"I'm serious, light one."
I roll my eyes. "Where's Drackus and Gage?" I ask, shifting the topic to one that actually makes sense.
He glances toward the wolves who have all resumed their interrupted conversation, no longer interested in us.
Before he can answer, Gage is materializing in the room with us. He dusts his shirt free from an ashy residue, grumbling as the same gray dust falls from his hair.
"What happened?" I gasp, covering my mouth when I take him in.
He looks almost gray. I'm curious if he found a pit of ashes and rolled around in them.
"Wrong plane," he murmurs vaguely, and then he waves his hand over him, clearing the remaining dust from sight.
He runs a hand through his clean hair, but the ash returns on its own, cloaking him again with an unforgiving cling. Dice chuckles when Gage's head drops back in frustration.
"Wrong plane?" I ask, stumped by the foreign residue that refuses to be banished.
"Stupid fucking pixies," he grumbles, vanishing from sight again.
I hear creaks coming from upstairs just before the pipes hum. He's taking a shower?
"What's going on?" I ask, growing all the more irritated.
Dice chuckles more, shaking his head. "Gage takes Drackus to various planes when the unaligned powerhouse loses control. He dumps him there and makes him cool off. Don't worry. Drackus will find his way back when he comes down."
"And the pixies?" I prompt.
He laughs louder, almost roaring out his amusement, which draws attention our way once more. This time the wolves only glance at us briefly.
"Pixies. Yes. Pixies are vicious little buggers with a wicked sense of humor. If you crash their plane, they love to have a little fun. He'll be in that shower for a while."
I almost smile. Gage was bullied by fingernail-sized beings.
"I didn't realize pixies existed on a different plane."
"Only during red moon cycles. Pixies get hunted during those times. They're a delicacy for black widows, and the red moon is the only time it's legal to hunt them."
I cringe. We've still got to explain things to the widow council. After seeing how terrible the were have handled this, I dread dealing with a bunch of furious deadly beauties with webbed restraints and vicious venom.
"Don't worry. The dredger can't hurt a night stalker," Dice says, misreading my cause for concern.
Of course, now that he's brought me back to the here and now, I am worried about Kane. I wish they had stayed in sight.
"How long is it supposed to take?" I ask, my anxiety growing as my eyes fixate on the closed door Kane is behind.
Dice nods to the door as it opens, answering my question. Kane returns, promptly wrapping me up in his arms as he smiles. Apparently, all went well.
"The girl and night stalker are innocent of all charges," Reese grumbles to the others, seeming disappointed. He's followed by a dark-haired man I never saw enter.
He disappears from sight, leaving me curious. He didn't vaporize like a witch or warlock, but he just vanished.
"When did he get here?" I ask, looking up to the relieved eyes of Kane.
"The dredger? I assume Drackus let him in. He was waiting in that room when I got in there. Let's sweep out the trash and get on with our day," he murmurs before offering me a sweet, chaste kiss.
A few snarls erupt from the husky group of mutts. Kane ignores them, pretending as though they no longer exist.
"You'll deliver your findings to the widow council?" Gage asks, walking down the stairs.