As he listed off details of corpses and missing persons, something about the guy began ringing familiar, even though the hunter was certain they’d never met. JD Cartwright… Rhiannon had heard his name spoken before. Her memory replayed it in a male voice with an English accent… Oh shit. Rhiannon’s face brightened momentarily, the way one did when they’d figured something out. He had been investigating Noah and Shelly, the woman from the diner. A vampire named John mentioned the detective’s surname.
Which meant the same detective who had been investigating her boyfriend had also been sleeping with her roommate, and was now shooting the breeze with her in a high school baseball field. God, for a city full of mysterious people and creatures, it was fucking small. Rhiannon schooled her features into the same casual one as before. There was no reason they couldn’t work together. They were both hunters, weren’t they? Out of all the people who might have shown some interest in this, he was there, human and still willing to risk his ass.
If JD knew about the Rabbit Hole, she thought, there was a chance he had other connections. Rhiannon crossed one foot over the other. Her boots squeaked as the leather rubbed together. “You know Curiosities? The occult shop downtown? The people who run it sent the first text. They said an enchanted book released the creatures from its pages. They’re working on sucking them back into the pages and relocking it. I guess it’s not as simple as flipping the cover or setting it on fire.” The corner of Rhiannon’s lifted in a smile. “I learned the hard way that fire releases magic. Never get ahead of yourself and throw an ancient scroll into the fireplace.”
A metallic sound distracted her. Maybe a noise along the chain link fence. Rhiannon’s body swung in that direction and she studied what appeared to be a sponsorship banner zip tied to the links. The wind had caught it. She looked further towards the dark outfield.