He was deep into the data when the door to his workspace opened and shut. When he turned, he almost expected Faye to be there, but then he remembered she and Joel had gone out for the night, which only irked him even more. He wanted to be out with them. He understood the split of duties, that since he was going on more captures and doing more field work, he and Joel wouldn’t always have time together, but he wanted to be with them, sharing in the time together, having fun, letting off steam. He was after all Faye’s best friend, not Joel.

  “Find anything?” Molly’s smooth British tones floated over him.

  Ben shook his head and focused to the computer, his heart fluttering and his stomach tightening. He had to find something to make everything better compared to what he had done. He’d really fucked it all up.

  Molly’s hand against his shoulder was warm and just what he needed to be grounded. She bent down and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. “It’s not your fault.”

  “It is.” He snorted when he spat those words out.

  “Benjamin…” Molly turned him on the stool, grabbing his cheeks and holding him so they stared at each other. “It is not your fault. The creature is incredibly smart and adept at hiding.”

  “I could have found it if I could have shifted.”

  “You haven’t been able to explore your Tainted side yet.” She gave him a pitying smile. “The medication isn’t fully out of your system.”

  Rolling his eyes, Ben twisted back to his computer and effectively broke her hold on him. “I haven’t been on it for two months. It’s out of my system, Molly.”

  “Perhaps it did permanent damage then. We never knew what the long term consequences were.”

  Ben let out a breath, tears stinging at his eyes. That would just be perfect, wouldn’t it? He would have to be permanently human and his birthright forsaken. He should have done more thinking on taking the small white pills Molly had made for him when he was younger, but then again, he hadn’t wanted anything but to be normal. He was so afraid of what his Tainted side would do to others.

  “Benjamin,” Molly pleaded again. “This isn’t your fault.”

  He ignored her. Nothing Molly said was going to make him feel better, so he wasn’t even sure why she was bothering. He just wanted to pick up the trail of the centivalk while it was still hot and maybe get out there for a second chance at capturing it that night.

  She stuck around for another minute before dropping a kiss to his hair and walking out of his work area, shutting the door behind her. Once again alone, Ben let out a sigh. He sent Joel a text, telling him he was having a shitty night, but he knew Joel likely wouldn’t get it any time soon and definitely wouldn’t be able to answer. He didn’t want to ruin Joel’s and Faye’s night off either. One night ruined was plenty.

  Focusing back on his computer, Ben finished transferring the information into his desktop and then filtered through it. When the door opened again, he was going to turn and glare at Molly and kick her out again, but he was surprised to see Malek standing somewhat sheepishly just to the side.

  “Need something?” Ben asked. Malek rubbed him the wrong way from the start. It was odd finding someone who knew so much about Molly but who was unwilling to share any of that information, and in fact, someone who seemed to lord that knowledge over everyone in the house. Faye really got annoyed with him quickly because of it.

  “I thought I could help.”

  “With that?”

  Malek’s plump lips thinned, and he stepped in, the door closing behind him. “With the centivalk.”

  “Do you know much about it? Because we know jackshit.”

  Malek gave a wan smile. “I know some. I’ve at least encountered one before, although I never was stupid enough to try and catch it.”

  “You’ve seen one before?”

  Malek nodded. “When I was very young, still in training myself.”

  Ben’s throat constricted. That would have been close to three hundred fifty years before. If it had been that long since the last centivalk had been seen, no wonder Molly was shocked to find it lurking in their city.

  “Are you going to share more than that or just stare at me like I’m psychic?” Ben hadn’t meant his tone to come out so brash, but he was exhausted after a long day of work and then a failed capture. If Malek had information for him, he wanted it sooner rather than later, and he wanted to be able to do something with it.

  Malek stepped farther into the room but still maintained his distance. “All I remember are rumors about how they could vanish at the snap of someone’s fingers.”

  Ben cocked his head to the side. “Go on.”

  “It had terrorized that town for near a decade, and they hadn’t been able to capture it or kill it. One person had managed to attack it, but the outer shell was very tough.”

  “Is that why you were called in?”

  Malek shook his head. “No, I happened upon there by accident.”

  “What happened?”

  “Eventually the town died.”

  Ben stiffened. “What do you mean died?”

  “The centivalk killed them all, and I presume, moved on to the next place.”

  “Great,” Ben muttered. “Do you remember anything else?”

  Malek shook his head.

  “Okay, well, thanks. I guess.” Ben knew Molly was likely holed up in her office with books strewn about as she tried to research the damn thing and find someway to track it better, but Ben was just as much at a loss for how to do that now than he was before. Malek took the dismissal for what it was and left Ben to his own devices. Ben tried his best to keep his mind off his own failure to shift and track the centivalk and instead focused as much of his energy as possible on finding the creature again.

  ###

  Faye grabbed Joel’s hand as they stepped out of the underground club in the sewers. The fresh damp air hit her face as she drew in a deep breath. Pressing her head to Joel’s shoulder as she walked with him along the sidewalk, her body thrummed from the beat of the club as it left her.

  “Let’s go visit my friend.”

  “The troll?” he asked.

  “Yeah. It’s been so long since I’ve visited him.”

  “Sure. We can do that.”

  Faye smiled and squeezed his arm lightly. “I want to get something for him. I promise you, it’s not for me.”

  “Get what?”

  Looking into Joel’s blue eyes, Faye let out a breath. Of course he wouldn’t know. She was pretty sure she was the only person who knew anything about her troll as she’d come to think of him. Most people just thought he was a tourist attraction staple in their fair city.

  “I promise you, it’s not for me.”

  Joel narrowed his gaze at her, no doubt feeling her nerves at even bringing the topic up but also her excitement from it. It had been so many months since since she’d been high, and while she didn’t plan on using the heroin she bought, the two small pills shoved into the edge of her bra were enough cause of excitement, and she did plan on trying them.

  “My friend is imprisoned, you know that.”

  “Yeah,” Joel answered.

  “It’s painful for him to be stuck frozen in place. Usually when I can visit him, I bring him something that can help ease his pain for a little, give him some relief.”

  Joel’s lips thinned, but he nodded. Faye grabbed his hand, and she turned away from the bridge and walked down toward the pier where the man in the red hat was. She purchased just a small amount for her friend, bartering for a needle since she hadn’t brought one with her.

  On the walk back toward, Faye wrapped her arm around Joel’s and pressed her head into his shoulder. “Thank you for coming out tonight. I know it’s more my scene than yours.”

  He snorted. “As much as it is, Faye, I still enjoyed it.”

  “Good.” She gave a sad smile. “Molly would never be caught dead there.”

  “You might be surprised,” Joel muttered.

  “Really?”

  He shrugged. “She’s been there before, though from my understanding it’s been a long time since she’s returned.”

  “How long has the club been operational?”

  “About a century, or something like that. It’s changed since then, but it’s kind of always been a safe haven for Tainted.”

  Faye processed that information. She’d known it’d been there since she’d moved to their fair city but hadn’t realized it’d been quite so long. Finally they reached the bridge. Faye let go of Joel’s arm and smiled at her troll friend. He looked scary in some ways. Half his body above ground while the other half remained underneath.

  Most humans thought he was just a statue and nothing more. A tourist site for those who visited. His face was elongated, looking almost as if his skin was drooping off with his age. Faye knew better. He would come alive, and his skin would turn to be like leather, shifting around as he barely moved what he could in order to visit with her.

  Crawling up his hand to his arm then his shoulder, Faye patted his cheek. “Care for a visit, my friend?”

  It took time for him to move, the rattling of stone moving against stone as he came alive. Faye waited patiently, knowing this was the most painful part of the prison for him. As soon as his eyes lit up on her, she smiled at him.

  “I brought relief.”

  “Then don’t wait.” His voice was deep, and he spoke slowly, his entire body frozen in time slowing down Faye’s world every time they spoke.

  “I won’t.” Faye went to work mixing the heroin powder she’d bought with some water. “I brought a friend with me today, hope you don’t mind.”

  “He’s young.”

  She snorted. “We’ve had this conversation before, my dear friend. Everyone is young compared to me and you.”

  “Who is he?”

  “Joel!” Faye called, beckoning him to join her from his place on the sidewalk under the bridge.

  He gave her a wary look but did follow the path she’d made, climbing up to sit next to her on the troll’s oversized shoulder.

  “Good to meet you, properly,” Joel added.

  “Likewise. You work for the witch?”

  Joel nodded sharply. “I do.”

  “Be careful with your life,” the troll answered until he hissed when Faye dipped the needle into his tough skin and depressed the drug into his body. She watched his features change as relief flooded him.

  Tossing the needle behind her troll, Faye brushed her fingers over his skin then dipped her fingers below her bra line. She couldn’t wait any longer. She wanted to try out the two small pills she’d acquired at the club and see how they would affect her, what kind of high she would get. Worrying that only two pills wouldn’t be enough, Faye popped them in her mouth and swallowed before turning to Joel who still had his eyes riveted on the troll.

  “We were out tonight,” Faye stated. “I convinced Joel here to visit you because it has been far too long, my friend.”

  “Yes, too long,” her troll answered. “Your witch was here earlier.”

  “Was she?” Faye leaned forward to catch his eye and smiled at him. “With Ben?”

  “Yes.” He held out the last consonant, hissing.

  “Are you feeling better, friend?”

  The troll nodded. Faye shifted a glance to Joel. She wondered briefly how long it would take for her own indulgence to hit. Pills took longer than injection, but even though, she’d only had two pills and with her body makeup, her metabolism, her healing abilities, it often took her a whole lot more to get high than the average person—like insane amounts. She wondered if she’d feel it at all.

  Faye pressed her cheek to her troll and stared at Joel. “I took Joel here down to the club tonight.”

  Her troll snorted. “He does not fit in.”

  Faye smirked as she looked the silent Joel over. “H doesn’t, but he enjoyed it. So did I.”

  Joel scrunched his nose at her. “It was a good break from the usual.”

  “Yes. Exactly.” Faye chuckled. She patted her troll’s cheek and shifted from where she leaned against him. “We must get back, my friend.”

  “I understand.”

  “I wanted to give you some relief since we were out here.”

  “Visit again.”

  “Soon. I promise.” Getting on her hands and knees, Faye pressed her lips to her troll’s cheek and grinned at him as she pulled back. “I won’t wait as long.”

  He nodded and then morphed back into stone. Faye stood up and walked precariously back down her troll’s arm to the sidewalk below. Joel followed her, and as soon as they were on even footing, she once again wrapped her arms around his and pressed her head to his shoulder.

  “We should head back.”

  “Probably,” Joel whispered. “It’s late, and we have to be up in the morning.”

  Faye groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

  They walked toward the motorcycle they’d taken to get there. Faye had driven while Joel held tightly to her back. She saw it in the distance under a street lamp when Joel’s cellphone buzzed in his pocket. Faye’s superior hearing picked it up immediately as Joel fumbled around and reached for it.

  He pressed it to his ear, and Faye heard every word of the conversation.

  “What’s wrong?” Joel asked.

  “I need your help.” Molly’s sweet voice filled the other end of the line, but there was a edge of worry and frustration in it.

  “We’re mostly sober.”

  “Good. Meet me at the docks. This thing likes water.”

  “What thing?”

  “I’ll fill you in when you get here.”

  Molly hung up. Joel turned to Faye, and Faye shrugged. “Adventure number two?”

  “Yeah. Let’s get going. She sounded…”

  “Distracted?”

  “That might be the word for it.” Joel drew in a deep breath. “I’m sure you’re sober because you suck at getting drunk. I, however, am not as sober as you.”

  “Hang on tight, then.” Smirking, Faye grabbed Joel’s hand and dragged him forward. She jumped on the bike and waited for him to sit behind her, his arms circling her waist as she revved the engine and headed off toward the docks.

  Chapter Three

  Molly’s heart raced. She glanced to Benjamin, making sure he was safer than she was. They dashed around old buildings, broken trashcans kicked onto their side, junk left all around the edge of the docks. She remembered when this was once the prime place to be, the prime real estate to have, but that wasn’t the case anymore. It hadn’t been for decades.

  Swallowing, Molly readjusted her fingers on the weapon in her hands. She was going to tranquilize the creature, and Ben was supposed to net it, but she doubted his concentration and his abilities. She always had, as much as she didn’t want to. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe he couldn’t do it but that he would get in the way of himself and stop himself from accomplishing all that he could. She’d seen him do it so many times over the eighteen or nineteen years she’d known him.

  The echo of the motorcycle washed a sense of relief over her. She hated to call them in for assistance, but she needed the help. She did not want to lose track of the centivalk again. Faye parked her bike next to the van. Joel was off the back in two seconds flat, coming toward Molly. Faye, however, stopped at the van and grabbed her own weapon before standing opposite of Molly on the other side of the shipping container near Ben.

  It was how they always worked. Joel with her and Faye with Ben. Falling into the rhythm of the capture, finally, Molly let out a breath and nodded toward the edge of the water. “See it?” she whispered to Joel.

  He squinted and then nodded. “Yeah.”

  “There is no way to surround it since it faces the water.”

  “Can it swim?” Joel asked.

  Molly shrugged. She knew it liked water, but it hadn’t actually tried to go into the river yet, which was something she definitely did not want to test out because if if it did, she knew their second attempt that night was going to be a loss.

  Faye, without warning, stepped out from behind the container. She shoved her handgun into the back of her tight pleather pants and walked boldly toward the creature. “What is she doing?”

  “I have no idea,” Joel whispered.

  Ben stuck his head out to make eye contact with Molly and shook it, shrugging.

  “Ben’s just as lost.”

  Molly gripped her gun tighter, sweat forming on her skin and making it cold and clammy as she watched Faye’s hips sway as she stepped closer to the centivalk. “Does she even know what it is?”

  “Doubt it. But you know Faye, she’s reckless.”

  “Not lately. This is…new.” Molly swallowed. She was going to have to come up with a back up plan.

  Faye walked closer, her boots quiet on the cement of the pier. Molly’s heart was in her throat.

  “She can’t—”

  “She might,” Joel answered. “I can’t…her feelings are odd.”

  “Odd?” Molly turned on him with accusation before focusing back on Faye. “What do you mean odd?”

  “I can’t…I can’t get a read on them. I can’t tell what she’s feeling at all.”

  Molly’s gaze caught sight of Faye’s nails elongating, her shoulders hunching, and her neck cracking. “Bloody hell, she’s changed.”

  “What?”

  Without hesitating, Molly moved out from behind the shipping container and ran as fast as she could toward Faye, hoping to catch her before she got to the centivalk, but in her vampiric form, there would be no contest. Faye would be so fast Molly would stand no chance of keeping up with her.

  Power tingled in her fingertips, but she ignored it. She didn’t want to use magic that night, and she definitely did not want to use it on Faye, though she may have no other option. The centivalk must have heard Molly because it turned sharply, it’s white dome-like head spinning in their direction. The hundred legs under its body shifting to tighten, but it didn’t jump into the water.

  Molly breathed heavily, hoping Faye would turn to face her, but she didn’t. Joel and Ben followed. She was only feet away from Faye when she reached out, but Faye was faster. She spun around, her eyes completely black compared to their normal slate-gray, her face pale and set as she focused all her energy on Molly.