compact, very quick, trouble in a fight. The guy who stopped me was in his midthirties, maybe
early forties. Military haircut, light brown hair, hazel eyes, muscle heavy, a dedicated bodybuilder.
Not as quick as the other two but I got the impression he could carry me and my mule both. Spoke
with a touch of an accent, Aussie or New Zealand. Favored his left arm a bit. Might have been hurt
recently. You want me to describe the clothes?»
Curran shook his head. «How long were you here?»
«About a minute and a half, maybe two.» I crossed the street over to where I saw Brenna yelp.
«Brenna found an arm right here. I think perhaps a female arm, because the sleeve was pale and
shimmered a bit. Some kind of metallic fabric, an evening gown or blouse, not the type a man
would typically wear unless he was very flamboyant.»
«Tell me about Jim.»
«He materialized out of thin air right here. Very dramatic.» I raised my head. «Ah. Probably
jumped off this balcony.» I recounted the conversation. «That's all I got. Didn't see the body. Didn't
get any details.»
Curran's face took on this odd look. It looked almost like admiration. «Not bad. Natural recall or
something the Order taught you?»
I shrugged. «Not the Order. My father. And it's not perfect. I typically forget the most important
item on my shopping list. But I'm trained to evaluate the situation for possible dangers, and seven
shapeshifters packing away a dead body in the middle of the night on a deserted road is a lot of
danger. Your turn to share.»
«A deal is a deal.» Curran stepped into the road with me. «She wasn't killed here. The scent of
blood is faint and the ground isn't stained, but still dirty so nobody rinsed the pavement off. The
body had been cut into at least six pieces. This is a dump site, chosen because one of our offices is
only eight blocks away. That's the closest they could get to our territory without being stopped by a
patrol. There were at least three of them, and they don't smell human. I don't know what they are,
but I don't like their scent.»
Better and better.
«Can't tell you much more than that, except that Jim had his best cleanup crew with him. I know
every person you described. They're very good at what they do.»
And none of them had said anything to him about it. The million-dollar question was why?
«Once accepted, the assistance of the Order can't be declined,» I told him. «I'm now part of this
investigation. That means I'll have to come into your territory and ask uncomfortable questions.»
«I have some questions to ask as well.» Liquid gold drowned Curran's eyes. The tiny hairs on the
back of my neck stood on their ends. I really didn't want to be Jim right now.
«I'll contact you to schedule time for the interviews.» He turned and walked away, leaving me in
the middle of the street. Beast Lord, a man beyond mundane niceties like good-bye and thank you.
As I walked back to civilization, I realized that for the first time in the six months I had known
Curran, we had managed to have a conversation and part ways without wanting to kill each other. I
found that fact deeply troubling.
CHAPTER 7
A SMALL BROWN-PAPER PARCEL WAITED FOR ME by the door of my apartment. I
stopped and pondered why in the world it hadn't been stolen. The apartment, which I had inherited
from Greg, wasn't in the worst part of town but not in the best one either. My guardian hadn't been
concerned with security; he'd bought the apartment because it was close to the Order.
I frowned at the parcel. It lay on the grimy landing before my new door-the old one had to be
replaced when a demon burst through it. I'd built a bit of a reputation in the neighborhood as that
crazy bitch with a sword who lives in 32B, an image I carefully cultivated, but even so, an
unattended parcel should have been pilfered within seconds of hitting the ground.
Maybe it was booby-trapped.
I pulled out Slayer. The light filtering through the grimy window above me caught the opaque,
nearly white metal of the saber, layering a nacre sheen along the blade. I nudged the package with
the saber's tip and dodged just in case.
Nothing.
The package lay quietly. Yes, yes, and as soon as I picked it up, it would sprout blades and slice
my hands to ribbons.
I crouched, cut across the cord securing the paper, and carefully slid the paper aside, revealing
green silk and a little card. I picked up the card. Please call me. Saiman.
I swore under my breath and took the parcel inside the apartment. My answering machine
indicated no messages. Nothing from Derek.
I tore the paper and dumped the contents of the parcel onto my bed. A pair of wide silk pants,