it says both your name and Lachlan’s.”
“Mine?” I approached, my heart racing. Only one person was likely to write to us, but it couldn’t be…
“Here.” Carrow handed the note to me, and the sight of the once familiar handwriting struck me like a blow to the face.
“Garreth.” I opened it and scanned the short contents. “He wants to meet us at the back of a pub called The Hanged Man.”
“Does this mean he’s in control of his own mind?” Eve asked.
“Or that it’s a trap,” Carrow said.
I hated to agree with her, but it was possible. “It could be either.”
“How do we know which?”
“We don’t.” I turned the note over, looking for more writing, even though I knew I wouldn't find it. “He didn’t tell us to come alone, though.”
“That’s hopeful,” Eve said.
I nodded. “The money clip we found was too easy. I think he might have planted it.”
“Do you think he’s been leaving clues for us?”
“I think it’s possible. A while ago, I got a note saying he needed more time. I didn’t know what to believe.”
“Wow.” She leaned against a table behind her, surprise on her face. “That would be…”
“Great. If he’s holding off the Dark Moon curse—even occasionally—then maybe he can be saved.”
She nodded, but the skepticism in her eyes didn’t surprise me. No one had ever found a cure.
I shook the thought away. I would focus only on what was possible.
“Does he say when he wants to meet us?” she asked.
“He doesn’t, so I assume that means now.”
She straightened. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll come,” Carrow offered. “We’ll bring the others, too, just in case.”
“Let me get a few of my guards as well,” I replied. “As much as I want to trust my brother, we can take no risks.”
“We’ll reconvene at the Haunted Hound in twenty minutes, then?” Eve asked.
“That will work.” I gave her one last look, then headed toward the door. I’d have to find my strongest men. Hope flared in my chest. With any luck, we’d be returning with Garreth this afternoon.
Slightly more than twenty minutes later, we joined Eve and her friends at the Haunted Hound. Between my forces and hers, we had a dozen people. Hopefully, we wouldn’t need them.
“The Hanged Man is located just a half mile away,” she said. “Let’s walk.”
I nodded, and we set off through Covent Garden. Anticipation made my heart race, and I tried to calm it. I shouldn’t get my hopes up. More importantly, I had to be cold and calculating. It was Eve’s life at stake, and I couldn’t risk that for a chance at saving my brother.
The Hanged Man was a quiet, dingy pub located down a narrow street that probably didn’t see much foot traffic. When we entered, we nearly filled the small front room. The old man who tended the bar raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised at the size of the group. I nodded at Kenneth to buy a round of drinks I knew we wouldn’t bother with, but we owed it to the bartender.
As our forces spread out in the tiny pub, Eve and I headed to the back. There were two small snugs, each filled with an empty booth, but no Garreth.
Disappointment pierced me.
She frowned. “The alley behind, maybe?”
“Let’s try.” I found a back exit near the toilets, and we walked out into the dim alley.
Immediately, a shadow stepped away from the wall. I braced myself and noticed that Eve had a potion bomb clutched in her hand.
But there was just one person, and it was the one we sought.
“Garreth.” Hope flashed within me, bright and fierce.
“Brother.” He stepped forward, his face revealed in a faint slash of sunlight. He looked tired, his skin pale and his clothes rumpled. His eyes were a strange gray, far different than normal.
He saw me looking and nodded. “I can hold the curse off for a while, though I go through dark patches.”
“What are you doing?” I asked. “We can help you.”
“I know. But it’s my turn to help you now.”
“You left the money clip that led us to the docks,” I said.
He nodded. “The Maker trusts me. Barely. I’ve been using that to get intel and leave you clues, and that was the most I could do. This was the first time it was safe for me to approach.”
“He’s planning to make Eve transition to her dire wolf form, but why?”
“I don’t know that yet, but whatever it is, we’re not going to like it. I do know where he’s hiding the stones, though,