A Teeth-Gnashing Good Time

The trolls glared at me, waiting for a response. A strange creaking, scraping noise came from my left; I couldn't place it until I realized the large male troll next to me was grinding his teeth, every muscle in his considerably muscled body tense.

Not good.

I held my hands up. "First of all, I don't kill kids. Or anyone for that matter. Who do you think I am?"

The woman in the red coat narrowed her eyes. "If you aren't the foul creature, how did you see us?"

"What kind of foul creature are we talking about here?" I asked, swiftly changing the subject. My abilities weren't something I wanted this crowd to know about.

"Vampire," an ancient troll near the door spat, his lips quivering with rage.

"I am so totally not a vampire." My chest lightened considerably. This would be easy enough to prove-and to solve.

"Give me a mirror. Or holy water. I'll drink it, even!" I gasped as someone threw water on the side of my face. "A little warning next time would be nice." I wiped my cheek with the sleeve of Jack's coat and watched the faces around me shift from murderous to confused.

"Who are you?" Red Coat asked.

I didn't know whether or not to lie, so I opted for a combination. "I'm with IPCA."

The old troll spat again. Charming, that one.

Red Coat shot him a look, then turned back to me. "How could you see us?"

I shrugged. "I'm talented. I've been trained to pick out most paranormals."

"And what interest does IPCA have with us?"

"All IPCA wants is to free whatever humans live here."

She shook her head, then gestured to the door and said something in the guttural language. Most of the trolls except Hulking Teeth Gnasher and Old Man Saliva left. Red Coat sat down in an armchair across from me, folding her hands in her lap.

"What is your name, child?"

"Evie."

"I am called Birgitta. And now that we have shared names, let us be honest with each other. This IPCA of yours does not only want whatever precious humans we nasty, murderous trolls have taken."

I squirmed under her unwavering gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about." The lie tasted heavy and acrid on my tongue. I knew all about the forced relocation and monitoring. When I'd helped IPCA identify a troll colony before, Lish was processing them for weeks afterward. I wasn't sure where they removed the trolls to, but they definitely wouldn't let them stay in the stolen houses. "I was only supposed to find you."

"And what if I told you there were no humans?"

My eyes widened in horror. "What did you do with them?"

She looked up at the ceiling, her face a picture of exhaustion. "There never were any. We bought all these houses. We have lived by your rules, in your world. And now we are to be removed for doing so?"

"Wait, you didn't push people out and take their stuff?" That was kind of what trolls did. They took over homes-sometimes whole villages-secreting the people away to their underground lairs as servants. And they were notorious thieves: food, gold, cattle, even babies. Very sticky fingers along with the tails.

"It is not always trolls that thrust humans out of homes. Over a century ago we lived on islands in and under the river. We had our . . . disagreements . . . with the local humans, but were separate and happy to be so. Then they dammed the river with their locks and gates, and drowned the colony we had spent centuries building. Our homes flooded, some called for vengeance. But most of us were tired of working against the tireless onslaught of humans. We decided to stop fighting. We took our gold and bought our way into human society."

"You own all this stuff?"

She raised her chin proudly. "Why do you think this city flourished after building the locks? By increased trade with us. We do not have the same mechanical skill as you humans, but we manage nearly every business here."

"So you aren't hurting anyone at all." Well, crud. This made things more complicated. A lot more complicated. If she was telling the truth-and she had no reason to lie to me-then IPCA didn't have any business with them. The whole point of IPCA was to keep paranormals from harming humans, and these weren't doing any harm. But I didn't think IPCA would see it that way. Trolls were trolls to them.

I rubbed my face, tired and cold and wishing the world were black-and-white again. "Okay. I can-I don't know. Let's pretend like none of this ever happened."

Old Man Saliva grunted something at Birgitta and she nodded. "You work for IPCA. Your job is to find but also protect paranormals, is it not?"

"Yeah, I guess it could be interpreted that way." If you thought monitoring, detaining, and controlling were the same as protecting, which IPCA did.

"Then you must help us." She stated it as fact. "You see things no one else can. You will find the vampire plaguing us."

"I didn't-"

"Find a paranormal to take back to IPCA and protect those of us doing no harm. This is your job." Her slate eyes bored into mine, softening around the edges. "Please-our children, the little trollbaerns. We have so very few and they are more precious than any life we have built here. Help us."

How could I say no? I stood. "Alrighty. Let's go bag a vamp."

Thirty minutes later I was wandering the evening streets with Hulking Teeth Gnasher by my side. Birgitta had told me about the vampire stalking them. Trolls only have children once or twice a century, and the trollbaerns don't learn how to use invisibility glamours for several decades, leaving them vulnerable. Already two had been killed and another seriously hurt.

The whole thing made me sick to my stomach. These were the vamps I knew. This was why IPCA still needed to be in the world, no matter what Lend thought.

The trolls had set a trap for the vamp, which I unwittingly triggered by following the little troll girl bait. Now it was my job to freeze my butt off and find their sleazy stalker. I didn't know how I'd find anyone under these circumstances, though. Gnasher's breathing was so loud I could barely hear my own footsteps. It was cramping my style.

"I think I'll have more luck by myself." I smiled so he wouldn't take it the wrong way.

He frowned, his brow almost covering his close-set eyes. "Not safe."

"Trust me, I've been around the block a few times. I can handle a vampire."

"Invisible." He gestured to himself. I shook my head. A vampire would still smell him, which was no doubt why they hadn't had any luck trapping it.

Glaring dubiously, he hesitated, then turned around and went back the direction we had come. I let out a relieved breath. The trolls in this town might be innocuous, but that didn't make them any less intimidating.

Hands jammed into my pockets and thighs already chafing from too much time walking in damp jeans, I wandered the streets, picking directions at random. There was a lot to think about. The strange liquid sensation that kept drifting over me, for one. The way the breeze seemed to follow me like a little lost puppy. The English test I was going to be way, way too tired for in the morning. What I was going to say to Lend to make everything better. How I was going to find a ride home with no communicator. How hard I was going to hit Jack for abandoning me.

That last one warmed me up a bit.

I kept thinking I heard footsteps shadowing mine, but no matter how many times I whipped around, no one was there. When I'd gotten myself completely lost, a soft voice with a hint of an accent drifted from a dark stoop next to me. "I think you're in the wrong part of town." I could hear the smile through the dark.

I stopped, facing him. "No, I'm pretty sure I'm in the right part."

He stepped forward into the light, white eyes gleaming dully beneath his glamour and fangs bared in a pleasant smile. Yup, exactly where I needed to be. Bring it on, dead guy.