Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 1)

“It does. But I’d like a name.”

“Grey.”

“As in shadows?”

“As in Gardens.”

My jaw nearly dropped at the joke. He could joke? “Grey Gardens?”

“Of course as in shadows.” He leaned against the desk. “Now, do you trust me enough to tell me what you found in the body?”

r /> I dug my mobile out of my pocket and pulled up the picture so that he could see it. Maybe he would know more than Mac had. “His heart was missing. And this symbol was burned inside.”

A small smile stretched across his face, a smile of pure satisfaction.

“You know what it is?” I demanded.

“Not exactly. But I know we can use it to track the killer.”

“Couldn’t we have used the spiral-shaped burn mark to track him?”

“No. That’s a generic mark of necromancer magic. Small and untrackable because it contains so little magic.” He pointed to the phone. “That is evidence of powerful magic. Big enough to leave a stain on the victim and the murderer. The Sorcerers’ Guild can perform a spell that will locate the person who also bears this mark on their soul. That will be our killer.”

“Holy crap, we’re close?”

“Perhaps. Would you like to come with me?”

“To the Sorcerers’ Guild?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “For a price, they’ll track our killer.”

“You’re paying?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, let’s do it.”

He nodded, another satisfied smile stretching across his handsome face. Somehow, I felt trapped, the first course of this vampire’s dinner.

15

The Devil

Satisfaction roared through me when Carrow agreed to visit the Sorcerers’ Guild at my side. I’d told her the truth about the necromancer and his likely goals—but I didn’t like hearing that the entire police force was after her. It roused a protective instinct in me I’d thought long dead. Guild City was a fine place to live, but being unable to return to London would make it a cage.

“Come.” I strode around her, inhaling her scent as I passed.

Lavender.

And something intrinsically her that I liked very much but couldn’t identify. Both scents were so faint that I drew in the aroma more deeply just to get the barest taste of it. Oh, how I wished I could smell her better. It made me feel more alive, somehow. Reminding me that I’d only been existing these many years—not truly living.

Ice man.

The strongest urge surged through me to turn around and pull her into my arms. I resisted, moving toward the door without looking back at her. She found my intense attention uncomfortable, and I needed to remember that. For now.

Not to mention, every second I spent with her, I wanted to bite her. I hadn’t wanted to bite someone in centuries.

But her…