He stood here and looked at this photo. He watched everything that happened.”
“Did he speak? Interact? Anything to tell you who he is?”
Brett shook his head. “I don’t get the soundtrack, just the blurry highlight reels.”
The simple fact that this mystery man had looked at that particular photo creeped me the hell out. “What did he look like?”
“Tall, thin, dark hair. Quite handsome, but sad.”
The world grayed out at the edges, and I blinked hard to keep from falling over from a sudden wave of vertigo. “Was he wearing a long black duster?”
Brett frowned, eyes narrowing. “That’s an odd detail to guess in the middle of summer.”
“Shit.” My stomach dropped to my feet. I put the phone back to my ear. “Astrid?”
“What’s happening?” she asked.
“I need you to send a photo of Walter Thackery to Phin’s phone right now.”
“On it. Why?”
“Because I think he was here tonight. I think the bastard’s involved.”
The best photo we had of Thackery was six years old, but that didn’t matter. Brett identified him as the special guest star in the kidnapping as soon as the image appeared on Phin’s phone.
I don’t remember moving or sitting, only realizing that Phineas was crouched in front of me, holding my hands and saying something, and that I was now on the living room sofa. Walter-fucking-Thackery had held me captive for twenty days, tortured me in order to watch me heal, and cut off my goddamned pinkie finger—all in the name of science. Those twenty days left me a very different person from the one who went with him in order toprevent him from releasing dangerous beasts on an unsuspecting city.
To stop him from murdering Phineas in cold blood.
A coven of gargoyles on the hunt for one of their own had attacked the mobile lab where Thackery had stashed me. Max, a former ally of mine, had been among the gargoyles who rescued me, and he brought me back to the city. Thackery had been at large ever since—just over a month now.
Someone put a glass of water in my hand. I sipped without tasting it. Everything felt distant, not quite real, not even Phin’s constant, comforting presence. He squeezed my knee. The near-ticklish sensation shocked some sense back into me, and I met his steady gaze.
“There you are,” he said. “With me?”
“Yeah.” I forced my hand to loosen its grip on the frosted glass before it shattered. “I think so. Did I pass out?”
“Not exactly. You seemed to go catatonic for a moment, though.”
I groaned. “Awesome.”
“No one is judging you, Evangeline. They know what Thackery did.”
I waved my left hand in front of his face. “Because I walk around with the evidence every single day. God, I can’t believe I freaked out just now.”
“I’m more disinclined to believe he’s involved, but Mr. Lewis insists Thackery is the man in his vision.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. Thackery despises vampires. He wants to see them all dead. Hell, he thought he could use my blood to
cure
the infected, so why would he align with half-Bloods?”
“One of many questions we’ll ask when we find him.”
I only wished I had Phin’s confidence. We’d had no previous luck locating Thackery—not while he was blackmailing me, and not after I was taken. The man wasn’tstupid. In fact, he was pretty much a genius, especially when it came to his genetic meddling. He had a plan, and he had an endgame in mind. Finding him would not be easy.
No, finding him will be fucking impossible—unless he wants to be found
.
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Phin said.
It took me a moment to realize I’d said that “fucking impossible” thought out loud. “He hasn’t made one yet.”
“Then he’s due.”
“Maybe.”
Everyone missing was connected to me in some way. They were also all Therian. No humans had been taken, and I could think of several who would have been easy targets. “Why all Therians? If Thackery is really involved in this, why
“Did he speak? Interact? Anything to tell you who he is?”
Brett shook his head. “I don’t get the soundtrack, just the blurry highlight reels.”
The simple fact that this mystery man had looked at that particular photo creeped me the hell out. “What did he look like?”
“Tall, thin, dark hair. Quite handsome, but sad.”
The world grayed out at the edges, and I blinked hard to keep from falling over from a sudden wave of vertigo. “Was he wearing a long black duster?”
Brett frowned, eyes narrowing. “That’s an odd detail to guess in the middle of summer.”
“Shit.” My stomach dropped to my feet. I put the phone back to my ear. “Astrid?”
“What’s happening?” she asked.
“I need you to send a photo of Walter Thackery to Phin’s phone right now.”
“On it. Why?”
“Because I think he was here tonight. I think the bastard’s involved.”
The best photo we had of Thackery was six years old, but that didn’t matter. Brett identified him as the special guest star in the kidnapping as soon as the image appeared on Phin’s phone.
I don’t remember moving or sitting, only realizing that Phineas was crouched in front of me, holding my hands and saying something, and that I was now on the living room sofa. Walter-fucking-Thackery had held me captive for twenty days, tortured me in order to watch me heal, and cut off my goddamned pinkie finger—all in the name of science. Those twenty days left me a very different person from the one who went with him in order toprevent him from releasing dangerous beasts on an unsuspecting city.
To stop him from murdering Phineas in cold blood.
A coven of gargoyles on the hunt for one of their own had attacked the mobile lab where Thackery had stashed me. Max, a former ally of mine, had been among the gargoyles who rescued me, and he brought me back to the city. Thackery had been at large ever since—just over a month now.
Someone put a glass of water in my hand. I sipped without tasting it. Everything felt distant, not quite real, not even Phin’s constant, comforting presence. He squeezed my knee. The near-ticklish sensation shocked some sense back into me, and I met his steady gaze.
“There you are,” he said. “With me?”
“Yeah.” I forced my hand to loosen its grip on the frosted glass before it shattered. “I think so. Did I pass out?”
“Not exactly. You seemed to go catatonic for a moment, though.”
I groaned. “Awesome.”
“No one is judging you, Evangeline. They know what Thackery did.”
I waved my left hand in front of his face. “Because I walk around with the evidence every single day. God, I can’t believe I freaked out just now.”
“I’m more disinclined to believe he’s involved, but Mr. Lewis insists Thackery is the man in his vision.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. Thackery despises vampires. He wants to see them all dead. Hell, he thought he could use my blood to
cure
the infected, so why would he align with half-Bloods?”
“One of many questions we’ll ask when we find him.”
I only wished I had Phin’s confidence. We’d had no previous luck locating Thackery—not while he was blackmailing me, and not after I was taken. The man wasn’tstupid. In fact, he was pretty much a genius, especially when it came to his genetic meddling. He had a plan, and he had an endgame in mind. Finding him would not be easy.
No, finding him will be fucking impossible—unless he wants to be found
.
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Phin said.
It took me a moment to realize I’d said that “fucking impossible” thought out loud. “He hasn’t made one yet.”
“Then he’s due.”
“Maybe.”
Everyone missing was connected to me in some way. They were also all Therian. No humans had been taken, and I could think of several who would have been easy targets. “Why all Therians? If Thackery is really involved in this, why
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