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Viggo studied the crude but effective anti-magic disruptor.Unlike the more sophisticated versionsNightshadeagents carried, this was a simple copper and iron disc etched with arcane symbols.

“That saved your life,” he told Fletcher.“Keep it close.”

It seemed thralls who’d gained employment with nobles still didn’t trust their employers fully.Viggo’s jaw tightened at that thought.

And who can blame them?

“Did you notice anything else that night?”he urged.“Mages close by?Or something that might help us identify where those shadows came from?”

Fletcher shook his head.“There wasn’t anyone else with me in that section of the park.”He closed his eyes, clearly forcing himself to relive the terrifying moment.“There was a whispering though.Not words exactly.”Lines wrinkled his brow.“More like many voices murmuring just below hearing.”He opened his eyes, his expression miserable.“I’m sorry, that’s all I recall.”

“There’s no need to be sorry,” Viggo grunted.“Your account will hopefully help us track down the thralls who have recently gone missing.”

A grateful look brightened Fletcher’s tired eyes.

Chapter12

They leftthe young man’s lodgings and headed back into the alleyways of the slums.

“Viggo, these shadow creatures—how powerful would a mage need to be to control them?”Solomon frowned.“Could any dark practitioner summon such things?”

“No,” Viggo said firmly.“Shadow manipulation at this level requires significant power and knowledge.Even Renwick needed his corrupt device to manifest the ones that attacked us when we fought him.For someone to deploy them across London, hunting specific targets…” He trailed off, the unpleasant truth sinking in reflected in Solomon and Finn’s eyes.“We’re dealing with a dark mage of considerable power.Someone who’s found a way to extend their reach beyond normal limitations.”

“What happened to those thralls?”Finn asked sourly.“Since no bodies were found, we can presume those shadows took them somewhere, correct?”

Viggo dipped his chin reluctantly.“Solomon and I saw what shadow manipulation could do in that church where we fought those dark mages.Evander believes shadow creatures are used for transportation as much as attack.They can envelop a person, then move through darkness to deposit them elsewhere.”

“So they could still be alive?”Finn pressed.

“Possibly.”Viggo frowned.“We need to move quickly regardless.”

The fog had thickened considerably, shrouding the streets in an impenetrable veil that distorted the glow of the gas lamps into eerie halos.They walked in silence for a few blocks until they came in sight of theBroken Lantern.

The tavern was half empty, the usual raucous atmosphere subdued by the late hour and the fear spreading through the thrall community.Hawk was waiting for them at a corner table.

“Well?”he asked when they joined him, his grip tightening imperceptibly on his pint of dark ale.

“Fletcher’s story confirms our suspicions.”Viggo signalled to the barkeep for drinks.“He’s one of the lucky ones.It seems he was ambushed by shadow creatures.”

Hawk frowned faintly as Viggo briefed him on the ghastly manifestations and what Fletcher had revealed.“They don’t sound like the kind of things I want to meet in an alleyway somewhere on a dark night.”

“You and me both,” Finn muttered.

The barkeep, a weathered woman with shrewd eyes, brought over three pints of ale.She lingered a moment longer than necessary, her gaze on Viggo.

“Word’s going around,” she said quietly.“People are frightened, Viggo.”She paused.“Two regulars of mine have gone missing this past fortnight alone.”

“We’re working on it, Vera,” Viggo assured her grimly.

“See that you do.After all,Nightshadeis the only one us thralls can rely on.”She returned to her post behind the bar, her words leaving a bitter taste in Viggo’s mouth that could not be washed down by the ale he drank.

“So what’s our next move?”Finn asked after a short silence.“We can’t simply wait for more thralls to vanish.”

Viggo lowered his brows and finally voiced the idea that had been brewing at the back of his mind.“We need to catch the culprits in the act.They may take us to where the missing thralls are.”

Solomon sat back, his expression growing calculating.“You want to set a trap.”

“Precisely.”