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Michael chuckled, low and deep, making her less preoccupied with all the dark drama of late—including that red-hot dream she’d had about a man she’d never seen. One she didn’t even know.
Once the townsfolk had all settled in, both of the slayers at the front of the room stood.
The noise, however, did not dissipate. The concern over an emergency session had gotten the best of everyone, not just Jade. The speculation and anticipation permeated the room, creating a loud din Walker Marks wasn’t able to contain with the mere gesturing of his hand for order. Several moments slid by and Jade was on her feet.
“Stop!” she called out. “Everyone stop talking!”
The conversations instantly died. Jade glanced around the cavernous hall, the residents of Ryleigh staring expectantly at her. As though she truly were the prime authoritarian of the village.
She mentally reminded herself that she was not.
Following a brisk, “Thank you,” she returned to her seat.
“Nice work, Jade,” Toran mumbled.
“We’re here this morning because there’s been an accident.” Walker cut right to the chase. “I don’t want you to panic or read anything into it. Let us share the facts with you and please don’t interrupt.”
He gave Jade a keen look. She shrugged a shoulder. No promises.
Toran said, “I found a body on my patrol early this morning.”
Voices erupted once more, drowning out the slayers. Jade stood. This time, her mere presence quelled the racket—without her saying a word.
When there was absolute quiet, she turned to Toran and demanded, “Human or demon?”
“Human.”
Again with the public uproar, until Jade lifted her hand to silence everyone.
“Who?” she asked, her tone deceptively calm to mask the raw intensity taking hold of her.
Walker shifted uncomfortably on his booted feet and exchanged a look with his colleague.
“Damn it, Walker,” Jade said, her composure slipping. “Who? Who’s dead?”
Walker groaned.
Jade’s patience wore thin. “Walker!”
“Jinx,” the older man blurted. “It’s…Jinx.”
Jade’s heart stammered. Her mind reeled for several suspended seconds as she tried to process his words—and fight the sudden threat of tears. Then she whispered a sharp, “No.”
“Regrettably, it’s true,” the slayer continued. “Toran found him in the south woods. The king has already been alerted.”
“You said this was an accident,” Jade reiterated on a quavering breath as she waded through muddled thoughts and her shocked disbelief. Pain swelled swiftly within her, tightening her throat almost to the degree of choking her. “Why would the king need to know about this?”
“Because,” Toran said in a disconcerted tone. “It was a demon who inadvertently killed Jinx.”
Another outburst so that Jade’s head started to throb. Tremors raced through her over this horrific news. She blindly reached for Michael and he was hastily at her side, his palm splaying along the small of her back, the other hand clasping her shoulder to help steady her.
Walker and Toran attempted to subdue the distressed crowd. Jade barely heard anything over the raging of her pulse in her ears. And the shredding of her heart over losing Jinx. He’d been like a great-uncle to her. A funny, carefree spirit who told zany fortunes when one felt blue and always had a smile on his face, no matter how grim things seemed.
It took great effort, but Jade tamped down her emotions, as she always did when her feelings became unbearable.
Stepping away from Michael and into the aisle, her voice rose again as she asked the slayers, “What did the Demon King say of this?” She couldn’t bring herself to utter the word accident. It grotesquely ridiculed the very existence of their village.
The commotion tapered off as Toran said, “He’s deeply concerned. He is the one, after all, who’s advocated so strongly for peace. He questioned the vampire that attacked Jinx and, apparently, the two had struck up an experimental relationship some time ago.”
