the land of the dead. Not until his soul moved on, and he needed to find a soul collector for that to happen.
I knew a few collectors. I had even dated one of them. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to locate Death—which wasn’t actually his name, but I had to call him something. Too many secrets. That was one reason my relationship with Death hadn’t worked. Even the passing thought of him still stung and I pushed it away.
There was one collector whom I could typically find if I tried.
“There is a nightclub I can direct you to. A soul collector hangs out there when she isn’t busy. Might be a little early in the day for her, but I’m sure she’ll be around eventually. Or you can hang out at a hospice care center. A collector will almost certainly be around there from time to time.”
The ghost’s lip curled, the look contemptuous. “Soul collectors? I don’t want to be collected, you twit. If I cannot return to Faerie, you need to find me a place to live, as it were.”
Yeah. No. There was no estate for the mortality-challenged that I had secret access to. My castle hosted quite a mixed group of occupants these days, two of them ghosts that had more or less followed me home during cases, but I was not about to adopt Stiofan. With his attitude, I’d end up having to kill him a second time.
“Not in my job description,” I said as I pulled the energy out of my circle. The barrier collapsed and the grave wind that had been contained ripped across my office, ruffling papers and tousling Falin’s and Dugan’s hair. The ghost stared at me, and I gave him a smile that I didn’t even waste energy trying to make look friendly. “I’m going to continue my investigation into your murder. You might find this next bit rather disturbing. If you don’t want to witness it, I suggest you leave.”
He looked from me to the body bag at his feet. “Are you going to do something to my body? How dare you.”
The ghost took a step forward, and Falin was suddenly there, standing between the ghost and me, his silver daggers drawn. It was a sweet gesture—not necessarily practical, as Stiofan would only become tangible if I expended magic, or, I guess, if he touched me. But the thought was nice.
From the corner of my eye, something dark moved in the shadows. I snapped my head around, searching.
Nothing.
I glanced at Dugan, but he was watching the ghost. If he’d had anything to do with the thing in the shadows, it didn’t show. Whatever it was, I needed to recast my circle pronto.
“Get out, or stay. I don’t care. You have five seconds to choose.” I only half looked at the ghost as I spoke, most of my attention directed toward where I’d thought I’d seen movement.
“Five.”
The ghost didn’t move, but stared at me, his chin jutting up and out.
“Four.”
Falin still stood between the ghost and me, but the ghost ignored him, his incredulous expression daring me to try to kick him out. But I didn’t need him gone. Dismissing him was for his own benefit.
“Three.”
The shadows shifted again, this time closer. I reacted immediately, throwing magic into my circle. The barrier flashed into existence; a low sizzle and a few sparks shot across the edge closest to the corner of the room.
“Hey! You didn’t make it all the way to one,” Stiofan yelled, taking a step forward.
I didn’t even look at him. “Shut up.”
Something moved at the edge of the circle, drawing back. The magical barrier calmed, the sparks fading. I’d thwarted it, thrown the circle up in time, but what the hell was it? Something not quite on the mortal plane, but I couldn’t see it any clearer with my shields open, so not something from the land of the dead or the Aetheric plane either.
Falin’s gaze followed mine, and he gestured with his blade from the edge of the circle to Dugan. “Is that your shadow spy?”
“Why would I spy on myself?” Dugan asked, but he peered into the dark recesses of the room.
The Prince of Shadows lifted his hands, and the predictable shadows cast by my file cabinet, the dog bed, and other items in the corner of the room quivered. Then the shadows pulled away from the corner. Well, most of the shadows. One small blob of darkness remained frozen in the farthest corner. A shadow