Free Grim Rites by Bilinda Sheehan

deeper was the right thing to do, and did it really matter if I was doing that out of guilt or a moral sense of right and wrong?
    “What does it matter?”
    “Well, what if this is what she really wants?”
    “It’s not,” I said, but I couldn’t be sure anymore.
    My cellphone buzzed and I scooped it out and stared down at the screen. Victoria’s message was filled with lots of angry emoticons and exclamation marks.
    “If we don’t get over to the crime scene soon, I think Victoria is going to have kittens…” I said with a sigh as I slipped the phone back into my pocket.
    Nic nodded and he didn’t push the Mia conversation; I was grateful. I didn’t need anyone to make me feel any worse. There was something wrong, something that Mia either couldn’t or wouldn’t share with me now, but I would get to the bottom of it all.
    I’d deserted her once; I wouldn’t do it a second time.

Chapter 9
    D ark rivulets ran down between the cobbles in the alley and I moved to avoid them instinctively. The light was too poor to tell if it was blood, but the taste of old pennies, which coated the back of my tongue with each breath I took, told me everything I needed to know.
    Pausing at the edge of the crime scene tape, I peered into the alley. The forensic guys had set up a decent perimeter, which at least meant the reporters wouldn’t be getting any sickening photos for the front page news with this case.
    “Victoria,” I called to her as I watched her stalk around the side of a van parked in the mouth of the alley itself.
    Lifting her head, she scanned the area and for a second I could have sworn her eyes flickered, the colour swallowed by the darkness I knew dwelled within. She caught my eye and smiled, crossing the distance between us. I shook my head in disgust. I’d never noticed her eyes to change until I saw her transform; I was probably just imagining it. Either that or seeing her without the glamour of her human form made it easier to see through the facade. It was something I would have to ask her when I had time.
    “You took your time,” she said, lifting the tape for me to duck beneath.
    “I told you, I had things to do. Lucky for you, Nic gave me a ride,” I said, jerking my thumb in his general direction. I’d left him securing his motorbike.
    “You brought him to a crime scene. Is that such a good idea?” The disdain in her voice couldn’t be ignored.
    “He’s a registered hunter. He has more right to be here than I do, at the moment.”
    Victoria studied me for a second longer before shrugging, her dark hair falling back over her shoulder to drape down her back. “Fine, but if he gets in the way, he’s your responsibility,” she said.
    “I’m not deaf, you know,” Nic said, slipping beneath the tape and closing the gap between us.
    “Good to know,” Victoria said curtly. She paused, her lips stripping back from her teeth as she stared into his eyes. “He knows…” she said, anger causing her eyes to flip black.
    “I’m not going to tell anyone. Amber told me in confidence….”
    “It was not her secret to share,” Victoria said, taking a threatening step forward.
    Moving between them, I grabbed Victoria’s arm, forcing her to stare down at me. “He knows my secret, too. He won’t tell anyone; you can trust him.”
    “You tell everyone your secret, Amber? Your recklessness will get you killed. I haven’t survived two centuries by telling every handsome man that catches my eye what I truly am.”
    “That’s not true,” I said. But she had a point, everyone close to me knew what I was. Graham had guessed, Nic had seen it, and, well, Victoria herself seemed to just know. It was probably a Changeling thing—maybe it was a gift they all had.
    “If my secret gets out, I will know who to look to for retribution.” Her threat wasn’t veiled; it couldn’t have been clearer, and the look she gave Nic as she said it sent a shiver down my spine.
    I’d seen what she’d done to