Kavon’s arm, and Kavon felt the pull of some force trying to drag Darren away from him. Reality wavered around them, and Kavon caught Darren around the waist with one arm. Something pulled Darren backward, and Kavon held on as a force shoved them, and then they were back in the SUV looking out the front window at the DC street.
“Did we just get kicked off the spirit plane?” Darren asked.
“The next time I see Dave, I’m going to kick his ass,” Kavon said before he opened his car door. Coretta stood next to a bus stop, shading her eyes as she watched them. She probably wanted to avoid interrupting a spirit walk, but now she started toward them, Joe Kaslov at her side. A ghostly octopus swam through the air.
“Kavon,” Darren said.
“I see it,” he answered. If they could see hidden guides, then Bennu was near. Kavon just wished he knew why that bird was spending so much time hiding.
Chapter Nineteen
Darren waved at Coretta and Joe.
“What are you two up to?” she asked when she got close.
“We’re checking on a lead.” Kavon’s voice carried a wealth of aggravation, and because emotions were still trickling through the bond, Darren felt the betrayal and anger just under that.
“You’re on vacation. Normal people go to the beach or fly to a foreign country,” she said. “At the very least they stay home, especially when they have recently gotten blown up on a public street.” She gave Darren a sharp look.
Joe muttered, “Yeah, I’m getting the feeling this team doesn’t do normal.”
Coretta turned to him. “Go check at the newspaper office and see if you can find Les or Ahtisham.”
“On it, boss,” Joe said with a bright smile before he turned and trotted away.
A group of tourists wandered by. Coretta nodded to a few who smiled at them, but most just scurried by when the caught sight of Kavon’s scowl. Sometimes Darren suspected that Kavon liked scaring the shit out of people with his glower.
Once the group had passed, Darren moved closer to Coretta and whispered. “Is that a good idea? Sending Joe off alone?” If Anzu’s partner was around, Joe was walking into a potential firefight without any clue about the enemy. And because he was a shaman, he would be visible to Anzu, even if Anzu’s partner wasn’t around. Maybe Kavon and Coretta didn’t trust all the new people yet, but Darren would rather have avoided getting any of them killed.
Coretta turned so her back was to the passing pedestrians. “Good idea, bad idea, we’re reaching a point where it doesn’t matter,” she said. “You can’t investigate the attack on Darren. Neither of you can.” She looked from one to the other, her lips pressed together in a determined line.
“We’re working on the magical sinks, not the assault case,” Kavon said.
Coretta snorted. “White is talking to the Djedi center about them taking lead on this whole mess—the sinks and the attempt on Darren’s life. The dead magic I felt at each scene has the same signature, so he is taking me at my word that we are looking at one suspect. And, thanks to you and this asshole, I now have to assist the attorney general in helping to empirically test the accuracy of magical forensics.”
“What?” Darren was fairly sure he had missed something, because every court had rejected the use of Talent in evidence gathering. Agents and officers could use their Talents to investigate, but prosecution required mundane evidence, so forensics and Talent didn’t ever cross paths.
“Yeah, well I volunteered you two, or Boucher anyway, to help with the shamanic end of the accuracy tests. Next time you go on vacation, tell me so I can retire first. This whole drama is getting out of hand, but the long and short of it is that White wants us both to back off.”
Rage washed through the bond, and Darren slapped the SUV’s hood to keep his balance.
“You know what’s at risk,” Kavon snapped.
“I do!” Coretta said. “And I know this asshole is going to come at us again. However, we can’t burn our bridges here. White is an ally, and if he needs us to back away, then we should.” The light was red, and a few people risked jaywalking a DC street to avoid passing them. Darren tried to offering the fleeing people an apologetic smile.
Kavon shook his head. “You can. I’m not. If the Djedi center is handling this, then I am one-third of the council. I’ll call Halverson