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Sarge held his hand up—gesturing he’d heard Grove—but a frown tugged at the silvery scales on his temples. “Next week we need to schedule a refresher course on how to properly convey information.”

Captain Reese patted Sarge on the shoulder, then put two fingers in her mouth and made a piercing whistle.

Binx and Brody looked back, and Captain Reese pointed at Grove.

Brody waved, and the two trotted across the street to join Grove. Binx sniffed the ground, while Brody had his nose up in the air.

The two walked to the front of the bank pausing at a driveway that led to a tiny parking lot behind the building and at the drive through.

I glanced at Sarge wondering if he’d give me the order now to go investigate with the rest of my team, but he and Captain Reese just watched Binx and Brody’s progress for a moment.

Captain Reese abruptly straightened, her body tensing as her lips curled back.

She must hear or smell—

I saw a black shape streak across the parking lot entrance.

“Runner!” Tetiana shouted as she took off after them.

“Blood—go!” Sarge shouted.

CHAPTERTWENTY

Jade

Iglanced up and down the road—even when pursuing perps, I didn’t want to get hit—before I launched myself across the street.

I caught up with Tetiana, entering the small parking lot with her.

“There!” She pointed to a concrete paved path that stretched behind two of the human office buildings, which—unlike the street—wasn’t lit by anything except for the night security lighting pointed at the buildings.

“Got it.” I kicked my pace up easily overtaking her.

“Good luck!” Tetiana shouted at my back.

The runner had an approximate two block lead on me and was wearing a black baseball cap that covered their hair. Their height and wider shoulders made me suspect I was chasing after a male, and they were too slow to be a vampire and too lean to be a werewolf. Chances were that he was a fae—which meant he might be our perp.

I was careful to use a good running form, making sure I landed on my whole foot and didn’t run on my tiptoes, so my muscles felt limber and ready as I chased after him—my footsteps far quieter than his.

The fae didn’t look back at me as he veered off the paved pathway and ran across a business’s scant lawn, zigging east—towards a more residential area.

I followed—continuing to gain on him. The grass was so dry it crunched under my boots, but I managed to keep him within sight.

I would eventually close the gap between us—there weren’t many supernaturals that could outrun a slayer—but the danger was he’d find a way to lose me while he had his temporary lead.

He seemed to realize the same thing because when he reached a street he headed due north: straight towards downtown, where he’d have the easiest time disappearing.

When I hit the street, I felt a brief flare of fae magic and a flock of pigeons took off from where they’d been roosting on a park bench, smacking into me, and filling the air.

Animal magic.

Well, that sealed it. He probably was behind all the animal attacks.

Only fae with natural animal magic could control animals like that, and it was a rare power.

With my mask to protect my face, I raced through the swirl of pigeons ignoring when they whacked me with their wings. Then, I also turned north.

I could still see the fae—his clothes were a deep black that stuck out. (In a city as well-lit as Magiford, the shadows were varying shades of sooty gray rather than the jet black of his clothes.) Unfortunately, he’d gained some ground.