Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 1)

I forced myself to pull back.

I’d kissed her skin. For fate’s sake, I’d licked her.

I hadn’t done that in centuries.

Shocked by my own actions, I turned and looked out of the alley. The cop was turning down another street. “He’s gone.”

“Good.” Carrow’s voice was nearly back to normal. “Let’s go get our guy.”

She strode out onto the street, and I joined her. I pulled the magical compass out of my pocket and held it in front of me. The arrow spun and stopped, pointing at the ramshackle pub at the end of the street. The little thing vibrated fiercely in my hands, indicating that we were nearly there.

“Is he really in a human pub?” she asked. “Just sitting and drinking? What about the abduction?”

“It does seem odd.” I inspected the dreary surroundings. “Some places in the human world are actually secret supernatural hot spots, like the Haunted Hound, but I don’t think this is one of them.”

“This is just too strange.” She leaned over and looked at the compass, which was still buzzing.

We stopped in front of the wooden door. It was impossible to see through the dirty glass, but I could feel our prey on the other side. It was a vampire instinct.

“He’s inside.” I raised my wrist to my mouth and spoke into the comms charm strapped there, calling for backup from my shifter bodyguards.

“What was that for?”

“Just in case. They’ll wait outside unless I call them in.”

“Right, then. Let’s figure out why the hell our target is in a pub.”

Carrow

We were about to catch this bastard.

My name would be cleared soon. Lives would be saved. Finally, I’d be in time to save someone. If we caught this guy, the deaths would stop.

Heart pounding, I moved to push the door open, but the Devil was faster. He stepped into the pub first, blocking me from any threat. I followed, my eyes quickly adjusting to the dim light. Every inch of me was on the alert—to flee, to attack, I wasn’t sure.

But the pub was…normal. Gloomy and dingy, there was almost no one inside. Still, my gaze went unerringly to the guy sitting at the bar alone. The bartender stood on the far side, giving the guy a wide berth.

The Devil nodded to the seated man. “It’s him.”

“Really? He seems so…normal.” Not like a necromancer at all.

“He’s human. No magic that I can feel. Not even well controlled magic.”

“But he still committed the murder?” I could hear the faint buzz from the magical compass that the Devil held.

“Yes. He may be a hired gun.”

I looked back at the man, anger bubbling inside me.

He was tall, with broad shoulders and a partially bald head. His plain white T-shirt was covered in dark stains that I initially took for blood.

No way.

I blinked, realizing it was probably engine grease.

Still, he had Beatrix’s blood on his hands. Anger seethed inside me like a snake, twisting and writhing.

As if he could feel the intensity of our scrutiny, the man turned to look at us. Moving in synchrony, as though we’d been partners for years, the Devil and I approached the bar and seated ourselves on either side of him. I clenched my fists to keep from punching him.