I had cross-checked the contract using what little information was available on the Fae in Guild online library. The Fae being the weasels they were, counted trickery and coercion as legit when forcing a contract—but I'd already known that without needing to confirm it. I jumped as a soft knock sounded at the door. I stopped pacing long enough to answer it and allow both Adam and Larissa into the room.
"What's up guys?" I asked carefully.
Adam was still regretting showing up at the Fae's club, I'd chewed him out the entire way home and felt like an ass for doing so. "Syn—"
I cut him off knowing he was setting in to another long apology. "It's okay Adam, I'm over it and I'm sorry for biting your head off. I need a few things though…spell-wise."
He nodded his dark head as his eyes took in my suitcase. "You thinking some soft spells, or hardcore?"
My lips twisted into a naughty smile. A man after my own heart. "Hardcore, I don’t want to be inside his house more than I have to be."
"Alden is going to flip out, Syn is it really so bad? You could be finished with this assignment before you know it. This guy is pretty badass if you haven't noticed."
Adam and I had both stopped to look at her. She was always the voice of reason, but she hadn't been with us inside that room, nor had she been there when he proclaimed ownership of me! "You don’t understand Lari, he owns me now. He can decide to keep me! You don’t see a problem with that?" I asked outraged.
She shook her head and dropped her hands to her sides. She was of slim build. Her long dark hair had beautiful natural curls that most girls would kill for. Her eyes were the color of freshly grown spring grass. She was everything a guy would look for in a mate—unlike me, who was a normal blonde, which I considered to be a dime a dozen since the Light Fae had joined the party bringing with them a new view of what a perfect blonde should look like. Forget Barbie—the Fae gave new meaning to feeling inadequate.
One of my Guild instructors had been quick to point out that I was indeed not the type to ever listen or follow rules, let alone make him a sandwich. I'd agreed, oh I would have made his ass a sandwich, but he'd have worn it in his face.
"Yes, I get it. If he reneges on the deal then I'll be first in line to fry his balls Syn. But right now there's more at stake than what either of you have been told." Adam snorted but Larissa left the room only to return moments later with a file in her hand. "This is what you were really brought in for."
She tossed the file on my bed and crossed her arms while she waited for me to pick it up. Adam and I stared at her and then the file that sat discarded on my bed. Red letters that read Confidential written across the manila folder caught and held my eye. "We couldn’t tell you until you agreed to the contract and well, I know it isn't something we normally look into, but they need us to do this case. We think this has to do with the person or persons trying to get to the Light Heir."
I looked up at her, as if she'd grown another head.
"Read it already!" Larissa shouted picking up pacing where I had left off.
"What is it?" Adam asked, afraid like I wasn't going to pick it up.
I blew him a raspberry before picking it up and undoing the metal hook that kept it together. Pictures of dead women slid out of the folder. Gruesome pictures, that made bile rise in the back of my throat. "What the hell."
"Witches from the Seattle Guild. Some from the Guild itself, others are from some of the smaller covens across the state. Oftentimes their mutilated bodies have been found with some of the dead Fae," she paused nibbling on her lip as she considered telling us more. "They're somehow tied to whoever is trying to kill the Light Heir, that’s all we know. None of the Guilds sent them out to work with the Fae and yet they were strung up beside them and killed."
I sat down as my knees threatened to give out. Adam did the same. This wasn’t happening, but Alden throwing me to the wolf made sense now. I stared at picture after picture of dead Witches and Fae. "Their spells are missing," I said pointing out the missing skin of the Witches.
"And their tongues. The Fae are missing glands and other goodies. It's like someone is building a Frankenstein so to say," Larissa said finally stopping long enough to point out the mutilated Fae that were indeed missing pieces.
I considered it, moving to another picture, this one had been picked over. Most spells were written in ink and placed in the skin. They were written in Latin though, which meant whoever was doing this knew the language or was working with someone who did.
"The Fae, what are they missing, exactly?" I asked trying to scan their pictures without throwing up. Someone had cut them open and dissected them—and the Fae did not die, which meant someone had some sort if mythical weapon. Or they had figured out a way to kill them.
"Sex glands among a few other things, another is missing her milk glands, they seem to pick out weak ones, at least that is what the Fae seem to think."
"If they are killing Fae and Witches, they have to be killing other creatures."
We both looked up at Adam. And waited.
He shrugged and continued, "Witches and Fae have nothing in common, so why them. Why not other creature's?"