Ares was reading over an old case involving a pair of gryphons nesting on a courthouse when he heard a knock on the door. He didn’t need to look up to know who it was. His gaze went from the opened file to the doorway where he found the young woman from the day before peering in. Today’s wardrobe struck him to the core with its repulsive abstract theme. This one must have been taken off a thrift store display. She wore a weathered orange vest that looked very much like a life jacket, a pair of blue jeans, crimson pleather shoes with bows on top, a red and white striped long-sleeved shirt, a black t-shirt, and a red scarf. He suspected she had been left destitute after her father’s death.

“Um, hello. Is Detective Docherty around?” she asked with a tentative smile.

“Yes, he will be back in a minute.” Ares turned back to his file. He was hoping she would either leave or leave him alone. Unfortunately, he heard her shuffling closer.

“Excuse me, I just, well, we didn’t get a chance to introduce ourselves yesterday. I’m Alexandria. It’s nice to meet you. Feel free to call me Alex.” She extended her hand.

Ares looked up at her with distaste, but attempted to hide it.

“My name is Ares.”

He ignored her hand and looked back down at his papers.

“Oh, okay,” she said, disappointed. Ares could feel the blood rush to her face as she blushed with embarrassment, making it hard for him to concentrate on his reading. He no longer fed on human blood, but from time to time his predatory instincts became somewhat—irritating.

Ares was more irritated with the awkward silence, however, and was glad when the Detective came back in, nose buried in a magazine.

When they did not have assignments, they both kept their minds fresh by reviewing old cases and techniques, as well as researching, though Ares was not sure how this month’s issue of Home Decorating was relevant.

“Ares, you must read this fascinating article on Feng Shui—”

“Hello.”

Ares snapped a sharp look at Alexandria when she spoke, but she ignored him and grinned happily at Docherty.

“Why, if it isn’t my niece! Alexandria, how lovely it is to see you again. Ha ha.”

“You two look busy. Is now a bad time?”

“Hardly. Ares and I have been standing around picking our noses. I say, it seems as though you’ll be spending some time around the office. Why don’t we get you acquainted with what we do around here? Are you familiar with my work?” Docherty asked her enthusiastically. Ares suspected the Detective was digging for compliments.

“Um—”

“What Ares and I do here is somewhat unique. You recall The Great Awakening.”

“Of course, how can anyone forget? The day of The Great Awakening everyone started to see fairies and—”

“Precisely. For reasons unknown to humankind, we began to see magickal creatures, or otherkin as they’re often called. Fairies, centaurs, and harpies, mythical creatures from all walks of life were suddenly exposed to the world of man. When it became clear that it was not some terrorist hoax or food poisoning, the government had to act. It took everyone time to adjust of course, but for the most part countries the world over accepted their new neighbors—and most fairy and otherkin adapted to human society.”

“Most?” Alexandria glanced over to Ares. He kept his attention on Docherty.

“Yes,” Docherty replied as he took a seat at his desk. “Most. It was difficult for the creatures of the old world to be thrust into the new. Things have drastically changed since last they were a part of this world.”

“So, you investigate crimes involving otherkin?”

“Yes and no, though I admit some of our magickal friends can be downright devious ha ha… The majority of the time problems arise from misunderstandings, and that’s where Ares and I come in. We identify the misunderstanding and correct it.”

“And if a real crime has been committed?”

“These days, traditional methods can only go so far. Dusting for fingerprints is nonsense when a shapeshifter has robbed a bank, and what’s the use of surveillance cameras when hobs can glamor them, eh? Why, those cheeky little devils, ha ha. You see, Ares and I fill an important niche. When the trail disappears from the normal, we investigate the paranormal.”

“That’s awesome.”

“Yes, well, all in a day’s work, you know.” Docherty began blushing.

Ares rolled his eyes. Could she butter him up anymore? He did not buy her enthusiasm for one second. He was about to interrupt their mindless chatter when he caught a combination of scents: cologne, shoe polish, and hair gel. He looked over to the door and waited, listening for male footsteps. Sure enough, Ares heard the smooth steps of a fit male, in his thirties. He got up from his seat, placed his file back in the cabinet, and turned to face the door while Docherty rambled on from one subject to the next.

The words Detective Docherty Paranormal Investigator were spelled out backwards on the frosted glass, but righted themselves as the door opened.

“Ahem. ‘Scuse me. Sorry to interrupt, but I’m here to see a Detective Docherty,” the gentleman said.

“… it’s the most fascinating subject, you see. The placement of objects within a home affects the flow of energy, thus creating—Oh, I say! Terribly sorry about that, my good man. Docherty. Detective Docherty at your service.”

The man took Docherty’s hand eagerly and smiled. He winked at Alexandria, which sent prickles all along Ares’s spine, almost causing him to convulse.

“My name is Daniel Skipper, Dan Skip around the hangar. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Skipper. I’d like to introduce you to my niece, Alexandria, and my partner, Ares.”

Ares nodded from the far wall, but Alexandria was far from curt.

“Hello, Dan. Nice to meet you.” She smiled sweetly.

Docherty was beaming with pride, but Ares was ready to gag.

“Mr. Skipper, how might we be of service this evening?” asked Docherty.

“I own a small airline business over at Pearson International Airport. I’ve got about five light passenger planes that I run for clients, but lately we’ve been having a bit of trouble.”

“Oh, you’re a pilot,” Alex said with interest.

“That I am, miss.” Dan grinned.

Ares twitched involuntarily.

“Trouble, eh? What kind of trouble?” Docherty asked soberly. He removed his spectacles and wiped the lenses with his handkerchief before replacing them.

Ares was relieved the Detective was taking the lead. Had Alexandria been left to engage their client, who knew where the evening would have gone? Alexandria and Dan would start with similar interests and mild flirtations, and before you knew it, they’d have a date for Friday night, and he and the Detective would be out of a case.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I have a hard time with all this magick mumbo-jumbo, even with The Great Awakening and all that. I never really bought this whole business about magickal creatures and the like, but I did buy my own flying business and lately business hasn’t been so great. New planes tested and true are having system failures during takeoff. Sometimes, a propeller will start sputtering and we’ll have to make emergency landings. Why, the other day, one of my planes wouldn’t even start.”

“I see,” said the Detective thoughtfully. “I assume you’ve had engineers or mechanics out to address these issues?”

“Of course. I’ve had the manufacturers out too. Every time I’ve had someone out, be it a mechanic or the company I bought ‘em from, no one can find anything wrong with them. There’s been some talk recently. For a while there we’d suspected sabotage from another airline company, but I’ve got security cameras and systems in place all over the hangar, and the police have been out to investigate several times to boot, so I guess what I’m trying to say is, we think the hangar might be haunted.”

Mr. Skipper sighed with his last words. Ares could understand why a businessman like himself would have a difficult time with this issue. Even with the general acceptance of The Great Awakening, many humans continued to live in denial or created elaborate government conspiracies or blamed terrorist and religious organizations.

A man like Daniel Skipper certainly looked like the type that wanted things simple. Ares imagined that there were many things Daniel did not see because he did not want to see them. Most people who looked at Ares would never guess that he was a vampire, a predator of the night—something people wrote about, dreamt about, and watched in movies—but there he was, right in front of them. Ares could probably turn into fog (not that he could really) and this man would assume a pipe blew, or there was a fire before he’d admit that Ares had special powers.

Sadly, the only power he really had was immortality. Ares would never die. Some bonus material did come with the package though, such as the ability to seem invisible (known as glamoring), great strength that increased with age, and keen senses of sight, smell, and hearing, and lastly, his allure. It did not matter who they were—man, woman, old or young—on some level, every human found him attractive. As much as he was himself, he was also a mirror. People would see in him what they wanted to see, making him the most dangerous predator of all.

Even though he was a vampire, he had never truly been a hunter. Since his rebirth, he had always been given blood from clinics and hospitals. His parents had both been doctors at one point or another and had eventually owned enough hospitals around the world to never worry about feeding. They had been vampires so long they no longer found joy in hunting. Ares knew his parents only as the kind people they were.

Ares had changed their lives and the lives of so many in his seventieth year as an immortal when he had developed genetically altered blood that self-propagated. Instead of blood being produced within the bone marrow of donors, his blood reproduced itself. After his discovery, not only had he saved the lives of millions, he had changed the lives of vampires around the world. His parents kept their hospitals, but they no longer had to steal human blood. Ares had single-handedly freed vampires from the darker part of themselves.

He would never forget the pride he saw in his parents’ eyes during his speech at the Nobel Prize awards. After The Great Awakening, he was able to take his self-propagating blood public, shedding a positive light on vampires and helping them integrate into society.

Ares sighed and brought his attention back to their prospective client. So far Mr. Skipper had recapped on the problems he was having: instruments gone batty, landing gear malfunctioning, and not a sign of human interference or meddling.

Ares could have guessed Dan had involvement with planes by the way he dressed. He wore a typical brown leather jacket, aviator glasses hung from his shirt collar, and he wore a tiny pin with wings on the lapel of his jacket. Dan’s hair was so thickly gelled that Ares imagined it would take a wind tunnel to move it.

“So, you see, we’re baffled over at the hangar. We don’t know what to make of the situation, and someone recommended you to us, but, hey, do you think you could keep this quiet? I mean, no insult to your business, but I have a reputation to uphold, and I admit this is a last resort.”

“Ah, not a problem, my good man. Mum’s the word. We shall be in and out of the hangar without rousing suspicion. You can count on us. Now then, what’s the best time to stop by?”

“I’d say about ten o’clock. I’ll make sure everyone’s out of the hangar. I’ll meet you at terminal one, and we’ll go from there. I’ll drive you over, and you can do your thing undisturbed. Sound good?”

“Brilliant. Looking forward to doing business with you, Mr. Skipper.” Docherty shook Daniel’s hand industriously.

Ares rolled his eyes. He wished the Detective would provide a quote or at least some information about fees before blindly accepting a case. If Docherty only knew how many people Ares had frightened into payment. Docherty’s strong sense of duty and honor would have put him on the streets years before had Ares not acted as his personal bill collector. He could not bear the thought of people cheating the Detective, so he had used some of his persuasiveness to get them to fork over their money.

“Great. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening, terminal one at ten p.m. Oh, and will you be coming with them, miss? Sure could use a pretty face around the hangar.”

That primate had the audacity to wink at Alexandria a second time.

Ares’s clenched his teeth in revulsion. Alexandria was turning their honest business into a dating service. His stomach turned when she batted her eyes coyly and replied, “I would love to come along. Would that be alright with you, Uncle Docherty?”

“Why, of course. I bet you’ll make a fine detective. Runs in the family, eh? Ha ha.”

“How about I come back tomorrow, and we’ll go together to the airport?” Alexandria practically vibrated with enthusiasm.

“Marvelous. Let’s say we meet here at eight thirty to get ourselves organized, and we'll be on our way by nine then?”

“I’ll be here!” Her enthusiasm lit the walls. “My first case!”

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