Page 274 of Sigils & Spells

Gavin walked over, “Was anyone missing this morning?”

“No,” René responded. “All fangsters are accounted for but … we have one more missing fang.”

I cringed. “Who?”

“Joy Graves, the oldest of us. We’ve sedated her, because she went ballistic. I hope to be able to question her soon.”

I swallowed. “We’ve ruled out the mages and Claudia. That leaves us with the theory that the Fang Hunter is a stranger. And I have no idea where to start looking for them.”

“What about the staff?” Claudia asked. “They’re as creepy as they come.”

CHAPTER10

Tick Tock– 6 hours left.

While Renéand Gavin oversaw the search teams for the Fang Hunter, I spent hours going through the student and staff personnel files thinking that maybe I had missed something, came up with nothing. Yeah, the vampire students had all exhibited less than appropriate behavior during their undead lives, but they did nothing unexpected for night stalkers. There were no signs that any of them would be involved in selling vampire body parts on the black market. It would be not only a morally reprehensible thing for them to do; it would also be plain stupid. Few dared to challenge the number one law of the vampire code—thou shalt not harm another vampire for financial gain.

Just the thought of doing so made me wince. Not because of what the law states, but because of all it doesn’t state. Clearly, vampires considered it fine to harm another vampire for jealousy, or entertainment, but you couldn’t do it if a price tag was involved. I shook my head. Would I ever understand vampire culture? If Onyx was here, he would argue that the undead had come to this decision through living immortal lives that spanned centuries, and therefore it held a wisdom beyond my small mortal brain’s comprehension. I shivered. Even in his absence, the shadow man got under my skin.

Harvey put his paw on my hand. “So, the files on your staff reveal little of interest. What’s your next step?”

“More research,” I groaned and flicked on an Internet search window.

Within the hour my eyes burned from spending so much time on the screen, and as I studied the fang trade my screaming headache intensified.

“But what did you learn?” asked Harvey who snoozed while I worked.

“The one fact that repeatedly jumps out me is that while lots of fangs are traded in the nine realms, vampire fangs are most prized. The bottom price for one fang is a million dollars, and the amount goes up depending on its age and heritage.”

I leaned back into my chair as the pre-dawn light glowed on the horizon heralding the start of another summer day.

“What now?” nagged Harvey.

“I’ll make a new to-do list.” I bit my lip. “This time I’ll focus on the academy.”

To-Do List

Plunge my head into a bowl of ice-cold water and scream.

Nail the Fang Hunter.

* * *

I hesitated on number three.Trained teams of supernatural beings and norm cops were out looking for Onyx and the Fang Hunter. What could I do, that they couldn’t? I tapped my pen on my desk for a minute, and then it dawned on me. The answer was simple.

“I don’t like the look on your face,” said Harvey, sitting up straight in his chair.

“I’m going to search the residences.” The vampires won’t let the cops down there. While the vampires did their own investigation of the crime scene, I had no way of knowing how thorough they were being. Besides, I might see something they didn’t. “I’ll use my witch senses.”

Harvey thumped his paw on his forehead. “Alessandro forbade you to go down there. He said in no uncertain words to not … go … there.” The rabbit sniffed. “I think he added, ever.”

“I have no choice.”

“He said never. Ever. Darlin’.”

“I have … no … choice.”

“It’s dangerous, my witch.”

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