“I don’t know too many details. The most immediate problem is the murder of a young girl the other night that has attracted the attention of the world media. It looks suspicious.”

I bit my tongue against the first argument that came to mind and continued to walk down the street in silence. Mira should be able to cover up her own messes, but now that Themis had established a “relationship” with the nightwalker, it seemed we felt it was in our best interest to be nosing around her domain at the first opportunity.

And in truth, despite my growing fatigue and aching body, I was beginning to see the benefit myself. Whether she liked it or not, Mira was a member of the nightwalker coven. The four Elders were the ruling elite among the vampires along with their liege lord. Maintaining my association with Mira kept me close to the coven and one step closer to their liege. If I had any hope of being able to take down the elite of the vampire race, it was going to be through my continued association with Mira.

“When will a plane be ready to take me to the New World?” I muttered after a lengthy silence.

“I should be able to have something waiting for you within the next few hours,” James said with a sigh of relief. “I’ll have more information waiting when you land. Ryan asked that you check out the city.”

“I know,” I grumbled. “See if I can get a sense of the chaos.”

“Try to keep a low profile—Ryan wanted me to stress that this is a delicate situation.”

I resisted the urge to snap. James was simply relaying Ryan’s instructions, no matter how unnecessary they were. I knew how to keep a low profile and observe from a distance. This wasn’t my first mission for Themis.

“Am I to contact Mira when the sun sets?”

“No!” James cleared his throat awkwardly. “No, that’s not necessary. She’ll be in contact with you.”

Something was wrong with this whole situation, but I doubted that I was going to get any kind of valuable information out of James. Ryan had a habit of keeping those around him in the dark about his ultimate plans until it was far too late.

“Are the naturi involved?” I asked suddenly. I could only guess that the dark race of nature lovers was once again causing havoc within Mira’s domain.

“We don’t know yet. It’s a possibility. It’s why we need you on the ground in Savannah. You’re the only one we have that can clearly read the situation.”

“I’ll grab my stuff from the hotel and head to the airport,” I said. “Once I get a handle on the situation in Savannah, I’ll call again.”

“I have a feeling that you’ll be hearing from us sooner than that.” James sighed softly. However, before I could ask him about that comment, the phone line went dead. Snapping the phone shut, I shoved it back into my pocket. This did not bode well at all. Ryan was definitely up to something and I had a feeling that Mira was involved as well. I couldn’t have Ryan interfering. I may be able to control Mira’s powers, but I wanted more from her. I wanted her help in destroying the coven, and I couldn’t allow the warlock to become involved in my plans.

It was barely after nine in the morning when I hit the street in Savannah. Squinting against the bright sunlight, I rubbed my eyes and stifled a yawn as I stepped out onto River Walk. The wind sweeping up from the river was cold, cutting through my leather jacket, which sported a few new tears following last night’s encounter. In fact, by the way the tourists were looking at me, I realized that I looked little better than a semi-crazed homeless person. My hair was wild and unkempt, and my clothes were dirty and wrinkled. I hadn’t bothered to shave in more than three days and I hadn’t slept in two nights. My flight from Spain to Savannah had been plagued with turbulence.

I walked down the street, taking in the handful of tourists popping in and out of the gift shops and hopping on the trolley that trundled around the historic district of the city. All seemed quiet enough. Of course, at this moment, all the nightwalkers were safely ensconced in their secret lairs, the lycanthropes were their day jobs, and any other creatures would be acting like normal human beings. I wouldn’t be able to find out much until the sun actually set once again.

Pausing at one corner, I contemplated walking back and catching a few hours of sleep. However, a bit of yellow police tape flapping in the wind caught my attention. I turned the corner and headed up the hill toward a wide alleyway known as Factors Walk. James had not mentioned where the girl had been murdered, but the one place it would make the biggest stink would be near River Walk, where most of the tourists flocked during the day.

“You don’t want to go up there,” called a young voice at my back.

I twisted around to find a young girl of no more than fourteen years sitting against the side of a building. Her hands were tucked under her arms against the bitter wind and her arms and chin rested on her bent knees. She was staring straight ahead at the building across from her as if some part of her was still trying to ignore my presence, but for some reason she had spoken up.

“Why not?” I asked.

“The Dark Walk ain’t safe anymore,” she said, still refusing to look up at me. “Stay down by the river.”

I turned and took a couple steps closer to the young girl so that I was now standing directly in front of her. “What’s changed? I’ve been on Factors Walk before.”

The girl shrugged one shoulder. A quick glance over the young woman revealed that she honestly didn’t look much better than me. Her clothes were dirty and worn, just a motley collection that worked to keep her warm against the cold. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and a smudge of dirt covered some of her freckles.

“Is it just at night that the Walk is dangerous?” I pressed.

“Night. Day. It really doesn’t matter. It hangs out there, waiting.”

“Is that where the girl was killed?”

The girl seemed to shrink in on herself, as if trying to protect herself. “Yes,” she whispered.

“And the killer is still around here somewhere?”

“He’s always around somewhere,” she replied.

“Then that’s exactly what I want to hear.”

Turning, I started up the hill again only to feel a sharp tug on the right sleeve of my jacket. I looked down to find the girl tightly holding onto my arm with both hands. Her head remained down, her eyes locked on the ground.

“You can’t go up there,” she commanded, raising her voice for the first time.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, trying to use my most reassuring voice. “I’ve faced all kinds of dark things and survived. I can handle this.”

“There’s been nothing like this in Savannah before,” she replied, finally looking up at me. Her brown eyes went wide and she released me so fast that she nearly fell backward. I reached for her, but she quickly darted away from my reaching hand. She ran back down the hill, pausing only long enough to grab a worn backpack before disappearing out of sight.

Something about my appearance had scared her, but I couldn’t begin to guess at what. I wasn’t exactly looking my best, but she’d been talking to me before running in terror.

With a sigh, I resumed my trek up the hill to Factors Walk. As I reached the wide alley, I spotted a remnant of the police tape that had once cordoned off the area, tied to a lamppost. Even in the early-morning light, the alley was bathed in thick shadows thrown down by the buildings on one side and the high stone wall on the other side.

Factors Walk was a lonely strip of ground even in broad daylight. At night, River Walk was a hot spot for both tourists and locals with its trendy restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, and I had followed more than one vampire and its prey from the waterfront to the shadows of Factors Walk. Yet, I had never encountered anything there that would cause me a moment’s fear.