Twilight Crook

by Eva Chase

  I sprawled on my back, staring up at the mansion. I’d incited my blaze even higher than I’d realized. Yellow-orange light roared through broken glass on the second-floor windows. More flames leapt out to crawl across the roof.

  We’d done it. We’d taken back what the Company of Light had stolen and then razed their data and their last hide-out to the ground.

  And now I’d better get the hell out of here before anyone gave me the same treatment.

  A few figures had charged out of the building in my wake. The guards stared at me, one of them pointing. He dashed away while the other two came at us.

  Thorn swung around so swiftly you’d never have guessed he was producing nearly as much smoke as the entire mansion. His punch slammed into one guard’s face, but in the warrior’s weakening state, his knuckles only scraped her cheek instead of crushing it. I grabbed his elbow.

  “We’ve got to get out of here, now!”

  Laz and Rex flickered from the shadows to topple our attackers. With the mortals’ shrieks and the warbling of the fire following at our heels, we ran across the lawn, leaving the remains of the Company to sink into its own ashes.

  31

  Sorsha

  At a glance, the gathering of figures around the Everymobile looked more like a summer barbeque than a conspiracy of monsters.

  Ruse had driven the RV well out of the city and parked it in a fallow field in the countryside where no buildings stood in sight. Other than him, me, and Rex’s tech guy, who’d sat bent over a laptop on the sofa for the whole drive, the other shadowkind had ridden with us in the shadows. Now, coming out after a brief doze in the second bedroom, I found the entire company spread out around the vehicle.

  At least, I thought it had to be the entire bunch. Omen and Thorn stood talking with Rex and a couple of his underlings near a drooping tree. A few feet from them, Ruse was shooting the breeze with Laz, Birch, and assorted other gang members, as well as the few liberated prisoners who’d decided to stick with us in our escape. To my right, Bow was sitting on the ground with Gisele lounging on his lap, her face still drawn but brighter than I’d have thought possible after the way she’d looked the last time I’d seen her. Her beaming was probably thanks to the petite, twiggy young man they were chatting with—their long-lost friend, Cori.

  Everyone was smiling and laughing, their stances relaxed—except Tech Dude, who hadn’t left his hunched pose on the sofa behind me. The dawn light turned the edges of the landscape golden, matching the triumphant vibe perfectly. I dragged in a deep breath of the cool early morning air, a smile of my own crossing my lips, but a twinge shot through my gut at the same time.

  Snap was still missing. My instincts had been correct—he hadn’t been in any of those cells in Victor Bane’s mansion.

  If the Company hadn’t captured him, where had he gone? All the way back to the shadow realm? Was I ever going to see him again?

  I’d been prepared for us to part ways when Omen’s mission here was done, but the loss still gnawed at me. I hadn’t gotten to say good-bye. Maybe if we’d talked, if I’d been able to talk the devourer through his doubts, I wouldn’t have needed to say good-bye, at least not right away.

  The Company of Light wasn’t the only force malevolent toward the shadowkind in this world, only the largest one I’d encountered. We might have decimated them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Omen and his crew found other ways to stay busy rather than heading straight home.

  And maybe I was kind of hoping they’d count me as part of that crew for as long as they stuck around. What did I have left to go back to anyway? A burned-down apartment, a handful of sort-of friends and colleagues who’d turned their backs on me…

  Well, one very dedicated best friend as well. I should call Vivi and let her know it was safe to leave her watery safehouse now.

  As I fished out my phone and stepped out onto the untamed grass, Pickle scuttled after me. I bent to give him a scratch between his wings before he scampered off in Laz’s direction. My smile grew with the amused anticipation of the troll’s nervous reaction. I brought up my contacts on the screen—

  —and the tech guy burst out of the RV behind me, his laptop held up like a signal flag, gasping for breath as if he’d just run miles rather than five feet.

  “Everyone! It isn’t over. This isn’t— That place was just one—”

  My hand dropped to my side. As I stared at him, the others drew in closer, Omen and Rex at the front of the crowd.

  The hellhound shifter’s good humor had faded. “What are you saying? Spit it out—a little more coherently, if you can manage that?”

  Computer Dude swiped a nervous hand across his mouth. The spines on the back of his neck jittered. “It’s just—It took me a while to really dig into the files. There were a lot of layers of protection. And at first I didn’t totally understand what I was seeing, with all the code names and the rest. But—there are definite references to other facilities in other cities—New York, Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans…”

  “All the best locales,” Ruse murmured. Any place that attracted a decent number of artsy or otherwise quirky humans tended to appeal to the shadowkind as well—easier for their quirks to blend in.

  My stomach had balled into a massive knot. “You’re saying the Company of Light isn’t alone? There are other organizations like them?”

  “No, that’s all the same organization.” The guy swept his hand through the air. “The Company of Light has… let’s call them branches in at least seven other cities in the US. It doesn’t look as if all of them are currently holding higher shadowkind captive—the operation here seems to have been one of the biggest—but they’re all experimenting on lesser beings and hunting around the local rifts.”

  The buoyant mood that had filled the gathering deflated. I exchanged a grim look with Thorn and Ruse. This hadn’t been our final stand after all. The operations we’d burned down here had only been one piece in a massive puzzle of awfulness. Shit.

  Omen cleared his throat, taking charge with a typical authoritarian vibe. “Have you at least determined what all this experimenting is for—specifically? How do they think they’re going to conquer the shadowkind?”

  Computer Dude’s fingers tightened around the laptop. “They… they’ve been testing all sorts of things to see what drains our essence the most, in an attempt to create a sickness that could be passed between the shadowkind and deadly enough to kill any that encountered it in the mortal world.”

  A deeper hush fell over the crowd. “It’ll never work,” one of the gang underlings said after a moment. “We don’t get sick.”

  The guy shrugged. “They have made progress. Nothing we’d need to fend off immediately, and the virus I sent into their computer systems may have passed on to the rest of the organization over the internet and damaged their research overall, but—I won’t feel comfortable while they’re still working on it. They’ve already created bacteria potent enough to make lesser shadowkind weaken.”

  There was a moment of total horrified silence. It’d obviously never occurred to the assembled crowd that even that much could be possible. A shiver ran down my spine.

  “Fine,” Omen said. “The assholes are dangerous—we already knew that. If we didn’t topple the kingpin last night, we’ll just have to do that next. Did you find some indication of who is running the whole show?”

  “It does appear that Victor Bane was in charge of operations here. The records stay pretty vague about who holds the ultimate authority, but… based on the scale of operations, my best guess is they’re located in San Francisco.”

  “Road trip!” Ruse said, raising his fist in the air, but even he couldn’t summon much enthusiasm into his joking tone.

  Murmurs spread through the crowd. As Rex took them in, he nodded. “We fought the battle we came here to fight—we kicked the bastards out of our city. The rest I’m going to have to leave to you. We’ve put enough on the line as it is.”

  The werewol
f’s gaze settled on me. So had that of a few of his companions, I realized. Their expressions had tensed in a way that only amplified my uneasiness.

  “Especially when you’ve got a sorcerer working with you,” Rex added, and it clicked. Of course the shadowkind who’d seen me summon fire in the entrance hall would assume I’d used sorcery, bending a shadowkind to my will. They’d seen plenty of evidence that I was mortal, and that was the only way mortals were supposed to be able to use magic.

  I pulled my posture up straighter. “I’m no sorcerer. I—I’m not totally sure what I am, but I wouldn’t manipulate shadowkind for power.”

  Rex’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re trying to tell me that you’re a human who can conjure fire on her own steam?”

  “Well, more like smoke, but…”

  “It’s true,” Omen said brusquely. “Do you really think I’d work with a sorcerer, Rex? I’d rather eat them for dinner. If you’re not sticking around, I can’t see how it matters anyway.”

  The murmurs had heightened, more gazes turning my way. Thorn took a step closer as if he thought I might need a bodyguard, but Rex waved his people silent.

  “You’re right. It’s your business, not ours. Come on, folks—let’s leave these do-gooders to their crusade.”

  He wavered into the shadows. Most of the gathering followed him. I guessed they’d find a vehicle of their own to steal to shorten the trip back into town.

  Let the selfish pricks have it their way. A deeper chill was sinking into my bones that had nothing to do with any shadowkind.

  “Omen,” I said. “At least one of the guards who saw me use my magic got away last night. I didn’t worry about it because Thorn was too injured to go after him—with everything else destroyed, I didn’t think it would matter. But if he tells everyone else in the Company… At the very least, they’ll be ready for it next time.”

  “One more in a whole heap of worries. We’ll deal with that along with the rest.”

  Someone cleared their throat. Omen turned and scowled as he noticed the Tech Dude standing nervously at the base of the RV’s steps, not having left with the others. “What?”

  The guy bobbed his head. “I thought you’d want to know… I think the being you were hoping to find on the Bane estate, the devourer? It looks as though they did capture him—or one of very similar description. Whichever it is, they shipped that shadowkind to Chicago yesterday afternoon. Maybe they were worried you’d be able to trace his presence if they kept him too close.”

  My throat closed up. “Snap.” He was in one of those cells after all, pinned by the silver and iron and the searing lights—and whatever else they were already using to torment him.

  “Thank you,” Omen said, and the computer guy darted off after his boss. The hellhound shifter pressed his hand to his forehead. “When I get my claws into the rest of these people…”

  Thorn’s shoulders flexed. “It’ll be a pleasure to tear them limb from limb.”

  “We have to get to them all first. Seven cities.” Omen’s mouth tightened. “Well, maybe if we shatter what they have in San Francisco, that’ll be enough…”

  His gaze slid past us, over the few rescued shadowkind who were standing uncertainly at the fringes of where the crowd had been, and stopped on Bow, who was just walking up to us with Gisele still cradled in his arms.

  The unicorn shifter, not the centaur, was the one who spoke, her voice reedy but still silver-bright. “I think we might be able to help you out a little bit more—as a thank you for bringing Cori back to us.” She shot a smile over Bow’s shoulder at their friend.

  “You can’t try to fight when you’re still recovering,” I protested, but she waved me off.

  “Not like that. We only… We only need the Everymobile while we’re here in the mortal realm. The dryad was right—I’ll heal faster shadow-side. If you can drop us off at the nearest safe rift, we’re happy to lend her to you as long as you need her.” She rested her hand against the vehicle’s side. “Maybe I’ll even bounce back fast enough to jump back into this war of yours.”

  Omen considered her for a long moment. Then he dipped his head, just slightly but with obvious respect. “Thank you. You’ve already contributed more than most would have.” He swiveled back to face Thorn, Ruse, and me.

  The words tumbled out before I’d thought them through, but I wouldn’t have changed them anyway. “We have to get Snap back. We can’t leave him in the hands of those assholes when we’ve got no idea how long it might take to shatter the whole Company.”

  I braced myself to have to argue practicalities on my lover’s behalf—to point out how much he’d already contributed to Omen’s cause and how much more he might if he got the chance, as if that mattered more than the fact that he was now facing who knew what kind of torture because of the hellhound shifter’s crusade. But I didn’t need to.

  A tense smile curved Omen’s lips. “I agree. It looks like we do have a road trip in our immediate future—and head of the Company be damned, our first stop will be Chicago. We’re not leaving our devourer behind.”

  * * *

  What has Snap faced during his captivity—and how will Sorsha and her monstrous crew take on an enemy so much bigger than they expected? Find out in Dusk Avenger, the third book in the Flirting with Monsters series. Get Dusk Avenger now!

  Want access to early cover reveals, exclusive teasers, and more? Join Eva’s reader group, the Minions of Magic!

  Next in the Flirting with Monsters series

  Dusk Avenger (Flirting with Monsters #3)

  A little pyromania can go a long way…

  The Company of Light had already made my shit list before they kidnapped one of my monstrous lovers. Now? I’m ready to send the whole lot of them up in flames. Especially when it turns out they may have damaged my demon sweetheart beyond repair.

  Trouble is, those flames aren’t playing nice. After its taste of freedom, my inner fire seems intent on having a full-on scorch party, and that includes burning me up while I’m burning down the baddies.

  If I’m going to get a handle on the dangerous power within me, I need to understand where it—and I—came from. But finding the answers I’m searching for could be worse than staying in the dark.

  My enemies are multiplying by the minute, and the worst of them… might be standing right beside me.

  Get it now!

  Dragon’s Guard excerpt

  Did you know I have a reverse harem shifter series with another heroine discovering and gaining control over unexpected powers? Here’s a sneak peek inside the first book, Dragon’s Guard.

  The last dragon shifter meets her four hot alpha mates—and life is about to get dangerous.

  DRAGON’S GUARD

  1

  Ren

  “Are you waiting for someone, honey?” the bartender asked.

  It was a reasonable question, considering that I’d been perched on one of the leather-cushioned seats at the bar for ten minutes without ordering anything. If the place had been any busier, he’d probably have pushed me a lot sooner. But there was only one other patron down the counter from me, a grizzled dude who was glued to his beer and the burble of the football game, and a handful of people scattered around the wooden tables in the rest of the room.

  I’d picked this bar for exactly that reason. If she came, it’d be somewhere low key, not too noisy or crowded. At least, that had felt like the right idea. It wasn’t as if she’d shown up anyway.

  “Not exactly,” I said to the bartender, leaning my elbows on the counter. The smell of wood varnish and booze tickled my nose. “And if you’re going to call me anything, call me Ren.” Most of the times I’d heard “honey” in the last seven years, it’d been followed by a leer and a grope.

  The bartender didn’t take offense, just grinned. “No problem, Ren. Can I get you anything, while you’re ‘not exactly’ waiting?”

  I was feeling too restless to want a drink for pleasure, but maybe that was why I should hav
e one. It’d take the edge off my nerves. “I’ll have a Bloody Mary.”

  “That I can do.” His grin turned apologetic. “I do have to ask for ID. Take it as a compliment?”

  I shrugged and pulled out my wallet. When I flashed the card at him, he chuckled. “Birthday girl, huh? It’s an honor to serve your first drink.” He raised an eyebrow. “Or at least your first legal drink.”

  Yeah, we wouldn’t get into the amounts of cheap vodka and rum I’d gulped for a buzz over the last several years. When you were crashing on the streets, there was always someone passing around a bottle in a paper bag. But I was done with that part of my life now.

  There was only one thing still missing.

  “Make it extra bloody,” I told the bartender. He saluted me and grabbed a glass. As he mixed the cocktail, I looked toward the door. Beyond the window, the headlights of Brooklyn traffic streaked by through the darkening evening. No one walked in.

  My hand rose to the locket that dangled just below my collarbone. I traced the delicate vine pattern etched in the warm gold. My chest still tightened a little when I flicked the locket open, even though I’d done it already a dozen times today.

  The necklace was the last thing my mother had given to me. Seven years ago, but I could remember so vividly the way her dark eyes had shimmered with a hint of tears as she’d pressed the locket into my hands. She’d clasped her fingers over mine and leaned close. The perfume she wore, like smoky roses, had filled my lungs.

  “I have to go,” she’d said. “If what I’m about to do works out the way I hope, I’ll be back before you know it. But if I’m not... You hold onto this locket. Don’t take it off for an instant. And keep it closed until your twenty-first birthday. Then, if I’m not here, you open it.”