Page 103

Story: The Gloaming

Adam shot a glance at Tom and Isabel.

“Do you mind?” She reached for the bag.

“Go for it,” Tom managed.

Isabel emptied the contents carefully, her poised precision somehow comforting now. Adam picked up the dagger while she unwrapped the hoodie with delicate hands. Her face went still, her dark eyes unreadable.

“What is this?”

“I’d have thought that was obvious,” Tom tried for a quip, but his voice was shaking. “I didn’t know what else to do with it.”

“Who did it belong to?” Adam asked, placing the blade backon the counter. “No, never mind that, what I mean to ask is… didyoudo this?”

“Shocking as it might sound, yeah. I did.” Tom tried not to look affronted at the disbelief on Adam’s face and instead stared at the hand. It was already decaying, the shrunken skin pulling the fingers into a claw.

Isabel exhaled. “This isn’t good, Tom. An act like this is not lightly done; it will demand vengeance. Even a vampire cannot heal from such a thing.”

“Pretty sure she was already intent on coming after us. I don’t see how much worse I could have made things,” Tom shrugged, but covered the hand again, unable to look at it.

“He has a point, Izzie,” Adam said.

“No. There is more to this than meets the eye. Why should she come afteryou?” Isabel paced the length of the room.

“We thought she might, remember? I’m Erin’s friend—”

“Be that as it may, you haven’t been getting on of late. If I’m aware of it, the killers certainly are, given their tendency to know every secret we have attempted to hide,” she snapped.

Adam gave Tom an apologetic look, but spoke to Isabel: “Perhaps he knows something more than we do?”

Tom gaped at the two of them. “Mate, you know what I know. I’ve been buried in research for weeks and found fuck all. I’m good, but I’m not bloody magic.”

“Then what other reason could she have had?” Adam pressed. “Unless—”

“What?” Isabel and Tom spoke together.

“Tell me what happened. Every detail.”

Tom recounted the story.

“She called you a catalyst?” A lilting voice spoke from the doorway. Murray stood there, leaning on the frame with a casual elegance Tom hated on sight. His face was flushed, his dark shirt wrinkled underneath his coat.

Adam looked up from the counter, his eyes narrowing as he took in his friend’s appearance. A knowing smile played at his lips. “Ah. I see you’ve been… otherwise occupied.”

Tom’s stomach lurched as he caught the implication. Great. Just what he needed – confirmation of exactly what Murray had been doing with his best friend.

Isabel pinched the bridge of her nose. “Really, Adam? Must you?”

But Murray’s usual composure had already cracked – a flash of pure joy mixed with something almost bashful that made him look disarmingly young. He actually ducked his head, running a hand through his already-mussed hair. It was somehow worse than his usual predatory grace. Tom had never seen him look so… human.

“Yes.” Tom’s earlier anger simmered under the surface, and the moment shattered.

Isabel drew him back to attention. “Did she say she planned to kill you?”

Tom shook his head. “She said something about having a taste. So… not specifically. I’m not sure she needed to state it outright, you know?”

“They intended you as the bait.” Adam examined his fingernails as he worked it out. “You were to be a lure to drawErin to them.” He looked up sharply, letting out a frustrated laugh. “This evening’s planning, entirely wasted. They’re ahead of us again!”

His expression shifted suddenly, colour draining from his face. “But if they failed to secure Tom—?”