Page 34 of Shadow Dreaming

“You don’t have a clue. You think you do, but you don’t.” He turned to stare me down.

Weirdly, a part of me believed him. There was something in his voice that said he was telling the truth. And if he was, what did that mean?

“You have a chance to work with us instead of against us. You have the opportunity to keep your skin intact.” I folded my arms, feeling the inner flames start to rise.

“Your friend is safe, for now. She hasn’t been hurt. But as to where she is, I have no idea. She’s not my problem anymore.” He stepped back as I took a step forward. “You really are a demoness, aren’t you?”

“Half,” I said. “And uncontrolled. You really don’t want to piss me off.”

My frustration was growing. He knew he wasn’t getting away from us scot-free, so it boggled my mind that he was being so blustery. Of course, we had ambushed him, but we weren’t the ones who had kidnapped an innocent woman.

He hesitated and, for the first time, I saw fear in his eyes. I decided to capitalize on that fear. If he was already showing some anxiety, then I’d up the ante.

“You know what an uncontrolled demon can do. And a half-demon, who’s coming into her powers, who has an axe to grind? Just as dangerous as a full-blood demon. Tell me, do you really want to position yourself against me?” I shot a glance at Orik, who took another step in, and Dante and Duran followed suit.

“If I refuse to cooperate, are you going to kill me?” Sweat began to trickle down his face.

“There are things far worse than death,” I said. I reached out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him toward me. “Where’s Penn?”

He hesitated for another second and I tightened my grip.

“All right, all right, you can loosen your grip,” he said. “I don’t know where she is. I organized the kidnapping, but I’m not the one who devised the plans in the first place. I don’t even know the full extent of why my contacts wanted her. I wasn’t given the information of where to take her beyond a transfer point.” His eyes weren’t lying.

I slowly loosened my grip on his shirt. “We’re going to get in the van and you’re going to tell us everything.”

Orik had brought the van. We all climbed in and sat down, Terrance in the center.

“Tell us what you know.”

“Why should I? If you let me go, you’ll know that I’ll run right to them and warn them,” he said. “You wouldn’t believe me if I said I’d keep quiet. You’re going to kill me. I know it.”

“No, we’re not,” I said.

“Listen to me,” Dante interjected. “We know you’re going to keep your mouth shut out of self-preservation. If you warn them about what’s happened, they’ll blame you for spilling the tea, and they’re not going to forgive you, are they? They’ll rough you up pretty bad, if they don’t kill you. Maybe even make sure you don’t snitch again by cutting out your tongue?”

Apparently Dante knew enough about scare tactics that he hit on a secret fear, because the color drained from Terrance’s face and he froze in his seat.

“And if you don’t talk to us,” Dante continued, “we’ll make sure you remember us forever. You know I’m telling you the truth, right?”

Terrance slumped and he rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid. What do you want to know?” He looked defeated.

“Do you know where she is?” I asked.

He shrugged. “No, I don’t.”

“Who ordered her kidnapping?” Dante asked.

After a long sigh, Terrance said, “Jiles Smithson. He’s the local head haunch for Brim Fire.”

I caught my breath, and glanced at my fingers. Something was shifting, and my nails were morphing, growing longer into talons.

“Kyann,” Dante said with a warning tone in his voice. “You’re changing.”

“I can feel it,” I said, trying to keep my cool. My temper was rising, though, and I could feel my features shifting. I’d never seen myself when I changed, but my forehead felt different, and I was having a harder time keeping control of myself. I turned to Terrance. “What aren’t you telling us?” The words came out in a growl.

He flinched, his eyes widening. He held his hands out in front of him. “Okay, okay, don’t hurt me. Jiles Smithson is part of the Crystal Court. He’s there as an undercover agent for Brim Fire. We managed to bring him over to our side.”

I stared at him. Brim Fire had infiltrated the Crystal Court? What the hell was going on?

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