Free Dark Dealings by Kim Knox Page A

discovered buried beneath boards in a warehouse butting up against the south wall.”
    “None of the others were hidden.”
    Ava looked up at Heyerdar’s low response. “This was their first kill?” She ran her hand over the husk, not touching, her palm a hair’s breadth from the dry dust of the corpse’s former skin. Ava caught Sahar’s flinch before she closed her eyes. She concentrated. Wisps of energy still remained. Traces of the man. “Regan Searlaim.” His name came unbidden and she heard Sahar’s quick, surprised breath. Ava didn’t let the smile twist her mouth. The tame thief had her uses, obviously.
    But there...the tease of something else, something she hadn’t felt in years. A hard tug deep in her belly jerked her eyes open. Thieves, raw and dark, an explosion of feeding, feeding on flesh and bone, marrow and slick life essence, distorted, hollow mouths, sharpened teeth wet with blood and fuck, everything about this man had been so sweet—
    “Four.” The word burst from her. She staggered back from the slab, her open hand balling into a fist. Nails dug hard into her palm, biting into her teken. The pain didn’t sate the gnawing hunger in her belly. And she didn’t simply crave her breakfast. She couldn’t use that lie for herself. Not now.
    Ava pressed her knuckles to her mouth, her blunt teeth biting against the bone, and pulled in a slow breath. The scent and taste of her own skin eased the need in her. She was able to speak again. “Three are obvious. A fourth was more...restrained.”
    “Anything else?”
    Heyerdar’s question was cool, calm, and for a long moment she was grateful for it. It made her need to run, to disappear into the city and feed on the living, not seem...out of place.
    She looked up at him, meeting the flat gold of his gaze. “That they left anything is a surprise. They hadn’t fed in a long time.”
    “So Searlaim is our first victim.” Heyerdar rubbed his hands together. “You knew he was a flusherman how, Sahar?”
    “He wore a guild chain.” She pulled a sliver of silver from a pocket in the leather folder. It gleamed in the soft light from the ceiling. “And if Ava is correct, and this was a feeding frenzy, it would explain why we found it around his neck.”
    “Why not destroy the corpse?”
    Sahar stared at her. The shine of disbelief burned in her eyes. “If a thief destroys the husk, all power rips from them.” She tucked the chain back into its pocket. “Hence the finding of the guild chain around his neck. They couldn’t risk removing it.”
    Ava felt heat in her cheeks. Did everyone know more about her rhythm of magic than she did? Reist and the mages had never shared that with her. She was embarrassed, but she couldn’t remain ignorant. It wasn’t in her nature. “Only that particular thief?”
    “Yes. Which is why they usually feed in groups. To lessen the chance of the power they took pulling free. Still, if they hadn’t fed in awhile, they wouldn’t want their first, fresh taste ripped from them.”
    That something she devoured or consumed could pull free from her was another revelation. Damn, had the mages, had Reist, been playing her for so many years? Or were they simply worried that if she knew the truth she’d be tempted to sink into her empty soul and never reemerge?
    “The guilds keep a record of their members.” Heyerdar’s frown deepened. “Something about his man was important. More than the first feed. More than hiding themselves.” He snorted, his attention moving over the disturbing rings of jagged holes covering Searlaim’s remains. “We can’t take teeth imprints to find them. No, he had another purpose.” He dug his fingers into his shoulder and worked the muscle there, his gaze turned inward. “They wanted something from him.” He expelled a slow breath. “Sahar, I have your work on the four others. Send a messenger for me if you uncover anything else.”
    He pointed and Ava had to follow his command to