The diner wouldn't open until eleven in the morning, yet the door easily pushed open and the bell jangled as Irene stepped inside. No one stood behind the long counter, and there no were cooks in the kitchen. But the smell of breakfast filled the air and she clearly heard the hustle and bustle of a kitchen despite the emptiness of the place.

"Irene. A pleasure to finally meet you." The voice came from her right, and she felt a chill at how uncomfortably familiar it was - uneven, distorted. She turned to face the owner. The figure sat facing away in the corner booth, a newspaper unfolded in their hands as they read.

"Wish I could say the same. We are strangers." Irene sat at the counter, where she would sit on any normal day. The air was thick with magic, a sort she'd read about but never experienced.

Hands rested on the counter in front of her and she looked up. Perhaps it was because they wanted to obscure themselves, but all Irene could make of this strange person was swirling, purple-blue smoke that seemed to pour out of their pores. "My name is meaningless. Let us skip the introduction." They tilted their head. "You followed Edmund."

Irene kept still, her eyes fixed on their face. "Yes."

"Why?" The figure leaned in a little closer, yet Irene felt no animosity... just an eager curiosity that almost rivaled her own.

"I suspect you know that already. I'd like to know why you're consorting with a damned man." She held up a hand, but before she could snap her fingers, a mug of cocoa slid onto the counter in front of her. She glanced down at it and its extra-high pile of whipped cream and generous dose of colorful sprinkles. She pursed her lips and met their gaze again. "If you are trying to poison me..."

"Not at all. You see, Ed has me in a bit of, how do you Americans say..." They waved a hand back and forth, their own cup of cocoa - this one with no less than five peppermint sticks sticking out of the cream on top - appearing in their other hand. "A pickle, yes. I'm in a pickle because of Ed." They set their mug down after taking a large drink and raised their hands, palms-up. 

As their arms moved, the smoke around their forearms cleared. Irene saw a pair of manacles, metal dark and rusted, clamped on their wrists. One manacle had a chain that floated up, up, disappearing at one end while other's chain hung limply, unattached with a cracked and bent link at the end. "This creature you call Edmund has placed me in a contract so deeply twisted that I am unable to free myself. He used my own blood against me, cursing me. The longer he keeps me caged, the less control I have of myself."

They lowered their arms, hiding the manacles and picking up their drink again. They were more somber, now: "It is why the wildlife are unsettled. It is why no one can use their phones, their televisions, why the weather has been out of season at least here in your town."

"Why did you make the deal?" Irene asked, lifting the cocoa mug in front of her and taking a sip. Perfect: Not too hot, not too sweet. I'll be damned, she thought.

"His beloved found my lamp, brought me to him. She was the one who enacted the contract." They sighed deeply. "I couldn't tell you how long this has gone for." The djinn's hands faded into smoke, taking a pause in their speech, before their hands reformed with two breakfast plates, one for both of them. "I was following your sister. I didn't attack her. That was..." Their voice trailed off. "I don't know for certain."

"Why are you here then?" Irene took a cautious bite of food. It was pretty good, actually - the eggs weren't hard-fried and the toast was perfect. She frowned, poking at her bacon - a little too chewy. Oh well.

"Zoe was one half of the contract. With her death, I slipped my chains somewhat." The djinn ate as well and Irene realized that this was probably new to them. Hell, Irene doubted they'd been allowed to eat much at all. "I took the opportunity to plant my lamp in this town. Without it, Edmund cannot summon me as readily. Our little visits at Howlers are his attempts at tricking me back into his thrall." There was a smirk in those words. "The protections here can't keep me out, but they keep out what he has become. He knows this, knows that I could change that, but knows also that I will not do it."

"What is he exactly?" Irene asked. "I assume this information is going to cost me something."

"Only a small favor." The djinn finished eating their food and straightened up. "I don't believe there is a word for what he is now. Zoe became a lich to give him the soul they thought he needed to attain the powers he so craved. It didn't work." They grimaced audibly, a grumble. "Not a vampire, not a lich. Something worse in every sense of the word. Zoe transplanted soul after soul into him, using my powers and her own, hoping it would fix him but now? Now all he can do is hunger, consume."

Irene was quiet for a beat. "For bodies?"

"For all of it. Bodies, souls, blood-" The djinn actually shuddered in revulsion, the smoke coming off of them shuddering in tandem. "Were it not for you and the werewolf you saved, Zoe would have given him an endless feast." They spread their hands. "All I ask of you, in return for any help I offer: Help me be free. Truly free. Once I am out of my bonds, take my vessel. Set me free."

Irene considered this for a few moments, looking down at her mostly-empty breakfast plate. "How do I know you won't betray me the moment I wish for your freedom?"

"I would have no need to do so. If I had wanted to harm you, or your sister, or anyone in your town, I could have already done so." The djinn rested a hand on hers, a strangely cold sensation. "Edmund's wish is to destroy and consume all he sees. All I desire is to keep him from doing so."

"I'll think about it. I won't enter into a contract with you. I don't make promises I can't keep." Irene pulled her hand away, tucking it under her other hand.

"A wise decision." The djinn's head turned slightly. "It seems your lover and your sister worry for you. They're outside."

Irene opened and closed her mouth, exhaling in a chuckle and resting her head in a hand. "That would be their usual, yes." She smiled with half her mouth.

"It is good that they watch for you. Others are not so lucky in this world, not with the things we've seen." The djinn waved their hands, clearing out the kitchen, the tables, and silencing the jukebox. "We'll meet again before this all ends, Irene. Even if you do not intend to free me, my goals remain the same."

"Good." Irene blinked once; as she did, the djinn dissipated into tendrils of smoke, leaving behind a very confused-looking prep cook. The cook, after a moment, just winked at her before stepping back into the kitchen.

Irene sat there for a time, tapping her fingers against the counter as she thought over the options before her. There weren't many: Pursue Edmund now, pursue Marcus and his strange wandering, or ready the town for another attack.

Marcus!

She swung off the stool and pulled the door open, ignoring the jangle of the bell and passing by Lee and Elise where they hid in the shrubs. "Get in the car. I'll join you in a minute, I need to grab my staff."

Lee climbed out of the bush, helping Elise to her feet, before following her girlfriend. "What's going on? You were just sitting there!"

Irene glanced up at her. "I have a few ideas. But, right now-" She unlocked her shop door, going behind the counter and rummaging through the boxes until she found her obsidian staff. She checked over the rubies embedded in the stone and nodded, tucking it in her jacket's inner pocket and turning to look at Lee. Ellie stood in the door, arms tightly crossed as she bit her lip. "Right now, I need to figure out what Marcus Jay has to do with all of this."

"I can't go with you. I have to stay here." Ellie glanced up at the ceiling. "It's safer anyway if I don't follow. They might try to attack you if they know we've been talking."

"When I get home, you're telling me what's going on." Irene squeezed her hand as she walked by. 

In the driver's seat, Irene pulled her cell phone out to use the GPS - hopefully that wouldn't go too hog-wild. She frowned though as texts from Navya began pinging again and again, opening the messenger and reading them over.

i, the target moved

marcus is on the move

south, turning east

driving like he's got a ghost up his ass

Irene nodded to herself and handed Lee the phone. "Tell me which exits to take. It freaks out less if you're holding it."

"Fair enough." Lee swiped more messages away as they came up. "She's lost him past the gas station."

"I know some shortcuts. We'll catch up." Irene's fingers began to glow as she whispered under her breath, and runes lit up across the steering wheel, then the dashboard. Lee stared at the shapes and slowly, cautiously buckled Irene's seatbelt, then her own - the last time Irene had done this (they'd been late to a movie), Lee had whiplash for a week and Irene had concussed herself on the steering wheel.

The world outside blinked out, and Lee didn't breathe, didn't move, until the road appeared before them, a vague silhouette of lights before color filled in the gaps. Whatever this teleportation spell was, it made Lee's head spin - and Irene's, which was why the car was still in park instead of her driving it. 

Not too far ahead was Marcus's car, driving at a reasonable speed down the asphalt. Irene started the car once she stopped feeling quite as dizzy, putting her foot on the gas and urging the car forward.

Lee had a terrible feeling that neither of them would like what they found when Marcus stopped at his destination.