“And I thought these things couldn’t get any uglier.” Eli joked as he moved cautiously towards the corpse.

  “Are you sure there’s nothing else nearby? This could be a trap.”

  “Pretty sure.” Eli replied, kneeling next to the dead body. “Look over there.”

  “Ew.” Vespera said, her eyes following where he was pointing.

  Filling the small muddy clearing they’d emerged into was a large group of dead toad-monsters. Each one looked as if they’d been hacked apart mercilessly in battle, with some of their entrails ending up in the nearby trees or bushes. Whatever destroyed them used some sort of razor-sharp blade given the deep cuts on their bodies.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Looking for clues.” He responded before pointing upwards. “See that? We’re right below the castle now. I’m willing to bet this is where our thief descended.”

  “You think whoever stole the book killed these things?”

  Eli nodded. “You saw how the moths avoided them – they’re a good deterrent. If they moved quickly enough, they could kill the pod of toads here, climb the wall, steal the book, and climb back down before any other nasty creatures came to investigate.”

  “Now that I think about it, the bodies do fit our profile.” She added. “If someone had a set of very sharp claws, they’d be able to make cuts like these and use them to climb the wall.”

  Standing up, Eli slowly began to move around the perimeter of the mud pit. Vespera fell in behind him as the two of them carefully looked for clues. Not finding anything, Eli offered the succubus woman an apologetic look before stepping into the knee-deep mud, dragging himself across it towards the cliff face.

  “Not going to join me in the mud this time?” He asked.

  “Not if I can help it!” She shook her head. “Find anything?”

  “Yeah.” He responded. “This stuff smells. I’m going to need a shower soon.”

  She laughed. “I meant about our thief.”

  “I think I see claw marks on the cliff face.” He replied, squinting as he got closer. “There’s a bit of solid ground closer to the cliff, I’m going to take a look.”

  “Okay, I’ll keep an eye out from here!” She called.

  Grumbling good-naturedly, Eli slogged through the muck until he reached the cliff. He quickly verified that his initial suspicions were correct – there were claw marks on the cliff face leading up towards the castle and back down to the ground. As he traced the markings he saw that there was a large, undisturbed paw print that miraculously survived the fight. Grinning at his success, he moved back across the slough before climbing back onto solid ground next to Vespera.

  “Was it worth the mud bath?” She asked with a grin.

  “Absolutely.” He replied. “I found a paw print – a big one that looks awful catlike.”

  She cocked one eyebrow at him. “Catlike?”

  “Yeah. I think we need to circle around the pit and see if we can pick up the trail. Either these frogs happened to be killed by a feline apex predator – which, let’s face it, in magic-Australia is an option – or…” He trailed off.

  “Or our thief is a felinekin.” She finished his thought.

  “A literal cat burglar.” He laughed before continuing. “It’s a pun! On Earth, a cat burglar is someone who-”

  “No.” She cut him off before pinching the bridge between her nose and shaking her head, trying desperately to keep the smile from creeping across her face. “The reason I’m not laughing isn’t because I don’t get it. The reason I’m not laughing is because it was a terrible joke.”

  “Your face says otherwise.” He countered, his grin widening even further.

  She rolled her eyes in response but couldn’t help the smile from breaking out at his antics. Feeling significantly better about their progress, they circled around the mud pit in the opposite direction from the one they chose before, their eyes flicking back and forth for any sign of a trail. After several minutes Vespera stopped and tapped Eli on the shoulder several times.

  “Look!” She pointed.

  Splattered against the leaves and broken branches of a nearby tree was a splash of bright red blood. Nodding, Eli carefully moved towards it before kneeling once more and brushing aside a bush to uncover another paw print – this one leading away from the mud pit. Running his fingers along one of the leaves he saw the blood was dried, but given that it hadn’t been washed away by rain yet he knew it had to be fresh.

  “Good catch.” He praised her. “Looks like our thief didn’t get away from their fight with the toads without any injuries.”

  “You’re sure the blood is from them and not from the toads?” She asked.

  “Lilly would be able to tell for sure – she’s a better tracker than I am. Still, look at the footprints here.” He said, moving so Vespera could see. “Notice how one foot makes a bigger indent than the other? And how the strides are different sizes?”

  Vespera’s eyes went wide. “You think they were limping.”

  “Exactly.” Eli nodded. “Let’s see where it leads from here.”

  For the next several hours, the two of them slowly picked their way through the forest. They had to backtrack several times to ensure they were going the right direction, searching until one or both of them picked up a sign of their thief: broken branches, more blood splatters, and even a torn piece of black fabric. Eventually, the sounds of civilization around them grew louder until they found themselves next to a 10-foot-tall metal chain link fence – one with a small hole cut discreetly in the bottom that was covered in leaves.

  “Well shit.” Eli said, gazing through the fence. “There’s no way we’re going to be able to pick up the trail in that.”

  Ahead of them was a large open field, beyond which stood a row of buildings and a busy street. Dark elves and other magical races bustled up and down the road while vendors hocked all sorts of wares. The two of them stood in silence for a moment, trying to decide what to do next.

  “We could ask around.” Vespera offered. “Maybe someone saw a felinekin come out of the woods recently?”

  “That’s not a bad idea, but we run the risk of spooking them and letting them know we’re onto their trail.” Eli warned.

  “Good point.” Vespera nodded.

  “Let’s head back to the castle.” Eli suggested. “Maybe Aratessa or Zephyra will have some ideas. We should probably update them on what we’ve found so far.”

  “And take a long shower.” Vespera added enthusiastically.

  As they moved through the small hole in the fence and towards the street, Eli took a moment to appreciate the dark elven architecture. It was markedly different from the partially subterranean buildings which sprung up around the castle in Purgatory – filled instead with dark-grey and black buildings with pointed arches and intricate designs. Even the most basic shops had spires reaching upwards that were filled with stained glass windows.

  Eventually the pair reached the street, drawing more than a few stares. Even the domesticated creatures – everything from slightly smaller versions of the toads they’d encountered earlier to horse-sized lizards, enormous ravens, shaggy-haired black bears, wolves, and bats gave them a wide. Feeling uncomfortable with the amount of attention they were drawing, Eli paused for a moment to look up and locate the castle far up on the cliff before turning to Vespera.

  “How do you feel about another flight?”

  “And avoid this walk? Yes please.” She replied instantly.

  Backtracking to the field, Eli triggered a pair of transformations – first back into his human form, then into his phoenix form. Out of the corner of his avian eye he saw bystanders beginning to point and stare, causing him to pour more mana into the spell to complete his transformation faster. The moment he was done Vespera hopped onto his back, tapping him softly on the side.

  “Ready.” She said, squeezing with her legs.

  Flapping his wings, the duo took to the air. He climbed quickly, ignoring the surprised shouts of the crowd beneath him. As he left them behind, he banked away from the moth-infested forest and over the city, truly taking it all in for the first time while doing his best to stay below the ever-present grey clouds that blotted out the sky.

  “It’s called Everdark.” Vespera shouted over the wind, seemingly reading his mind. “It’s the capital city here in Shadowhome. About half a million people live here – mostly dark elves.”

  Eli’s avian eyes scanned the sea of gothic-looking buildings below, finding several more castles besides Zephyra’s. In addition to at least half a dozen small ones there was one sitting astride a river that lazily flowed through the city, another built around a singularly tall black tower, and one sitting far enough into the outskirts of the city that even his keen avian eyes couldn’t make out the details. His eyes roved back and forth, finding dozens of strange looking small towers with what looked like flat cloth canopies on top.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Look there – that’s where the House of the Snake used to be.” Vespera said, drawing his attention towards an enormous pile of rubble on the top of a steep hill in the middle of the city. “They still haven’t cleaned it up.”

  They’re probably leaving it as a reminder to everyone about what happens when you cross the Raven Queen. Eli thought to himself.

  Regretting that he didn’t have more time for sight-seeing, Eli reluctantly banked towards the House of the Raven. As he drew closer he was met midair by a familiar sight – an enormous black raven with intelligent eyes. It cawed happily at him before turning towards the castle, casting its glance backwards towards them.

  “Is that the mother raven? Zephyra’s patron animal?” Vespera asked incredulously. “I think she wants us to follow!”

  When they neared the castle they were forced to dodge several errand crossbow bolts and spell blasts. Eli juked to the side and flared his wings, almost throwing Vespera off in the process. He was about to dive and make the rest of the approach on foot before he heard the Queen’s voice booming over the walls.

  “Hold your fire! If one of you so much as grazes my Raven with one of your idiotic shots, I’ll make you wish you were dead!”

  Wincing internally at the threat, Eli flapped his wings frantically until he caught up with the mother raven. He followed it in, landing directly on the ramparts. The moment Vespera slid off his back he triggered his transformation back into his human form. He saw dozens of armed dark elven guards streaming up the stairs to either side of them, surrounding them with weapons raised even before he could finish.

  “I see now why my raven decided to get up and fly away in the middle of our session.” Zephyra said as she emerged from the crowd to stroke the back of the raven’s head.

  Eli looked at the creature perched on the parapet before glancing at the Raven Queen. “I’m glad she was willing to guide us in. I’m guessing some of her offspring saw us making an approach?”

  “Just so.” Aratessa answered, emerging next to the Raven Queen. “Given the state of your clothes, I take it you’ve had an…eventful…investigation so far?”

  Eli looked down at his mud-covered clothes and laughed. “Yeah, you could say that. We’ve made progress though.”

  “I see.” Zephyra replied. “Would you like to join us back in the throne room so you can share your progress with us?”

  “Happily.” Eli replied.

  Zephyra nodded then looked at Vespera. “And please do try not to enamour any more of my guards while we’re on the way. Doing it to my guard captain was quite enough.”

  “Yes.” Vespera said, blushing slightly. “Sorry about that.”

  Together with the two dark elven Queens, the guards, and the mother raven, Vespera and Eli trekked back through the castle towards the throne room. Along the way Aratessa gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, but backed away with an apologetic look when she realized how dirty he was. Glancing backwards, Eli tried not to grimace as he saw the muddy footsteps he was leaving on the Queen’s black marble floors.

  When they finally entered the throne room Zephyra dismissed most of the guards before closing the throne room doors. Eli noticed that at the back of the room was Captain Duskrend standing next to his retainers. Looking back at Zephyra, he saw that she didn’t bother to move towards her enormous raised throne – instead, she simply turned to them and cocked one eyebrow expectantly.

  “Go ahead.”

  “We think your thief is a felinekin who can climb.” Eli said, cutting right to the chase.

  “How did they do it?” Zephyra asked.

  “They entered the nature preserve behind the castle, climbed the cliff wall, and entered through a window. From there they accessed a secret passage and used some unknown means to pass through the wall where the passage was close to the vault – thereby getting access. After they found the book they left the same way they came in.” Eli summarized. “Given that they knew exactly where to go it appears they had some insider knowledge. You might have a traitor in your midst, or at least someone who has been watching your defences closely.”

  Zephyra glanced at Captain Duskrend, who only nodded in reply. “And you’re sure about this?”

  “As sure as we can be.” Vespera answered. “We saw feline pawprints in the mud at the bottom of the cliff. It matches most of the facts so far, so it’s our best working theory.” She paused for a moment, pulling something from her pocket. “We even found blood and this piece of black cloth while we were down there. We think it was torn off during the thief’s fight with a pod of toads.”

  Aratessa’s eyebrows shot up. “While you were down there, someone in a black cloak tried to sneak into the portal. If not for the quick actions of Sira and Ziran, they would have been successful.”

  “They were expecting dark elves.” Sira explained. “They weren’t expecting us.”

  “Did you get a good look at them?” Eli asked.

  “Unfortunately no.” Ziran answered. “They wore a mask, and escaped before we could apprehend them. I’m sorry.”

  “No need for apologies.” Eli shook his head. “You two did a fantastic job.”

  “So what now?” Captain Duskrend asked, speaking up for the first time in their conversation. “It seems like we’re no closer to catching the thief now than we were a few hours ago.”

  “I wouldn’t say that.” Aratessa countered with a grin. “We know more than we did before – enough to capture them alive and find the tome.”

  “What do you propose we do?” Zephyra asked.

  “We know our feline friend is trying to get out of Shadowhome. The main public portal is too well defended by House Hightower, which means they’re going to try to leave via a private portal – like the one maintained here.”

  “Yes.” Zephyra agreed. “So?”

  “Why don’t we give them one? Eli can pose as a mercenary willing to open a rogue portal. The thief will make contact, Eli can verify they’re the right person, then we can take them captive.”

  “Preferably alive.” Captain Duskrend added. “I would like to know who they’re learning our secrets from.”

  “Won’t the thief recognize Eli as soon as they see him?” Zephyra asked. “Even if they haven’t met, a human in Shadowhome would tip the thief off that something is wrong.”

  “He’ll have to assume his high elven form as a disguise, but with the right clothing and a believable backstory it should work.” Aratessa replied.

  “You’d need to spread that backstory pretty quickly though.” Vespera countered. “It would also need to be whispered into the right ears in order for it to find its way back to the thief.”

  Captain Duskrend pursed her lips. “That…could be arranged.”

  “Without the ruse being leaked by a potential traitor though?” Vespera pressed.

  The captain gritted her teeth, then nodded. “Yes. There are some who I trust completely, who would never betray us.”

  “Then it’s settled.” Zephyra said before turning to Eli. “Will you do it?”

  “Of course.” Eli nodded.

  “We’ll get to work spreading your backstory, and let you know when they make contact.” Captain Duskrend said. “In the mean time, I’ll ask some guards to escort you and your party to our guest rooms. I suggest you make use of the showers there.”

  “Right.” Eli nodded, glancing down at the mud beneath his feet. “Sorry about that.”

  With a quick motion, Zephyra wordlessly ordered the guards to open the door again. Together with Sira, Ziran, Aratessa, and Vespera, Eli followed a group of guards back through the halls. As they walked, Aratessa turned to Eli with a grin.

  “Tell me: did you run into any shadow moths on your little trip?”

  “Is that what they’re called?” Eli asked.

  “Yes. They’re quite territorial. They’re known to attack anything flying near their nest – which is why they make an excellent natural defence against flying incursions.”

  “Ah.” Vespera replied, nodding. “That explains a lot.”

  “Let me guess – their only natural predator are the toad things?” Eli asked.

  “Stalker toads.” Aratessa corrected him. “And that’s not their only predator, but yes. How close did they get to you?”

  “We’re…well acquainted.” Eli responded.

  “But I take it you didn’t run into any gheists? Or soul-flies?”

  “I don’t think so.” Eli replied. “What are those?”

  “You’d know if you saw one, trust me.” Aratessa replied, shaking her head. “Just…next time you decide to go for a little flight, ask me first? I could have saved you some trouble by warning you about these things.”

  “Right.” Eli replied sheepishly. “We may have gotten a little carried away following the trail. Sorry about that.”

  “You can repay me by taking a shower then climbing into bed with me.” She whispered with a wink. “We’ve got a few hours to kill, and I intend to make the most of them.”