"I can see we're going to get along like a house on fire," said Miss Tick. "There may be no survivors."

Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

Chase

"What about 'time'? Think it's 'time'?"

I leaned on the table, my head buried in my arms. The cool wood against my forehead soothed my frustration as I responded to Douglas. "The riddle mentions time. It's not going to be that easy."

I heard Douglas sigh, one of my ears swiveling towards him at the sound. I lifted my head enough to rest my chin on my arms. Douglas sat back in his chair, scowling at the papers spread out in front of us. Tossing his pen to the table with a click, he crossed his arms. "Why is this so hard? We're geniuses."

I lowered my ears, the tip of my tail tapping my chair leg as it swished. "So is Krane."

That was met with silence. Douglas worked his jaw, narrowing his eyes at the pad of notes we had taken. It was more just us throwing ideas at the wall, but nothing stuck so far. As for myself, I laid my head back down on the table. I didn't get it. Why would Krane need to send coded mail? He was bionic, for christ's sake. Couldn't he just throw one of his energy balls at anyone who tried to steal said mail? Better yet, he could have just sent an email like the rest of us. It was easier to encrypt and decrypt something when software could do it for you. I hissed, sitting up fully and slouching in my chair. Crossing my arms over my chest, I pinned my ears. "Maybe we're thinking about this all wrong."

Douglas raised an eyebrow at me. "We've been at this for three days. We sure aren't going about it all right."

I rubbed my eyes, then gestured at the letters. "What if this is just Krane messing with you? What if it's just a mess of letters with a riddle to keep you busy?"

Douglas frowned. "Why me specifically?"

"You said he used an alias that you knew to send these, right?" When Douglas nodded, I perked my ears up towards the table. "If he wanted to hide these from you, why would he use an alias you're familiar with? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to use a different one?"

Douglas sighed. "If he was smart, yes." He sat forward, picking up his pen and pointing it at me. "You're forgetting that he's arrogant, too." Douglas gave me a wry smile. "He thinks I'm not a threat, I'm guessing. Or he's been talking with whoever this was sent to for too long to change it now."

I flicked my ears. That made as much sense as anything. I sighed, scratching my arm for a second.

If you have a better idea, I'm sure you would have done it by now.

"Look, I get it," Douglas said, sweeping a hand towards the papers. "I don't want to waste time on this, either, but it's all we have right now."

I sucked on my cheek. I wanted nothing more than to join Oly and Yahn on guard duty. At least I would feel helpful there. All this sitting and riddle-solving was too slow for my liking. "Fine, so – "

"Master!"

My ears shot up as Oly flew at us from the stairs, her wings beating fast. She dropped onto the table, sliding to a stop as papers went flying. Douglas didn't seem to notice them, though. I pushed my chair back, bending down to pick up a couple of sheets that had landed near my feet. It was an excellent excuse to stop looking at Oly for a moment. Her shimmering form messed with my eyes too much.

Oh, right: excited demons shimmered. Our forms loosened a bit and moved, creating an effect not unlike a distant car distorted by heatwaves in the summer. It was almost like we had problems keeping it together when we were giddy.

Oly hopped from foot to foot on the table, grinning. "Master, it's Lovett!"

Douglas furrowed his brow as I stood up, skirting around him to pick up the rest of the papers. I kept an ear aimed at Oly as I scooped up the last of the letter. "Who's Lovett?"

Oly clapped her beak shut, her form solidifying. "Phil Lovett, dumbass." She whipped her tail around, cracking me behind the ear while I was bent over. I hissed and shot upright, rubbing the welt. Even a month later, Oly still didn't like me. I couldn't tell why, either. Maybe she was upset that she was the weakest in the house. Maybe it was that I ignored her attempts to pick a fight with me. Whatever her problem, I was going to throw her if she hit me again.

Douglas waved his free hand at us, watching Oly. "Hold on, hold on. Why do you think it's Lovett?"

Oly turned her attention back to Douglas. "We caught his imp. Yahn is sitting on him."

I set the papers on the table, my tail twitching on the floor. "Sitting on him?"

Oly scoffed, rolling her eyes. "The tall kid keeps leaving food out for him."

Douglas sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Damn it, Yahn."

I covered my mouth, smiling. I was half-human, so I needed to eat. Full demons didn't, though. Food went straight to their hips, which led to some chubby demons. Some demons even took to hanging around restaurants in the guise of a cat or dog to get humans to throw them food. After a second, I perked my ears up to try again. "Who's Lovett?"

"Lovett is the embodiment of smiling to your face and stabbing you in the back," Douglas explained. He reached forward, pulling the legal pad towards himself.

I frowned, watching as Douglas started to write on a clean corner of the paper. "You know the guy?"

Douglas nodded, ripping a scrap of paper free. "I visit the Council sometimes."

"The Council?" I frowned, leaning forward.

Oly curled her tail around her feet as Douglas offered the scrap of paper to me. "The Summoner's Council. It's a prestigious organization dedicated to the regulation of Summoning and – don't laugh." Douglas narrowed his eyes. "I'm serious."

I had to bite my hand to stifle my giggles. My fangs broke the skin, but I didn't care. This Summoner's Council was the most pretentious thing I'd heard of since Tasha joined a hardcore juicing group on Facebook. I took the paper Douglas held out to me, purring with amusement. I released my hand, ignoring the beads of blood that welled up on my skin. "Fine, fine. What's this?"

"Lovett's address." Douglas pushed his chair back, standing up. "You wanted to do something? Now's your chance." He started for the kitchen cabinet farthest to the right, pointing at me. "You and Oly."

My smile was gone in an instant. "What?"

Oly clapped her beak, gesturing at me. "I'm not babysitting Half-Breed!" She made the peace sign at me and spit between her raised fingers.

Are you going to take that?

I pinned my ears, snarling. I didn't know the exact meaning of what she did, but I could tell it was an insult. My wings extended a bit as I held up my fists. Douglas glanced over his shoulder at us. "Don't kill each other." He waved a hand at Oly. "She's useful."

I narrowed my eyes at Oly, who stuck out her long, dark tongue. Douglas didn't say it out loud, but he had a soft spot for his imps.

That didn't stop me from grabbing her wing and yanking her off the table when Douglas turned back to the cabinet. When she hit the floor, I tapped into my energy. A tendril of smoke rose from the tip of her tail. Oly hissed, blowing on her tail as it glowed red.

Fire was so useful.

I turned my attention back to Douglas as Oly stomped on her tail. "I don't need her. She's just dead weight."

"Lovett keeps an afrit around." When Douglas pulled the cabinet open, I wrinkled my nose. I avoided it because it gave off the smell of incense even when closed. With the door open, it was just awful. Douglas dug through it, setting candles on the counter. "Big guy named 'Jasper.' You'll want her help if you run into him."

I shivered at the name. Don't ask me how I knew just how powerful Jasper was from his name. It's a demon thing. "Wouldn't he just eat us both?"

Douglas turned around, picking up his candles and balancing an incense jar on a candle holder. Oly sat hard on her smoldering tail, her face twisting in pain. I bit back a smirk at that. Talk about lighting a fire under her ass. Douglas pointed at me with his candles. "Trust me, you'll want her." He looked at Oly, then frowned at her expression. "Don't look like that. Chase isn't helpless. He's trained for this kind of thing."

Oly nodded, her yellow eyes watering. I tilted my head at Douglas, giving my ear a flick as I nodded towards his hands. "What are you doing with those?"

Douglas started for the stairs, shaking the candles a bit. "Calling backup for Yahn." He stopped by me long enough to look out the kitchen window. "If you guys leave soon enough, you can scout the place before dark."

I frowned, perking my ears up. "It's noon."

"And you're walking to the other side of town," Douglas responded. He nudged me with his elbow, smiling. "Be discreet and don't get into any traps. We don't need Lovett to know we're looking at him."

I nodded, giving Douglas a thumbs up. "You got it." I didn't need Douglas to tell me how to spy. I'd been training for years. Spy missions were second nature now.

Douglas nodded at me, then headed up the stairs.

When Douglas was gone from sight, Oly yelped. She shot about a foot in the air, holding her hindquarters. I let out a laugh as she landed, stomping on her tail again. Let me tell you, she could dance. It took a minute for her tail to stop glowing red, fading into a blackened tip. She held it in her claws, her large ears laying back and her mouth open in disbelief.

I pointed at her, barking out another laugh. "Hey, it looks good on you."

Oly's eyes snapped to me, flashing. She released her tail and launched herself at me, snarling. I jumped back a step, but that didn't stop her from hitting me square in the chest. I gasped, stumbling back. Oly dug her sharp talons in, piercing my shirt and breaking skin.

How dare she attack you? Kill her!

I grabbed the back of her neck, tugging hard while beating my wings to make a distraction. Oly dug her claws in, snapping her beak. "You're going to regret meeting me, Half-Breed!"

Oh, hell.

Bree

Walking home from school wasn't exactly a low point in Bree's day. It was more of the ramp leading downhill. She didn't want to go home yet. Between Mr. Davenport working on Chase's GPS until god-awful hours in the morning, the lack of brothers fighting nowadays, and Adam hovering around everybody for the past couple of days, Bree didn't like spending time at home. Just walking through the door unleashed a surge of anger from somewhere deep inside.

Hanging out with her friends was worse. That often ended with a sense of guilt that she couldn't shake.

No, school was the highlight of her days now. Classes were distracting enough that she could let go of her emotions for a while. The walk home was the end of that mercy. She wished she could speed around the neighborhood a few times if nothing else. Running always lifted her mood for a moment. She couldn't do that, though. Mr. Davenport would be upset that she used her bionics if she got home too fast.

Too bad, because she wanted to escape whatever this conversation was.

Adam raised his hand, gesturing at a tree in the yard they were passing. "How is that not broccoli all grown up?"

Leo gave Bree a sideways look before he responded. "Adam, broccoli and trees are different plants." He pointed at the tree. "That's not going to plot revenge if it sees you eating your vegetables."

Adam grabbed hold of his backpack strap, shoving his other hand in his pocket before he shrugged. "I'm not taking the risk."

Bree rolled her eyes. Maybe she should sprint ahead. It would save her from this headache of a talk. Sighing, Bree looked at Adam only to pause when she saw him freeze. Stopping herself, Bree cocked her head as Leo stopped, too. "Adam – "

Adam held up a hand, frowning as he pointed into the next yard. Three sparrows were hopping in the grass, tweeting amongst themselves. Leo gestured at them with his hand, shaking his head. "Adam, they're not – "

"Listen," Adam interrupted, furrowing his brow.

Bree and Leo exchanged a look. Maybe today was the day that Adam finally lost it. Bree blew out a breath but looked at the birds again. They were still tweeting. One hopped towards them, its wing flapping in their direction. Bree rolled her eyes again, grabbing Adam's arm. "Come – "

Wait, did that bird just speak in English?

Leo's eyes widened. So, it wasn't just her.

"We're lost," one bird said, puffing its feathers out.

"We're not lost. I know where we are." A second bird flicked its tail, bobbing its little head at the first one.

The third bird – the one who gestured at them first – shook its head. "No, you don't. I'm asking for directions." It took off, beating its wings until it reached them. It landed on the sidewalk at Adam's feet, looking up at them. "You three, hello."

Adam stepped forward, pushing Bree and Leo behind him.

The sparrow tucked its wings in as its two friends joined it. "Listen, we're a little lost. Think you can help us?"

Leo's voice was an octave higher than usual as he peeked around Adam. "You guys are seeing that, right?"

Adam nodded, his jaw set. "Yeah, birds don't get lost. It's not natural."

Bree wanted to smack Adam so hard.

One of the birds pointed a wing at Adam. "Hey, he's – "

Whatever it said about Adam, Bree didn't understand it. It was in a different language or something. Bree furrowed her brow at the birds. "What?"

Bird Number Three hopped forward. "Listen, we're looking for some people that Master told us to guard." It fluffed its feathers up. "Some stupid name like 'Davenport' or whatever. Have you seen 'em?"

Leo – brave Leo – spent two seconds staring at the birds. Then his eyes rolled back as he fainted.

So much for 'The Enforcer,' Bree thought. She only had to shift a couple of steps to catch Leo, so at least he didn't land on the concrete. "Adam, help."

Adam glanced over his shoulder, then turned around fully to pick Leo up bridal style. Bree leaned to look around Adam, narrowing her eyes at the birds. "What do you want? How are you talking? Why are you looking for us?"

"Oh, you're the Davenports? That's perfect." One of the birds hopped into the air, flying up to land on Adam's shoulder. "You can carry me there. I'm not as young as I used to be."

Bree swatted the bird off Adam's shoulder, stepping towards the other two birds with her fists raised. "What are you?"

"Imps," one of the birds answered. If a bird could roll its eyes, Bree swore this one did. "Kids these days."

"What's an imp?" Adam asked, taking a step back with Leo cradled against his chest.

"For the love of – demons. We're demons." The second bird hopped on the sidewalk, flapping its wings a few times at Bree. The one Bree swatted hopped back to the other two at last, its feathers fluffed up like hackles.

"Look, Master ordered us to guard you," the first bird tweeted, its head tilted sideways. "We don't have a choice, so it will be easier for all of us if you just cooperate."

Bree could hardly hear the birds now. They didn't just say demons, did they? Demons weren't real, right? She swallowed, trying to wet her dry mouth. How was she supposed to explain talking birds, though? She swallowed again, shuddering. "Who's Master?"

The birds were quiet for a second. They looked at each other, then started talking among themselves too quietly for Bree to hear. She grabbed Adam's arm, ignoring the way Adam tensed at the contact. At last, a bird threw its wings up. "I got it! Some guy named Douglas."

Douglas was sending bird demons? Were they demons or sophisticated androids, like Marcus? Why would Douglas send something to guard them? Was he just trying to get these things close enough to do something evil?

One thing was for sure: when Bree activated her super speed, she made it home in record time, even by her standards. She just hoped it was good enough to lose Douglas' minions.