when Nali stepped into the room. “I found another body in the den,” she said, her voice tight with strain.
“I found this woman; no others,” Asahi replied.
“That makes four. There should be five. There’s a portrait on the wall of them all together,” she said.
“Mr. Gryphon hasn’t returned from the other room yet, but if he had found another body, he would be here. He is probably checking the surrounding area outside. Ashure and I will search the house,” Asahi said with a look at Ashure to see if he agreed. Ashure nodded.
“I’ll search from the air and check in with Pai to find out if he has located the one who is missing,” she replied.
He stepped back when her wings suddenly appeared. She looked up at the ceiling sixteen-feet above their heads before she shot upward. He widened his eyes, wondering how she was going to get out that way. There was a sturdy ceiling above them.
He understood a second later when a large hole magically appeared, revealing tree branches and the blue sky above. The hole closed the moment she passed through. He looked at Ashure with a confused expression.
Ashure gave him a grim smile. “Remember, my friend, you are no longer in your world. Nali is much more powerful than she appears—and I suspect more than even she is aware of,” he added.
“I see,” he distractedly replied.
“We would have heard a scuffle if Mr. Gryphon encountered anyone. He will likely meet up with us soon. We need to discover if this is the alien’s work. It rarely happens, but there has been the occasional murder among monsters,” Ashure said with distaste.
Asahi frowned. “What happens in that case?” he asked.
“Then they get the unfortunate opportunity to meet me,” Ashure commented.
Asahi drew in a long, hissing breath when their eyes connected. It was as if Ashure had removed a veil of pretense from his eyes, revealing the dark and dangerous man hidden behind his charming facade. Deep in the recesses of Ashure’s pupils, Asahi could see shadows, and it felt as if he were being drawn into an endless abyss.
“The Cauldron of Spirits,” Asahi remembered.
“And the Keeper of Lost Souls,” Ashure added. “There is a special place for magical souls who have turned bad. Magic does not die when the shell that contained it fades away.”
“What happens to the friendly souls?” he asked, looking down at the dead woman.
Ashure’s gaze followed his to the body of the woman. A sad but peaceful look came into Ashure’s eyes before he concealed it. The shadows were once again shielded from prying eyes.
Ashure looked back at him with a sardonic smile. “You’ll have to ask Nali that question. I’ve only been gifted with knowing what happens to the rotten ones,” he replied in a deceptively light tone.
Asahi silently followed Ashure when he stepped around the woman’s body. They took their time, examining each room in the house. They did not find Mr. Gryphon.
“They killed themselves and each other,” Ashure concluded as he looked at the stab wounds on one of the men. This was the second man with stab wounds, and the injuries on both of them gaped far more than they should have.
Asahi nodded. “If I had to guess, the killer entered through the front door. It took over the oldest victim in the front room while he was studying. The Daktyloi male in the bedroom saw what happened. A fight ensued, and the oldest Daktyloi was killed. The alien tried to take over the victor of that fight, but the man ended his life before the alien could use him. Next, the alien went after the woman. Given the defensive wounds on her arms and hands, she resisted, and during the struggle she died from strangulation.”
“That leaves the man in the kitchen and the one that is missing—unless the missing one is our killer,” Ashure added with a sigh.
Asahi nodded. They walked into the kitchen. The back door was wide open. The third man was lying on his side on the floor. Unlike the others, a green-tinted foam ran down the man’s cheek. His glazed eyes were bloodshot, and there was a slight odor to his skin.
“Poison,” Ashure muttered, nodding to a torn bright-blue mushroom lying in the man’s curled, stiff fingers.
Asahi squatted next to the man. He used the tip of the dagger and gently touched a black smudge on the man’s bottom lip. He jerked back when the smudge shrieked and writhed at the touch of the dagger’s