“Oh, they’re your friends, are they?” the voice drawled. “I thought you were just coworkers.”
His ears pricked. He spun around, pointing a pistol at the rafters above as he moved closer.
“Clever boy. You found me.”
A young woman in a green jacket appeared from the shadows like an actor stepping into the spotlight. Sweeping her ponytail over her shoulder, she said, almost flirtatiously, “Hi there, Exorcist.”
“Hybrid,” Ash growled, an age-old hatred rising inside him.
His first shot hit the metal walkway she was on, but she backflipped away. His second shot grazed her leg, but in a split second, she leaped, grabbing one of the thick cables hanging from the roof.
He blinked. It wasn’t a cable. It was one of her spinal blades, acting like a rope hanging from the ceiling. Sparks fizzed as he fired another shot, swearing when he missed again. The Hybrid spun gracefully, like an acrobatic dancer, moving from ropelike blade to cable to blade. The retraction and extension of her weapons caused violet light to burst and lull in a mesmerizing way. It felt oddly like a performance.
With all the metal and cables, it was hard to get a precise aim. But if he curved his yangqi bullets and combined it with some spell work, he was sure to get a hit.
“You want an actual fight? Why don’t you come down from there?” he called out, pulling a binding talisman from his pocket.
“You can’t bait me. Besides, we’ve already got what we wanted for today. But don’t worry, clever boy, I’ll be back for you—if you survive.” She winked at him and yelled, “Hit it.”
Ash had gotten it wrong.
She wasn’t a performer; she was the distraction.
The assembly hall exploded.
The force flung him into the air, but he veered left just in time, avoiding the worst of it. He landed in a heap near the exit, crawling out on his hands and knees, the gravel cutting his skin. Scrambling to his feet, he ran to the open field. His comms set had flown out of his ear, but his phone had survived. He hit the speed dial.
“Shuang? We’ve got a situation,” he said, quickly explaining how Surin and Jonathan had been taken.
“I’m sending someone to pick you up right now,” Lieutenant Shuang said. “And, Ash?”
“Yeah?”
“I hate to do this to you, but I’ve been fielding reports all day.”
“Tell me everything,” Ash said as he ran toward the main road. His ears rang from the explosion, but he heard every word, everyname, Shuang was reciting.
“Lieutenant Chu’s team failed to check in last night—I’m afraid we lost at least two of them. Security cameras showed Officer Min Lee snatched off the street while visiting her parents, and there’s been another ambush today. Recon Unit F, about an hour ago...”
As Shuang’s alarming list went on, fear dug its talons into Ash. Surin was right. The Hybridshadmoved on to the next phase of their plan.
And they were picking the Exorcists off one by one.
39
Yiran
It was easier to sneak into Song Mansion than most would think. His grandfather’s strict rules had taught him to be inventive, and Yiran had done it over a dozen times through the years. There were ways to avoid both residents and servants on an estate so big, especially at this late hour. No one was the wiser that Song er shaoye had returned home.
A quick check on the garage revealed that Ash was out. Probably on Guild business. Song Wei, however, was home.
Yiran went to his own room first. A shower and change of clothes made him feel more in control. He found some spare cash and stuck his hand behind the stack of encyclopedias on his bookshelf to retrieve his burner phone. After a longing glance at his bed, he grabbed a warm scarf and left the room.
His breaths came out in white puffs in the cold air as he treaded softly across the bamboo garden out back. The trees hid the way to the old northern wing of the estate. The building had been closed off for a long time, and he hadn’t visited since he was a child. Yet, even after all these years and even in the dark, his body remembered each step of the way. Strange how memories carved themselves into your muscles and bones.
A fresh dusting of snow covered the stone path leading to the front door. Before he could overthink it, Yiran pushed. The door creaked loudly in the quiet night.
Shoulders taut, he stepped in.
