Chapter 18 - Of Men and Angels

Julian pulled the Cutlass up to Niamh Sinclair's Beverly Hills mansion. Or, he supposed, it was Ciara Sinclair's Beverly Hills mansion now. As before, the huge Victorian style mansion loomed over him as he parked his car in the large roundabout that wrapped around the elegant stone fountain. The huge garage was closed, so Julian just left his car beside the fountain and headed towards the mansion.

He walked down the stone footpath heading towards the mansion, a little amazed of how quiet it was. Genuine peace and quiet was hard to come by in Los Angeles, but the multi-acre property offered plenty of seclusion, and with the tall trees along the property, it almost felt like he'd left the city behind. When he'd been here last to look over the crime scene, he hadn't had the same feeling due to the paparazzi crowding the entrance and what had felt like all of the LAPD being here. But now, he felt like he was alone in a forest, and the wolf in him liked that quite a lot.

Julian approached the large double doors and knocked on it hard. He figured a light knock might not be heard if Ciara wasn't right near the entranceway. Hell, he wasn't even sure she was actually here, he'd been in a bit of a rush and had neglected to reach out ahead of time. Thankfully, though, the door was opened swiftly. Julian was surprised to see however that it wasn't Ciara who answered the door but rather a man who seemed to be fully comprised of air.

His face was a swirling gust of wind shaped vaguely like a head should be, and somehow, the air spirit was wearing a suit. Julian wasn't exactly sure how that worked, but somehow, it was. The man's hands were also air coalesced into humanoid appendages, though the shape of his body seemed to ripple like a summer breeze, so he was humanoid, but kept shifting ever so slightly.

"Good morning, sir. You are Detective Julian Anderson, are you not?" the air spirit asked politely.

"Uh... yeah, I am." Julian blinked. "How did you know that?"

The air spirit smiled. "This is sacred ground, and even having recently lost our connection to the Land of the Young, the land is still enchanted enough for us to be able to sense who approaches."

"Ah, so you knew I wasn't a human." Julian guessed.

"Indeed. Mistress Ciara had instructed us to allow in a werewolf detective if he came knocking, and we do not get many werewolf visitors." the air spirit explained.

"Right." Julian nodded. "Uh, who are you?"

"I am Nigel, one of the many sylphs who maintain these grounds." the air spirit introduced himself. "Ah, and I'm a spring wind, do not worry."

Julian knew nothing about sylphs, but he nodded as if he understood perfectly, and Nigel didn't seem to mind that response.

"Is Ciara here? I was hoping to talk to her." Julian asked.

"Yes, Mistress Ciara is out back taking a ride on one of the horses." Nigel nodded. "Please, follow me."

Nigel ushered Julian into the mansion, and as he followed Nigel in, he realized that the sylph didn't have legs. His torso ended in a gentle little tornado, and he hovered slightly above the ground, gliding along as he moved. Julian was fascinated by this, but he tried to play it cool as he followed the sylph. Julian was led through the same route he'd taken the last time he was here, through the living room and out onto the back patio.

The body and the blood had both been cleaned up, and now there was no physical trace that a violent murder had ever occurred here. Unfortunately, it was hard for Julian not to picture Niamh Sinclair's body laying on the grass. He tried to force his gaze away, and he met Nigel's windy eyes.

"You were here... were you not?" Nigel asked softly. "You saw...?"

"I did." Julian admitted. "It was... not a pretty sight."

"I did not see her like that, thankfully." Nigel murmured. "Mistress Ciara did, and she's been wrought with nightmares ever since."

Julian exhaled, looking out across the expansive property. At the far end of it, he could see a white horse galloping, not towards them but laterally across the property.

"I can't blame her. Seeing anyone like that can fuck you up." Julian shook his head. "Seeing your own mother? It must have been terrible."

"Indeed." Nigel agreed. "You see a lot of death, do you not? You solve murders?"

"I do." Julian nodded. "I can't say it doesn't have an effect on me, but... someone needs to catch the kinds of people who do things like that. May as well be me."

"That is a very noble way of looking at it, Detective." Nigel said, and he patted Julian on the arm. Nigel had a solid form, so Julian did feel the pat on the shoulder, but Nigel's hand coming near him also made the wind pick up, tugging at his shirt and his hair.

"Something you said earlier has been bothering me." Julian said, looking towards the sylph. "You said that you can sense who people are?"

"It used to be much more detailed, but right now, all we can sense is what they are, not who." Nigel sighed. "One day, even that will fade."

"Was that something Niamh could do too? Or just the sylphs on the staff?" Julian asked.

"No, Mistress Niamh could do it, of course." Nigel shook his head. "Why?"

"Because she must have sensed whoever did this." Julian explained. "I'd already guessed that whoever killed her must have known her well enough to know when her solace week would be, but from what you're saying, she must have known the person well to let them in. There were no signs of a struggle in the house, so she must have been close with whoever did this."

Nigel's windy face turned stormy. Literally.

"This is... this is a betrayal of the highest order." Nigel blustered, looking furious. "Who would do such a thing?"

"You tell me." Julian shrugged. "Did Niamh have any friends, people who came over a lot?"

"I will consult the other sylphs, I'll get you a list of everyone who stopped by recently." Nigel said firmly.

"Sounds good. I'll wait here for Ciara." Julian said, and Nigel breezed away with urgency.

Julian stepped out onto the grass, peering out at the huge yard. The white horse and its' rider had started back towards the house, and Julian waited patiently as they rode up. Ciara had her fiery red curls pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore the kind of horse riding outfit he'd picture when a rich girl told him she was going horseback riding. She was in white pants that clung to her lithe body like a second skin, along with a similarly tight dark blue long sleeve quarter-zip shirt made of a mesh-like material. Her clothes certainly accentuated her slender curves, and much like the outline of her sports bra, the skintight top made her large, perfect breasts impossible to miss.

"Detective." she said, looking surprised. "What brings you by?"

"This is going to sound weird, but, uh... I have a friend who can see the future." Julian admitted.

"A seer?" Ciara asked in surprise. "Interesting. What did your seer tell you? Does it involve me?"

"Not by name, but she mentioned a fallen angel, and earlier today a friend of mine noticed that it was once believed that you and your mother, the aos sídhe, were fallen angels." Julian explained. "I've been told that that's not true, but it made me think that maybe the vision was talking about you."

Ciara looked thoughtful, but she nodded. "I suppose it's possible. What did the vision say about me?"

"Well, the vision said that there was a fallen angel who needed my help. Someone who would die if I didn't help." Julian said softly. "And that she had the missing piece."

"Missing piece?" Ciara mused. "Of what?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" Julian sighed. "I'm also worried that it might not have been you that the vision meant. It might mean..."

"My mother." Ciara finished, swallowing hard.

"In which case, I would have failed." Julian said regretfully. "I'm so sorry, Ciara. Maybe if I'd looked harder into this fallen angel thing, maybe I could have been here to save her."

"No." Ciara shook her head. "As nice as that would have been... it didn't mean her. I am of the belief that visions of the future do come true. Meaning if my mother was the one you were meant to save, you would have."

"That's a lot of faith." Julian said weakly.

"Faith is all we have." Ciara said, looking withdrawn. "I do not know what missing piece I might have, Detective, but I will do what I can to help you find it."

"About your mother... you never mentioned she had the ability to sense who came onto her land." Julian said gently. "Nigel told me about it, and I realized that if she had that ability, then-"

"She must have trusted whoever killed her." Ciara finished, looking grim. "I should have thought of that. It seems so obvious in hindsight."

"Nigel said he'd ask around and get a list of people who had visited her recently." Julian added. "Hopefully the killer will be on the list."

"I know some of my mother's friends, they're mostly old and powerful supernaturals." Ciara shook her head. "I... I trust all of them, I don't know who I could imagine doing something like this."

Julian looked at her sympathetically, and he reached out to squeeze the buxom redhead's arm. "Hopefully, it's not someone she was close with. But all of the signs... they point that way."

Ciara nodded, lifting a hand to wipe at her eyes.

Julian cleared his throat. "That's, uh, a very nice horse you've got there."

"Thank you." Ciara smiled, her eyes still teary. "He was my mother's. He's older than I am, actually, his name is Embarr."

The white stallion was indeed impressive, tall and regal wearing an ornate saddle. His eyes shone with intelligence, and he seemed to be listening to the conversation they'd been having, which unnerved Julian slightly. Embarr snorted, shaking his head, and Julian turned away from the scarily smart-looking horse.

"So, uh... magic horse?" Julian asked.

"Magic horse." Ciara confirmed. "He's immortal just like we are. Like... like I am."

Julian felt for her, she must have thought she'd have essentially eternity with her mother, only for her to lose her all in a rush. He couldn't imagine that.

"I'm trying to think what missing piece you could have." Julian admitted. "Do you know anything about the serial killings happening recently?"

"I know that they're happening, but I don't have any specific information about them." Ciara shook her head. "I don't think that's anything I can help with."

"Alright... what about the Equinox Gala?" Julian scowled thoughtfully.

"Cassius Benning's party tomorrow?" Ciara blinked. "I mean, I'm going to it, but I don't really know anything about it."

"Wait, you're going to the Gala?" Julian asked in surprise, and Ciara nodded.

"I am. Typically, it's my mother who goes to events like those, but after she passed away, Mr. Benning reached out to invite me personally." Ciara explained. "He and my mother weren't close, per se, but they knew of each other."

"He ever been here?" Julian wondered.

Ciara shook her head. "No, never. At least not that I know about."

"Hmm." Julian mused. "I thought your mother was here in hiding, wasn't she?"

"Not particularly. I don't think she often voiced what she was or what she guarded, but she's always loved upscale events like galas or balls. She was very sociable." Ciara explained.

Hmm, well that complicated things. Based off Romero not knowing of Niamh's presence, he'd sort of been assuming she'd been a hermit of some kind, sitting here on her land and guarding the whitethorn tree. Clearly, that was not the case, which quite drastically widened the possible pool of people that she would let into her home. She could know any number of people from parties like those, and even an acquaintance would likely be able to get invited in. The list Nigel was compiling might very well be useless.

The Benning connection was interesting though. The only other person Julian knew that he'd personally invited, Alexandra Blackwood, was somebody that Benning was plotting to kill. Could he be trying the same trick with Ciara? She was really no easier to kill than Alexandra was, unless maybe he had the magical iron sword. None of the vampires had been able to find that sword, and Julian had even visited Cornelius to see if it had moved, but it hadn't.

Julian wasn't even sure what Benning wanted with Alexandra, and he had even less of an idea what he might want with Ciara. Alexandra and Ciara seemed like complete opposites, one an unholy vampire cursed to never see sunlight, the other a nature spirit who guarded a portal to a fey otherworld. No real connection there that Julian could see. They had both been around for a very long time, but Alexandra wasn't alive, per se, so there was a difference there.

"Look, you should be careful at the Gala." Julian cautioned the redhead. "I'm worried Benning is going to try something."

"I'll be careful." Ciara nodded. "I always am these days. What is Mr. Benning up to?"

"We're not sure, but there might be some kind of plan to hurt Alexandra." Julian admitted. "Keep that part quiet though, we're trying not to tip him off that we know."

"I'll keep quiet." Ciara assured him. "I'm not that close with Mr. Benning anyway, it's not like we speak often."

The back door opened, and Nigel came drifting out of it.

"Ah, Mistress Ciara!" the sylph exclaimed. "How was your ride?"

"It was good." Ciara said, glancing towards Embarr. "I think he misses mother though."

Embarr whinnied, shaking his head in a manner that could be interpreted as sorrow. Julian side-eyed the horse.

"I have that list you asked for, Detective." Nigel spoke up, offering a piece of paper to him. It was old-timey paper, it looked like, not the modern kind with lines and such. On the paper was a list of about ten names. Alexandra Blackwood and Tatiana Petrova were the only names he immediately recognized. None of the others were particularly familiar, though many sounded quite fancy, such as Cordelia Sterling, Isolde O'Neill, and Atticus Oakes.

"Who are these people?" Julian asked, looking up at the sylph butler.

"Cordelia Sterling and Atticus Oakes are two major donors in Mistress Niamh's wildlife charity foundations." Nigel explained. "Atticus Oakes is merely a wealthy human, but he's married to a dryad, so he has a vested interest in nature preservation. Cordelia Sterling is the werewolf Alpha from the San Fernando Valley."

"Sterling as a last name for a werewolf is interesting." Julian pointed out wryly.

"I do believe she chose it ironically." Nigel chuckled. "Alexandra Blackwood and Tatiana Petrova are vampires from the Long Beach clan, Isolde O'Neill is a witch, the Forrest brothers are satyrs who were attempting to call upon Mistress Niamh without much success, Cascade is a naiad who was looking to secure help for her river, and Meadow and Aspen are nymphs who are fellow sídhe guardians."

"Sounds like Niamh was involved in a lot of wildlife preservation work." Julian said with a nod.

"Indeed. The only land she needed to protect is this land with the whitethorn tree, but she was very interested in using her wealth to help her environment." Nigel explained.

"I intend to continue her efforts." Ciara spoke up. "I have the money to do so, and I hope one day I will have the influence my mother had."

"I think she would be very proud of that, Mistress Ciara." Nigel smiled fondly at the redheaded girl, and Ciara smiled back weakly.

"I'm sorry we couldn't be more help, Detective." Ciara cleared her throat, looking to Julian. "You are welcome to stay for tea, but I'm afraid we have no more information to offer you."

"That's alright, I appreciate what you were able to share." Julian smiled. "I'll keep you updated if there's any news."

"Thank you." Ciara said wearily. "I just want all of this to be over."

"I'll do my best." Julian said firmly.

"I can show you the way out, sir." Nigel said, waving a hand.

Julian followed Nigel back through, musing over the list in his hand. "There's a bunch of sylphs who knew that Niamh would be alone that week too, right?"

Nigel glanced towards Julian, shaking his swirling head. "None of us would ever do something like that to Mistress Niamh. We couldn't, in fact. All of us are bound to her, and now to Mistress Ciara. It is an old oath, older even than this country we stand in. My father's father's father served Mistress Niamh faithfully, and I expect my son's son's son to serve Mistress Ciara just as faithfully."

"Well, that's good to know." Julian nodded. "I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything, I just-"

"I understand, Detective." the sylph inclined his head. "In fact, I appreciate your commitment to uncovering the truth. Please do let us know when you find who has committed this grievous sin."

"I'll send word as soon as I have something." Julian promised, and Nigel looked pleased by that.

They reached the front door, and after a quick goodbye to the sylph, Julian began the walk back down the stone footpath.

———

Night had fallen on Los Angeles when Julian returned to the Arcana Augurum.

The shop was closed, but the door was unlocked and Julian walked right in. The cashier desk was unattended, and Julian walked right back into the workshop, which was more full of people than Julian had ever seen it.

Romero, Meg, Inara, Abigail, Ellen, Corinne, Colin, and Asha were all spread out across the workshop, and Julian was surprised to see that Alexandra Blackwood had joined the meeting as well.

"Full house tonight." Julian mused to Inara, who was standing closest to the entrance, leaned back against a table. A glance around the room showed Romero and Meg standing at Romero's desk in the middle of the room. Corinne and Abigail sat together by the little table Meg often used for tea, and Colin was standing sulkily by himself not far from the pair of blondes. Alexandra was lounging in the high-backed cushioned chair impatiently, a large book on her lap.

Ellen was kicked back in a reclining desk chair, and she wiggled her fingers at Julian in a hello when she spotted him. Asha sat on the desk beside her, looking decidedly uncertain around all of the strangers. Julian had invited her due to her being his date to the gala tomorrow night.

"Tell me about it." Inara muttered back.

"Ah, Julian. Welcome!" Romero said, lifting a hand in greeting. "With you present, we can begin. As I hope all of you are aware, tomorrow is the night of the Equinox Gala, meaning there is a high likelihood of some ritual being performed tomorrow night, possibly by Cassius Benning."

"A ritual that might involve a foolish attempt on my life." Alexandra agreed wryly.

"Potentially so." Romero nodded. "I thought that this meeting would be an important use of our time to figure out what our plan is for tomorrow."

"And we do have a plan, right?" Ellen asked. "Because the only plan I've heard is show up and look around."

"That's... pretty much the plan." Julian admitted. "Asha and I have invitations to the gala, as does Alexandra. The three of us will be on the inside, and I found out today that Ciara Sinclair will be attending, too."

"I can keep an eye on her." Alexandra volunteered. "Her mother was a dear friend of mine, I will ensure no harm befalls her daughter."

"Alright, perfect." Julian nodded. "We'll try and keep an eye on you too, Alexandra, but Asha and I's primary goal is to snoop around."

Julian looked to the jengu, and she gave him a small smile and a nod of agreement.

"My sister spent a lot of her last couple days alive trying to get access to this mansion." Asha said fiercely. "I plan on finding out why."

"Damn straight." Julian agreed. "As for the rest of you guys, there's no telling what might happen tomorrow night. We've got a missing Grimoire, a plot to kill a vampire Highsire, and missing whitethorn ashes. If even any two of those things are connected, we could be dealing with a high-power ritual."

"So where do you want us?" Abigail spoke up.

"I was hoping as near to Benning's mansion as you can get safely." Julian explained. "If something goes south, I'd like to have backup sitting nearby."

"I have a friend who does delivery routes with this big van." Ellen piped up. "I could see if I could borrow the van, that way we can park a street or two over and sit and wait together."

"I think that's an excellent idea." Romero nodded. "I can prepare some enchantments so nobody senses us in the van."

"We also have our serial killers to worry about." Julian mentioned. "It's just a guess that they'll be using the Harvest Moon, the 'harvest' rune could mean something entirely different. So the backup team might also need to go deal with the serial killers' ritual if we figure out something is happening."

"Oh, about that!" Abigail exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "I think I found out what the masks mean."

"What, really?" Julian blinked.

"Yeah, I had this afternoon free, so I did some real research into it. I found an old story, one of Aesop's Fables, actually, called the Ass and the Pig. There's a couple different versions of it, but the version that I thought most interesting is a story about a donkey who is jealous of a pig. The pig just lazes around, eats a bunch of food, and the donkey who has to work is jealous of that lifestyle. So the donkey refuses to work and starts living like the pig. But then the pig gets butchered, and the donkey is frightened of ending up like the pig, so he gets back to work." Abigail explained. "The only thing that makes sense to me is that this is the killers' message. They're killing supernaturals to remind humanity that they might have harder lives, but they have a purpose. Humans might be jealous of the supernaturals' abilities and their life, but I guess the killers are looking to prove it's better to be human than be supernatural and be slaughtered for it."

"So I guess we know how who's the better detective." Inara smirked, elbowing Julian. "She solved like all of our mysteries within a week of knowing about the supernatural."

"Hilarious." Julian said, glaring sideways at the smirking djinn.

"It's an interesting theory." Romero nodded. "I could certainly see the connection, and it would explain the masks that Jenna witnessed."

"But, question." Corinne said, raising her hand like a student in a classroom. "I thought the serial killers were supernatural. Julian's notes said that Jenna Downey was caught in a magic trap, right? And there's the runes on the hands that humans can't even see."

"When did you get so involved in the case?" Inara asked in surprise.

"She's been helping me go over all of Julian's notes." Abigail explained, and Corinne bobbed her head in agreement.

"The serial killers could be self-loathing." Alexandra offered with a shrug. "Or perhaps they have a pet supernatural they're making work for them?"

"Or could they have stolen magical traps from somewhere?" Julian suggested. "It'd be trickier, but they don't need to be able to see to paint the runes, and the magic traps are things that need to be set somewhere, right?"

"Yes, they could merely have a stash of magic traps." Romero agreed. "None of their known victims were magic users other than Jenna, though, correct?"

"True." Julian admitted.

"What about those Inquisitors?" Abigail suggested. "They swore it wasn't them, but the serial killers did know about the wolfsbane, and the only other people we know who know about that are the Inquisitors."

"I knew about wolfsbane and its' effects." Alexandra shrugged. "It is of little concern to vampires because we don't track by supernatural smell, we track by blood, and the wolfsbane cannot block that. I am in no rush to exonerate the Inquisitors, they have been butchers throughout most of recent human history, but merely knowing about the effects of wolfsbane is not damning evidence."

"What is recent human history to you?" Asha asked Alexandra, and the vampire Highsire shrugged carelessly.

"A few hundred years?"

"Wow." Asha shook her head in amazement. "Vampires, huh?"

"Indeed." Alexandra said with a fanged smile.

"Any chance of a last minute future vision?" Inara spoke up, looking to Meg. "It could certainly be useful for those of us entering the mansion."

"Aww, you do care." Julian grinned, and Inara rolled her eyes and punched his arm.

The seer shook her head. "I've been trying to meditate on it for the past few days, but my powers of foresight are not something I can control. They come on their own time."

"Well, that's damn inconvenient." Inara huffed, folding her arms beneath her bosom.

"Tell me about it." Meg sighed.

"I am in the process of preparing some enchantments for our three gala guests." Romero announced. "I'm designing a bracelet for Highsire Blackwood that should provide some amount of protection against fire. Cassius Benning is known to love his fire spells, and vampires have a tendency to, ah... go up like kindling. If things turn violent, it should offer some protection from him."

"I appreciate it, Master Enchanter." Alexandra said formally, but Julian saw the way her eyes had lit up when Romero mentioned it. She was very interested in this bracelet.

"For Ms. Lake, I've been working on a dispelling charm. Benning is sure to have magical defenses on some areas of his mansion, I'm trying to create a charm not unlike a magical skeleton key. I'm afraid it will have limited uses, but it should prove useful in your investigation." Romero told the jengu, who looked surprised.

"Thank you." she said, looking touched. "It means a lot."

"And then for Julian, I intend to give you my unlocking charm, the one for normal locks." Romero explained. "I've also pulled a charm from storage for you, a protection charm specifically tuned for protection against combat spells."

"Why don't they all have those?" Ellen wondered. Meg sighed.

"Don't get him started." the seer cautioned.

Romero gave a sheepish smile. "I have a tendency to drone on about enchanting, but I do think it is fascinating work. The more charms you have, the less all of them function. I've designed my unlocking charm to not have that effect, but it took a lot of time we don't have. I'd rather give them one potent tool each than multiple weak tools."

"That's the big silver key you used when we went to rescue Corinne, right?" Julian asked, and Romero nodded.

"Most charms are wearable, that one not being jewelry is part of why it can be used alongside other charms without consequence." Romero explained. "Enchanting is a finicky art, but trust me, this is the best way to prepare for this gala."

"Are you going to be joining us tomorrow night?" Julian asked Colin, who'd been standing silently throughout this discussion.

"I'll be where Corinne is." he agreed. "If my sister is intent on putting herself into danger, I'll be right there with her. It'd be hypocritical not to be."

"Well, we appreciate it." Julian nodded at the vampire, and Colin reluctantly nodded back.

"I'll be making the trip out to Pasadena tomorrow morning as well." Romero spoke up. "Cornelius has agreed to loan us a magical map that can identify magic flaring up within fifty miles. That will cover the Los Angeles metropolitan area and some of the surrounding land. If there is another ritual happening here in the city tomorrow night, we'll be able to track down where."

"He wants his Grimoire found." Julian guessed. Romero nodded.

"If any of us see it tomorrow night, please do grab it. He will be very happy for it." Romero said, looking around at the group.

"Is that this meeting concluded?" Alexandra inquired, tilting her head curiously.

"Unless anyone has anything else." Romero shrugged. Nobody spoke up, so Romero nodded.

"Everyone not attending the gala should meet here at dusk or as soon as you can get here after it." the enchanter told the room. "The gala does not start until well after nightfall to accommodate vampiric guests, so we should have plenty of time to prepare here before having to head over."

Alexandra ushered the other two vampires with her, and after a quick goodbye from Corinne, the three vampires vanished into the night.

"I have a lot of enchanting to do tonight, so if you could clear out of the workshop, I would appreciate that." Romero said apologetically to everyone left.

"I'll head home and get some sleep." Abigail said with a yawn. "We've been way too nocturnal recently for also having a day job."

"Welcome to every day of my life." Julian grinned ruefully. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya." Abigail said to him, then she directed a wave at Meg and Ellen before leaving.

That just left Julian, Inara, Asha, and Ellen, and they left the workshop while Meg took the back stairs up to her and Romero's apartment.

"So, we hitting the Glade?" Ellen grinned.

"I'm not sure I'm really in a partying mood tonight." Asha said grimly. "Ask me another time though, I might be more willing."

"Jules? Nara?" Ellen asked, looking to Julian and Inara.

"Nara?" Julian echoed incredulously.

"I'm trying it out." Ellen huffed.

Inara smirked. "I'll pass on the clubbing, Ellie."

"I'll pass too." Julian shook his head. "My last trip to the Glade didn't end so well, and I need to be in top form tomorrow night."

"Fine, losers." Ellen sighed dramatically. "I'll call some of the girls in my pack, they're always down for a party."

Ellen started dialing a phone number, and she walked out of the store into the night. That just left Julian, the djinn, and the jengu, which sounded like the start of a bad joke. 'A werewolf, a genie, and a mermaid walk into a bar...'

"I'm picking you up tomorrow at 8, right?" Julian checked with Asha.

"Yup. Gala starts at 9, and we don't want to miss anything." Asha agreed. "I'll see you then."

"See you then. Have a good night." Julian nodded at Asha as she walked out of the shop.

Inara glanced at him, studying him with those golden-flecked brown eyes of her.

"Come with me." she finally said.

"Where are we going?" Julian asked as Inara led him out of the shop.

"My place." Inara said decisively. "I may not be in a clubbing mood, but I think we both need a drink tonight."

"Works for me." Julian smiled. "What an opportunity, to see where the illustrious and powerful Inara of Agrabah lives."

"I told you I hate that movie." Inara glared at him, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "Unfortunately, no doggy door. Apartment doesn't allow pets."

"I'm sure I'll manage." Julian chuckled. "I'm just glad you didn't go for the obvious housetrained joke."

Inara rolled her eyes, but Julian noticed that as she walked him to her apartment a few streets over, she almost never took her eyes off of him.