Creature Research!

[Gyrfalcon]

PLEASE HELP!

I'm stuck on this one. I'm writing an urban fantasy legal thriller, and the main character's a lawyer who deals with "Arcane Law."

She's got an appointment that has to take place at a very specific time and place because she's got a magical creature coming in as a witness and it will ONLY be available at this time for a limited period. She misses the window, she loses the witness, and loses her case.

HARD RULES
*NO DEMONS...I don't want this thing to be evil, just weird and/or powerful.
*NO FAE...elves are in existence in this world and they've already been suggested to fill this role.

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[ThinkerX]

A ghost?

 

[pmmg]

Vampire. Has to be out by dawn.

 

[Vaporo]

Who says that demons have to be evil? Perhaps that is just a stereotype and they're just wildly misunderstood?

Any magical creature bound by a contract seems like a good path to take. e.g. a Djinn or something of the like which will vanish back into the aether after its contract is fulfilled. Maybe go with a literal "turns into a pumpkin after midnight." Some kind of magical construct (something like a golem) which has served its primary purpose and is now about to revert to its mundane form.

How about a werewolf? Maybe its memories in its wolf form are distinct from its memories in human form. So if the wolf witnessed something, it MUST be interviewed in wolf form on the full moon. You could also have the tension of interviewing a near-feral monster who's more interested in eating your protagonist than answering her questions.