what Ivy House had said; the wood sparked to life in my mind’s eye, various dots flaring where animals roamed, lighting up my internal map. Edgar in the trees, the disturbance surely within his line of sight. I ripped away the barrier to our magical connection. His emotions roared to life—confused, incredulous, and a little let down. The affected area was a blank space on my Ivy House map. Whatever it was, Edgar could clearly see it, but Ivy House definitely couldn’t feel it.
“Magic,” I said softly, my heart picking up the pace, probably pounding at a dangerous pace now. “It must be magic.”
“What’s magic?” Austin asked.
I quickly described the situation as I lifted up enough to see outside. The backyard spanned in front of me, the moon but a sliver, shedding next to no light. Which was exactly what drew my attention to the animal across the way. I sucked in a startled breath.
“I see it,” I whispered hoarsely. “I see it!”
“What is it?”
I shook my head, then blinked a couple of times. “A deer. A great big buck. A seven-pointer. No, six? One side of his antlers has seven points; one has six. He’s the biggest deer I’ve ever seen in my…”
My words faded away. My breath caught in my chest.
“He’s a shifter, isn’t he?” I asked. “A deer this big has to be a shifter.”
“Likely.” Austin’s voice turned fierce. “I’m coming. Don’t move. I’ll be there soon.”
“Wait, but…” Dead air. I hadn’t gotten to tell him the unnerving issue with this animal.
It glowed.
Its body looked like it was shrouded in a sheen of pale blue against the black backdrop.
I grabbed both edges of the windowsill, my phone on the ground, wondering what to do next. Ivy House couldn’t take care of the problem for me, not when she didn’t know there was one. This was up to me and my team.
I could use the defenses, but I hadn’t practiced with them as I should’ve. I’d probably kill instead of trap or maim, and I didn’t feel comfortable doing that. Not until I was sure the creature posed more of a threat than eating Edgar’s flowers. The right thing to do would be to trap it with my magic so I could question it. For that, I’d need to get closer. I wasn’t totally set on magical nets.
What if I spooked it before I could do a magical net, though? Deer could hear crazy well, regardless of whether they were shifters, and I was the world’s worst sneak. If I spooked it, it would know the jig was up. If its intent was dangerous, that would mean it would change its plan of attack. Knowing about the intrusion meant we had the upper hand right now—if it knew we were onto it, it would regain the advantage. I couldn’t risk it.
Flight!
I could head up to the third floor, jump off the roof on the other side of the house, get high into the sky, and follow it when it inevitably moved on. I could find out where it went, and if it changed into its human form, I’d know who we were looking for.
But I had smaller wings than a male gargoyle, and I had to beat them more often, which could be loud, especially if I thought I was falling out of the sky and panicked. It would be smarter to recruit Ulric, small and swift, or Jasper, a great glider.
I chewed my lip, feeling Austin on the move, but he was still too far away. That deer didn’t eat much at a time. It wouldn’t be here for long. I had to get a flyer in the sky right now, or I needed to attack the intruder, hopefully stunning it so I had a chance to get a net or magical binding around it.
I turned around with purpose and immediately screamed. Mr. Tom was standing just a few feet behind me in his house sweats, staring out the window. I hadn’t felt or heard him enter the room. I ignored him so often that it had become commonplace.
“Edgar was wrong—clearly it is a deer eating his flowers,” he said, sneaking toward the window.
“Damn it, Mr. Tom, announce yourself, will you?”
“Sorry, miss. I felt your distress. Is it my eyes, or is that creature glowing?”
“It is. It’s almost certainly a shifter, and it must have a thick layer of magic on it to shield it from Ivy House.”