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BIT BY BIT, XIARA LURED the alpha werewolf towards the exit. The drained werecreatures were already suffering enough. She didn’t want to slaughter her target in the middle of their cave.
The rogue was too far gone to be reasoned with. He’d scented her blood and he was determined to maul her to death. Once they were clear of the jumble of bodies, Wrath went into action again. He feinted at the alpha’s stomach with the smaller blade, then whipped around to behead him with the larger blade. “Nice work, Wrath,” Xiara said when the body dropped to the ground. Her weapon pulsed once in agreement. As always, her shield turned back into a brooch now that the danger was over.
Zircadion and Ivan landed next to her a moment later. “Why aren’t the rogues attacking us?” the gargoyle asked in confusion.
“They’re sleeping,” Xiara told him.
“You just made enough racket to raise the dead,” Zircadion pointed out.
“Take a look for yourselves,” the Guardian of Nox suggested. Her friends entered the cave, then returned a short while later.
“They’ve all been drained,” Zircadion said angrily.
“It seems the Immortal Triumvirate have contrived a ruthless plan to reduce the number of rogues,” Ivan said thoughtfully. He might be big and ugly, but he was highly intelligent.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Xiara agreed. “Can you carry the body to the edge of the woods?” she requested.
“Why?” Zircadion asked curiously.
“I’ll tell you when we land,” Xiara replied evasively. If any of the drained rogues were awake and could understand her, she didn’t want them to overhear her plan. It would just anguish them more.
The slices in her side were deep and were bleeding freely. She would have to get Travis to stitch them up, but that would have to wait. She had an important task to perform and she wasn’t particularly looking forward to it.
Zircadion carried the huntress to the edge of the shifter woods while Ivan carried the head and body of the dead werewolf. They landed just inside the tree line and the gargoyle dropped the corpse. “Now, tell us why you asked me to bring the body here,” he requested.
“I need to cut his heart out,” Xiara told him. Her friends were understandably shocked, but she felt no amusement at their startled expressions.
“Whatever for?” Ivan asked, voice coming out in a harsh growl.
“Kade Sinclair needs it for a spell that will let him use the artifact that’s supposed to be able to hurt Lord Kreaton.”
“Okay, that’s a pretty good excuse to desecrate the body,” Zircadion conceded, then gestured at the body. “Go ahead and carve him up.”
Xiara lifted her upper lip at what she was about to do. She’d lopped off plenty of heads and limbs in the past, but she’d never had to cut a heart out before. She spun Wrath around and used his smaller blade to cut a hole in the alpha’s chest. Their heads whipped around when the branches rustled, but they relaxed when they saw it was just a skeleton. It had sensed a body that needed to be buried and it had come to take it away. “Hang on a minute,” Xiara told the walking bag of bones. “I’m not quite done yet.” The skeleton nodded, then waited with the patience of the dead for the huntress to remove the heart. “It’s all yours,” she said and held the dripping organ away from her so the blood didn’t splatter on her. She already had plenty of her own blood staining her clothes.
“You’re wounded,” Zircadion realized when her friend winced as she moved away from the body. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she scolded her friend, then harnessed her divine power and healed the slashes. Bright white light flared and Ivan blocked the glow from the street with his wings.
“I’m so used to getting Travis to patch me up that I didn’t think to ask you to do it,” Xiara admitted sheepishly. There would be no need for her to travel to his hospital to get him to stitch her back up this time.
Zircadion used telekinesis to retrieve a container from her apartment and handed it to her friend. “Here, put the heart in this,” she offered.
Xiara took it with a grateful nod and placed the heart inside, then closed the lid. She held her hand out so the rain would wash the blood away. The tears in her jacket and shirt had magically been repaired and the blood and other stains were gone. As always, the magic of Nox had worked for her. Her wounds would have healed overnight, but Zircadion had fixed them for her.
The trio stepped out of the woods and a carriage rolled to a stop when the driver sensed they needed a ride. Xiara didn’t need to tell the chauffeur where to go. It plucked Kade Sinclair’s name out of her head and the black vehicle lurched into motion.
“Halloween is getting closer,” Ivan said. He took up almost the entire seat across from them with his bulk. “I hope Kade and his allies will be able to succeed with their plans.” He spoke vaguely so none of the shifters in the buildings they were passing would know what he was referring to.
“They will,” Zircadion said confidently. “They have to,” she added. “The entire city is counting on them to win.”
Xiara remained silent as they traveled to the Fae District. The carriage pulled up in front of a huge stone mansion and she climbed out. Her friends stayed in the vehicle to wait for her. The huntress took the path to the front door and knocked. She sensed her link to the warlock long before he opened the door.
“Ms. Evora,” Kade said in surprise. “What can I do for you?”
Xiara looked over his shoulder to see Sorcha lurking in the background. The former assassin was keeping her distance, as if she knew their guest wanted to speak to the warlock privately. “I have a gift for you,” Xiara said and handed him the container.
Kade opened it and peeked inside, then his amethyst eyes shot to hers. “Is this what I think it is?” he asked in a hopeful tone.
“The magic of Nox has provided the item you told me you needed,” she confirmed. “Use it wisely, Kade Sinclair.”
“I will,” he vowed in relief. She’d just given him the final component he needed. He figured she’d gotten it from an execution she’d been forced to perform. “Thank you, Ms. Evora,” he added.
“I’d say it was my pleasure, but that would be a lie,” the huntress said with a grimace. “The container will return to where I got it from soon, so you’d better put it in something else. I’d better get back to my patrol,” she added, then turned and left.
She climbed back into the carriage and it drove for a few blocks before stopping to let Zircadion and Ivan out. “We’ll see you when you get home,” Ivan said.
“We’ll fill the others in on what happened tonight,” Zircadion added.
It would save Xiara from having to relay the story and she nodded. “I’ll see you guys in a few hours,” she said. Ivan closed the door and the carriage took off again
Part of Xiara was glad she’d been able to find the heart for Kade, but she was sad that she’d had to execute the werewolf to get it. It just went to show how dire things were becoming in the City of Night that an alpha had succumbed to his inner beast. He’d murdered someone and he’d needed to be put down for it. He was just the first leader in the Shifter District to go bad, but others would soon follow him. His entire pack would now be left without someone in charge. She feared they would all turn rogue without their alpha to keep them in check.
