Tristine combed the entire house for Merlin, but he was nowhere to be found. Did he actually listen to her for a change and go out for a night on the town? 

“He must have left the door unlocked,” she said bitterly, shaking her head.

There was no way anyone could have hacked their way into this magical fortress. The dotty old man got careless and practically invited the burglar into his home. He'd forget his own tail if she didn’t remind him about it, and now he left her to deal with the aftermath of the break-in when this wasn’t even her house.

She hated how rattled she still was after the encounter with the intruder, and the cops were taking their sweet time to respond. This remote location definitely wasn't optimal for emergencies. She needed a little pick me up while she waited, so she returned to the kitchen and placed a fresh energy orb in the coffee machine.

The oversized beverage machine was part of Merlin’s luxury kitchen collection—another item built on the premise that magic made everything taste better. A rich nutty scent filled the room while her manicured nails beat an uneven staccato on the black quartz countertop. She watched the coffee drip into her mug, willing the aroma to bring calm to her frayed nerves. She slid her finger over the touch-pad on the side of the machine and a teaspoon of sugar poured like glittery sand into the mug.

Her encounter with the young cambion played on a loop in her mind. Did he steal anything? Would Merlin have confronted the burglar if he'd been here instead of her? She was such a fool for assuming the boy was Merlin’s secret son. He looked so much like him—same red hair, tail, and green eyes. Was she racially biased for thinking all Incubus cambions looked the same? She had never met another though. Would anyone blame her for making a mistake?

She traced a circular pattern on the pad, and a tinge of air magic started a mini whirlpool inside the cup, dissolving the sweet crystals within the black liquid. It was her favorite feature of Merlin's inventions. It made everyone feel like a runecaster.

She picked up the mug in both hands and inhaled the warm fumes.

“Hmm. Perfect.” She sipped. “Every time.”

Her internal shakes were calming as the liquid warmed her from the inside. Coffee was magic.

Red and blue lights flashed through the windows as the squad pod arrived at last.

“About time.”

She rushed to open the door before the police had a chance to knock. Two officers in silver and blue uniforms greeted her.

“Someone called?” The shorter of them asked, one hand on a holstered therma-blaster. “Is the perp still here?”

“Yes. I mean no.” She pointed at the line of trees. “He ran in that direction. He looks like an adolescent Incubus cambion with typical red hair and tail.”

The officers exchanged a poignant look.

“He’s probably gone, but I’ll sweep the area,” the short officer said gruffly and ran back to their pod while the taller one entered the house and looked around.

“Incubus, miss? My grandmama always told me, Watch your virtues, lest they fall prey to a tail of red. Officer Rockline at your service, miss,” he said, tipping his uniform hat, “and that was my partner, Officer Amogordo. Anything missing, miss?”

“Just the house owner,” she joked dryly, “Merlin Herkimer lives here.”

“The inventor?”

“The one and only. The burglar must have slipped in just after Merlin had left. There's a mess in the lab, but until Merlin returns, I won’t know what might have been taken.” 

“Understood. I didn’t get your name.”

“Tristine Filigrana.” She swallowed, trying to get her tongue to work normally. She felt like a nervous little girl next to this calm officer. 

He wrote her name down on a little notepad and raised his eyebrows, looking down at her. “Daughter or significant other?” He had to have noticed she bore no resemblance to the famous runecaster who was old enough to be her great-great-grandfather.

“Neither,” Tristine said immediately, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. “I work for him. Would you like a coffee?”

“Very gracious of you, miss, but I’ve just had one.” His eyes swept the house and lingered down the long hallway. “So is this where all that magitech stuff gets made?”

“The mass-production happens at the factory but down the hallway is Merlin's private lab where he experiments on new inventions. I think the intruder broke in there too. Would you like to see?”

“Much obliged.”