Alex was beaming, and Ares wanted to stake himself. Mr. Skipper took his leave. Alex excused herself for the rest of the evening (mentioning she had to meet a friend), and Docherty had gotten on his hands and knees to look under his desk for the magazine he had misplaced.

Ares leaned against the Detective’s desk and pointed out he was still holding the Home Decorating magazine while he pondered why Alexandria was as quick to leave as she was to visit. Her eagerness partnered with her short visits was peculiar.

Docherty turned to Ares. Forgetting the magazine, he arched his brow. “Now then, what say you, Ares? Have a guess at who might be toying with our pilot friend?”

Ares held back a smile. He was more than eager for this investigation. It had been a rather dull past couple of months.

“Hm. With the technical issues being as they are, my guess would be goblins. They’ve given us problems in the past with this sort of thing.”

“Ah, our usual suspects. Yes, that would be a good assumption, but goblins are sloppy and generally disorganized. Mr. Skipper didn’t mention his planes had pieces torn off and havoc everywhere. It seems to me the culprit is a bit tidier and has a degree of cleverness.” Docherty paused to play with his mustache and then asked, “What do you say to pixies?”

“That seems a bit too conspicuous,” Ares said. “With technical issues, it’s hard not to go with pixies, especially when it comes to their ability to jump into connections and live wires and pop out the other end as little winged people. Pixies normally blow in and out, though, quick like a tornado, leaving a trail of destruction behind—not unlike the goblins, but when goblins have a leader, they can become impressively coordinated.”

“You’re quite right, quite right. Our guessing, though fun, does not always serve us I’m afraid. We could go on guessing all night. If we go in looking for something specific, we may miss what’s right in front of us. Let us put our assumptions aside and see what lies ahead of us tomorrow.”

Ares agreed with the Detective. Goblins or pixies, they would soon find out. It was hard to make a judgment call before seeing the location anyway. When it came to fairy kind and otherkin, location was key.

Some fairy preferred to live in mountains, like dwarves, whereas trolls preferred hills or dens beside water sources. Location was the first clue as to what kind of magickal creature one was dealing with.

In the city, they had to consider two important things: what was there beforehand (was it a wetland that had been filled in or a forest that had been cut down?) and what does it resemble now? Skyscrapers were intricate architectural designs, and dwarves loved mining and architecture, so naturally, large and impressive buildings might have a pull for them, whereas a bridge is an ideal location for a troll because it combines two things they love: water and a riverbank.

Most fairy and otherkin were not troublemakers. Despite their powers and abilities, they just wanted to be accepted and live as normal an existence as possible. The majority of them were appeased by The Grand Apology; a broadcast and document that apologized for the environmental impact human industry had had on fairy and otherkin habitats. In addition, the government had announced the creation of several sanctuaries for fairy and otherkin to reside.

The prime minister had also held a press conference to notify the public that they needed to accept their new neighbors, that this was an important step in the advancement of mankind and provided a unique lens from which to view history from immortals such as vampires.

Ares had been especially touched by the part about vampires. He had been at the press conference in Ottawa with his parents as had many magickal creatures. They had all wanted to be there to witness history.

There were tons of protestors, magickal and human alike, but he had been proud to stand with his family on the side of integration and progress.

The way he saw it, The Great Awakening was one of the best things to happen to magickal kind, but not everyone agreed. Religious groups thought it was the apocalypse, and many magickal creatures went insane being exposed to humans, but many more species had benefitted. The prime minister had even created more green spaces, preserved more wilderness areas, and helped green up the cities because so many of the magickal folk depended on it.

Pixies were another thing entirely—everything found them annoying. Pixies were small members of the fairy family, and they could fly, turn into lights, and travel through circuits and electrical connections. They varied in appearance as all fairy did. Some were goat-like, while others were the hallmark image of small humans with insect wings. Some had red hair and green eyes with human skin tones, while others could be blue, yellow, or pink.

Pixies loved human technology. They enjoyed tricks, such as ruining reception and stalling cars. Destroying workplace printers seemed to be a universal favorite, and a lot of the time what people referred to as “spyware” was really a bunch of raucous pixies terrorizing them.

Goblins, on the other hand, could be serious trouble. They ate meat, both animal and human, and trying to integrate hungry, trouble-seeking goblins into human society had proven difficult. They frequented bad areas of town, brown fields, and factory sites, or stuck to swamps and wetlands outside the city.

Some were big, some were small, and like pixies, they all looked different. They could have hooves, or clawed or webbed hands, and they could be green, gray, or black. Some goblins had horns, and others were hairy. Regardless of their appearance, they were strong, had mysterious powers, and a lot of the time, sharp teeth.

Hobgoblins, or hobs, were smaller members of the goblin family and tended to look a little more human. They often dwelled within human homes and were, in a word, harmless. The name hobgoblin led people to believe they were malicious like their goblin relatives; however, this was often untrue.

“If it’s pixies, the usual equipment will do, but just in case it’s goblins I think it’s best we bring some goblin gear,” said Ares. “I have a couple of things we could barter—”

“It’s good to be cautious,” said Docherty, “but I am confident it’s not goblins. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Though I would like you to pack some ribbon and, I say, do we have anymore doll clothes?”

“I believe we do, yes. What—nevermind.” Ares stopped, remembering how fond of doll clothes pixies were. “I think I’ll call it a night. I have a couple of other matters to attend to, including some assignments to get ready for my class on Thursday.”

“Very well, remember to meet here at nine o’clock and then we’ll make arrangements to travel to the train station tomorrow.”

“You mean eight thirty, and we’re going to the airport, not the—”

“Yes, yes goodnight,” the Detective said, returning to his magazine.

Ares shook his head and smirked. He gave up and headed out the door.

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