularly bothered by that either.
"I intend to find the answer to that question. In the meantime, you'll stay here with Wyatt and Linda. All right?" A nod. "Good."