“Yes.” I nodded as I tucked my hands behind my back. “We will.”
It’s not very likely, though, given that Brody and Binx smelled all over the place last night, but I suppose Binx might pick something up with the fire out and less smoke in the area.
Binx must have sensed my thoughts as she eyed me as she rocked to her feet, then peered at the librarian and sighed. “I’m a shifter,” she gruffly volunteered. “I’ll see if I can smell anything. If a shifter can’t, then there was nothing there.”
This seemed to reassure Gail, whose shoulders dropped. “Thank you. I hate to think the fire was started for any nefarious reason—and I deeply doubt such a thing would happen. But it is delightful to have supernaturals extend so much help for this incident.”
I shifted my feet, feeling more than a little unchivalrous—supernaturals were only involved because the whole thing was sketchy, and we didn’t want humans fearing us.
It’s self-serving. And I can’t even offer my help as a normal citizen since I’m hiding the fact that I’m a vampire slayer.
The intercom speaker system in the library briefly buzzed before a mechanical voice announced, “The library will be closing in thirty minutes.”
“We will head outside to check the garden, then.” I awkwardly felt along my belt, finding the tiny pouch that had some business cards with the task force’s contact information on it. “Here. If something new happens, contact us.”
“I will.” Gail took the card and smiled. “Thank you so much. Have a good evening—and I hope to see you here again, as a patron.”
We said our goodbyes before trekking outside to the ruined garden.
The drizzle had let up, but it left puddles in the dips in the asphalt.
Between the parking lot lights and the spotlights, the gardens were decently lit up, but my night vision still made it easier to see as I checked over the ruin. All plant life had been burnt to ash. When I set a booted foot on some crispy-fried-grass, it set off a little plume of ash twirling through the air despite the dampness, and the smell of smoke was still so overwhelming it made my eyes water.
“Brody and I didn’t smell anything besides wizard magic last night.” Binx followed behind me. “But even after the fire was out, the firefighters wouldn’t let us close to the wreckage.” She paused, then added, her voice low and rough, “My sense of smell isn’t nearly as good as his, so even if there is something here I might not catch it.”
I headed deeper into the garden, noting the damage so I could add it into my report. The patches of grass would grow back, but I was pretty sure the burnt husks that had once been bushes were dead, though maybe the beds of burnt flowers would return next year. “It’s fine.” I said in response to Binx’s statement.
Her sense of smell wasn’t as good as a werewolf’s, but it was still enormously better than a typical human’s, and it would surely be enough to scent the place out.
We passed by one of the bronze statues that had survived the fire. It looked gloomy and kind of scary with all the shadows the invasive darkness of night had cast on it. I studied it—looking for signs of damage—then I glanced back at Binx and April.
April was looking around, but Binx was staring at the ground and had her arms wrapped around her waist.
Okay, that’s not her regular look, or her ‘working’ expression. She’s reacting to my ‘it’s fine.’ I must have messed up. Maybe I need to say more about what I was thinking. Binx isn’t usually a talker, so the fact that she even said something is an indication she was feeling…something.
“Your sense of smell is still vastly superior even if it’s not on par with a werewolf’s. If there are any trace scents that haven’t been overpowered by smoke, you’ll catch them. And…” I leaned backwards so I could speak to my teammates in a lowered voice. “I’m more concerned about House Tellier’s actions.”
“Yep,” April immediately chimed in. “They’re up to something.”
Binx relaxed, dropping her arms. “Well…I can probably still scent out wizard magic. But the overwhelming smoke smell is going to make it hard to tell if they dropped by before the fire started. You can follow a scent trail by the way it fades—that’s how you know if something is fresh or older, by following the stronger scent.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to pick it up,” April said, her voice warm with confidence.