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"Well, well, well," a red fox in a black suit said as Zikabar exited the car, "What's the Denver Bureau doing letting you out of their city limits? Don't they know that--" The mule deer running into him and wrapping his arms around the fox cut him off. Defeated the fox slumped and returned the hug. "You have got to stop ruining my rep, Zee. I'm supposed to be the big bag Agent in Charge of the SFB Area."

Zee pushed the fox to arms-length and looked at him, shaking with joy. "Azrael, dear friend, we don't meet often enough for me to ever stop being overjoyed on seeing you."

"How can your agents stand this constant happiness?" The fox shuddered. "The Bureau is supposed to be this dark and foreboding place."

The mule deer waved the comment aside. "I see them every day, it is quite easy to get annoyed with all of them."

"Azrael," Marcus greeted him, offering his hand. "How have you been?"

"I've been good, Are you two settled in?"

"No, your tone said this was urgent, we came here from the airport. We'll deal with the hotel later."

"Nonsense. You'll be staying at my house."

"Won't Joseph object?"

The fox rolled his eyes. "That asshole's gone. I'm remaining single for a while, enjoying the men the city has to offer."

"Deer, I don't know that it would be appropriate for us to stay with you," Zee said.

The fox smiled broadly and looked Zikabar over. "Since when do you care about appropriate? That suit is blinding in the sunlight."

Zee looked down at himself, He'd gone for a silver suit with lime green shirt and yellow tie. "Do you like?"

"It looks amazing on you." The fox frowned and looked around Zee.

Zikabar turned and watched as the pangolin and black cat exited the other car.

"Who's that?" Azrael asked.

"Our basement team," Marcus answered. "You said this was weird and unless things changed, you are quite proud of not having an active basement."

"You let them out?"

Zee nodded and casually said. "I find that airing them out every so often does wonder for their efficiency."

The fox looked at him, and Zee could hardly stop the grin. "Let me guess. This is the first time you've managed to use that line with anyone?"

The mule deer squeed. "Yes!"

"You should have seen him practice saying it on the way in."

"How did you ever get promoted to Agent in Charge, Malhotra?"

"By being the very best at everything I do."

"Everything?" The fox looked to the red deer. "So he is finally topping?"

"Azrael!" Zikabar exclaimed, drawing the attention of the black cat. Marcus motioned for them to go on. "That is not appropriate talk for the field. And you know very well that I do not top. That is Marcus' position."

"We can test all that tonight," the red fox said. "Come on, as fun as that's going to be, we need to get through the day first."

"What are we dealing with?" Marcus asked, following the fox.

"I don't want to prejudice your analysis. The site was found last night, just before sundown, but one of the local forest rangers. It was full dark by the time the police arrived, there was some miscommunication and they were just expecting some dead animals, not... this. I was called at one in the morning. Got here at two, took an hour to study the scene and called you."

They walked around a copse of trees and Zee stifled a gasp of surprise. He'd thought he was inured to all the ways people could be killed, but this was creepy. He could see five bodies, desiccated to the point of mummification, and Agents as well as police officers were working further on, which indicated more bodies were out of sight.

"How many bodies?" he asked.

"Eight in this condition, five have been killed and bleed out the old fashion way. As I said when I called. This is beyond anything I've seen."

"Bled?" Marcus asked, "Any unusual markings on the body?"

"Not that anyone has noted. I hope you can look the scene over quickly. The coroner wants to get the wet ones out of here. It's been dry, but they are no longer fresh."

"How long have then been dead?" Marcus asked, walking around one of the close body, then another.

"Based on the wet ones' decomposition, the coroner estimates four days. There's no reason to think these are much older." The fox indicated the tents. "Illegal campers. They could have been here as long as two weeks. That's when the last ranger checked this area."

"These aren't posed," Marcus said. "They fell this way and stiffened. There are three puncture marks at the neck, on the carotid artery, do you know if that's the cause of death?"

"Where's the blood? And they're too small to have allowed all the blood to be sucked out. Not that I know of any machines that could do that to a body. It's more than blood, it's like all fluids were sucked out of them."

Magic? Zikabar thought and immediately chided himself. It wasn't because magic was real that it was the answer to all crimes, even most of them. Ordinary people were capable of quite atrocious things. The basement team would be able to give him a better sense if this was more than natural.

He wished Denton would let him tell them about this new world, it would make their job easier, but Denton had sworn him to secrecy, and Zee knew how much his cheetah hated to do that. Hated secrets.

"Why do you have a civilian in your crime scene?" Marcus asked.

Zee looked up from the body and followed his husband's gaze. A tiger stood from observing another of the desiccated bodies. He'd registered his presence on entering the scene, but had filed him as one of the officers, police, since he was in jeans and a sport jacket. Now that he studied him, Zikabar knew he knew him. And began searching his memory for the information.

"Alexander Orr," he said.

"You know him?" Azrael asked, his eyes immediately on Zikabar.

"An acquaintance of ours has had dealing with his family," Zikabar answered cautiously, concerned at the fox's reaction. He seemed worried.

"Why is he here?" Marcus asked.

Azrael hesitated and Zee looked at his husband, had those people gotten their claws into their colleague and friend?

"This land belongs to his family," the fox finally said, and Marcus frowned. Zee knew that look. Azrael had just lied to them. "They have been generous to law enforcement agencies over the years so when Mister Orr asked to take a look, I agreed."

"Generous?" Marcus asked, using the tone to imply his true meaning.

"Nothing like that, I assure you. They've given money to many of the police precinct so they could improve their equipment, hire more officers to patrol the poorer part of the city. They are quite civic-minded for... a rich family."

Marcus shook his head as Zee opened his mouth. Was that tiger taking advantage of his friend? Denton had told him some of what the Orrs did. How they used sex to control the powerful men in the city. If that Alexander Orr was doing that to gentle Azrael, he was going to--

"Zee?"

Zikabar forced his glare away from the tiger, who was now talking to one of the Agents like he was his superior. That agent hadn't even looked in Azrael's direction to see if he should be talking to him. The gall of that man.

"I'm sorry," Zee answered, reining in his anger. "I don't think he should be here."

"He won't disturb the scene," the fox said. "He knows that if he does that, I'll kick him out, regardless of the consequences."

"Hun," Marcus said. "What can you tell me about the scene?" Get your head back on the job, Marcus' expression said.

Zee closed his eyes, took a breath. His husband was right, as usual. It wasn't their job to keep all their friends safe. They were adults and could take care of themselves. But Zikabar made a note of staying in closer touch with Azrael, in case he needed support.

He opened his eyes and looked the scene over, noting the way the grass had been crushed, working out how people had moved around the scene. Very little was usable on the ground, as careful as they had been, too many people had stepped here in the last twelve hours, but he still walked around, following each trail, making it as best as he could as in his mind. There might be--

There.

He followed a long trail walking away from the camp, but didn't follow that through the bushes, what he's seen was the next bush over, the branches were broken toward the camp. Someone had stepped through it. He studied the ground.

The footprints were faint, and odd.

"Hun?"

"Someone came into the camp from the woods," he answered.

"One of the campers?" Azrael asked.

"No. They all have shoes on. This is barefoot." He didn't elaborate. He straightened and walked around the bush, careful not to break any branches, or step on and of the other footprints.

Azrael gave instructions before rejoining him.

"They were hurt," Zee said, finally understanding the jagged pattern of steps. "Staggering toward the camp." He followed the steps back.

"Watch where you step," Marcus told Azrael.

Zee saw the desiccated body as the fox let out a curse.

"Don't call them in just yet," Zee said as Azrael took his phone out. "Let me study this undisturbed." He found the other trail. This man hurrying to this spot. The steps backtracked to the camp, approximately where Zee had seen them walk out of it. But they were closer together until a dozen feet from here, when he'd seen the injured person and rushed to help.

And been drained to death. He again fought the impulse to attribute this to magic. He needed to eliminate normal means first, and he hadn't done that yet.

But looking at the trail heading away from the body, deeper into the woods, he expected he was running out of normal means.

The person had crawled to his spot, been helped up. Then the Samaritan had dropped, most certainly dead, and the other staggered forward toward the camp. It couldn't have taken very long, otherwise the victim would have cried out. Even mummified, he looked to have been strong.

Zee followed the crawling trail back to the base of a cliff. A cavern. The face around the opening showed indications of being scrapped. He found the tire marks, as well as those of the boulder being pulled, but they were old. He'd need to weather charts to tell how old, but he expected months, not days.

Entering the cavern he smelled the ash and death in the air. He shuddered. Someone had burned a body here. He shone his light around and found the spot in the center. Burn marks on the stone, wood.

"Fuck," Azrael said, "did someone live here through winter?"

Zee didn't answer. The lack of living stuff was answer enough, but now he knew he was in magical territory. There were no bones in the remains of the fire and the crawling began here.

Someone had been killed, burned and then what? Hadn't actually died and crawled out once the assailant left? Then where was the boulder that had been moved to block the entrance?

Zee wished he could tell that to Azrael. Tell him how this would need extraordinary means to solve. He found Marcus looking at him. The sadness in his husband's eyes telling him he felt the same, but they'd made a promise.

What he wasn't going to do was lie. "This is where he began." Let this remain one of the cases that ended up in a basement.

This could explain the Orr's presence.

"I can see," Azrael said. "He crawled through the extinguished fire. So you think they ran out of food?"

"Water is more likely," Marcus said.

"Right, then maybe he heard the camp? Thought he could get help? And worked up what little strength he had left and crawled. Met up with that man and then what?" the fox sounded like had couldn't wrap his head around this story, even if it was the most plausible to him.

Zee stood and shrugged but stayed silent. To say anything to mean he'd have to lie.

"Okay." Azrael looked around. "I'm going to get forensic here and process this. Fuck, this makes no sense."

"Do you mind if our team looks at this first?" Marcus asked.

"Marcus, I appreciate that you and Zee treat them better than any other office I've ever met, but come on, you can't have them just trample a scene before--"

"They are trained agents," Zikabar snapped, then closed his eyes. "I apologize." He hated having any of his agent be belittled. "But it is what they are. And being stuck in the basement reading all those crazy files gives them unorthodox ways of looking at things. They might see something here that we will dismiss because we all think more or less the same."

Zee kept himself from smiling, but he was quite proud of that. Not one lie in any of it.

The fox looked around. "Well, I suppose it isn't like this is going to go away while we finish processing the camp. I can give them that long, but if they disturb anything, Zee, I'll break my word and throw them in my basement."

"I promise you, you won't even know they were here. Hun, will you see to it? If Mister Orr is still here, I'd like to have a word with him."

The fox caught his arm. "Zee, don't go bothering him. Remember this isn't Denver. Officially you are out of your jurisdiction."

Zee patted his friend's hand. "And he is a civilian in the middle of an investigation. But don't fret Azrael, I have no intention to bother him. I just want to assure for myself that he is being careful."

The fox wanted to say something, but Zee just broadened his smile and the fox let go of him.

* * * * *

Zee found the tiger crouched just outside the dried blood around one of the 'wet victims'. It had been a horrible killing, violent, angry.

The tiger glanced at him, went back to looking the massacre over then looked up again.

"Mister Orr," Zee greeted him.

The tiger stood. "And you are?"

"Special Agent in Charge Zikabar Malhotra Bomanden, Denver office."

"You're way outside your jurisdiction, Agent." The tone was clipped. This was someone who was obeyed.

"Azrael asked for my assistance."

"I see." The tiger looked him over again, move carefully and the corner of his lips twitched up.

Zee leaned in and lowered his voice. "I wouldn't bother thinking that. It isn't going to happen."

The tiger's smile brightened. "Oh? And what do you think I have in mind?"

"You are considering ripping my expensive suit off me, throwing me to the ground and ravaging my lithe body."

The tiger raised an eyebrow and canted and ear. "Blunt aren't you?"

Zee smiled, knowing he'd hit the mark. "The only way that will happen is if you are willing to let my husband fuck you, and I have it on good authority that you won't allow that to happen."

"Who are you?"

Zee smiled. "I am a friend of Denton Brislow. A very good friend of him, actually."

"Good enough to know things you have no business knowing."

"Please don't do what you are now considering." Zee pulled the chain out from under his shirt. At the end was a silver medallion with what would look like black abstract art engraved on it.

"What's that?"

"Protection."

Fred, one of the two lion friends of Denton had given on to him and Marcus after the incident with the Santiago. He'd called it a greater shielding sigil, and it should stop most magical attacks aimed at the wearer.

The tiger considered him. "Alright, what do you want?"

"Two know two things. One. Have you taken advantage of Azrael?"

"Who?"

"Special Agent in Charge Azrael Cupertino. San Francisco Bay office."

The tiger looked around. "Oh, the fox. Yeah, I've fucked him."

"Mister Orr," Zikabar said, trying to control his temper.

"Let me tell you something, Special Agent Bomanden. There's less than half a dozen men here I haven't fucked. Not including you and those you brought. Anyone in a position of authority in my city gets my cock in them, if they want to keep it and yes that include that delicious fox over there. If you aren't happy about it, you can get the fuck out."

Zee considered taking this man down. Considered it seriously. He was attractively muscular, but Zee had skill. If he had to, he was confident he could do it. But Denton had gone out of his way to warn Zee not to mess with this family after he'd recounted what had happened during the cheetah's first visit to San Francisco.

"My second question is this. Will this spill over to Denver? Or can I could on your family to handle it?"

The tiger stepped forward and lowered his voice. "Do not ever insinuate we can't take care of our problems, Agent. We've function without that precious Society you've attached yourself to for centuries. We don't need you. So how about you head back to Denver where they actually want you?"

Zee smiled. "I will, as soon as Azrael no longer needs my assistance. See, I do not work for you."

"That can be arranged."

Zee looked the tiger over and a shiver ran down his spine. "I have no doubt that would be delightful, but my husband his hung, and I don't think you can stand to take his cock."

Zee turned and headed back to the red deer who was shaking his head reproachfully at him.