“A referral for what? I do mostly family law. You got a New Mexico marriage you need to have quietly annulled or somethin’? I’m not licensed in Nevada.”
“No, this isn’t a legal issue. I need to speak with your chieftain’s aunt. Maggie? Do you know her?”
“Yeah,” he said slowly. “I know Mags. Hard not to.”
“Yeah. The old lady’s a bit of an institution. I need to talk to her about an important issue, and I don’t have her Norseton contact information.”
Sheldon was silent.
The wolf looked her way.
Mary wriggled back more into the shadows. She really couldn’t go any farther.
“What do you need to talk to her for?” Sheldon said after a minute.
She pulled in a ragged breath and, flicking her hair out of her eyes, let out the air. “I know you’re protective of the people there, and you should be, but I promise you I’m not trying to make trouble. I need her expertise. That’s all.”
“Regarding what?”
“A person here who has some unusual magic. I was wondering if she could tell me more about the source.”
“Is this for a case?”
“No,” she said emphatically. “Not at all.” People like her who worked in the legal profession went out of their way not to record any references of their magic or psychic abilities in official documents. They always nudged their clients and the people they interviewed to give them more mundane explanations of what they did and saw, if they could.
“So this is a personal matter, then?” he asked.
“Yes. This is personal.” The situation may have started as what should have been a run-of-the-mill fact-finding interview, but that ship had sailed. She didn’t care about the outcome of that case anymore. In the larger scheme of things, the resolution of a fender bender seemed a petty concern compared to what was going on with Andreas. He didn’t know what was happening to him.
If Mary had been in his shoes and someone was snooping around trying to root her out, she might have resorted to extraordinary measures or some bad behavior to make them stop, too.
He was a fucking wolf. The people in Fallon would sharpen their pitchforks for sure if they knew. She had to protect him.
“This is…” She realized she was whispering again, and tried once again at a more audible volume. “This is an old curse that’s been reignited. He doesn’t know anything else about it. He needs to know what’s happening to him, and his parents can’t tell him anything.”
“So there are people out there in Fallon reaping from the magical flood, huh?”
“He’s the first I’ve encountered to have anything. At least, anything significant.”
“Why him?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know much about this at all, but I’m kind of in a pickle here. Could you please tell me how to get in touch with Maggie Gilisson? I promise you, I don’t have anything devious up my sleeves. I just want to help this guy. I just want to…” She swallowed.
Finally, the wolf looked away.
“I want to help him, but I’m helping myself, too. He’s got me trapped.”
“Do you want me to call the police?”
“No! No, don’t. Just give me a chance to resolve this without anyone using force. The police in Fallon don’t know there are people like us, and if there’s any way for me to reach A—”
She’d been about to say Andreas’s name, but stopped herself before she could speak it. She didn’t want to rouse his attention.
“If there’s any way for me to reach him without anyone else coming in and escalating the situation, I’d like to try.”
“Well, jeez Louise, woman, are you safe?” Sheldon asked.
“Safe enough for the moment. I’m being careful. I know that wild animals can sometimes be unpredictable.”