Minach stormed through the dark stone hallway under Hampstead Heath towards Domnal, one of the Guild’s newer members, who stood frozen in silence as he awaited his grim-faced colleague.

“What’s going on?” Minach snarled. “Aramis called me and said I needed to get down here. What’s the meaning of this secrecy? Why didn’t someone call Lumen if something important has occurred?”

Domnal wore a serious expression, a grey veil of sorrow hanging over his features. “Lumen is home with the baby, and we knew he wouldn’t want to leave Neko alone. But someone, a senior member of the Guild, needed to hear about what’s happened…” He paused, swallowing hard, almost as if he was afraid of Minach’s coming reaction.

“Well, what is it, man? Spit it out, for fuck’s sake!”

“It’s Kliev…he…” Domnal slammed his mouth shut, clearly intimidated by the larger shifter, whose breaths were beginning to sound more like feral growls. Minach could feel his Dragon pressing against his insides, tense, angered by the other shifter’s hesitancy.

“Damn it, Domnal, I haven’t got all day to stand around while you figure out how to form words.” Minach knew that his voice was as frightening as any Dragon’s. It seemed he’d woken up on the wrong side of everything that morning.

“He’s dead,” Domnal rasped, his voice shattering with the words. Whether through sorrow or fear didn’t much matter. “His throat was cut. It must have happened last night, when he was on his way here for the birth.”

Minach’s shoulders sank almost immediately, the blood rushing away from his face as his body threatened to collapse under the weight of his shock. This couldn’t be true, surely. Who would kill Kliev, and why? “What the fuck did you just say to me?” he breathed.

“I found him lying on the Heath early this morning, not too far from here. Aramis and I carried his body down to the vaults to await instructions from you.”

“How is this even possible?” Minach asked. But he knew perfectly well. There were many suspects; the Hunters’ Syndicate was well acquainted with any number of men and women who were skilled with blades. Some worked as the mercenary assassins known as Hashes. It was entirely possible that one of them had been hired to do the job. But how any human could have managed to take down such a shifter was a baffling mystery, to say the least.

“No one saw anything, Kliev was alone,” Domnal replied. “It could have been anyone.”

“Yes, it could, but there had to have been a motive,” Minach said. “Nothing was taken from him, I assume? There’s no chance that it was a mugging?”

“Well, no, it’s not likely,” said Domnal. “He was carrying a wallet that contained fifty pounds. It hadn’t been touched.”

“Good, well there’s that, at least.” Minach knew that he was being cold in neglecting to acknowledge the pain that Kliev’s death would cause the Guild. The dead shifter had been the oldest member of the organization, and loyal. He’d served Dragonkind for centuries, risking his life again and again to protect his own species. Now, just like that, someone had snuffed it out.

One thing was certain: whoever had killed him was a fucking coward.

“Take me to the place where you left him,” Minach said quietly, doing his best to maintain his composure as Domnal pivoted to lead him down the hall. A few minutes later they were turning down the passage that led to the Guild’s vaults, a series of enormous locked rooms that held treasure worth millions of pounds.

After a moment Minach saw it: Kliev’s pale body, slumped against the wall, his light blue shirt soaked in dark stains. Though his eyes were still open, their brightness had long since faded.

Minach knelt down before him, reaching a hand out to seal his eyelids. “Go get Aramis and bring him to me,” he commanded quietly. Domnal sprinted away, likely grateful for the opportunity to make a quick exit from his daunting fellow shifter.

“Why would someone do this to you, old friend?” Minach asked when he was alone with the body. “Did they know what you were? Is that it?” Kliev was more than a simple Dragon shifter. He was a Kindred, a descendant of the line of Earth. The Guild had long assumed that he would be the one to locate the fourth Relic, once he’d found his Seeker. No one had pressured him, of course; Kliev had long since given up on the prospect of finding a mate. Centuries ago, he’d loved a woman and it seemed cruel to ask him to replace her. Minach knew little of the romance, other than that Kliev had a family once, and in recent years he’d seemed to enjoy his solitude. If his killer had known of his importance, it was entirely possible that Kliev had been targeted to prevent the Guild’s acquisition of the Relic of Earth.

Minach sat down on the cold stone next to his longtime friend and pressed the back of his head to the wall. He would have to see to it that the others were informed, and that Kliev had a suitable burial. Just as tradition dictated that the Guild be present for a birth, they must be present to honour a death.

Minach shut his eyes, fighting back the hot tears that wanted to slip down his stubbled cheeks.

He was not a man who cried. He’d long since forced his tear ducts to all but seal up in favour of the icy exterior that he wore as a protective mask. A fortress of a man, he rarely let anyone see his torment, and Kliev’s death would be no exception.

He wished more than anything that he could speak to Amara. He wished for her eyes, her voice, the calm that she inspired in him. God, he wished she were here with him. He wanted to lay his head in her lap and ask her to stroke his hair, to tell him that everything would be all right. She could be his comfort. His Dragon, too, wished for the company of the Enlightened. But even more than that, he wanted to avenge his fallen friend. To explode from Minach’s chest and seek the killer who’d so cruelly stolen such a noble beast from within the Guild’s ranks.

After a few minutes, Aramis and Domnal rounded the corner towards him. Minach rose to his feet, wiping his eyes quickly, his face set in a grim frown.

“Carry the body to the Guild’s chamber and lay him on the table,” he said coldly. “I want a guard on that room until tomorrow. Do you understand?”

Both men nodded and proceeded to lift Kliev. As they did so, a large, dark stain revealed itself on the stone wall behind him.

“There may be more blood,” Aramis protested when he saw it.

“I don’t care,” Minach snarled. “Let his blood stain the table. It will serve as a reminder of our ongoing battle against the forces that want to take us down.”

The men nodded silently and proceeded on their way. Kliev must have weighed well over two hundred and fifty pounds, but the men moved him easily. Strong young shifters, thought Minach. May they live as long as the man they’re carrying did.

They entered the chamber and lay him on the long wooden surface. Minach was turning to leave the room when something caught his eye: strange markings, scattered among the streaks of dried blood along Kliev’s collarbone.

“This is odd,” he said as he bent down to look more closely.

Domnal leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the spot that Minach was examining. “What is it?” he asked.

“The veins around Kliev’s wound have gone black, as though his blood had been poisoned,” Minach replied, looking up. “This could give us the lead that we need. Or it could be a misdirect, intended to cast suspicion on hired assassins.” He pivoted on his heel, marching out of the room. “I’m going to speak to Lumen,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ll be in touch with details about the burial.”

* * *

Minach found Lumen in his flat under Hyde Park, sitting quietly at the kitchen table. The Alpha, exhausted from lack of sleep, looked up with a smile when his friend walked in. But his expression altered the moment he saw Minach’s eyes. For once his friend didn’t look merely surly; he looked downright crushed by the weight of the world.

“Good God, what is it? What’s happened?”

“I’m sorry to bring you such awful news during what should be the happiest time of your life,” the black-haired shifter replied, slouching down in the chair opposite his Alpha’s. Just last night he’d conveyed the news of Lumen’s child’s birth to Amara, and now here he was, a messenger bearing a horrible piece of information. “Where’s Neko?” he asked, looking around. He didn’t have the heart to dump news of Kliev’s death on her so soon after her ordeal.

“She and the baby are sleeping in the bedroom,” Lumen said, speaking in a hushed tone. “Please, just tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s Kliev. He’s been murdered on the Heath.”

“Murdered?” Lumen barely breathed the word. No doubt he was afraid that its sound would pollute his happy home. “By whom?”

“That’s just it; we don’t know. His throat was cut, and it appears that the blade they used was dosed with some sort of poison. It explains why he never showed up last night. I must say, it shocks me that he was caught on foot, let alone that anyone was able to overpower him.”

“He did like going for walks on the Heath,” Lumen said, scratching at his scruffy chin. “He’s always found peace in wandering alone. Do you suppose the killer was targeting him specifically?”

“I can’t say, any more than you can. But I can certainly think of a motive.”

“Me too. It’s entirely likely that this was a deliberate hit. Executed impressively, given Kliev’s skill level. The man had fought in more battles than any of us. Whoever did this wants to make sure we don’t get our hands on the fourth Relic.”

“Yes, it looks that way, doesn’t it?” Minach was still managing to conceal his emotions, but barely. Talking of possible killers was pulling his Dragon to the surface. The beast was ready to hunt, to fight, to kill.

Lumen, on the other hand, was handling the news like a true Alpha. He always managed to seem stoic and calm. The ultimate leader, rarely revealing rage, sadness or fear, he simply got the job done. “The Relics are safe, at least,” he said. “I moved them from under the Heath a while back, and they’re hidden in a very secure place.”

“How can you be sure? If Kliev wasn’t safe…”

“I can only say that they’re in the best protected location on the planet. I won’t tell you where, for your own sake. But should something happen to me, you’ll know. In the meantime, our most important task is to give Kliev a proper burial. He has no immediate family left, as I understand it. So it will be to the Guild to look after the service.”

“I’m assuming that we’ll bury him on his family’s land, north of the city. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to deal with it sooner rather than later.”

“Fine,” said Lumen, rising to his feet. “After we’ve looked after his body, we can discuss the dilemma of the fourth Relic.”

A sigh pushed its way out from somewhere deep inside his chest. “This is no simple dilemma. We’re well and truly fucked. The only known Dragon shifter in the line of Earth is dead. Our hunt for the Relics is over.”

“We’re not fucked. There is always a way, Minach,” Lumen replied. A hint of sadness had penetrated his voice at last; even the Alpha couldn’t hold all his emotion in for long. “The problem is that we need to figure out how to proceed. Do me a favour and contact the other Guild members, would you? Have them spread the word that we’ll bury Kliev at his home tomorrow afternoon. I need them all there.”

Minach rose to his feet and nodded. “Of course,” he said. “I’ll do it straight away.”

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Lumen said, dragging himself towards the hallway, “I’m going to go hug my mate and our child close.”

“Does the baby have a name yet?” asked Minach.

“Ah,” Lumen replied, stopping in the doorway. “That will have to wait a little while longer.”