A dark imprint from a small shoe stood out on the polished wood floor. The dainty footprints circled around, crossing over others before they disappeared into the next room at the opposite end.
“Maybe you should let me go ahead of you,” Mr. Gryphon suggested in a barely audible voice.
Asahi looked down, startled. He had forgotten about the animated creature. He frowned when he realized that the magical lion could be parted from the hilt of the dagger.
“I’ll follow the footsteps. Can you search the other room?” he murmured.
“I can. I wasn’t created just to look pretty,” Mr. Gryphon retorted.
Asahi shook his head at the lion. The dagger’s creator must have had one hell of a sense of humor. He waited until the winged lion had taken flight and disappeared through the side entrance before he continued following the footprints.
Asahi paused at the doorway to the next room and pressed his back against the wall. A dainty slipper lay upside down, the sole covered in ink. He bent forward and peered around the corner. Out of his peripheral vision, he glimpsed a woman’s small, bare foot in a position that indicated she was lying face down.
Automatically executing FBI procedure, he methodically scanned the area before he entered, slowly twisting in a tight circle as he backed toward the body. He skirted the edge of the couch, looking in each corner of the room, then crouched down next to the woman’s body. She was lying on her stomach with her head twisted to the side. A flash of grief seared him when he noticed the glaze of death in her eyes. There was a small pool of blood near her mouth.
He rose to his feet, holding his gun at the ready and his dagger firmly clenched. A sound behind him caused him to twist around, gun aimed. Ashure raised his hands in the air, and Asahi silently cursed, lowering his gun.
“I found two dead. One in the kitchen, the other in the bedroom,” Ashure said.
They both turned when Nali stepped into the room. “I found another body in the den,” she said, her voice tight with strain.
“I found this woman; no others,” Asahi replied.
“That makes four. There should be five. There’s a portrait on the wall of them all together,” she said.
“Mr. Gryphon hasn’t returned from the other room yet, but if he had found another body, he would be here. He is probably checking the surrounding area outside. Ashure and I will search the house,” Asahi said with a look at Ashure to see if he agreed. Ashure nodded.
“I’ll search from the air and check in with Pai to find out if he has located the one who is missing,” she replied.
He stepped back when her wings suddenly appeared. She looked up at the ceiling sixteen-feet above their heads before she shot upward. He widened his eyes, wondering how she was going to get out that way. There was a sturdy ceiling above them.
He understood a second later when a large hole magically appeared, revealing tree branches and the blue sky above. The hole closed the moment she passed through. He looked at Ashure with a confused expression.
Ashure gave him a grim smile. “Remember, my friend, you are no longer in your world. Nali is much more powerful than she appears—and I suspect more than even she is aware of,” he added.
“I see,” he distractedly replied.
“We would have heard a scuffle if Mr. Gryphon encountered anyone. He will likely meet up with us soon. We need to discover if this is the alien’s work. It rarely happens, but there has been the occasional murder among monsters,” Ashure said with distaste.
Asahi frowned. “What happens in that case?” he asked.
“Then they get the unfortunate opportunity to meet me,” Ashure commented.
Asahi drew in a long, hissing breath when their eyes connected. It was as if Ashure had removed a veil of pretense from his eyes, revealing the dark and dangerous man hidden behind his charming facade. Deep in the recesses of Ashure’s pupils, Asahi could see shadows, and it felt as if he were being drawn into an endless abyss.
“The Cauldron of Spirits,” Asahi remembered.
“And the Keeper of Lost Souls,” Ashure added. “There is a special place for magical souls who have turned bad. Magic does not die when the shell that contained it fades away.”
“What happens to the friendly souls?” he asked, looking down at the dead woman.
Ashure’s gaze followed his to the body of the woman. A sad but peaceful look came into Ashure’s eyes before he concealed it. The shadows were once again shielded from prying eyes.
Ashure looked back at him with a sardonic smile. “You’ll have to ask Nali that question. I’ve only been gifted with knowing what happens to the rotten ones,” he replied in a deceptively light tone.
Asahi silently followed Ashure when he stepped around the woman’s body. They took their time, examining each room in the house. They did not find Mr. Gryphon.
“They killed themselves and each other,” Ashure concluded as he looked at the stab wounds on one of the men. This was the second man with stab wounds, and the injuries on both of them gaped far more than they should have.
Asahi nodded. “If I had to guess, the killer entered through the front door. It took over the oldest victim in the front room while he was studying. The Daktyloi male in the bedroom saw what happened. A fight ensued, and the oldest Daktyloi was killed. The alien tried to take over the victor of that fight, but the man ended his life before the alien could use him. Next, the alien went after the woman. Given the defensive wounds on her arms and hands, she resisted, and during the struggle she died from strangulation.”
“That leaves the man in the kitchen and the one that is missing—unless the missing one is our killer,” Ashure added with a sigh.
Asahi nodded. They walked into the kitchen. The back door was wide
