"And the other spells are probably tooled to kill other supers?"

"That would be my guess." He tucked the tablet under his arm.

I banged my fist against the crumbling plaster wall and grunted. A sprinkle of dust drifted from the ceiling. "I can't understand why my mom wants to kill all those beings. Has she totally flipped?"

He held up a finger. "Ah, I meant to tell you. I don't think your mother wrote these spells."

My mom might not be a murderous lunatic? Hope blossomed in my heart. "Why do you say that?"

"Your mother is not only a genius, but one of the most powerful sorcerers in this day and age. These spells are beyond even her skills." He scratched the back of his neck. "Hell, I couldn't name anyone in the arcane community capable of writing them."

I'd heard some good things about my mom, but Smith practically revered her. I should have been happy, knowing my mom was all that and a bag of chips. Instead, jealousy darkened my feelings, knowing Smith knew more about my own mom than I did. I wanted so much to question him about her, but the urgency to confront the Underborn problem prodded me in the ribs and told me to get a move-on.

"What you're saying is some lunatic wants to kill off a bunch of supers because he's a hater."

"This stuff is light-years ahead of us. It's almost like an alien race gave us blueprints to stuff we could hardly conceive."

"Doesn't seem so far out of reach," I said. "I mean we can sequence DNA with computers. What's to stop someone from decoding magical DNA?"

"You ever play video games?" Smith asked.

Elyssa groaned. "Don't you have something else to ask him, Justin?"

I held up my give me a moment finger to Elyssa. "Yeah, why?"

"Programmers create a virtual world using computer language, complete with rules like gravity and so forth. Our universe operates the same way. Science is man's way of using the existing laws of physics to make things happen. Magic is our way of tapping into the programming code of physics to make things happen."

"Like the Matrix?"

"Except in this case, there is a spoon and you can make it bend by editing the laws on a tiny scale."

I really wanted to take Shelton up on his offer to teach me all this magic stuff since he'd told me I might have inherited some of my mom's mad skillz. But now was definitely not the time to embark on a secondary education. Still, I felt so much better knowing my mom was not a mass murderer. But nothing so far explained why she had these spells. Was it part of some research? The more I found out about my mom, the more I realized how little I knew of her. She might have raised me, but she was almost a complete stranger to me otherwise.

"I do have another thing to ask you," I said uneasily. "I want to contact Underborn."

Smith nodded. "I just emailed you instructions. But it won't be easy."

"What?" I said, surprised. "You're giving it to me just like that?"

He nodded, an amused expression creeping over his face. "I'd do the same thing if I were you." Pain and sorrow erased the amusement from his features. "I just hope you have better luck than I did."

"He'll have me," Elyssa said, flashing a confident grin.

Smith nodded grimly. "Whatever you do, follow the instructions exactly."

"Or we'll die?"

"Nah, most likely you'll just never make contact."

I shook his hand. "Thanks for everything, man. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Especially putting up with Shelton."

He laughed. "He's not all bad once you get past his serious character flaws." Smith winked. "Good luck." He turned and went back down the stairs, flicking his wand behind him and closing the entrance.

Elyssa and I looked at each other for a long moment. Then I pulled her in for a long deep kiss. It was so much nicer not feeling the pressure of everyone's eyes on my back when I made out with my girlfriend. Her hand wandered down to my butt and squeezed.

"Want to try out the mattress?" she asked, looking at the abomination.

I shuddered. "Much as I want you, there's no way I'm getting close to that disease-riddled monstrosity. It might eat us." I checked the email on my phone and found a message from one Buzz Masterson, Smith's latest randomly selected email account, waiting for me.

It read:

1. Go to The Laughing Dog in the Grotto.

2. Purchase a Mr. Nutter's Angel Biscuit.

3. Go to Grotto Park.

4. Sit on the northeast bench facing Orange and MagicSoft.

5. Wait. Wait some more. Keep waiting.

P.S. You can eat the Angel Biscuit if you get hungry.

"An Angel Biscuit?" I said, scratching my head.

"I guess you've never been to the Grotto, have you?" Elyssa said.

"What is it, a shopping mall?"

She smiled. "It's time you found out."

We walked down the trash-strewn alley toward the road. I'd grabbed more cash from my duffel bag so we could take a taxi. Running wasn't really an option for me just yet, at least not until I fed and let my body recover. Voices echoed from around the corner and one of them had a familiar British quality to it.

"You really are a filthy animal," Stacey said.

"Very filthy," came the reply. It was Ryland, judging from the southern drawl.

Elyssa and I stepped around the corner. Stacey stood on the sidewalk, arms crossed and gaze stern as she stared Ryland down. He leaned against the wall, one foot pressed against the brick, his demeanor cocky and confident. And something was very different about his face, but I couldn't quite place it.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked.

Stacey started, nearly jumping out of her skin. "Good lord, Justin. You just about gave me a heart attack."

"Seriously? You didn't hear me or sense me coming from a mile away?"

"I was somewhat preoccupied, thank you very much, sir." Her face flushed pink.

"We're keeping a lookout," Ryland said. "Seems quiet for now. After the whoopin' we gave those hellhounds, I doubt Kassallandra will be making another move soon."

"You guys made a great team," Elyssa said. "The way Ryland drew their attention so Stacey could flank was like watching art."

I glanced at Elyssa and saw she was deadly serious. In fact, she looked kind of jealous, maybe because she couldn't turn into a panther. Which, come to think of it, would be totally badass.

Stacey flushed red. "No, we do not make a team, nor could we ever. Wolves and panthers do not hunt in packs."

"I got it!" I said snapping my fingers. "You shaved your mutton chops."

Ryland rubbed a hand over the bare skin where the long sideburns had been. He looked a lot better and younger without those nasty things. "Yeah. Decided it was time for a change."

Elyssa looked from Ryland to Stacey and back, a slightly wild look entering her eyes. "Uh, well, we're off to the Grotto. We'll be back soon."

Ryland pushed himself off the wall. "I got Meghan's Prius around the corner. We can be there in twenty minutes."

Elyssa shook her head. "Don't bother. Justin and I will be fine."

"Sugah, I ain't about to let you go wandering off by yourself after what we've been through. Your dad would kill me."

Elyssa put a hand on Ryland's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Ryland. We can't bring anyone else along for this."

"But—"

"No buts."

"Surely, I'm coming too," Stacey said, stepping closer to me. "I owe you my life, lamb, and I don't intend to let you run off to the slaughter."

"I'm going to meet Underborn," I said. Shocked silence met my little admission. "I can't risk that he won't meet with me if I have a whole gang tagging along. Please, don't follow us or try to keep us from going. I have to do this for my dad. I have to try."

"What an absolutely disagreeable idea," Stacey said. "Then again, planning has never been your strength, has it, dear?"

"I'm a doer, not a thinker," I said. "Now promise me you'll stay here and keep an eye on things."

Stacey made a mewling noise and a black streak dashed from across the road and up to her.

"Nightliss!" I said, picking up the little black cat and petting her. She purred and rubbed her face against mine. "I've missed you, little girl." I'd been certain she'd lost her life with the other cats.

"She found me while we were pulling bodies from the rubble of my former abode," Stacey said, a tear in her eye. "I was so worried about her."

"She's so brave," I said, scratching behind her ears. I held her up and kissed her nose. "Aren't you just the bwavest kitty in the world!"

Nightliss's ears flattened and her eyes narrowed, as though I'd gravely insulted her.

Stacey sniffed. "She's not a child, Justin."

"I'm sorry," I said, putting her down after one more kiss on her cute little nose. "I got carried away."

Ryland laughed as Nightliss ran up his leg and perched on his shoulder. She gazed at him with her serious green eyes, and then sniffed his hair. Apparently she liked the odor because she rubbed her cheek against his face and purred.

Stacey looked aghast. She mewed. Nightliss looked at her and made some really bizarre noises that hardly sounded like kitty talk. Stacey's mouth dropped in disbelief. "Well, I never," she said.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Stacey said. She gave Nightliss a withering stare before looking back at me. "Nightliss informed me she would be most agreeable to accompanying you and providing some assistance."

"Great," I said, remembering how Nightliss had saved my rear end during my dad's rescue. I looked at the little black cat. "You ready to go?"