Viktor wrung his hands. “Scaling a wall is a bold move and requires equipment. Whoever did this is determined and skillful. They would have been caught if we were there. I took careful steps to make sure nobody knew we were leaving.”
I sat back and felt my blood run cold.
Niko stepped away from the bar behind me and approached the table. “Raven, what troubles you?”
“Maybe nothing. A few weeks ago when we had the last snow, I noticed footprints on the roof.”
“Aye, I remember that,” Christian said.
I looked toward him, my gaze distant. “I thought they were yours or maybe Niko’s. Sometimes you guys follow me up there. It never once occurred to me that they might belong to someone else. The walls are so damn high. You’d need rope with a special hook on the end.”
Niko lowered his head. “It wasn’t me. I don’t climb onto the roof unless I notice you out there.”
“I just didn’t think it was worth mentioning,” I tacked on. “I should have asked around, but you guys are always spying on me or playing jokes, so I forgot about it.” I fell silent for a minute and looked at Viktor. “Did they leave behind footprints? Any clues?”
“Wyatt mentioned a coin at the bottom of the pool, but it could belong to anyone.”
Niko canted his head. “What kind of coin?”
“Something old.”
“Did it have strange writing and uneven edges?”
“Da. He said if Gem were there, she would know what it was.”
Niko drew in a deep breath and sighed. It was audible, the kind of sigh a parent might give when they’ve had enough of their child’s bad behavior. “Viktor, you need to send me back.”
“I need you here.”
“There are enough of us to protect the children. I will only slow you down.”
“Nyet. You are a Healer. You can see energy.”
“Shepherd is a competent medic,” Niko argued. “Everyone else can more than compensate for my absence. You’re still a team of two Shifters, one Chitah, a Sensor, a Vampire, and Raven. That’s more than enough, and you know it.”
“I’ll go,” Claude insisted, knocking Christian’s arm away as he stood up. “She’s my partner. Viktor, send me instead.”
“No,” Niko snapped, his features hardening. “I think I know what this is about. Unless you want Gem to die, I’ll be the one making the journey home. If the person behind this is who I think it is, he won’t deal with anyone but me.”
Claude’s eyes briefly flickered from gold to obsidian as he flashed his fangs. “Then why would he steal Gem?”
“He doesn’t want Gem, but he knows she’s important to us. He’s trying to get my attention. Better I go, or he will do something heinous.”
Viktor rose to his feet, his eyes fixed on Niko. “Sothisis what he was waiting for. Our absence has created an opportunity.”
They were talking about Cyrus.
Niko inclined his head. “He used to leave coins behind at the scene of a crime. No one ever asked him why. Perhaps he didn’t want to anger any spirits. He placed the coin where we would find it. He wants me to know it was him.”
Blue looked up at Viktor, her eyes brimming with concern. “Can we do this without Niko?”
Viktor stroked his silvery beard a few times and finally nodded. “I will have Wyatt arrange for a flight back. You will be on your own at the airport, Niko. No one to help you navigate to your terminal, so you will need to ask for assistance. Wyatt is too busy gathering surveillance data and monitoring the black-market website to pick you up from the airport.”
“I’ll take a cab. Viktor, you know I would never leave a mission unless absolutely necessary. If we do nothing, Gem will die, and I cannot promise what will happen next.”
I stood up to let Shepherd out.
He gripped Niko by the shoulders. “When you get there, look after my son. Make sure they’re protecting him.” Shepherd cursed under his breath. “Jesus. What if Hunter had been outside?”
