chapter thirty-eight

I took that as my cue. "Lena and Jeff, could you come with me? We need to inspect every house on this street to make sure Harrison's swarm left with him."

I pocketed the shock-gun. Deb appeared to have things under control outside. One of the police cars was already pulling away, its sirens dark.

"Why did you tell him about Smudge?" Lena asked as we exited the house. "Because it didn't matter." I was surprised at the anger boiling up inside

me. "Because we're going to rip every memory of today from his head. Not to protect them, but to protect us."

They wouldn't remember what had happened, but we couldn't completely erase the trauma. Even after we stole their memories, they would be exhausted and jumpy for a long time.

Lena stopped at the end of the driveway to pick up the broken mailbox. She twisted the post free and turned it in her hands, shaping it into a serviceable club. Then she looked back at the house. She stood there for so long I thought something was wrong. Had she spotted one of Harrison's bugs? But when I touched her shoulder, she merely turned to kiss my cheek. "I think you're wrong," she said softly. "I think it did matter."

None of the neighbors had emerged to see what was happening. I took that

to mean they hadn't yet woken from Sarah's magic slumber. Smudge didn't turn into a fireball when we entered the first house, which was another encouraging sign.

"Do you think the automaton will be able to stop them?" Lena asked.

I thought about August Harrison and his swarm, the half-breed wendigos, and the ghosts that had devoured our magic. "No."

Report Number: NS-US5-194 Submitted by: Nidhi Shah, MD, PhD Location: Mason, Michigan

Subject Name: Lena Greenwood

Description: Ms. Greenwood is a physically healthy Caucasian female, approximately five foot six inches. She appears to be in her late thirties to early forties. She is overweight, but not obese. Her skin lacks any visible blemishes or wrinkles. Based on her account of the work she performed on Frank Dearing's farm, she is significantly stronger than she appears.

Magical Assessment: The two field agents, John Senn and Michael Angell, concur that Lena is a dryad of some sort, though her appearance and abilities differ significantly from the descriptions of known dryads in the Porter database. Lena has demonstrated the ability to manipulate her tree's roots to fight back after being struck by an ax. She showed no sensitivity to cold, despite the low temperatures.

Angell and Senn were able to unearth Frank Dearing's remains after Lena had been removed from the scene. While multiple eyewitness claim that Mr. Dearing was alive one week ago, his body had decomposed to little more than a skeleton. Angell used magic to verify that this was indeed Frank Dearing. It would appear that Lena's tree somehow consumed him.

Lena's love for Frank Dearing comes across as genuine. I'm uncertain whether the tree acted independently, or if Lena simply doesn't recognize what she had done to Mr. Dearing.

While Lena shows little awareness of the passage of time and even less understanding of the world around her, both her recollections and the information we gathered from Marion Dearing suggest Lena was living with Frank for at least forty years, which would make her a minimum of sixty years old. If so, she has aged extremely well.

Psychological Assessment: Lena Greenwood is in many ways a child, isolated from the world, and knowing little beyond her life with Frank Dearing. Her eagerness for attention and affection make me suspect she may have been badly deprived of both while growing up, though she hasn't yet shared any information about her childhood.

She spoke freely of her relationship, describing the details of her sexual activities with Dearing as casually as she recounted the last breakfast she prepared for him. I've observed no sign of duplicity. On the contrary, she has been eager to share with me, though she remains wary of other Porters. I would estimate her I.Q. to be significantly below average, perhaps to the point of mild disability, though I'll need to run a number of tests to confirm.

She talked about the temptation to remain in her tree and "go deeper." Given her grief and obvious fear of life without Frank Dearing, I believe Lena to be a very real suicide risk. I am requesting temporary reassignment to help her acclimate to the larger world.

Threat Risk: I disagree with the report prepared by field agent Angell. I do not believe Lena Greenwood poses a threat to the Porters or to humanity. While she has demonstrated a willingness to use her abilities to protect herself, I believe her essential nature is that of peace.

WE FOUND HARRISON'S INSECTS in the five houses closest to the Sanchez family. The insects weren't asleep, exactly, and they reacted when we approached, but they were sluggish, refusing to stray very far from their chosen hostages. Lena clubbed most of the insects into scrap. I caught two more with a hammer I picked up from the garage of the second house.

We got back to find Nidhi hauling the spare tire out of the trunk of her car. The rear tire had been blown apart in the fighting. The driver's side window was

broken as well. Nidhi gave me a look, but didn't say anything.

On the bright side, having a Renfield around made it a lot easier to change a tire. Who needed a jack when Deb could lift the car with her bare hands? Lena helped with the tire while I swept out the pebbles of glass the best I could.

Deb stepped back, brushed her hands on her pants, and folded her arms. "The head bloodsuckers in Detroit aren't going to be happy about losing Nicholas and Sarah."

"I'm not thrilled either." I didn't remind her that Harrison had killed Moon as well. Or maybe she remembered, and the vampires simply didn't mind losing that particular sparkler.