Free Legacy: The Niteclif Evolutions, Book 1 by Denise Tompkins

those on my original floor. We went to the end of the hall and stood outside the door of 2210. Bahlin looked at the door and I heard a familiar muffled thunk and then the door swung open.
    Ah, a repeat breaking and entering performance. I’d seen this before.
    Regardless, I was proud of myself for being able to walk into the room on solid legs, no shakiness here finally. I stopped inside the door in the foyer of the room. No, not a room, but rather a suite. It was huge. Not sure how to react to the opulence, I didn’t. I followed the men into the room and stopped in front of one of the two sofas. One leather monstrosity faced a huge glass window that took in a view of Big Ben and the Thames. French doors off the living room opened into a large bedroom with a king-size bed.
    Totally uncomfortable, I slowly turned to Bahlin and whispered, “I can’t stay here. This is too nice.”
    “Maddy,” he said, walking to me and taking my hands, “you’ve got a lot to adjust to. The least the Council can do is provide this room, which is after all only a room, so that you’re comfortable. Consider it yours as long as you’d like to stay. And room service is at your disposal, courtesy of the hotel.” He looked at me, bending down to try and catch my gaze. I lifted my face toward his, and the concern I felt must have been evident. He brushed at the bangs hanging rag-tag along my forehead. I was touched by his small comforting gesture. He seemed genuinely concerned.
    Tarrek cleared his throat. Stepping away from Bahlin, I turned to look at Tarrek. “You mentioned murder. I assume it wasn’t for the conversational shock value.”
    Tarrek looked at me very directly then wandered to the sofa and sat, stretching out in apparent total comfort, one arm along the back and his right ankle propped on his left knee. He looked like a GQ cover model come to life.
    “I thought you’d been affirmed, so I did broach the subject, yes,” he said softly. “And again, I’m sorry for that. Would you like to wait until tomorrow to discuss this first case?”
    I turned to look at Bahlin who had wandered to the wet bar and was pouring a Coke over ice. “For you.” He grinned mischievously. “Since I didn’t get my red and you’re apparently going to need the caffeine.”
    I smiled back at Bahlin, and Tarrek frowned.
    “Thanks, Bahlin,” I said, clinking the ice in the glass as I tipped it gently toward him. “I think I’m ready to give this a shot.” He smiled at me and went to sit on the sofa opposite Tarrek. Both men shifted, inviting me silently to sit with them. I stood there for a minute then sat on the arm of Bahlin’s sofa, but at the opposite end so I was directly across from Tarrek. It was the best I could do in a pinch. I looked at Tarrek and said, “Let’s hear it.”
    He smiled. “That easily? You’ll move into a case without any further preparation?”
    I shrugged. “I wouldn’t know what to do to prepare,” I said. I’m nothing if not honest. “This is going to be a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants experiment in which I either succeed or fail. The only thing I can ensure is that, with any action I take, one of the two outcomes is guaranteed.”
    Bahlin roared with laughter while Tarrek chuckled softly.
    Tarrek smiled at me. “I suppose I can’t ask for more than such frank honesty.”
    I shrugged.
    “There have been two murders in the last nine days,” he began. Apparently we were really going to get right to it. “First there was the far darrig , or a type of leprechaun, that was killed; his tongue and voice box were taken and the body left outside his small shanty in the Scottish Lowlands.” I set my Coke down on the coffee table, feeling slightly ill. “We’ve also lost a cú sith , or giant Highland hound. His body was found in field of heather in the Highlands but his muzzle, in its entirety, was missing. A farmer found him while walking his fences.” I felt bile rise in the back of my throat. I was