“You couldn’t have known what would happen, Mason. It’s not your fault.”

“No? How is it not my fault?”

“It’s not, son,” Eli said. “You can’t foresee everything.”

I looked over at Victor. He understood, and unlike Sherwood and Eli, wasn’t about to comfort and excuse me. He looked back at me for a long time, and finally gave a slight nod.

“Welcome to the world of grown-ups, Mason.”

“One thing I don’t understand,” I said. “Morgan, the shape-shifter Morgan, was with me all night after I brought her home. Why didn’t she just kill me while I slept?”

“Well, that might have been tricky for it,” said Eli. “It takes a while for it to change, does it not? It can’t just revert back to form instantly?”

“Apparently not.”

“And where was Lou?”

“On the end of the bed.”

“He would have given warning at the first sign, don’t you think? And you were on your own territory, where you’re strongest. And one of the few advantages we have is that it’s vulnerable itself. It’s strong and powerful, but without the element of surprise, it can be killed. As we’ve seen.”

“It’s simpler than that,” Victor put in. “You called me, remember? So I knew she was there with you. If anything had happened to you, we would have known just where to look. I imagine it thought the Morgan persona, with its connection to all of us, was too useful to abandon. So that call may have inadvertently saved your life.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said. “I guess that makes up for your trying to kill me tonight. But why didn’t she stay, hang out with me, wait for a better opportunity?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Eli said, “but I think it must be quite a strain to keep up the deception, even if it’s almost perfect. The longer she hung around with you, the more chance there was of you catching on. The longest Ruby was ever around any of us was a few hours that day you fought the other one at Morgan’s house, and she looked exhausted by the time she left.”

Eli was right; I remembered how tired she’d looked that same day when I’d run into her coming out of Victor’s.

“So what now?” asked Sherwood. “Do we go after it?”

Victor gave it his usual careful consideration.

“No, I don’t think so, not right now at least. There’s no big rush this time; it hasn’t the slightest idea we’re onto it. I think the best way is to set up a trap for it.” He turned to me. “Can you call Morgan, have her meet you?”

“I could if I wasn’t supposed to think she’s out of town. Or if she were answering her cell.”

“Hmm, too bad. I’ll have to think on this awhile.”

I was glad to hear him say that. I needed a night’s sleep more than anything. And I definitely wanted Lou healthy and ready to go. I didn’t feel comfortable without him.

I got up slowly, giving a Maggie a chance to jump down unhurriedly. Unlike Lou, she wasn’t a forgiving creature and if I’d rudely spilled her off my lap, she wouldn’t forget it.

I drove home in a dazed stupor and stumbled around when I got home, waking up Campbell and Lou. Lou sank back into sleep immediately. Campbell sat up in bed and turned on the bedside lamp.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Peachy. Go back to sleep.” For a moment it looked like she was going to pursue it, but instead she just gave me a long enough look so that I could change my mind if I wanted to talk, and then turned the light off again.

As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out, but I wouldn’t really call it sleep. I had one of those nights where I woke up every half hour or so, thinking morning had come, and then dropped off again in relief when I realized I still had plenty of night to go. It wasn’t very restful.

In the morning, Lou was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for breakfast, with no indication anything had ever been wrong with him. Campbell made pancakes, which was a tradition of sorts with us, and Lou was in hog heaven. Or dog heaven.

I discussed the night’s events with Campbell over coffee and pancakes. She ate slowly and carefully, listening all the while. Lou of course had finished his and was looking up hopefully for more.

“This is quite a mess, isn’t it?” she finally said.

“You could say that.” She poured herself another cup of coffee.

“I feel I should stay and help out.”

“No need,” I said. “Hopefully it will all be straightened out before long.”

I knew she didn’t really want to get involved with any of this. She was a healer, and killing things, even bad things, was not her karmic mission in life. Mine, on the other hand, seemed to be just that, which was another reason why we hadn’t lasted. Even standing on the sidelines acting as a medic made her a participant, at least in her eyes. Of course, if anyone did get hurt and we needed her, she’d be there in a second.

“You sure?” she asked.

“Go on home,” I said. “We’ll be fine, honest. This time we’re the ones who have the element of surprise. The shape-shifter has no real power, no talent. It’s nothing more than a dangerous beast, when you come right down to it. And if we need you, you know we’ll call. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Campbell looked at me doubtfully, but she didn’t take much convincing. We had a quick breakfast, and she’d barely left when Victor rang again.

“It’s time,” he said. “And bring the shotgun.”

When I got to Victor’s house, everyone was there- Victor, Eli, Sherwood, and Timothy. Timothy wasn’t going with us, of course, but he often came up with solid ideas, and acted as a reality check when we overlooked the obvious. I was hoping Victor had come up with a clever plan, but no. His idea was simply to go over to Morgan’s house and confront the thing.

“That’s it?” I said. “We go knock on her door? Brilliant. What if she’s not there, or won’t answer?”

“Simple is often best,” Eli said. “These shape-shifters seem to like operating out of a home base. They’re comfortable in their own lair. She knows we think she’s gone; she has no idea we’re onto her, so what better place to hunker down in safety? If she finds you on her doorstep alone and unsuspecting, I’m guessing she’ll see it as another opportunity.”

Victor outlined the simple plan. I was to go up and knock on the door, while the rest of them hung back out of sight. If she answered, I would hold the door while everyone else rushed up to confront her.

“What if there’s no answer?” I said.

“We go in and search the house. It’s a simple tactical operation. We’re hunting a clever and dangerous creature, but it’s not like we’re dealing with another practitioner.”

A half hour later, everyone was in position. I handed off the shotgun to Eli-if I showed up at the front door carrying a large weapon, it would rouse suspicion in even the dullest of minds. And the shape-shifter was not dull-far from it.

I strolled casually up to the front door, Lou acting nonchalant as usual. Except, with him, it’s not an act. I rang the bell, waited, rang again, then finally knocked. No response. I listened for any sounds inside, but it was quiet as the grave, probably literally. The real Morgan was somewhere inside, I was sure.

After a while, I turned and walked back to where the others were waiting and shook my head.

“Okay,” said Victor. “Mason, you and Lou go around to the back in case it bolts. Take the shotgun, but wait here a moment until I take the wards down. The rest of us will go through the front door.”

I wondered how Victor would handle the wards. He was the one who’d put them up, but even so it would take a while to remove them completely. A small opening to squeeze through wasn’t going to do the job. I should have known.

He took a large chunk of clear quartz out of his carrying bag and set it down at the base of the house. He looked carefully at the wall in front, as if looking for something. Finally he gave a little grunt of satisfaction, raised a hand, and spoke one word. The wards collapsed in on themselves and drained into the quartz, like water swirling down a drain. The piece of quartz now glowed a deep and vibrant red, and the house was unprotected.