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Chapter 3 - Lesson

"You didn't show," the goon said simply.

His words sounded like English, but I had no idea what he was getting at. I managed to respond with a flabbergasted, "Huh?"

"Chandra summoned you. She tried it twice. When you didn't appear, she called Marcus. He tried a couple times. He figured you either needed help or a lesson. I'm not sure which I prefer." He sipped his coffee.

I raised my arms, displaying the burns on my wrists. "Iron cuffs... I had a run in with a pair of officers with some level of animosity toward our kind." The coffee smelled heavenly. I crossed the living room to the kitchen and poured myself a cup. "They also exhibited a complete lack of any moral restrictions."

Mikey nodded and drained his cup. "You're out of creamer."

"I'll be sure to pick some up. Any favorites?"

"Yeah, anything with caramel."

"Sounds good. Any preference between chocolate or vanilla with that?"

"Vanilla."

"A match made in heaven."

"You going queer on me?"

"I am a faery."

He recommended a series of activities, sexual in nature, all to be performed by myself on myself. I declined. He shrugged and set his cup on the counter. "The cops found the car. Marcus said it matched the general area of your Uber pickup. I don't know if that helps you or hurts you."

"It shows I'm being honest," I offered in the hopeful tone of a man standing on a trap door with a noose around his neck.

"Are you?"

"Absolutely."

"I wonder." He poured another cup. I offered him milk in lieu of creamer. He made a face that gave me the general impression he was opposed to the idea. I returned the milk to the refrigerator. "Any idea who it was?"

I put on my best mask of confusion. "What?"

"The guys who hijacked the police car and took you for a joy ride. They rescued you from a uniformed kidnapping and rid the world of a known faery basher. Any idea who they might be?"

"I passed out from the strain of all the summoning."

"Did you?"

"I'll tell you what. Let's slap a set of iron cuffs on you and let Marcus call for you a few times. Afterwards, we can compare experiences."

"Been there. Done that... I'll pass." He stood and started toward the window. "So the cuffs burned you?"

"Yes."

"Huh..." He continued past the window to the shadowed corner beyond it. He turned to face me. "You know what that means?"

"No."

"Me neither, but half-breeds don't get burned by iron. Some do, but only ones that have it strong on the Faery side." His eyes locked with my own. "Might be information you keep to yourself for now." He turned, stepped into the shadowed corner and was gone.

Mikey was an enigma. The man claimed to be a simple half-breed, but exhibited knowledge and abilities far beyond that. He touted total loyalty to Marcus, yet seemed to be slipping me information on the side. Now, I was under the impression that he was going to keep my secret. I was becoming more convinced by the day that the goon presented a mystery that went far deeper than even I had previously suspected.

I took a seat at my desk and turned my attention back to the issue of Alexander Stutz. I'd never abducted anyone, let alone a highly respected criminal who was secretly a member of the vampire race. While I wasn't one hundred percent on the when and where of nabbing him, I had long since decided on the ultimate method of removal. Well, if a matter of hours could be considered long since.