"My lady, you leave me no choice."
"You have a choice," Sean said. "You can walk out of here."
Beast barked once.
Arland raised his eyebrows. "A Shih-Tzu-Chi. What a delightful animal. My sister had one."
He took a step toward her, his hand raised. Beast bared her teeth at him and growled low. Arland decided that lowering his hand was an excellent idea.
"I have to insist on disclosure," I said.
Arland turned to me. "I ask for sanctuary."
The inn creaked around me, waiting. It was an ancient request. It meant a guest was in imminent danger. To turn him down now would be to fly in the face of everything innkeepers stood for. He'd outmaneuvered me.
I raised my head. "Sanctuary granted."
Magic rolled through the inn.
"What does that mean?" Sean asked. "So, what, he can stay here and he doesn't have to tell us what's going on?"
"Yes."
"To hell with that."
"Do you have a problem with me?" Arland asked.
Sean rose. "Yes. I do."
"Are you a guest?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Arland nodded. "I thought not. You're neither guest nor staff, therefore your problem is irrelevant."
They glared at each other. The testosterone in the room was getting thicker by the second.
"I'll make it relevant." Sean's voice dropped into a dangerous icy quiet.
"If you attempt to fight on inn grounds, I will restrain both of you," I said.
"I was always a curious child," Arland said. "I took time to educate myself about the folklore of various places."
"And?" Sean asked.
The Marshal's eyes narrowed. "I'm made of neither sticks nor straw."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you should find yourself another house to blow on."
Ha!
Tension sharpened Sean. Suddenly he looked feral. "That's it. Outside. Unless you're going to hide behind Dina."
"Perfect." Arland turned to me. "I apologize for this rude but unavoidable interruption in our conversation. I promise you I will make it as brief as possible."
"Exactly." Sean nodded, his face frightening. "This will only take a minute."
And the vampire and the werewolf went off the rails. "This is stupid."
Sean opened the front door. "After you, Goldilocks."
Arland's eyes turned dark. "With pleasure."
He strode to the door. Sean glanced out and shut the door with a quick jerk. "A cop's walking toward the house."
Magic chimed. I hurried to the door and glanced through the glass on the side. Officer Marais. Of course.
I touched the wall, shooting a quick command into the inn. The table with Lord Soren slid back through the hallway.
"Stay out of sight," I hissed.
"No," Sean said.
"Absolutely not," Arland said.
I didn't have time for this. "He's a cop. What do you think he'll do?"
"I'm not taking any chances," Sean said. "With all the weird shit going on, he might not be a cop."
"This is a valid point," Arland said.
Argh. "You are wearing armor."
"She's right," Sean said. "You should hide, Tinker Bell."
"I'm nearing my limit," Arland growled.
Officer Marais was almost to the door.
"Go down the hallway, first door on the left is the closet. Change into normal clothes and try to act like a human. Sean, help him. Go."
The doorbell rang.
I summoned every ounce of intimidation I could muster and whispered, "Go, or I will drown you both in raw sewage."
They took off down the hallway.
The doorbell rang again. Beast barked, bouncing up and down. I waited another second to make sure they'd disappeared and swung the door open. "Officer Marais. What a lovely surprise."
*** *** ***
Officer Marais looked at me, his face devoid of all expression.
"Would you like some coffee?" I asked.
"No."
"Well, I would like some coffee. Please feel free to follow me to the kitchen." I walked into the kitchen, got out a mug, and pushed the button on my Keurig. Gertrude Hunt wasn't a wealthy inn, but I wasn't willing to skimp on coffee. Officer Marais followed me like a stoic shadow.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like a cup?"
"Yes. Ms. Demille, where were you last night between eleven p.m. and three a.m.?"
I sipped my coffee. "Upstairs in my bed."
We squared off like two duelists with rapiers.
"Did you hear anything unusual?" Marais attacked.
"What do you mean by unusual?" I parried.
"Did you hear anything at all?"
"No. I was asleep. Can I ask what this is about?"
"Yes. Your neighbors down the street reported hearing screams followed by a bright flash of red light."