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I need a cig.

Evan patted his empty pockets. Recently, all his packs of cigarettes were vanishing into thin air.

Delos still stood at the door, staring at Evan as he shifted from foot to foot, distracted. Ever so slightly, his silver brows drew close.

“You seem stressed,” Delos pointed out.

Evan’s eyes bounced back to him, running his fidgety fingers through his messy hair. “I’m fine.”

He was not.

Aaron was missing. Xen wasn't exactly trying hard to stay hidden. And Evan hadn't had a proper moment to talk to his sister, who'd be leaving on Monday. Nothing about this was fine, and the lack of control over any of it was gnawing at his nerves.

“Have you heard?” Delos leaned against the wall beside the front door, his expression that of a nosy old woman reporting gossip to her equally nosy neighbor. “People have gone missing in the town lately.”

Evan’s cat ears puffed out as soon as he heard the termmissing. Not even wondering why Delos thought sharing this information was relevant, or how it—coincidentally—wasrelevant to Evan, he stepped outside and shut the door behind him.

With a subtle look of interest, Evan asked, “How many?”

“So far…” Delos counted on his fingers. “Over fifteen. Including seven loggers who were working for the road construction project.”

Evan’s brows furrowed. “And what are the cops saying?” Hehopedthe cops were involved at this point. If the Nightshade cult freaks were kidnapping people, like Choi had suspected, then the authorities could very well handle it. No need for the involvement of the church, or even Evan for that matter.

But then Evan recalled the video he’d seen on the phone Choi had found in the forest, and his evaluation seemed off. Those people didn’t seem like they’d been forcefully kidnapped. No, there was solid proof that they’d simply vanished into thin air.

“The cops have recorded the missing cases, but it seems that’s about it,” Delos shook his head, looking guilty on the authorities’ behalf.

That complicated everything.

If the rest of the people had disappeared the same way the loggers had, there was not a single clue left behind as to where or how they went missing. Not a scent trail a dog could sniff, no electronic gadget that could be tracked.

Suddenly, a giant bell of warning went off in Evan’s head, shaking his entire brain with tremors.

Holy shit. Had Aaron vanished into thin air like the rest? Was he the sixteenth victim?

Fuck.

Irritation like he hadn’t experienced in a long time gripped Evan’s shoulder, urging him forward to go and find the people behind this and make them pay. Touching his friend made it personal, even though it probably wasn’t personal for the people who did it.

Evan’s hands balled into fists before he pocketed them and tried to calm his mind. Nothing was achieved with an agitated brain. He needed to think straight if he was going to bring Aaron back.

And hewasgoing to bring him back.

Evan turned to Delos. “Were all the people who disappeared men, in their twenties? Physically fit?” Evan asked.

“Quite so.”

Aaron fell into that category. Well, somewhat. If he wasn’t cancelled off for beingtoophysically fit, he’d easily be a preferred target for freaks looking for healthy sacrificial chickens.

“Damnit,” Evan sighed.

Delos’s gaze flickered to him before he leaned off the wall and patted Evan’s shoulder. “Do you know the upcoming full moon falls on a Friday? This Friday, actually.”

The sudden shift of topic once again stumped Evan. “The full moon?”

Friday full moons were considered auspicious and believed to grant wishes. But praying to the evening sky wasn’t going to bring back those who went missing, would it?

“Not just any full moon,” Delos’s eyes gleamed. “A red moon.”