Standing in the middle of the alley, I closed my eyes and allowed my powers to stretch out to the cover the immediate area. I could sense humans milling about the River Walk nearby, more humans up in the building beside me. There were no naturi near, but there was at least one lycanthrope standing still at the far end of the alley, most likely watching me. So much for an unnoticed appearance within the city. At this rate, the only thing keeping Mira unaware of my presence in her domain was the fact that the sun was up.

I opened my eyes and frowned. I wasn’t surprised that I couldn’t find anything because I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for. Only when I saw the exact place where the girl was killed would I be able to possibly sense something, and even then it was a slim chance. But first I needed more information, and a local newspaper was good a place to start as any.

Unfortunately, it appeared that I first had some other business. As I reached River Walk again, I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk several feet from the three lycanthropes stalking me. I extended my arms from my body, hands open and my palms facing them. I could handle them, but I didn’t want a fight with three werewolves in downtown Savannah in broad daylight. It would go against my vow to preserve mankind’s ignorance of the supernatural species. It would also cripple the fragile peace within Mira’s domain.

Ignoring the two other werewolves, I turned my gaze on Nicolai. A few inches taller than me, he had thick blond hair and his copper-colored eyes were narrowed against the sun that was rising between us. Nicolai had been another of Mira’s unexpected acquisitions in Venice. She had claimed him after defeating him in a fair fight. She pressed her claim in an effort to keep him out of the hands of the naturi, and maybe even to tweak Jabari’s ego.

“Gromenko,” I said with a slight nod.

“Danaus. It’s been a while,” Nicolai matched my nod.

“Not since Venice.”

Nicolai frowned, deepening the lines that cut through his face as a soft grunt escaped him. The man appeared to be in his early thirties, but lycanthropes generally aged more slowly than normal humans. He may have been quite a bit older. Judging by the power rolling off of him, Nicolai was considerably stronger than his two companions, making me wonder if Nicolai had been close to alpha status in his last pack. Some werewolves were natural born alphas, while some could grow into the role under the right circumstances.

Nicolai shoved his hands into the pockets of his navy jacket, his eyes darting away from my face. “We were hoping we could talk to you about an important matter.”

“Of course.”

His jaw muscles jumped for a second before he finally spoke again. “Privately.” There was no missing the disgust in his voice.

“Naturally,” I replied, as my mouth twisted in a smirk. Nicolai’s eyes returned to my face and his frown eased. It was obvious that he didn’t want to be here, but he had most likely been stuck with this task because we knew each other. They assumed I would be more willing to cooperate with someone I was acquainted with than the two thugs hovering behind him like anxious shadows.

With a stiff nod, Nicolai turned. I followed behind Nicolai, and the two silent strangers fell into step behind me. I had nothing to worry about as long as we were on a public street, but a knot of anxiety twisted in my stomach when Nicolai stopped beside a plain white Toyota Camry and pulled open one of the rear doors. I slid into the backseat of the car. Nicolai closed the door behind me and got in the car on the other side of me, while his two companions climbed into the front seat. Wordlessly, we pulled out into the steadily growing traffic and headed farther east toward the edge of the city and the river. I was surprised no one had bothered to take my weapons away from me before I got into the car. This obviously wasn’t a social call. I kept my hands on my knees and stared straight ahead, memorizing where we were headed.

“Should I reschedule my other appointments for the day?” I asked, turning my head toward Nicolai. The driver jerked his head up so he could see us both in the rearview mirror.

“No, this won’t take long,” Nicolai said. His eyes remained out the window to his left.

“For who?” I mocked.

A half smile twisted on his face as his gaze jumped to my face. “Either of us.”

“Jabari?”

Nicolai winced, his shoulders stiffening. He met the gaze in the rearview mirror then looked out the window again. “I’ve not heard from him in a couple months. Not since before Mira left for Peru.” His voice was low, little more than a growl.

Prior to coming to Savannah, he had been a pet of sorts to a very old and powerful vampire named Jabari. Despite this, Jabari had attempted to give Nicolai over to the naturi, but Mira quickly claimed the werewolf and shipped him back to her domain. We all knew she was prolonging his life, not saving him. Jabari was even older than I was, and when he decided to strike back, his first act would be to kill Nicolai while he was under Mira’s protection.

The white Camry slipped outside the inner city onto the gray ribbon of highway that cradled Savannah to her east. But after only a couple minutes we pulled off onto what appeared to be a service road and turned south. The lycan stopped the car in front of a pair of enormous steel doors attached to a giant tan stone entrance that seemed to go under the city to the right of the highway.

The werewolf in the passenger seat jumped out and jogged over to the door. He quickly unlocked the padlock and shoved the doors open enough to let the Camry pass through. The driver flicked on the headlights as we pulled inside, but they barely made a dent in the darkness that swamped the underground room. And it got even darker when the shifter closed the doors behind us.

Leaning forward, I could make out the dirt floor and the rock walls that had been carved under a part of the city. Here and there crumbling red brick arches and pillars struggled to keep the ceiling from caving in. The ground was littered with large stones and the occasional beer bottle from its random and temporary occupants. The tunnel looked to be as old as the city itself and probably was. I had heard tales of pirates and rumrunners using tunnels that ran from the river to secret coves under the city. In fact, one was supposed to still run from the Pirate House restaurant not far from where we were sitting.

I felt a mocking smile rising within me. The tunnels explained why on more than one occasion I had sensed the presence of a vampire or werewolf moving around underground. I had initially thought that maybe a couple of the buildings downtown had secret tunnels connecting their underground parking garages. However, some of the locations had seemed too far-flung from the main core of the city to hold to that logic. Now that I knew, the creatures of the city had one less place to hide.

Beside me, Nicolai slid out of the car. I climbed out as well and walked around the back of the car over toward Nicolai, staying away from the headlights. My eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness of the tunnel. My night vision wasn’t as keen as a lycanthrope’s or a vampire’s, but it still was better than a human’s. As I slowly stepped closer to Nicolai, I let my powers sweep over the immediate area. I didn’t know how deep the tunnel ran or in which direction, but I could at least get a feel for who was close at hand. To my surprise, it was just the four of us and the rats.

“Why are you here?” demanded a rough voice from behind me. I turned to find the lycan that had driven the car circling me, edging into the shadows. Nicolai was leaning against the hood by the front left wheel. His arms were folded over his chest and he was staring down at the ground. He had done his part, and gotten me there.