“I’ll be back then,” she said with a little wave of her fingers.

Lexi wanted to gag. Here was a young woman flirting with evil. It was there in his eyes, in his smile, if she would only open her eyes and see it. Sure he might be handsome, but there was something darker, malicious, that no amount of good looks could overcome.

She strode out of the co-op, intending to find the woman and warn her. Lexi ignored the rain and ran after the girl.

“Wait!” Lexi called as the woman hailed a taxi and jumped inside. “Wait! Please!”

Lexi got there just as the taxi pulled away. “Damn,” she mumbled.

She squared her shoulders and glanced at the store. Once she was finished with her scouting, she would return and warn the woman then.

After finding a hiding place to watch people, it only took twenty minutes before Lexi spotted her first Red Eyes. He was with a group, and then branched off alone.

His hair was black and laced with silver, and it was cut short like the man who had murdered Christina. Lexi’s heart pounded in her chest. Could she have found him?

She remained on the opposite side of the street, slowly following him. Her hands itched to feel the hilt of the knife in her palm. It took every last shred of control for her to walk as if she weren’t trailing a murderer.

Her stomach rolled as she watched woman after woman—young to the very old—gaze at him as if he were some god. He was a monster, and it sickened her that no one else knew it.

Someone bumped into her shoulder. It jarred Lexi enough to make her realize she had begun to walk so fast she was nearly jogging. She paused and made herself look away from the killer.

Lexi turned to look in a store window to get control of herself. In the glass, she could see him behind her. He stopped and swiveled his head in her direction.

Her blood turned to ice in her veins as fear took her. Her breath buffed around her, past her parted lips. She was terrified of getting too close. All of the Red Eyes were pure malevolence. No one in their right mind wanted to get near that.

Except for her. And she just needed to get close enough to see if he was Christina’s killer.

He was looking at her. She couldn’t blow her cover now, not if she wanted to succeed in bringing him down. If she thought the police would do anything, she would call D.I. MacDonald right now. But she wasn’t a fool. She knew they wouldn’t be able to do anything.

No, her best course of action was to kill him herself. Lexi had never taken a life before, but she didn’t think her soul would go to hell for stopping evil. Then again, it was a chance she would take to save others. Edinburgh had dozens of serial killers and didn’t even know it.

How many? She had lost count of the many men and women she spotted with red eyes. There were more men, but since she also knew they could change their look, she couldn’t be sure of her count.

Change. She shook her head. How was it possible for someone to switch their eye or hair color in the blink of an eye? That wasn’t possible.

Lexi shifted her gaze back to where she had last seen Red Eyes and jerked when she found him gone. She remained where she was and used the window as a mirror to see if he had moved.

She released a sigh when she found him farther up the street. Lexi knew she had to take her time in following him. There was crucial information she needed, like where he lived, who were his accomplices, and how he killed.

The weight of her knife along her inner forearm made her feel safe. At least if she was approached she wasn’t without a means to attack.

*   *   *

“The lass is daft,” Darius whispered.

Thorn pressed his lips together. She was certainly insane. “At least she’s keeping her wits about her.”

“She thinks there’s only one Dark, but there are three others watching her.”

Thorn clenched his right hand into a fist. “We doona have to keep hidden from the Dark, but I also doona want the mortal to know we’re helping her.”

Darius jerked his head around to spear Thorn with a confused look. “She’s already met you.”

“Aye, and I was here just a few weeks ago protecting a Druid. Look how that turned out.”

“You mean because Warrick fell for Darcy?”

Thorn cut him a scathing look. “I doona fear falling for a human, because I know it willna happen.”

“Then what is it?”

“I doona want her to know of us.”

Darius grinned knowingly. “Riiiight. And it has nothing to do with the fact that every time a King comes in close contact with a mortal recently that they end up as mates?”

“That female knows there’s something different about the Dark. If she learns about them from us, we’ll have to tell her who and what we are. I’d rather no’.”

Darius looked back at her. “She’s attractive.”

“I suppose.”

“If you like stubborn, courageous women with stormy gray eyes and long hair.”

Thorn blew out a breath, hoping Darius would shut up.

“She’s smart, too.”

“Then go for her.” Thorn didn’t know why he said it. The words just came out of nowhere.

Darius shrugged. “I just might.”

“And find a mate?” This time Thorn cringed. He knew better than to bring up mates around Darius, but he had been thrown so off-kilter at the thought of Darius pursuing the mortal that he hadn’t thought about his words.

Darius didn’t say a word, but the stiffening of his body relayed more than his words ever could.

“Plenty of us share our beds with humans and doona fall in love,” Darius said, his voice low and raw. He glanced at Thorn. “Besides, I’m no’ the one who feels obligated to watch over this mortal.”

Thorn looked back at her. Her black coat kept the rain from her, but the rest of her was soaked. If she wasn’t careful, she could end up sick. By her pale skin and dark circles under her eyes yesterday, she was already weakened.

“We’re going to have to kill these four Dark,” Thorn said.

Darius’s smile was eager. “You doona hear me complaining, do you?”

“The leader of this group is playing the female. He knows she’s following him.”

“Too bad for him he’s about to die.”

“Aye. I’m all broken up about it,” Thorn said as he stepped from around the building and went to the Dark who was following the mortal.

Thorn slammed his hand into the Dark’s chest, sending the Fae flying back into an alley.

CHAPTER

FIVE

It was over too quickly. Thorn stared down at the dead Dark as he braced a hand on the Fae’s chest and pulled back the dagger that had ended the Dark’s life.

The Fae were immortal, as were the Dragon Kings. But just like the Kings, there was a way to kill the Fae. Weapons forged in the Fires of Erwar could end a Fae’s life. Thorn had gotten his dagger during the Fae Wars after killing a Dark commander.

Thorn straightened and turned to look around the corner in time to catch sight of the female. He found her easily enough, but there were two more Dark focused on her.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Thorn spotted Darius making his way to the Dark from atop the roofs.

Thorn looked around for more Fae and then slipped out of the alley. He kept his head down as he walked with the crowds who didn’t seem to care that the rain had begun to fall in a steady drizzle again.

He kept his strides long, eating up the pavement without drawing attention to himself. It wasn’t until he saw the Dark begin to close in on the female that he ducked between buildings and took to the roofs.

If he didn’t get to her, the human would die. Thorn bent low on the rooftops, just in case the Dark happened to be watching. He and Darius were risking a lot by both being out in the open to save the woman.

Thorn cursed when the Dark she was following led her down a quiet street. He crept silently and peered over the side of the roof just as the female halted. She turned on her heel and started to return the way she had come, but three Fae stood in her path.