There was a serial killer in the Bizarre, too good at covering their tracks. A clearly innocent kelpie was being accused in the village and pushed toward violence.
Yet there was nothing we could do if we couldn’t find the killer.
The debriefat HQ felt wrong.
We gathered into our squad’s official briefing room, a simple space with a dark meeting table and plush red chairs. The walls were lined with displays of case files, maps, and mugshots of those the squad had caught and those we hadn’t yet.
Today’s highlight held photos of the phantoms and banshees who were victims of this serial killer.
Jesper stood at the front of the room, hands resting on the edge of the meeting table. The screen behind him cast a pale light over his features.
“This case,” he said, scanning the room, “is the kind that haunts us.”
No one spoke, but I shifted in my seat.
Zuko’s hand found my thigh.
“We did everything right,” he stated. “We collected evidence. We followed every viable lead. We engaged local witnesses. We cross-checked magical signatures, tech interference, behavioral patterns, and still the killer is ahead of us. The reason for this is that the killer is most likely fae. Arban and Eleanor are in contact with the Ice Kingdom’s royal advisor about this case, and they’re looking into things regarding this case in the fae realm. Unfortunately, they have found nothing. That may mean our fae killer is really good at hiding or that they are not going back to the fae realm at all.”
He nodded to Lysa.
She pushed her glasses up, swallowed hard, and stood up. “Sometimes killers get ahead. Especially the ones who think,plan, and prepare.” She gestured to the photographs. “Whoever this is has a pattern. Banshees and phantoms only. Ice magic in the lungs to drown. Shadowmere Abyss is being used as a dumpsite. They’re careful. They’re not escalated enough to be sloppy yet, even with the emotional scar they’re leaving on their victims within the ice-fragments.”
Several frustrated growls sounded around the table.
“That doesn’t mean they won’t slip,” she added. “It just means this investigation is going to take time. There have been multiple incidents we can investigate deeper, but there will be more. We don’t want that, of course, but sometimes it’s the only way to get enough data to catch them.”
“So, we need more dead bodies to hope the fucker slips?” Zuko clarified.
“Unfortunately so,” Rhyse answered.
“That’s fucked up,” I muttered, running a hand over my face. “I get it, but it’s fucked.”
Rhyse leaned back in his chair, green eyes half-lidded. “Learn how fucked it is now. Sometimes justice doesn’t arrive on our preferred timetable. Sometimes we have to wait and let them dig their own graves a little deeper before we throw them into it.”
His words were surely meant to be comforting, but they weren’t.
“You all did great work,” Jesper said. “Even if there’s no victory to show for it yet. You protected each other, contained a human situation that could have exploded into a diplomatic disaster, you have exhausted all leads, and you documented everything. Your work matters now, for when we catch the killer in the future.”
“It doesn’t feel like enough,” I said before I could stop myself.
He met my gaze, and his brown eyes softened. “Sometimes it won’t. That’s part of the job, too.”
The briefing wrapped up, but I stayed seated, staring at the highlighted section of phantom and banshee victims until the images blurred.
“Hi, Roo,” Tibby said quietly as he slid into the seat beside me, still looking a little washed-out from the tourmalyke poison, but he was safe, and that was what mattered.
I hadn’t even felt Zuko move from the seat he occupied.
My brows furrowed.
“I told your mates to give me a second to talk to my sister,” he explained. “You were a target again a couple of days ago. Those humans came foryou.”
I rubbed my hands over my face. “I know.”
“And you’ve got a drude using your brain as a snack bar,” he added with a puff of fire on his exhale.
I winced. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough to kill him when I had the chance.”
