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A strange picture was starting to form for Viv, one she almost didn’t dare look at too closely. Dandelion had mentioned ‘the spouse’, as if expecting that Viv had one. Lithway had just referred to Thys as her fairy lover. And Dandelion had previously explained that Thys’s kind of fae were often also known as leanan sidhe—something she recalled now were mythological ‘fairy sweethearts’, ones who would act as a muse to a human they decided to devote themselves to, nearly slave-like in their devotion, but who would lead to an early death for the human they chose to love.

It had to be a coincidence. A misunderstanding. It was on the tip of her tongue to argue, to explain, to… to have Thys deny it too, just so she could be sure.

But now wasn’t the time, she reminded herself, watching Lithway straighten and give them a beaming, friendly smile. Lithway wasn’t fae. Lithway also wasn’t a vampire, wasn’t a witch or a human or anything understood. Instead, Lithway was a mysterious monster of origin unknown, of a type feared by all others.

All anyone really knew about Lithway was that they enjoyed helping others, and that they didn’t like waiting.

So Viv wouldn’t let Lithway wait. Right now, she had to explain what was going on, quickly and with deference. Clearing up this misunderstanding could come later.

Even so, she couldn’t quite bring herself to look at Thys as she said, “It’s about the lanternfish.”

“Ahhh.” Lithway’s voice didn’t seem able to change from that soft, susurrating lilt, which was particularly strange given that they were an actor. Viv wondered if that changed onstage, or if Lithway simply put other things into the role that made you forget it. “What about it? You know what, come with me.”

Thys slipped their hand into Viv’s as the two of them followed Lithway into the backstage area. She tried not to get too nervous or sweaty; they’d held hands a dozen times already, it was fine.

The backstage space was tidy and quiet, and while it was clearly a frequently-used space, they were alone now. “Can I ask what about the lanternfish concerns you?” Lithway murmured, as their shadows rolled to a stop and they somehow ended up facing Viv and Thys without seeming to turn. “You don’t mean the play, do you? I don’t think someone like Dandelion would offer up favors to someone like me just so you could get tickets to a play.”

“We think the lanternfish might be hunting me,” Thys said bluntly. “Or something that matches its description. And, since you wrote a play about it, we wanted to know what you knew. Know what you thought. You do not usually write the plays you act in, do you?”

“Oh, sometimes,” Lithway said. They sank back into a seat that hadn’t previously been there, one which appeared to be made of the shadows which surrounded them, and steepled their fingers. “Tell me what you’ve been experiencing.”

Thys looked to Viv for this, and Viv, obligingly, launched into an explanation. She tried not to leave anything out—this wasn’t a case where playing their cards close to their chest would help. If it was a lanternfish, whatever that was, Lithway was the only one who seemed to know anything about it, and besides… Lithway didn’t seem the sort who it was safe to play games with.

So she explained the confusing attack that Thys had experienced with the lights luring them away. She explained the smell in the garbage room, the mysterious encounter with the janitor, Thys’s collapse at the Good Neighbours, and all the theories they’d formed that this thing might be hunting Thys specifically.

Lithway listened, their fingers still steepled, their face impassive. And, when Viv was done, they sighed. “I see. I do see.”

When it didn’t seem as if they were about to say more, Viv’s stomach knotted. “I was wondering about… about what inspired you to write the play. Was it folklore? Based on something you encountered? Do you think this thing sounds a lanternfish?” Be polite, she reminded herself nervously. “If it’s all right to ask,” she added.

“Well, the thing is, I’m not sure how all right it is,” Lithway said. They tapped those fingers to their lips, then seemed to decide, beaming abruptly at Viv and Thys. “Well, you two seem like a young, sweet pair, and I have to admit I’m taken by the drama of your story! Let me see what I can do, because, you see, if it came out that I was acting against this… lanternfish, sure, let’s call this a lanternfish for now. If it came out that I was acting out against the lanternfish, I could be in a great deal of trouble myself!”

What could exist that could get Lithway in trouble? Viv wondered.

Thys leaned forward, releasing Viv’s hand and clutching their hands to their chest, a physical plea. “So you do know something. You know enough to get yourself in trouble.”

“That I do, and I don’t plan to stick my neck out. Here’s the thing, if you let it get out that I’ve been telling you secrets, it won’t just be the lanternfish hunting you down, my darlings. I’ll join in, and I don’t think you’ll like that. And I can’t help you beyond information—or rather, I won’t. This is a case where I could be identified as the source if I put myself out there, and I’m too comfortable in my current life to do that for you.”

Viv sucked a breath—but Thys just nodded. “Yes,” they said. “If it’s enough to cause you trouble, I imagine you don’t want us going and throwing your name around lightly.”

“You understand completely!” Lithway said, putting a hand to their forehead and draping themselves backwards over their chair. “What a relief! I had been worried I could not adequately prepare you for the danger of what little I can justify saying. That said, if you learn anything yourself from your encounter with the lanternfish… well, I don’t care what you say about your own experiences, though others might.”

It was amazing someone could be so bombastic with such a soft voice. Somehow, it made Viv more nervous; she licked her lips, which felt dry. “So?”

“Here’s what I can tell you,” Lithway said. They sat up again, expression serious now, eyes a void of shadow in their already shadowy face. “I thought I sensed a stranger when it appeared in my territory, and I had prepared The Lanternfish’s Lure for a time like this. While I put myself at risk for it, I don’t want one of them hunting in my territory, and if I could prepare my audience adequately for the possibility that they might become prey… well, it is the least I could do.”

What was it that trivia night had said? “I heard,” Viv said slowly, “that it’s shadowfolk folklore.”

“That’s how I’ve described it, yes,” Lithway said. “The play itself is a certain amount of misdirection while still putting important information in, so here are the bits you should consider relevant.” They held up a finger. “One: the lanternfish will pick a prey for a reason. They are intelligent, as smart as you or me. Well, especially me, I can’t speak for you. So if they have picked you as a target, they have a reason for it. Two—” Another finger. “They are not bound to stick just to their prey. They can do what they want for whatever convenient reason. However, keep in mind that it’s being done with a goal. Three—” A third finger. “Their abilities primarily lie around light and shadow and, thus, illusion. Unfortunately, vision is a primary sense where it relates to both humans and most monsters; even if they have other senses, sight usually tricks them into disbelieving the rest of it. That said, if you have friends whose powers include other senses, such as scent, they may pick up more than sight alone would claim. But I would not suggest bringing in vampires. Light can be deadly to them, after all.”

It had been an option—but, yeah, in that case, maybe one worth benching. It was a shame, kind of; Viv had always been curious about the whole vampire society thing.

“Four—” Another finger. “They can shapeshift, to some extent. Not always, not into everything, but when they hunt, they can mimic prey they have successfully captured before. If you are worried about your janitor, it’s worth being worried, but he is likely long gone. Fifth, they can know things about people on whom they have fed, so trying the good old ‘tell me something only you know’ trick has limited success. Sixth—”

That was, Viv realized, too many fingers for one hand.

“—their power over light is significantly weaker than their power over darkness. It only exists because they have power over darkness! As such, they are weaker in the light, but not eliminated by it. They can build sections of apparent safety and rely on instinct to send you there, then take it away. Which matches what you’ve described… and I would suggest that Thysania is especially vulnerable to this lure. After all, moths are drawn to the flame.”

Thys leaned against Viv, running a hand over her hair. Viv almost choked on nothing at all. “Oh no,” Thys said. “You’re right.”

“And finally,” Lithway said, leaning forward in their seat, “they are very, very hard to kill. I cannot and will not give specifics, but you would need to lure them into a place with no shadows they can see to cut off their exit, first of all, and it would involve… a great deal of focused power, I’d think. However, as I noted, they surely have a reason for choosing you as a prey. If it’s something you can make useless to them, or otherwise deny to them their goals, they will probably leave you alone.”

“If left alive, won’t they… seek out other prey?” Viv asked tentatively. “So we’d just be making someone else suffer?”

“Well, that depends what they want from this,” Lithway said, and spread their hands with a bright smile. “Nobody needs to predate each other, but certainly plenty of us do, don’t we?”

“It’s a start,” Thys said. They considered, then bowed deeply, spreading their wings in a curtsy.

Viv hurried into her own bow—without wearing anything she could curtsy with, it felt weird to do so. “Thank you,” she said. “We really appreciate it, especially knowing that, er, that you’re in… some kind of awkward position here.”

“Oh, I’m frequently in awkward positions,” Lithway said airily. “But I’m happy to help, so long as it doesn’t cause trouble for me. Do you need someone to help you find the way out?”

“No, I think we’ve got it,” Viv said. “Again, thank you. It’s obviously super freaky.”

“Super freaky,” Thys echoed, and caught Viv’s hand once more.

“Super freaky!” Lithway said, with audible sympathy. They smiled at Viv beatifically. “Well, I’ll be happy to hear how this turns out. If I have helped thwart this terrible creature, I would love to know it.”

Viv managed a weak smile back. “Hopefully we’ll be able to let you know,” she said.

Lithway rose and bowed to them, then gestured them away; not wanting to overstay their welcome, the two of them left.

Thys’s hand was still tight in Viv’s, tight enough that Viv wasn’t sure they’d let go even if she tried. “Well,” Viv said, instead of commenting on that, “I think that was useful. It sounds like to have a chance we’re either going to have to ambush this thing in some kind of area we can flood with light or… well. Or find a way to convince it to leave you alone.”

“I suppose so,” Thys said. “I know the plan was to go to the skate park to try to find that Yasmin now, but I’m not sure if you think that will still be useful with everything we’ve learned so far? Or if we should be focusing on trying something else now.”

“I’m not sure either,” Viv admitted. “I was considering contacting the Twilight Council, see if we can get someone to help us to, I guess, corner the lanternfish for this posse we may or may not get. Or even get a consult on what that might take. That might be some more, like, direct assistance than just heading to the skate park, right?”

“I’d really be fine with either option,” Thys said, and gave Viv a small smile. “As long as we’re together.”

Viv’s heart jumped into her throat again and she tried to swallow around it. She shouldn’t be thinking about this. Things had gone so badly with Reese before, and the things he’d pointed out had been true. She was too needy. Too clingy. She needed to learn how to tolerate herself better before she could even try to love someone else.

She was jumping to conclusions, she assured herself. She shouldn’t address this. Shouldn’t call attention to this. Shouldn’t ask Thys what the situation was between them, why it was like that, if it was some fairy thing or if it was real or—anything. Doing so could ruin everything, and right now they needed to both just focus on this very real threat.

It would be a bad idea. 

But she was so afraid, and didn’t know which answer she was more afraid of.

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“It may not hurt to try to see the play and find out if it’s relevant?” Thys suggested. “Perhaps talk to Lithway directly, if we can. It may not benefit us, but I hardly see how it could hurt to try.”

Viv nodded. She’d been thinking the same thing. “Do you know them? Lithway, I mean?”

“Not personally. I think Dandelion might,” Thys said. “They’re both local entertainers.”

Surprised, Viv raised her brows. “Aren’t you also?”

“I am,” Thys said, “but I’m not the same…sort? I am not a celebrity. I perform locally, though I’ve only started recently to do so publicly instead of simply posting my music online, and I have a small following, but I keep to myself. Dandelion appears at events, does interviews, that sort of thing. He is not at Lithway’s level, of course, since Lithway is an international star, but for a folk rock singer he does, you know… well.”

“I get you,” Viv said, though any level of celebrity status had always seemed out of reach to her. “He’s rubbing shoulders with the big guns.”

Thys stared at her for long enough that Viv was 100% certain they had no idea what she meant by that. “Yes,” they said finally. “Sure.”

Viv ducked her head, blushing. “Anyway, the point is, we should be calling Dandelion anyway to let him know we’re okay and what we’ve been up to. And, I mean, Matthias talked about bringing in any of a huge variety of heavy hitters, but… maybe we should just stick with the fae? Between you and Dandelion we have an in.”

“I… don’t know about that,” Thys said, fidgeting. “Neither of us have court connections, not any more. Dandelion was exiled, so he can’t go back. And if I went back, even if just to take command and lead an army, I wouldn’t be allowed to return here. I’d be expected to assume my duties, and… I won’t do that.”

It felt like there was a huge depth of background there which Viv had barely touched on. She wondered if it would be rude to ask, and settled on an uncertain, “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. But,” they added, swirling their cup to get the sludgy detritus up from the bottom, “I suppose we have some fans. Dandelion more, as I said. And friends in the business. He’s got connections among solitary fae here, and I can probably call in a few favors myself. So. Perhaps, if we didn’t rely on court favors and official power, but in a …ragtag group of misfits? We may be able to arrange that.”

“It’s worth mentioning, anyway,” Viv said, and dialed.

Dandelion picked up on the second ring. “Hey. It’s me. You’re alive, huh?”

“Uh, to the best of my knowledge, yes,” Viv said. She caught Dandelion up quickly—it wasn’t as if they’d been up to all that much since they’d last seen each other—and gave him a rundown of their plan so far. “So right now we’re just going ahead with that. The play feels like it’s probably just an interesting coincidence, but at this point, anything relevant feels like it’s possibly significant. Do you think we should pursue it?”

“Which, going to the play or talking to Lithway?” Dandelion asked, audibly uncomfortable.

“Either, but the latter most. I mean, I assume if we talk to Lithway they could summarize the play?” Viv ventured. “Why do you sound so nervous? Is something about Lithway dangerous?”

A sigh. “I doubt Lithway would hurt a fly in any way that anyone would find out about,” Dandelion said, “but they’re kind of a bit much. Do you know anything about them?”

“Not really beyond what everyone knows. Big celebrity, activist, demi-male, shadow person actor?”

“Right, yes. Just… shadowfolk are pretty freaky. Nobody knows where they come from except the shadowfolk themselves, and they’re hardly ever seen. That Lithway is on stage as a major player seems like an absurdity because, before they stepped up and started their theatre, shadowfolk were basically just an urban legend even among monsters. We don’t know what they eat, what they want, where they are. All we know is they can travel through shadows, and shape their shadowy form into any shape they like.”

“So is this a no go on Lithway? Too dangerous?” Viv sort of pulled a face at Thys, who was doing their best to eavesdrop. “Thys thought you two were maybe friends.”

“I wouldn’t say friends, but we’re friendly. It’s not a no go, just… be careful what you get yourself tangled up in. Lithway is legit, but shadowfolk in general are pretty feared. Anyway, where are you?”

“Beanheadings. Why?”

“Theatre’s not far from there.” Dandelion was quiet for a couple of seconds. “I’ll make some calls. Head up that way and ask in the lobby. If Lithway doesn’t have the time I’ll get the folks there to let you know, but if they do take interest, you don’t want to leave them waiting.”

Viv couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable after all those warnings, but what could she do? She just nodded. “Okay. Will do. Thanks so much. Uh, one other thing?”

“Yes?”

“If we needed to get. Um. A Solitary Fae posse backing us up, do you think…?” She trailed off hopefully.

“I mean,” Dandelion said, “It’d either take time to round them up, or, if you wanted a group fast, they’d definitely want blood before the night was out.  None of them want to waste their time for nothing. So I can do it, and would gladly do it for Thys’s sake, but make sure you know what you’re doing before you have me make the call. That said, I can do it through the Good Neighbours pretty fast if needed.”

Something occurred to Viv. “Oh! Speaking of the Good Neighbours. We’d been thinking that this first attack was on Thys, right? But I was reading that there were known disappearances around the pub. Do you think it’s related?”

For a moment, the silence was so complete that she thought the call had disconnected. 

And then Dandelion laughed. It wasn’t altogether a pleasant sound. “Oh. No, Viv, no. That’s just our own doing. The fae like to play with humans, after all. I’ll make that call to the Theatre, now; say hi to the spouse for me.”

“What do you-” This time, Dandelion had hung up. “Weirdo,” she muttered at the phone.

Thys blinked at her mildly. “It sounds as if he wants us to head to the theatre now?”

“Yeah, he does.” Viv rose, offering Thys a hand up. “We may or may not meet Lithway, but sounds like there’s no time to waste in case we’re going to.”

“Oh. Thank you,” Thys said, and took her hand.

The two of them headed out, waving to Matthias on the way out, and began to walk up the hill. Viv let Thys lead the way; she’d only looked at maps previously, but Thys lived here, and had lived here for… well, a while, she assumed.

She tightened her hand on Thys’s, feeling it warm in her own. That steady trickle of energy was still draining from her, with no change or end in sight. “How are you doing?” she asked.

“Doing?”

“Your health,” Viv said. “I mean, your energy. It feels the same to me, but I’m not sure how it feels to you.”

“Oh,” Thys said. They squeezed their hand on Viv’s, then loosened it. “Do you want to stop?”

“I didn’t say that,” Viv said. “I want to know how you’re feeling now.”

“No change since yesterday,” Thys said. “Since I got hooked up and started to feel better. I was assuming that was normal, but…”

Viv hissed a breath in through her teeth. “I feel like you should at least be feeling at least a little better. Then again, you came awfully close to death. Maybe it’ll take a few days before you’re feeling better at all. I mean, most illnesses have a few days of recovery, right?”

“Do they?” Thys asked. “I suppose so. I can call Isaac later and ask, if we want.”

“Might be an idea if you’re not feeling better in, like, 24 hours or something,” Viv agreed. “Probably before that, it’s too soon to tell. But let me know if anything changes? Better or worse. I’m worried about you.”

Thys tilted their head, watching Viv with those dark eyes wide. “You’re worried?”

“Of course I am!” Viv squeezed their hand hard, heart aching at the surprise in Thys’s voice. “I care about you. A lot, okay? We’re friends already and. And I want you to know that.”

“Oh, I.” Thys ducked their head. “Same. The same. I like you too.”

Viv blushed, grinning over at them. “Well, thanks. I’d hate you to tie yourself to someone you didn’t like.”

“Oh, that. That didn’t happen, no,” Thys agreed, voice soft. “I’m very happy to be with you.”

The words left Viv in a guiltily pleasant haze that only cleared when she realized they were approaching the Theatre of Dreams. The name of the theatre was outlined in bright lights over the glass doors, and the theatre itself was set into the facade of what had once been an old apartment building. It didn’t look like there was a box office window on the outside, so Viv tested the door and found it unlocked.

Sure enough, the main lobby contained a ticket booth and bar, with a bored-looking spider-woman seated behind the ticket booth. A couple was noisily making out in the shadows of the stairway off the lobby, which Viv had to assume was contributing to the aggravated look on the ticket seller’s face.

Viv and Thys headed over to the ticket booth, Viv trying not to let her hand get too clammy in Thys’s. It wasn’t exactly the nicest thing, but she’d always been a bit afraid of spiders. “Excuse me,” Viv said. “I don’t know if this is out of line, but a friend, Dandelion, he said he was going to try to let us talk to Lithway?”

The ticket seller lifted a finger, pointing past them wordlessly.

Viv jumped and turned, almost dragging Thys with her in her effort not to be rude to this apparently super-famous celebrity—and blinked. All there was behind them was the noisy couple.

—who separated abruptly with a wet noise. “There you are!” one of them said, in a strange, soft, lulling voice.

The other, a young human man with brown hair and freckles, who read as a witch to Viv’s senses, went bright red when he saw that there were people there staring at him. “Sorry, I was, uh. I was just on my way out,” he yelped, and scurried toward the doorway.

The person left behind had originally seemed like they were in shadow; now, with their partner on his way out the door, it was very clear they were in fact made of shadow. It curled around them in smoke-like tendrils, but also very clearly made up their body: they had the appearance of a beautiful young man, almost classically Grecian in their perfectly muscled form, their tousle of curly hair, their beautiful soft cheeks, their brilliantly charming smile. Yet all of it was made of shadow made solid somehow, the angles and shapes defined by the density of of that darkness. 

“Welcome to my Theatre of Dreams,” Lithway said, still in that soft, yearning voice, and swept into a bow. A moment later, they were in front of Viv and Thys without having seemed to have moved, changing positions in a blink. “My old friend Dandelion asked if I could talk to the both of you as a favor, and I admit to being curious enough to take him up on it! That, and I suppose one can always use a favor from as delightful a young man as Dandelion is. Then, you must be Vivian, and her fairy lover, the singer Thysania.” 

“Uh,” Viv said.

Lithway took Thysania’s hand and kissed it. “How may I be of service to you?”

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Making deals with demons was inherently dangerous, Viv reminded herself. Despite their reputation, they weren’t all ‘evil’, no more than any other type of monster was evil. But, if the fae as a society were known for making tricky deals and catching humans in their webs of rules to get slaves or pets or toys or whatever… demons were far, far worse. Easy to make a deal you didn’t realize you were making that made you belong to a demon, or to get totally destroyed by one. And demons fed off humans, as many monsters did, but off not just their flesh—off their feelings, their energy, their soul.   

The Otherworld was a huge place, and even if, as a witch, Viv was technically able to go there and survive fairly well, there were places humans just didn’t go unless they were forced to, and the hellish sub-reality that the demons came from was one of those.

On the other hand, demons and witches went together like peanut butter and jelly— 

“Ma’am? Can I get you something?”

“Peanut butter and jelly,” she said aloud.

“Like, the sandwich?” the demonic barista looked back over his shoulder at the board. “Yeah, sure, I can do that. And to drink?”

“Just. A pumpkin spice latte please,” Viv said, her face red.

“Can do. Head to the end of the counter, I’ll drop them off there.”

She paid and went, Thys trailing after her.

Demons and witches went together like peanut butter and jelly. Because demons were so good at offering boons and gifts and powers in exchange for whatever they wanted from a human, plenty of witches made ongoing deals with them to help increase their power, or learn things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to learn. Even Reese had a demonic familiar— 

She reminded herself to not think about Reese.

“What is it?” Thys asked after a long moment, tilting their head.

“Oh, just.” She nodded vaguely toward Matthias, whose back was turned. “You know.”

“Ah. You are attracted?” Thys abruptly stood straighter, pulling themself up and seeming slightly alarmed.

Weird. “I mean. He’s an incubus, I’m not not attracted, just…” She sighed. “Like I said, I’m weak. I don’t see a demon from a normal perspective, I guess. Just a witch one. Don’t worry, though, I won’t get distracted from your situation. No point complicating things further.”

Thys looked back and forth between Viv and Matthias a few times before just humming softly in some sort of mild acknowledgement.

“Here you go! A PSL for the lady and a syrupy coffee for your Grace,” Matthias said, coming to the end of the counter with their drinks and putting them down. “I’ll get your sandwich ready, shall I?”

“Thanks,” Viv said. She drew a deep breath and forced away her shameful, power-hungry thoughts. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, fire away,” Matthias said. He tapped his name tag and grinned with a wink. “I’m working, so don’t worry that you’ll get yourself tangled up in a deal. Kearney would fire me if I did that on the job!”

She hadn’t asked, but she assumed that he got that question a lot from people who were worried about even ordering when he was working. She nodded a bit awkwardly. “Nothing like that, I promise! Uh, a friend of ours got attacked recently, and we’re trying to figure out if we can figure out who did it. That friend didn’t see their attacker, you know?”

Thys was looking at her with raised brows, as if they were on the verge of butting in to point out that they were the one who got attacked and leading the conversation themselves. But, perhaps understanding that there should be some caution in revealing the details, they just looked away after a moment, unfurling a long, proboscis-like tongue and inserting it into the drink hole of the cup lid.

Matthias seemed to have difficulty tearing his eyes away from that, but he managed, smiling again at Viv and nodding. “Okay? And you’re wondering if I heard anything? I mean, vampires hunt around here a lot, and we’ve got a pretty high fae presence and some of those can be pretty violent. So I might need more details.”

“Sure, yeah, if you’ve heard anything, or if you do hear anything, we’d super appreciate it,” Viv said. “Or, like, if it turns out this is someone who it would… it would benefit the community to stop, do you know anyone who might want to help out? Out of the goodness of their hearts.”

“Ooh, I get you,” Matthias said. He sliced the sandwich. “What are the specifics?”

“Let me think,” Viv said. Too much obscuring of information would make it harder for them to track this attacker down. But, on the other hand, being too open might alert their attacker to the fact they were actively exploring getting a posse together to attack them. “The friend is kind of reclusive but is powerful among their own kind, I think?”

“For sure,” Thys said, tongue still in the cup but only mildly garbled.

“And it has something to do with power outages. Not leyline surges but something else. I don’t know what this attacker can do exactly, but whatever they’re doing seems to have something to do with putting power through the lights to lure in victims, and causing power outages and… yeah, that’s about all I know. And energy draining from the people they attack,” she added.

A moment later, she remembered that energy draining was an incubus’s specialty, and his rueful smile seemed to attest to that. The perp wasn’t Matthias, that was obvious—she was pretty sure that getting energy drained from a sex demon would be a bit more memorable than the confusing and violent attack Thys had described—but it still might be kind of rude. “Sorry, I—”

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. You’re just describing what happened,” he said lightly. “Let me think. I haven’t heard anyone else talk about that, or anyone say they were attacked in that way. So whatever it is, it hasn’t been hunting in this area for long or… well, had many survivors.”

“It could be either,” Thys said. “Our… friend? Almost didn’t survive. The attack was in darkness, too, so they didn’t see much.”

“Still, if one person got away, I’d expect more would too, and there at least be rumors.” He pushed the plate over to Viv, who took it, and then drummed shiny black talons on the counter as he thought. “So not hearing rumors is itself probably significant. But the only thing I can think of that even slightly relates is the lanternfish.”

Viv frowned. “The lanternfish?” Something about that word was vaguely familiar.

“Yeah. Lithway is doing a play about a monster that lures its prey in with a light and then devours them and grows stronger. It’s a pretty cool play,” Matthias added, “but I mean, I don’t see how that could be related, it would be a pretty stupid monster that saw Lithway put on a play and decided to copycat it.”

“I don’t really know much about Lithway except that they’re a celebrity,” Viv said. “Could they be doing it?”

“Lithway? I doubt it,” Matthias said with a laugh. “That one’s a philanthropist. A big fan of helping the less fortunate and making themself look even cooler doing so. And it would be even stupider to put on their own play if they were going to go around hunting people with light and shadow, wouldn’t it?”

“I guess so,” Viv said ruefully. “And people who might help?”

“You can get all sorts of help around here,” Matthias said. “Rarely for free, though. Lots of people would be interested in removing a new hunter who would upset the balance, either for the good of the community or for their own good. Any lycanthrope pack leader, or either of the vampire princes, or anyone you’d consider a local power. Since you’re a witch, you might want to bring the Twilight Council in; those old farts can move pretty slowly if it has to get put to a vote, but if it’s something urgent, they can sometimes put standard business aside for the sake of getting things done.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Viv said, thinking of how frustrating inter-coven politics could be back home.

Matthias nodded. “Yeah, you get me. Other than that, you could pull the fae in, since their Grace there knows whoever this is? Though that has its own complications, I’m sure.”

“I could command a number of people, if I went back through the gate,” Thys answered, pulling their tongue back out of the cup. Their tone was serious. “I am perhaps not the strongest in my own right, but I had a significant number of followers. But I was not interested in living that lifestyle. So I am here now.”

Viv glanced at Thys askance, surprised at this revelation. But no point in continuing that train of thought in front of Matthias.  “So basically, pick a group, make sure they aren’t fighting with anyone else we’re involved with or going to be too slow, and offer them something in exchange?”

“Pretty much. I’d go to the top of whatever organization you try to get at your back; ultimately, anyone who’s part of a group will be answering to their leaders anyway.” Matthias considered. “There are solitary folks who might help out, depending on what you offer or what sorts they are in general. Hell, I’d be willing, if I got something out of it. Anyone who gets attacked in this neighbourhood could be feeding me just as well, you know? And I let my dinners go home in the morning.”

“For sure,” Viv said, blushing. “Thanks, Matthias. You’ve been a great help.”

“Aw, shucks, ma’am.” He put a hand over his heart. “Just doin’ my civic duty. Enjoy your drinks!”

Viv and Thys withdrew to a table far enough away that they could talk without anyone else overhearing them. Thys sat, looked down at their cup, and held it out. “Can I have a sip of your PSL? I have not had one before. You can try mine.”

“Sure, let’s trade.” Viv slid hers over, took Thys’s, and sipped. A horrible melange of thirty or more syrup flavors blended in her mouth and somehow, as she managed to swallow it, turned out almost interesting in the aftertaste. Perhaps it was in self-defense. She put the drink down. “So. I have some thoughts.”

“Okay,” Thys said. They stuck their tongue into the PSL and brightened. “Oh. It’s good. A very simple flavor, but nice.”

Viv grinned helplessly for a moment. “Yeah. I mean, I think so. Anyway, so. We’ve established that you’re the only one affected by the light, and that the power outages started when you were booked at the Good Neighbours.”

“Yes,” Thys said. They frowned down at Viv’s drink, brow furrowing. “You don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“I don’t know if it is. Matthias mentioning this lanternfish thing makes it extra confusing, like, I don’t know if that is related or not, but it sounds similar,” Viv said. “Anyway, those two things makes me think that you’re being specifically targeted.”

“I feel that as well,” Thys said. “But what I don’t understand is why someone else was attacked. They didn’t go after me until I walked in on that.”

“I don’t know,” Viv admitted. “Maybe they were trying to work up to you, or maybe… ugh. Maybe they’re literally wearing that person’s corpse.”

“What…?”

“We didn’t find a corpse! And the divination said that the human face was a mask. I’d have thought that was a metaphor—that we can hide or lie to trick others, because we control what our face presents? But it might be literal.”

Thys nodded, then shook their head. Then sort of nodded again while shrugging. “I agree with the possibility, but then, why would the garbage smell? Why would the whole garbage room need to be cleaned out? I assume there was a corpse and they disposed of it.”

“Shit. Good point.” Viv rubbed her face, then sighed and offered Thys their drink back. Thys traded back, expression serious. “So we still need more information. More allies. More whatever. Our next planned step was to go to the skate park to see if we can find Yasmin, but I’m not sure if that’s still the best option…”

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“No, I think everything you suggested is fine,” Viv agreed. “We could ask the other neighbours some things too, if they’re around. We don’t have to give specifics or anything, just say you got jumped and see if they have heard anything. We could ask about the janitor too. He was… weird. Creepy.”

“I’d say he’s more than creepy,” Thys said, a little confused.

Viv’s brows raised. “Wait, you know him?”

“Not really. I’m sorry if it sounds rude, but I haven’t really talked to the janitor, just…” Thys shrugged. “You said he was there right after the incident. And then the garbage room was cleaned out. So what happened to the body of whoever was attacked?”

Suddenly nervous, Viv bit her thumbnail. “Are you sure that person died? You interrupted the attack and the attacker chased you. I know you asked the flies, but could they be wrong? There was a lot of rotting this-and-that in the garbage room when I went down.”

“It’s possible,” Thys admitted, though they didn’t seem convinced. “But even so, the garbage all being taken out overnight? Even if the janitor worked in the evening, most garbage pickup is early in the morning. Unless the janitor called it in especially to happen then, or had a way of getting rid of it himself…?”

“Ugh, point,” Viv said. “So right now, he’s suspect number one. I guess we find out as much as we can about him.”

After Viv popped next door and changed quickly into a clean outfit of a knit halloween sweater and cozy leggings, the two of them headed upstairs to the fourth floor, where Thysania lead the way to one of the doors and knocked.

“A minute!!” It was Varsha’s voice, and she answered it shortly, peeking out, then blinking at them in surprise and opening the door wider. “Thyssania! You are all right? We were worried when you didn’t show up.”

“I got attacked,” Thys said, wide-eyed. “You should ask the bar. It was a huge thing last night.”

“Attacked?!” Varsha recoiled briefly, her hair puffing up behind her—was it actually part of a snake’s hood, or over top of one? “Are you okay? What happened?”

“It was here, in this building,” Viv said. “They didn’t see much of their attacker, so we’re asking around to see if anyone’s noticed anything weird.”

“Ah—the new girl from the bar,” Varsha said, a little surprised to notice her by Thysania. “You’re friendsss?”

“We are now,” Viv said wryly. “I was there when they burst into the pub in a panic.”

Thys bobbed their head. “She’s helping me, Varsha. She’s a witch, and giving me medical help.”

“Wild,” Varsha said. Her hood was slowly flattening again. “When did thiss happen? I wass at work ssssince three, I don’t know how much good I can be.”

“Around six,” Thys said. “I saw something strange in the garbage room, I thought I saw someone getting attacked by a shadowy figure. It turned on me, and I ran, but it caught me. It did some harm, and I barely survived.” They seemed perfectly calm still, but turned their head up toward Varsha and said, in a lower voice, “I’m very shaken up.”

“Of coursse you are!” Varsha gestured wildly, almost smacking a hand into the doorframe. “Can I get anything for you? Tea? A drink? Do you need to sssit down??”

Thysania shook their head, yawning. “I’m okay. They got a medic in, and Viv is taking good care of me now. But we’re trying to get information.”

“Guessss that explainss why you’re out in the day. What do you need?”

Viv asked, “Have you seen anything weird lately? Any other kind of attacks?”

“Mm, no, not really,” Varsha said. “It’s a pretty ssafe area until you leave the resssidential block. There’ss a group of were-catss that hang out nearby, sso they run off the more unsssavory sortss who would normally hunt here.”

“The power outages, we talked about those,” Viv said. “Have you noticed anything weird during them? Some kind of… call? Are you drawn toward the lights when they flicker or anything? Thys said that happened to them.”

Varsha shook her head. “I really jussst thought it could be a power problem,” she said. “I wasssn’nt putting you off becausse I wass at work, I sssimply haven’t noticced anything weird.” She paused, considering. “The power sssurges are fairly reccent, though? They ssstarted a few weeksss ago. I thought it could be related to the weather.”

“Did anything happen a few weeks ago, around the same time?” Viv asked. It was hard not to feel like a completely amateur detective here; she was asking what she hoped were useful questions, but couldn’t figure out anything relevant from what Varsha had said so far. “Anything that might have triggered it?”

“I don’t think ssso. We got Thyss booked at work around then ssso I was mostly bussy getting thingss worked out there, helping with the possters and sstuff, and I don’t remember any problemsss printing or anything from home then,” Varsha said. “I’ve mosstly paid attention to the power outagess when they interfere with work I bring home.”

“That’s fair,” Thys said. “I didn’t realise you were printing at home.”

“I called you up to look at them!”

“Yes, but,” Thys said, and then sort of shrugged. “Yes, that was silly of me, wasn’t it? I assumed you brought them home, but you could have called me into work if that was the case.”

“You looked at them on my computer,” Varsha said, exasperated. She winked at Viv. “Don’t worry if thisss one iss a ssspace casse. They are like thiss with or without traumatic violencce.”

“That’s fair,” Thys said again.

Viv giggled a little without meaning to. This whole situation was so stressful that it was hard to take it seriously all the time; the tension had to break once in a while. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said. “One more question. Have you noticed anything weird about the janitor?”

“The janitor?” Varsha kind of shrugged. “I don’t ussually run into him, but ssometimess we bump into each other in the elevator if I go out for lunch, I think he’ss usually vacuuming the hallwayss around noon, if you want to get ahold of him. Why?”

Thys and Viv shared a glance; it seemed significant, if he usually worked during the day, that Viv had run into him apparently still working at night—though there was no way of knowing if that was or wasn’t normal. “Be careful around him,” Viv said. “We don’t know if it has anything to do with him, but he was acting suspicious last night, so better to be careful, yeah?”

“Sssure,” Varsha said, looking a little skittish. Maybe the thought of an evil janitor working for her apartment made it strike closer to home; she worked downtown, where plenty of vampires and likewise were on the hunt, and attacks couldn’t be that uncommon out there. But at home? “I’ll keep an eye out. Can I call if sssomething happenss?”

“Please do, Varsha,” Thys said. “You’re great. As always. Thanks.”

Viv traded her contact info with Varsha as well, a little flustered—this wasn’t the circumstances in which she had hoped to get a cute nagi’s number, but what could you do?—and then they said their goodbyes and began knocking on the other doors.

They didn’t get a whole lot of people answering. Either folks were out at work or, if they were usually out at night, they were sleeping at this hour. In some cases, they probably just didn’t want to answer to someone they didn’t know. Only three or four people in the entire building answered both their doors and Viv’s questions: in all cases, they hadn’t seen anything at the time of the attack, hadn’t noticed any other attacks, they hadn’t been drawn to lighted areas or affected by the power outages magically (though they did find them annoying), and nobody really knew the janitor. With the thought that she didn’t want to get him in trouble if she was just overreacting to a guy who had watched her try to jump into a dumpster, she was careful to not reveal too much of their suspicions about the janitor—just saying that since he worked all over the building, she was hoping to find him and ask him more questions herself.

She couldn’t help but notice that even though they were going around noon, she didn’t see him anywhere as they went door to door.

“No good,” Thysania said finally. “Nobody has seen anything; or if they have, they don’t want to talk.”

“I suppose not,” Viv said. She gave Thys a wry smile. “Shall we go get a coffee, then? Next step in the plan is Beanheadings.”

“I could use a coffee,” Thys said. “I want syrups in mine.”

“What kind?”

“Oh, just.” Thysania waved a hand. “Syrups.”

“Right,” Viv agreed wryly.

They headed out into the dreary fall day. Thysania’s cloak had appeared sometime while Viv’s back was turned, and they huddled into it, looking pale. Viv spared a moment to worry for them—they hadn’t seemed noticeably more energetic yet, and her own energy was still being tangibly drained into Thys. She wondered if something might be wrong, and if it was supposed to take this long for Thys’s energy to stabilize.

Viv almost walked past the entrance into the coffeeshop, which was in the heart of the Valley’s downtown, but Thys nudged her and they headed inside. It was quiet during the day, five or six patrons sitting around, most of whom were nonhuman, tucked in with computers or books or chatting with each other over coffee and a sandwich. It was a lovely, large place with visible rafters and lacquered tables, but the namesake for the shop was obvious and incongruous: there was a head mounted over the menu board, a handsome but rough-looking freckled man with wild braids, a cup of coffee to its mouth.

“Shall we order?” 

“Sure,” Viv said, getting into line. She studied the menu board, then looked at the barista, and startled at the sight of him. 

He was absolutely not wearing a shirt under his uniform apron, a nipple peeking out from where it sat slightly askew. This place must have a lax uniform policy, Viv thought, blushing. The nametag pinned to the apron straps said he was Matthias, but Viv had to assume that wasn’t his real name.

She was pretty sure that wasn’t a traditional demonic name.

And the barista was definitely a demon—an incubus, with jet-black hair tumbling over his shoulders, light glinting off his horns, his tail turning off a switch behind him where a coffee machine had just started beeping. “What can I—oh, hey, new witch! I haven’t seen you around before.” His gaze swept Viv, assessing her with a glint of interest, a knowing look, as if he saw all her broken abilities and weird blockages at just a glance. “How can I help you?”

She was supposed to answer with her coffee order, she knew. Ask him questions, find allies, learn gossip. She wasn’t supposed to suddenly think about how demons could help weak witches, how they could unlock blocked potentials, how they could make them stronger than they could ever be on their own.

“I will have a coffee with syrups,” Thysania said.

“Sure! Which syrups, how many pumps?”

“Syrups,” Thysania said.

“Okay,” Matthias said affably. He turned those inhuman eyes on Viv and grinned again. “And what can I do for you?”

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They were all silent a moment, considering their options. Finally, Viv sighed.

“I think,” she began, “that you might be right and we should go to bed. For one thing, we probably want to talk to a bunch of the neighbours to hear what they think, and… I mean, while some of them are probably night-dwellers, most of them aren’t going to want to be disturbed at midnight.”

“True,” Dandelion said. “Can you trust them?”

He seemed to be asking them both; Thys shrugged. “Some of them, I think so,” they said. “I don’t know everyone beyond seeing them in passing, though.”

“I think we can at least talk to Varsha,” Viv said. “She’s got an alibi, since she was already working at the Good Neighbours at the time. And we can just see what other people think if we run into them, right? We don’t have to directly mention a murder, obviously.”

“True,” Thysania said. And then, a little reluctantly, “And… I am low on energy. And you are actively being drained. Even if it is not the ideal situation for either of us to rest, I imagine we may be able to sleep after all.”

“Sounds good,” Dandelion said. “Then, may I suggest we get away from this murder site and up to your apartments?”

“Yeah. Can you ward both of ours?” Viv asked.

“Mine is already warded!” Thysania exclaimed with mild indignation.

Dandelion put a hand on their arm and squeezed gently as he led the two of them away from the garbage room, back to the elevator room. “I doubt she meant it as an insult, Thys. If I put up a couple of wards inside, perhaps the… can we call them the perp? The perp will not notice until they’re already in, and could get caught in the act.”

“Oh god,” Viv muttered to herself. “The perp.”

“I mean…”

“No, granted, this is a ‘perp’ situation,” Viv said, throwing her hands up. “Valid!”

They headed back upstairs. As Vivian rounded up her cats and Thysania helped her carry their litter boxes and food next door for the evening, Dandelion placed some wards on the inside of her apartment, then in Thysania’s. They felt odd to Vivian’s senses, but she supposed they would; she was used to human magic, not the inherent strange presence of fae through their workings. Fae didn’t really use spells, after all, they had an innate power that they cast out over the things they claimed, their glamours.

And with that done, Dandelion ducked down to kiss Thysania on the brow, and offered a hand to Viv, who shook it only a little awkwardly. “Call me if you need anything,” he said.

“Oh, shit, yes. We should exchange cell numbers,” Viv said, and made sure all three of them did.

When Dandelion had left, Viv lowered herself to sit on Thysania’s couch with a sigh. “Right,” she said. “Do you have spare blankets?”

“Yes, I can dig some up. You want to sleep out here?”

Viv felt herself blush. “That’s probably for the best,” she said quickly. “I mean, I don’t want to put you out. And this way we have someone in both major rooms! To be alerted if anything happens.”

“Oh, that’s true,” Thysania said. They headed to a closet, where they dug out some spare linens, nudging Notch to the side with a foot as he attempted to slip inside.

Viv watched for a moment, strangely happy to see how comfortable Thys seemed to be with just manhandling her cats. They were exploring the apartment and getting themselves underfoot entirely as they did so, but Thys seemed almost to enjoy it. 

After a moment, though, Viv shook herself out of her reverie. It was inappropriate; as she’d already reminded herself, she’d just got out of a relationship and shouldn’t be rebounding, and besides, Thys was a powerful fae and had a million better options.

“I’m going to attempt a divination to see if I can learn more about our enemy,” she announced, as Thys carried over a pile of blankets and a pillow. She’d brought her quote book with her, so she grabbed that from the coffee table where she’d dropped it, and focused on it. It was harder than usual, as Isaac had warned her it would be, like she was walking the wrong way up an escalator. She wondered if she’d worn herself out a little, between the energy she was pouring into Thys and the dowsing she’d done across the entire building.

Still, she gathered what she hoped was enough, and flipped the book open, reading the page where her finger fell.

“The human face is, after all, nothing more nor less than a mask.”
– Agatha Christie 

“Ughh,” she said aloud.

Thys sat next to her, leaning down to look at it themself. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. It sounds spooky though, huh?”

“Oh so spooky,” Thys agreed.

For a moment, they contemplated it in a mutual silence, and then Viv sighed, snapping the book shut. “Well,” she said. “I guess we should get some sleep, huh?”

“I suppose so.” Thys rose, but remained bent over Viv for a long moment, gazing at her. For a moment, heartstoppingly and confusingly, Viv thought they were going to kiss her.

And then they just put a hand on Viv’s head and ruffled her hair. “Goodnight, then,” they said. They snagged their guitar on the way past, and shut the door into their bedroom.

It took Viv a long time to fall asleep, listening to Thys play the guitar through the bedroom wall. Listening to Thys sing along, a haunting contralto tone with words that Viv couldn’t make out, but which made her ache with loneliness nevertheless.

Viv woke around noon the next day, and wandered around getting her cats fed and trying not to make a mess. It looked like a dreary, overcast fall day out there, and the threat of rain and chill of the air were clear from her cats’ uneasy postures and restless bathing.

Not long after Viv started moving around, Thys wandered out of their bedroom. They were wearing a brown and white pants suit this time, and there was no sign of their cloak—making Viv once again question whether they were wings or not.

Then again, selkies were fae too, and they literally carried their skin around as a separate part, so who knew?

“Good morning,” Thys said. It was hard to see how sleepy they were or weren’t with their eyes solid black, but they were rubbing them as if blurry. “Breakfast smoothie?”

“Oh! Yeah, sure, that sounds great.” Viv smiled, watching Thys get down a variety of fruits and pour them into their blender, along with some yogurt and honey. She reached out to that connection between them, trying to test her own energy level and see if she could tell how Thys was doing—and got a distinct sense of strange, alien fondness back.

Startled and flushing, she sat down on the couch, where her lap was immediately occupied with Pebbles. A great distraction, Viv thought, petting her furiously. “So. About plans today.”

“Yes?” Thys asked, then turned the blender on.

When it was done, Viv said. “Uh. Right, so. I was thinking. We need more information, and my ability to do divination is kind of handicapped right now. I was thinking we could go by Beanheadings, get some coffee, see if we could get news from anyone there. Or gossip. Or, you know, any word of allies we might be able to make if we need to… you know. Fight. A supernatural serial killer or something.”

“Sure,” Thys said. “I don’t go there much but it’s fine. I’m sure their baristas will be ready to talk. They always do seem to.”

“Great,” Viv said. “We should see if Varsha’s still home too, I guess maybe we should do that first? If that won’t be weird. You said you knew where she lived.”

“I do. We hang.”

Viv nodded. “Great, okay. And… I ordered food yesterday, and the delivery person, she seemed to know something was weird. I don’t know if she could sense the attack or the body or… something else, but she seemed really nervous. Do you know her? Yasmin? I don’t know her last name, it wasn’t on the receipt.” She was babbling and she knew it, but she didn’t know what to make of that feeling she’d picked up from Thys. 

“I don’t know her, no.” Thys brought over the smoothies and handed one to Viv, who drank deeply before remembering the rules against taking food from the fair folk.

Well, whatever. Hospitality between them was janky right now anyway.

“She mentioned where she hung out,” Viv said. “Some skate park. So we can see if she’s there.”

“It all sounds good,” Thys said. They seemed a little dopey right now, and Viv could only assume it was because their sleep schedule was all thrown off. “What order? Is there anything in particular you plan to ask Varsha, if we’re going there first? And is there anything else we’re not thinking of…?”

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