Page 40 of Glow

Still getting used to the idea of being seen…known…and it being okay, Wally replied. Staying hidden has always meant staying safe. It’s different letting someone see me on purpose…scary.

Dan appreciated the honesty of his daemon. You’re a very handsome daemon. Quinn likes you. He touched us in daemon form. He wasn’t afraid. I think he’s a keeper.

Mate, Wally sent. I can feel the bond. I’m glad we’ve found him. He will be good for you.

Good for us. Dan emphasized the plural. He can help keep us safe, and maybe we can learn more about our abilities.

I have told you everything I know, Wally replied. But it can’t hurt to see what your friends find.

Have you picked up any vibes from the bounty hunter or the wurm? Dan hoped that Wally’s finely tuned energy sensing might be an early warning system.

No. But I doubt either of them gave up and left, Wally replied.

Probably not, Dan agreed. We’ll have to be careful, but Quinn will help keep us safe. Wally went silent, and Dan tried to quiet his worries. In just the short time I’ve been in Fox Hollow, I’ve found friends and protectors—and Quinn. We’re where we need to be. Maybe it takes a village to stop a bounty hunter.

“Let’s go together,” Dan said over breakfast. “To see Liam and Dr. Jeffries. It’ll save you having to fill me in, and both the wurm and the bounty hunter affect Wally and me.”

Quinn chuckled. “It’s going to take some getting used to thinking about your cryptid as Wally, but it’s a great name.”

“He’s good company.” Dan dug into a bowl of cereal and paused for a sip of coffee. “We’ve been together for a while now, so I don’t really know any different.”

Quinn paused. “Does he think three’s a crowd?” Quinn tried to sound flippant, but Dan picked up on real uncertainty beneath the humor.

“No. Don’t ever think that. Not at all. He’s happy for us. Having you makes us a family,” Dan told him. “He likes you a lot.”

“Good.” Quinn grabbed his toast when it popped up and buttered it. “I like him too.”

“So, are we visiting Liam at the library first, or Dr. Jeffries at the Fox Institute?” Dan reached for an orange from the bowl in the middle of the table and peeled it, waiting for an answer.

“I texted them to see if we could find a time for both together.” Quinn settled at the table with coffee and toast. “Ten o’clock okay with you?”

Dan nodded. “I don’t have anything on the calendar. That’s great, less recapping and fewer chances to forget to mention something important.”

“That was my thought,” Quinn said.

They lingered over coffee, then headed to the Fox Institute. The receptionist recognized them when they arrived.

“They’re waiting for you in the first-floor conference room,” she told them and waved them through.

The smell of fresh coffee greeted them when they entered the room, fortifying Dan’s courage for the upcoming conversation.

“Good morning,” Liam greeted them, breaking off his conversation with Rich Jeffries as they all shook hands.

“The coffee’s fresh and there’s plenty of it, so help yourself.” Jeffries gestured toward a sidebar with cups and fixings. “Every conversation goes better with java.”

Once they were settled at the table, Quinn cleared his throat. Dan thought his boyfriend looked a little nervous and couldn’t blame him.

“Thanks for meeting us on short notice,” Quinn said, and Dan nodded, happy to let his partner take the lead.

“What have you found out since the last time we talked?” Liam asked.

“I went out to the places on the trail where the hiker disappearances happened, and opened myself to the nature spirits,” Quinn said. “It was disquieting. The energy was jangled, and the spirits were upset, almost angry.”

“Have mediums gone out and tried to contact the ghosts of the people who vanished?” Dan asked.

Jeffries nodded. “Yes. And they got a very similar read. Nothing from the ghosts themselves, but a ‘disturbance in the Force’ so to say,” he added with a slight smile, then grimaced. “We’ve been planning to go back to where the hikers went missing now that some time has passed and they haven’t shown up alive. Ghosts sometimes take a while to figure out how to interact with the living.”

“People have gone missing, but no bodies have shown up,” Quinn pointed out. “And while there have been sightings of the wurm, there’s no physical evidence left behind—flattened grass, scuff marks in the dirt, even dragon poop. Nothing corporeal. Are we sure we’re not dealing with a ghost, or magic? Or both?”