Page 6 of Wolf Queen Ruin
“I assure you, my presence will be an asset, not a liability,” he said.“I have certain abilities that complement your skills.”
I snorted.“How wonderfully vague.”
“Says the woman who calls herself ‘The Ghost.’”There was that almost-smile again, like he found me amusing despite himself.
I sighed and returned to the photographs, ignoring the way his gaze made my skin prickle with awareness.“Let’s say, hypothetically, I believe this Shadow Fang exists and can do what the legends claim.Where is it, and why hasn’t someone already retrieved it?”
“Because it’s likely hidden in a location most consider inaccessible.And protected by safeguards designed specifically to keep out those who would misuse it.”
“Which means?”
Damien tapped the edge of the table once, twice, then proceeded carefully.“Our first step would be to obtain a more precise location.I know the Shadow Fang exists, but its exact whereabouts are…complicated.”
“Complicated how?”
“The information is fragmented, deliberately so.”He leaned forward, lowering his voice, though nobody was near enough to hear.“The Wolf Queen didn’t want just anyone finding her creation.We need to do a bit more digging to acquire the next piece of the puzzle.”
I leaned back, crossing my arms.“So you don’t actually know where it is.”
“I know more than anyone else who’s searching for it,” he countered.“And many are searching, believe me.”
That tracked.For as long as I’d been in this line of work, whispers swirled among supernatural treasure hunters about the elusive Shadow Fang.It would be a major find.Especially for me.
I sipped my coffee, my mind whirring.
“Your compensation,” Damien continued, sliding another document across the table.“Half up front, half upon successful retrieval.”
I glanced down and nearly choked on my coffee.The figure had enough zeros to cover my expenses, of which there were a lot, for several years, with enough left over to live somewhere with real walls instead of the converted storage closet at Dr.Felix’s place I currently called home.
“This is…substantial,” I said, my heart racing.
“The Shadow Fang is worth substantially more,” he replied.
I tapped my fingers against the table, thinking.Everything about this screamed “too good to be true.”People didn’t just offer that kind of money without severe strings attached.And Damien Cross definitely wasn’t telling me something, and that something made the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand up whenever he looked at me too long.
But then I thought about yesterday, before I’d left for the temple job in Japan.How the moss had spread to the corner of her eye, giving her the appearance of crying blue tears.
“I want to know what you’re not telling me,” I said finally, meeting his gaze.“You don’t strike me as the philanthropic type, Mr.Cross.What’s your real interest in the Shadow Fang?”
For a moment, something genuine flickered across his face, a flash of vulnerability quickly masked.
“I have someone important to me who is ill,” he said, his voice rougher than before.“Conventional treatments have failed.Time is running out.”
He was telling the truth, or at least part of it.My instincts for deception, honed through years of dealing with shady clients, told me that much.It was also hard to fake heartache.
But who important to him was ill?A wife?A girlfriend?
“And?”I pressed.
“And that’s all you need to know.”
I snorted.“Yeah, that’s not how this works.I need to know everything.No surprises, no hidden agendas.Full disclosure on what we’re looking for and what obstacles we might face.”
“I see…” He canted his head, still studying me.“Perhaps I’ll tell you later, then.”
“I workmyway,“ I continued.“If I say we back off, we back off.If I say a trap is too dangerous, we find another approach.”
“Within reason,” he said.
