Chapter 13 #3
Or some kind of pendant.
“We need to get that out.”
She was already slipping off one of her shoes when I immediately grabbed the hood of her jacket.
“Absolutely not.”
I hauled her back upright.
“We'll find a stick.”
“Oh, come on. I don't mind swimming in a pool full of blood—”
“Gwen.”
I shot her a warning look.
She sighed dramatically.
“Fine. Let's waste valuable investigative time searching for an object specifically designed to replace my hands.”
I rolled my eyes.
Somehow, only Gwendolyn could stand in the middle of what looked like a crime scene and complain about the inconvenience of basic safety precautions.
Together, we began searching the backyard.
My gaze drifted toward the area where the pool equipment used to be stored.
Nothing.
Everything was gone.
“How deep is it?” Gwen asked, leaning over the outdoor bar. “Wait. Couldn't we just drain it?”
“I have no idea how.”
I shrugged.
“I've never dealt with pool maintenance.”
“Can't the Raars tell us? You said they're intelligent.”
“Yeah. And right now they think we're trespassing.”
That part still bothered me.
I couldn't understand why they didn't recognize me.
Then—
“Illariana?”
A quiet melodic voice drifted through the darkness.
I froze.
Turning around, I spotted a Raar peeking out from behind a tree.
“Why so formal?” I asked, raising a brow. “How many times have I told you to just call me Ria?”
After that, more Raars began emerging from behind bushes, trees, and flowerbeds.
One after another.
“We didn't recognize you,” said the coral-colored star.
Unfortunately, Raars didn't believe in names.
“Your scent changed.”
“What?”
I frowned and glanced toward Gwen.
She had already climbed onto the bar counter and was examining the metal pole supporting the canopy above it.
“You didn't notice I smell different?”
“Well, you were wearing someone else's clothes before, so yeah.” Gwen nodded while lifting the canopy free from the pole. “But right now? No. Why?”
I stepped over to help her steady it.
“The Raars say they didn't recognize me because my scent changed.”
A strange chill crept down my spine.
Spirits had always recognized me before.
Always.
Then I frowned.
“Why do we even need this pole?”
“I'm thinking we can use it to fish that thing out of the pool.”
With a final shove, the pole clattered onto the grass.
“There are proper tools inside the house,” a yellow-starred Raar chimed in.
“The net is by the entrance.”
After relaying the message, I headed toward the glass doors.
Thankfully, they weren't locked.
“We thought those people had come back,” said the red-headed star.
I stopped.
“So you really did see what happened here?”
By the time I returned with the skimmer net, Gwen had already stolen it from my hands.
Naturally.
“There were four people,” the green-headed star began. “Three men and one woman.”
“They seemed to know nobody was home,” the yellow one added.
“They brought large bags filled with jars of blood.”
A grimace twisted across my face.
The image alone made my stomach lurch.
“Then they painted the message on the wall,” the red star continued. “And spread the blood everywhere.”
“Did they say anything?”
The Raars exchanged glances.
“They mentioned some kind of bait,” the red-headed one said slowly.
“A bait?”
The star tilted its head.
“A bait in a psychiatric facility.”
Everything inside me went still.
Bait.
The word echoed through my mind.
Not a mistake.
Not an accident.
Bait.
Which meant someone hadn't simply wanted me gone.
Someone had wanted me exactly where I was.
I repeated the word over and over in my head.
Bait.
Bait for who?
And who exactly was supposed to be the bait?
Me?
Or the people from Istmond?
“Did they mention Harold Moss by name?” I asked.
“Yes,” the yellow star nodded.
“They said they would soon gain a loyal ally.”
A cold knot tightened in my stomach.
Because suddenly, I wasn't sure whether they had been talking about Harold Moss—
or me.
My throat tightened.
A loyal ally.
Someone they expected to recruit.
Or someone they believed already belonged to them.
“Got it,” Gwen suddenly announced.
I turned toward her.
She had finally managed to retrieve the object from the bottom of the pool.
A brooch.
Unfamiliar.
Elegant.
Its metal surface was engraved with a crest I didn't recognize.
“How did Airis miss this?” I murmured.
Carefully taking the brooch, I turned it over.
The moment I saw the inscription on the back, my breath caught.
Urpis.
I would've sworn on anything.
The words were written in Urpis.
“They came back after you left,” one of the Raars added.
I immediately translated for Gwen.
“The woman returned alone,” the red-headed star explained.
“She dropped the brooch into the water.”
Gwen and I exchanged a glance.
“Looks like she wanted someone to find it.”
Exactly what I had been thinking.
A clue.
Not evidence.
A clue.
Something deliberately left behind.
Something meant to be found.
Something meant to be followed.
“Just like you wanted to be found.”
The unfamiliar male voice came from directly behind us.
Both Gwen and I froze.
Instantly.