Shadow Thief - Eva Chase Page 0,22

remember anything else about the people who staged the ambush—any identifying details at all?”

The incubus spread his hands. “Unfortunately, my skills are fairly short range. I didn’t get a detailed read on any of them—nothing beyond the expected aggression and fear.”

Thorn studied our surroundings again as if searching for something to jog his memory. “Their faces were mostly covered. From their movements, they were thoroughly trained in combat. A few of them carried silver daggers as well, and one had—I’m not sure what to call it. Like a metal stick that shot electric sparks from one end.”

“Some kind of taser.”

“I don’t know that word.” His forehead furrowed. “It had some sort of symbol on it, didn’t it? I only saw it for a second—it was mostly covered by the fighter’s hand. But the swords in the design caught my attention.”

Another, sharper chill prickled through me. “A symbol with swords?”

“Yes. Like a five-pointed star, but the two most horizontal points were drawn as the blades of a sword with a simple joint hilt in the center.”

He picked up a stick from beside the path and dug its end into a clear patch of dirt. With several strokes, he sketched out an image so familiar it made my stomach flip over.

The star with the sword points. The hunters who’d come for Luna—I’d caught a glimpse of that symbol on one of the metallic bands they’d worn around their heads. And never found any reference to it since, even with all the searching I’d done in the first few years after her death.

I’d given up on getting justice for her, other than in the roundabout way of striking back against hunters and collectors in general. But the people who’d come for her hadn’t just been a particularly vicious group of hunters after all. The symbol connected them to the trained fighters who’d come for the trio’s boss as well, eleven years later.

They’d only captured Omen, not slaughtered him, as far as his companions knew. Maybe they hadn’t been attempting to kill Luna either. What were they doing with the higher shadowkind—and what else had they been up to in the decade in between?

My three lost puppy dogs might be the key to getting answers, and to more questions than I’d even known to ask until now.

My heart had started thumping faster. “After they captured him, didn’t you follow to see where they were taking him?”

Thorn let out a huff. “As far as we could. We can move quickly through the shadows, but not swiftly enough to keep pace with your mechanized vehicles.”

“They drove off in a big truck,” Ruse clarified. “No logos or anything useful there.”

Snap emerged on the other side of the passage under the bridge. His tongue darted toward a spot at the corner, and he hummed to himself.

“One leaned back here briefly. Breathing hard. But he was pleased. Very pleased and a little relieved. They must have bound Omen by then.” He paused with another flit of his tongue, and a faint smile crossed his face. “He said something—quietly, to a man next to him. ‘Let’s get it back to Merry Den.’”

Both of his companions stepped closer. “You could hear that?” Ruse said.

“Yes. The sound’s blurry, but—he was so eager, the words stuck. Is that good?”

Thorn clapped Snap on the shoulder, so forceful in his enthusiasm that the slimmer guy both beamed and winced. “A name is excellent! The name of where they were taking him.” He looked at me. “Do you know a ‘Merry Den’?”

The bastards who’d come hunting didn’t stand a chance now. I rubbed my hands together as a waft of elation filled my chest. “I don’t, but you’d better believe I can find it.”

8

Sorsha

Given that we had pretty much no idea who we were dealing with other than that they were formidable as fuck, discretion seemed wise. I held in all other questions until we returned to my apartment with the door shut and locked behind me.

“That symbol you saw on the one man’s weapon,” I said to Thorn. “The star with the sword points. Have you seen that anywhere else before? Any of you?” I cast my gaze to include the other two shadowkind.

Snap shook his head, a slight crease forming on his brow. Of course, from the way he responded to most things in the mortal realm, I didn’t figure he’d seen much of anything on this side of the divide before this recent visit. Ruse contemplated the question for a few seconds longer