“That’s what he was tossing in the yard?” I tried to wrap my head around that. “Granulated sugar?”
Salt, sure. That made a certain amount of sense. Sugar? That made none whatsoever…
…unless you were attempting to lure a moth with a sweet tooth outside the wards.
A hummingbird feeder with a nectar might have tempted her, but I wasn’t going to offer him any tips.
Within sight of the house, Asa inclined his head. “I smell him.”
“I don’t sense any magic.” Clay scratched his bare scalp, as his wigs were still boxed to avoid more smoke contamination. “None.”
“He’s been camped out for days,” I reasoned. “That gave him plenty of time to set a circle.”
Though he must either be a gifted practitioner, or his circle was old enough its signature had faded, if Clay couldn’t sense it. As a creature animated by magic, he was more sensitive to it than the rest of us.
“The smell is human,” Asa countered. “A human who hasn’t showered in days.”
“You take point.” I scanned the area. “Your nose will be faster than my security feed.” I put my hand on his arm. “Just don’t shift until we know what we’re up against, okay?” I worried my bottom lip with my teeth. “We need to keep this low-key until we determine who and what we’re dealing with.”
A shadow passed over his features, there and gone before I could peg its cause, but I had a good guess.
“Hey.” I yanked on his arm. “You smell a human. That’s why we need to be daemon-free. If this goes south, I’ll be the first to welcome your other half to the party.”
With a lightness to his movements, he slid out of my grasp to begin his hunt.
The three of us spread out, keeping to the deepest shadows, which meant we would be all but invisible to a human. If that was what we were dealing with. Veering away from the house, Asa prowled into the backyard, weaving through the trees.
A silent gesture caught my eye, and Asa pointed to the same spot where Nolan had been hunkered down since I left. As far as I could tell, he was totally oblivious to our arrival. He lay on his stomach, in the grass, with a tripod set up in front of him. One with a fancy telescoping lens. He swept it left to right, panning the yard and the house.
For a human, he was remarkably quiet and still, but I suppose that came from years of stalking wildlife.
The three of us stopped a yard away from him, silently conferring, and came to the same conclusion.
Nolan Laurens was plain vanilla human.
“Hey, Nolan.” I kept my voice conversational. “Whatcha doing?”
A surprised yelp burst out of him, and he flopped onto his back, caging his head in his arms for protection.
“That’s not going to help you.” I looked him up and down. “Why are you on my property?”
Arms lowering, he stared up at me as if he were seeing a ghost instead of the owner of the land where he had been squatting without permission.
“Just taking some pictures.” He eased up slowly, demonstrating more techniques he must have learned in the field about how not to spook wild animals. “The area is so lovely.”
As someone who grew up down the road, he’d had plenty of time to document Samford. I wasn’t buying this burst of nostalgia.
“The girls think you’re in Africa.” I cut through his BS. “Also? My property is wired for surveillance.”
Expecting Clay to step in, I was surprised when Asa came to my side without the usual slouch he used to ease others’ worries. The effect on Nolan was immediate. His knees shook, and I worried for his bladder.
“You’re trespassing.” Asa flashed a police badge. “You are aware that’s illegal?”
“You’re Rue’s cop friends.” Nolan blasted Asa with a smile that trembled around the edges. “I appreciate everything you did—”
“Why are you spying on Rue?” He made no effort to diminish himself. “After everything she’s been through with her ex, I’m sure you understand why it concerns us to discover a strange man hiding out here while she was gone.”
“Whoa.” He raised his hands, palms out. “It’s not like that.”