Page 38 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

Before Dom continued his search through Stupool’s streets, he pathed the OC.Ike, our informant, is dead.He waited for the bomb to explode.

What do you mean dead?

Extincted. Ashed,Dom explained.

May I assume it was not you?

Yep. Did you order it?

I did not. Nor did I perform the deed myself. That leaves Michael, Ohngel, Ely, or Remi.

Not the Feard.

After a pause, the OC pathed,Check out Lucian.

Lucian? Him again? Dom wondered if he could believe the OC. The male was enigmatic at best. A downright deceiver at worst. He wouldn’t put it past him to be playing a game, a court diversion. Lay a mystery at the feet of the Feard. Scatter puzzle pieces, such as an extincted Scourge. Watch his assassins hustle to find an answer. Very entertaining for the court. On the other hand, he doubted the OC would kidnap a human as part of the game. He had always been protective of the weak species, guarding their independence and self-determination. Also, the guy seemed surprised by the news of Ike’s extinction.

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Praevus watched thewinged assassins from a rooftop. What he saw was not good. Dom, Ely, Remi, Ohngel and some female riding a winged beast. Though they were targeting him, that’s not what caught his attention. Somebody had extincted Ike.

He was certain Dom hadn’t done the deed because Praevus had been here when the body was found. The others who landed after the onyx-winged assassin claimed innocence. Somebody else had offed Ike. Not that Praevus cared. Served the guy right for ratting him out. But who, if not the Feard? And who had his back and showed it by extincting the snitch for his betrayal? Couldn’t be Serita.No. She was too busy regenerating since he had taken the human from her.

Praevus flattened himself to the roof when Ely and Remi took to the skies. With his dark clothes and wings pulled over him like a blanket, they wouldn’t spot him.

He believed what he’d overheard. None of the Feard had done the deed. Hence, Praevus concluded that Serita’s fellow rebels were powerful. Did he want to be aligned with Immortals and Scourges who had access to such abilities? While he thought he was spectacular, he harbored no belief he ran in those circles.No. Friends like that were to be feared, not joined.

Praevus had agreed to be Serita’s go-to guy, but by stealing Madeline from her, he was in deep shit. And he had no desire to stick around waiting for an assassin’s blade. He believed in saving his own skin above all else.

He swallowed, his throat dry, gritty. Snapping out his leathery wings, he jumped off the backside of the roof and soared into the air.

He flew for hours, thinking. Serita had approached him with a deal.I and my compatriot need someone to run errands. You can skip your punishments. You’ll get a plush apartment.Only an idiot would pass on the deal. He was no idiot. For the perks he only had to carry messages between certain Scourges or trustees. Even trustees in Angor were unable to use telepathy and few had access to cellphones.

Then shit turned to dung. Praevus saw Madeline and his urges took hold. Now, the winged assassins were on his tail, thanks to Ike, who was an empty, dry shell about to be scattered in a stiff breeze.

Had Serita been in cahoots with beings so dangerous they could extinct an Immortal? Impossible. Only an elite few had that skill.

Yeah. Yeah. He’d already told himself that.

He pounded his head.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Praevus was between two oncoming hurricanes barreling toward him at high speed. He had one goal. To save his neck. If the Feard found him, and they would, he’d end up like Ike, nothing more than a husk lying in some dirty street under a blanket.

He hadn’t taken the deal offered by Serita to end up extincted. He’d just wanted a reprieve from punishment. The new apartment was a bonus. He figured he’d have fun for a while before he was hauled back to do penance at the Ordeals.

Then he’d screwed up by taking the female.

His wings tired and his thoughts muddled, Praevus landed on a remote mountain where he extracted a cell phone from his pocket. Serita had given it to him for emergencies. This fit the bill. He had two numbers stored. Serita’s and her co-conspirator’s, a number he was to call only in an emergency. He hit it now. “What the fuck have you gotten me into?” he asked.

The accomplice sighed. “Who is this?”

“Praevus.”

“Where is Serita? I can’t reach her?”

“I don’t know.” What story could he use? “She seemed nervous. Asked me to take the human. I did. Now I’ve got assassins breathing up my ass.”

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