Her uncertainty increased my fear.

“Who gave you permission to be so greedy?” the one in the long black coat asked, turning his face away from us. He had dark brown hair and was slightly thinner, but very tall, taller than Larissa.

“Get out of my way!” the bald man pressed out. He sounded angry, furious and demanding.

“You're too conspicuous.”

The other man pressed his hand against the psycho's chest, who didn't seem to like it at all.

“What would yourNicolajsay if he knew how much you're out of hispreferred manner?” the bald man snapped back.

The dark-haired man seemed to feel offended, which was why he wrapped his fingers around the other's neck to push him back a little further.

“Nicolaj wouldn't want us causing indiscriminate damage within his territory, don't you understand? There's far more at stake here than your hunger.”

The psycho shoved him away, back toward us.

“It's too late, they've already seen us in our dark form.”

Larissa did something very clever and slowly put on her helmet.

Both men immediately turned toward us. The psychopath was unchanged, but the other one also seemed to have a problem with his eyes, because they had become just as dark. Completelyblack. He was a little younger, maybe in his late thirties, and more attractive, albeit dangerous and threatening. And he seemed to be eyeing us.

Then I recognized his silhouette.

My eyes widened, and his gaze lingered on me.

No doubt about it.Thiswas the man from the street yesterday. And he seemed to know that I recognized him.

“Can't you smell it, too? And you know what that means... Theybothhave it in them. If Nicolaj knew what a treasure we'd found, he'd be delighted.”

I didn't know what that meant, and I didn'twantto know. The dark-haired man seemed to be thinking about the other's words while eyeing us, which didn't make it any better. But above all, he was looking at Larissa in a strange way.

I just wanted to disappear. But Larissa didn't move.

“They've seen us, Tristan. We can't let them go now,” the psychopath laughed loudly and approached again.

That was the last straw for me. I wouldn't stay here another second.

I pulled Larissa onto the bike.

“Drive!” I shouted loudly and Larissa started the engine.

But the bald man suddenly jumped in front of the vehicle in a flash and held it with his sheer physical strength.

What the...

“I'm afraid that's not going to happen, pretty ladies,” he laughed disgustingly and showed us his filthy teeth.

Then everything happened far too quickly. A shadow pulled the man in front of us away from the bike so that Larissa simply shot off, and I struggled to hold on to her without slipping backwards. Larissa accelerated more and more. I looked around, where I could vaguely make out that a third figure seemed to be fighting with the psychopath. He simply flew through the air into a tree, then the brown-haired man disappeared into the forest, leaving the bald man behind withwhateverhad just appeared in front of us.

Larissa took the first curve, then the second and finally the third. Another long section of road followed.

I looked around again to make sure no one was following us, but the fact that no one was there didn't reassure me one bit.

What in God's name had just happened?

I realized that it hadn't been one of the Copelands.