The winged nymph and her best friend, the dracovari better known as Kiel, were heading out of town. Oh, it wasn't to be a permanent "Let's get out of here!" sort of arrangement, no matter how fast Phen's heart throbbed at the thought of being locked in a cage. She knew enough about New Alexandrian law to realize that interfering with an investigation sanctioned by the marshal was bad news. With the marshal nursing his hate like he was, bad might be turned into worse.
"Any help will be appreciated. So, do you have any ideas?" Phen didn't tag her customary "mother" to her question, but only because she didn't want to risk someone overhearing her conversation. Let the world think that she was parentless while the crisis was going on. It would give them less people to use against her.
Then came the waiting game. Phen glanced up at her taller companion and gave him a slight nod with a smile to indicate that she thought things were going postively. In truth, she had no idea what her mother was going to do. Enyo was the type who was especially quiet when she was thinking, and from the utter lack of sound on the other end of the COM, she must have been thinking hard. That and she had a high quality COM. There was no static whatsoever.
"Find the scene of the crime," came through so clear that Phen felt like her mother was right there, but talking directly into her ear, "Check it during the day and at night. Things are different in darkness than they are in broad daylight. Get opinions from those you trust, and trust very few. Stay low. Don't go to the authorities unless you have hard proof, and even then, do not go to the marshal. Find someone above him."
"I don't think ..."
"There is always someone above them."
Her mother had cut her off. Warning bells rang in Phen's head. Enyo only did that when she was angry enough to start launching daggers into random targets. Thankfully, those targets were usually inanimate, but the intensity in which she threw them never failed to be awe/fear inspiring.
"I'll check."
"Good. To catch a killer you have to think like one. That is beyond you. You will need someone who has tasted death."
"I think we've got that handled," Phen commented with a side glance to Kiel. If a vampire wasn't a good example of someone who had "tasted death", then who was? They had Isabel, that was going to have to be good enough. Maybe Shane would count, too? The shadowkin was a hunter, wasn't she?
Then there was a slight catch to her mother's voice, as if she didn't want to say what came next. "I will be out on business for the next three months, so I cannot monitor this for you. You will be on your own."
Dread trickled into Phen's stomach like molten lead into a mold. "Alright. Thank you for letting me know."
A pause, and then, "May the Lady of Masks watch over you."
The line went dead.
Expelling a built up breath, Phen pressed a finger to her COM's touch screen to fully disconnect the line and tried to look cheerful. "We've got a directive. How do you feel about playing guardsman?"