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  Kirk's head jerked up, his eyes wide then he relaxed as he saw JD. "Your growl is a bit too realistic. Come in and no, I won't ask you to sit. I like my chairs in one piece."

  JD didn't even try smiling. "Orders?"

  Kirk sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Davidson, I understand what you're feeling. I do. But you can't be involved. When we find these people I don't want their lawyers to have even a thread to hang a mistrial on. It must be above-board and perfect. So here are my orders." Kirk lifted his head, pinning JD with a stare. "Go back on duty, patrol. I know you've already talked to Holich. Stay out of the investigation. If you want to follow up on that incident at the TV studio, feel free. Turns out the guy was local here, and you saw it all go down."

  JD bit back his anger, but the idea of following up on the weird obsidian knife-wielding guy helped give him something to concentrate on.

  "Understood, sir," he managed to say, although his tone still didn't qualify as civil.

  Kirk started to say something else, then shook his head. "Dismissed, Davidson."

  JD spun and stalked out of the office, feeling Kirk's eyes on him the entire way. He headed to his locker, bumping into Raul as he walked into the locker room. The man smirked at him but left before JD had a chance to say anything. Dismissing the idiot from his mind, JD finished getting ready, grabbed his assignment sheet, and then headed to the squad car. It was a different one than normal. Since they had been pulled for PR duty, the station had reassigned their normal car and he welcomed that. This one smelled of smoke, hamburgers, and sweat. Not McKenna. He didn't know if he could have handled smelling her all around him. His nose too sensitive now.

  Moron, you're acting like you're a lovesick teenager. She can take care of herself. She can turn into a cougar! Do your job and trust her to do hers.

  He pulled that thought close to him as he sat in the squad car and reviewed the information available on the idiot at the studio. The day went into automatic as he wrote tickets, monitored traffic flows, and generally existed. The entire time, part of his mind fretted at the lack of progress on finding McKenna and the kids. He followed updates on the search for McKenna on his laptop with religious fervor.

  Pulling into the station at the end of the shift he headed directly to the central desk. The sergeant that sat there nodded at him as he walked up.

  "Davidson," a tone of wariness. Occasionally that bugged JD. Yes, he was huge and scary looking with a face not even his mother had loved. But he had never hurt anyone who hadn't deserved it. Today he just didn't care about it. If it helped his case, he'd take it.

  "Kirk said I could review the knife wielding case that happened down in Sacramento. Can you pull up the file and send me the access link?"

  Another long look then a shrug. "Sure. Will be in your in box in a moment. Remember you can't access from outside a secured connection."

  Yes, I do know. I've worked here for years at this point. Do you really think I'm a moron?

  All he did was nod his head and say, "Thanks." Then turned and walked away. Going home didn't sound appealing so he might as well review what the Sacramento police had found, if anything, besides a mentally unstable person.

  Sitting at one of the free desks, he logged in and pulled up the files and lost himself in going over what they had found. Which wasn't much. The most interesting part was something the man had ranted while in police custody, though his Spanish was odd, littered with words the translator couldn't decipher. One sentence made no sense and struck him as odder than the rest.

  She is the queen of the shifters seen with the jaguar, she is the ocelti goddess and must be found. In her runs the blood of the great god Quetzalcoatl, and she must come back to rule us before the gods return. The queen must be sacrificed to appease the gods and have the ocelti come back to us.

  Quetzalcoatl was a name he at least vaguely recognized from his history courses. But the other word didn't mean anything, and his translation app didn't come up with anything either. He shot an email to the involved officers and made a note of the suspect's address. The address provided put him just outside the normal patrol route, but not enough to be a big deal.

  I'll swing by there tomorrow. Maybe something will jump out to me.

  He checked on the status of the search for McKenna and the kids, but there was no change. With no other reason to avoid his house he headed home. At this point his schedule was so messed up he didn't even know what day he had on or off anymore. Didn't matter, he'd show up to work until they sent him home. Staying at home would not be a good option.

  He paid a bit more attention on the drive, mainly because he did need food. Stopping at a local sandwich shop, he got three double meat sandwiches then headed home, trying not to think about driving up and down the streets to see if he could find anything.

  Hitting the garage door opener as he pulled in, he frowned at the vehicle outside his house.

  Oh shit. Toni!

  With work and stress, her presence had completely slipped his mind. Moving faster than he had all day, he jumped out of the Hummer and headed in, guilt writhing in his stomach. He burst in through the garage door and through the mud room stopping when the smell of food hit him. Toni stood in the kitchen looking at him with wide eyes, a snarl on her lips.

  "Toni. I'm so sorry. I forgot, I can't believe I forgot." He blurted, the sandwich bags hanging in his hand.

  She relaxed by inches, her stance moving back into something more normal, less aggressive. "No reason you should have expected me to be here. I just," her voice caught, and she turned back to the stove, stirring something. "I went home for a bit, but I couldn't stay. So I'm imposing. I don't have anywhere else. And I just can't stay at home."

  "No, it's fine. I just should have thought—" he trailed off and stood awkwardly, unsure what to say. "Um, that smells good?"

  She shrugged. "Bought stuff for chili and rice. Lots of meat and heat. Hope you like it spicy." She paused. "I'm crossing lines and totally invading your personal space. And I'm sorry. But unless you kick me out, I just, I can't." She didn't turn around, and he could see how tight she held her body.

  JD looked at her. He knew so little about her. One dinner, McKenna talking about her, and then the zoo. Smart, funny, devoted to her kids. Someone he liked, though neither of them seemed to feel a spark. But right now they both needed to lean on someone.

  "I like it spicy, actually. Then sandwiches for dessert?" He held up the bag and smiled at her. Suddenly very glad to not be alone and to have someone else to talk to who understood.

  3

  Purgatory

  In the news today is something interesting from Australia. A group of Aborigines are claiming the return of the animal forms is a sign that the old ways need to come back. They have taken over the Uluru monolith area and are claiming the Dreaming has been made manifest. Already over a thousand Aborigines have converged on the spot. Some people in the government are saying they are seeing people that haven't been captured on the census ever and that the numbers reported for their groups may be much higher than believed. This gives rise to other questions about how they have managed to evade technology for so long. ~TNN News

  Morning came bright and early. This time, his brain remained a bit less fogged than the previous day, so JD expected Toni making coffee when he walked into the kitchen. Granted, the scent of coffee had forewarned him.

  "Hey. Any plans for the day?" he asked as he gratefully accepted the travel mug of coffee she handed him.

  "Go home, get some clothes, shower. Try not to go crazy."

  He looked at her for a long moment, then decided he really didn't care about the fact he was about to break policy. Besides, most of this would have been in the news anyhow.

  "Want to do some research for me?"

  "Anything." The desperation in her voice tugged at him.

  "I'm sure you know about the idiot attacking us at the TV studio, right?" He leaned back sipping the coffee.

  Damn she makes good coffee. To
o bad there isn't something between us.

  "Sure. I'd left a couple frantic voice mails on McKenna's," her voice caught but she cleared it and continued, "phone. So yeah, she told me all about it. Weird and scary."

  "That it was. But I'm trying to chase down a few things that make no sense. Ever heard of Quetzalcoatl?"

  Toni sipped her own coffee, leaning back against the counter. "Sure. Aztec god, maybe Mayan, but that region. Serpent-dragon like. Wings, scales, etc. Can't remember the specifics, but none of their gods were particularly nice."

  JD nodded. "About where I am with it. The guy ranted to the detectives about the jaguar goddess, blood of the gods and Quetzalcoatl, and that they needed to sacrifice the queen for the goddess. It really didn't make much sense, but the knife they were using is old. I mean obsidian by itself tends to pre-date man—yes, I looked that up, but the wrappings and style of the knife were noted as being six to seven hundred years old." He paused, a half-smile on his face. "And matched the style seen in South America."

  "Huh," Toni said then sipped her coffee looking at him. "So what would you like me to look up?"

  "Well, you're the only jaguar I've seen lately and the only one in context with McKenna. Maybe you can do some research, see if you can find anything out about these crazies and what they might believe?" He shrugged. "I'm not sure anything will come of it. For the most part I suspect he's going to get marked down as crazy and charged, but I don't think anyone will look any further into it. I want to know why. I mean he followed us to the studio, got in, and attacked. That takes a lot more planning than a random attack on the street would indicate."

  He shrugged and looked away. "It's probably nothing, but I need to focus on something or …" he trailed off.

  "Or you might do something rash. Something you aren't sure you'll regret." Toni's voice was soft, sad, and full of understanding.

  "Yeah. That."

  "Sure. Gives me something to do. Still need to do that clothes and shower thing, but any dinner requests?"

  "You don't have to cook for me," JD protested, feeling guilty.

  "I'm crashing in your house without even asking you. Inflicting my presence on you, a person you barely know. And I need to keep busy so I don't kill someone." Her voice flat as she focused on the coffee cup.

  "I don't mind. It's nice to not be alone. I," this time he shook his head. "Not an issue and sure. I eat almost anything. Protein, fat, and carbs are good. You know the drill. Shifter metabolism."

  Toni moved her mouth in a way that might have been a smile, but it mostly looked sad. "Yeah. They were always big eaters, but now. I need to stock up." Her voice wavered but her face didn't change.

  Heart overloaded and unable to deal with the pain expanding in the room, JD changed the subject. "Thanks for the coffee. I better get going."

  "Chimichangas in the microwave. Figured you'd need something to eat."

  "Thanks." He refilled his coffee, grabbed the four chimis, and headed out.

  At the station, the first thing he did was head to Anne's office. Nothing else mattered. She was just setting down her purse when he rapped on the door. She looked up, and he knew the answer to his question before he needed to ask.

  "Nothing? At all?" He didn't like how his voice cracked.

  "Swear, it's like the earth swallowed them up. We're still looking, but we've got nothing to go off of. We won't give up. A reward for any information is being offered up. We'll find her." The fierceness in Anne's voice helped soothe the cracks.

  JD nodded and headed out. There wasn't anything else to do and hounding people wouldn't change anything.

  The patrol went like normal but having the seat next to him empty acted like a reminder of his missing partner. By the time he got home that evening he looked forward to Toni being there. Someone to talk to, someone who understood that pain lurking at the back of his throat, the dust in his eyes.

  The smell of beef stew greeted him as he walked in, and he almost groaned. "That smells delicious." His voice echoed in the kitchen.

  "Good. Should be ready to eat. I've got rolls in the oven staying warm." Her voice filtered through, and he stepped further into the house and saw her in the living room curled up on the recliner, a laptop on her lap.

  JD had to laugh a little at the image. He'd gotten that recliner to support his bulk, large, strong, in dark coffee brown. Toni might weight 140 on good day and didn't even come up to his shoulders. The chair dwarfed her, and she could sit in it cross-legged, perfectly comfortable.

  "Find anything interesting?"

  She lifted her head and shrugged. "I've found lots of stuff interesting. Does it mean anything?" Toni shrugged and looked at him. "I assume no word?"

  Her question killed the amusement he had felt. "No. Nothing."

  Toni nodded and glanced back down at the laptop. "There is a legend in the Aztecs about the god coming down and living with them in human form for a while. Fathering children with wings and scales. Then he mimicked the jaguar's form and bred with them. The children were serpent and animal, the pride of Quetzalcoatl. When he left, his children did not always breed true. A cult was established to worship the children of Quetzalcoatl. Now most of this stuff is old, pieced together from stories. If you had asked me if this group still existed today, I would have laughed." She glanced at him and hiked one shoulder. "But apparently you have someone who does believe, so I can't laugh that much."

  JD frowned. "Give me a minute, I want to go change and think about that. Eat and talk?"

  Toni nodded and stretched, lifting her hands up above her head. "Sounds good."

  He stripped and got into gym shorts and a tank top and headed back out. Toni had set up bowls of stew and rolls on the counter and sat at the inner seat, the laptop in front of her.

  Grabbing a beer from the fridge, he took a seat at the other end. She had a cider in front of her as she dipped a piece of bread in the stew.

  "So someone thinks the fact there was a jaguar there means their god is coming back? But could they know it was you?" He left it hanging, having no idea if she had made her shifting a public thing or not. He didn't remember if the news article had identified her.

  "No. They kept my name out of the paper because of the kids. So yes, the jaguar got on film but they didn't get me shifting back or my name. At least not that I know of."

  "Huh." The stew was excellent. As he ate, he turned the idea over and over. He glanced at Toni, her dark black hair, dark caramel skin, and the emerald green eyes. "Are you descended from that area of the world?"

  Toni flashed him a quick smile. "Technically. Parents were from Peru. I know some basics, but they immigrated here as teenagers and I never really met any of their relatives. Which means I might be descended from that area. But I could just as easily be a descendant of Conquistadors. The green eyes are a family trait and a bit of an anomaly." She shrugged. "There isn't anything that I can point to that will give them any validity to their insanity."

  "Why go after McKenna?"

  "The whole popularity thing I'd guess. I mean everyone knows about her. People accost her in the parking lot."

  JD laughed and ate more stew. "Yeah. She told me about that. Said you saved her ass."

  "Not sure about that. But was amusing. She's a nice person. I like her." Toni ducked her head, and he saw water well in the corners of her eyes.

  "She's also strong, smart, vicious, and will do anything to protect those kids. Trust her." He reached out and put his hand over hers. "She'll bring them back. I promise." JD squeezed her hand.

  Please, McKenna, make sure you bring those kids back.

  "I don't really have any other choice, unless I want to go insane." Toni cleared her throat and pulled her hand away. "So back to your crazy perp."

  JD got it, talking about anything else other than the demon that had claws into your soul was easier. "Yep, what about him?"

  "I do find it odd that the cult seems to have been reignited with the shifters appearing. Could there be a
bit of truth to that old crazy legend?" Toni's face had a serious expression, and JD leaned back.

  "Truth? To gods and having sex with animals?"

  Toni shrugged. "You saying you believe a virus makes us change? Remembers what we look like? Or is it magic? And my fated mate is waiting out there for me to find him?"

  Between the look on her face and the tone of her voice, JD almost snorted his beer through his nose.

  "Point. So you think the legends might have some truth?" He mulled over the idea as he drained the beer and got up to get another one. Drinks didn't seem to affect him that much anymore, which was sad. Getting drunk might help him feel better, or at least not think.

  He grabbed himself another beer and Toni a cider as she finished hers.

  "Well, if it is, I'm not sure how it affects anything? Other than legends passed down from that time." He sat, pushing the bowl away, it tasted good, but he hadn't done enough lately to justify eating more.

  Toni shrugged. "I don't know. But it does mean I don't think the weirdness going on is done yet." She shrugged and looked at her cider. "I'm going to go, um go," she sighed. "Go stare at my computer until this booze either kicks in or I go crazy. Who knows which is going to happen first."

  JD nodded. "I think I'm going to go to bed. More than a bit tired."

  With that, he let it be. The weight of the incident a literal presence in the room that neither of them could face.

  4

  Rings of Hell