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“Thank you.” Her breath shuddered in, and she started crying again. This time, she didn’t resist when Cain urged her out the door.
Hades. I stared after them for a beat, then shook my head.
Twilight made a small sound but didn’t speak. I was pretty sure she was on Avril’s side, though. My back teeth clamped together. Twilight was right, which was why I hadn’t slit Avril’s throat right then and there.
After the challenge, I’d wait a few days, then banish her from the island. For a longtime local like Avril, being cut off from her family and friends would be punishment enough.
I turned to Talon. “The first thing we need to do is locate this Kuro. See what you can find out about him, including is he really a member of the SI Board.
Twilight spoke. “He’s on the island. I saw him right here in the castle. At least, I think it was him—I didn’t get a good look.”
I rounded on her. “The hell you say. When?”
“A few days after I got here.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
Her firm little chin jutted. “I couldn’t. Because of my halmoni.”
I inhaled through my teeth. “Okay. Tell me now. Where did you see him?”
“In the ballroom. He was watching me.” She described how she’d seen a man and followed him outside but lost him. “I can’t be positive, but I think he went into the shadows to hide from me.”
“So he’s a vampire,” Talon said. “But an older one, because this was during the day, right?”
She nodded. “But my guess is he’s a dhampir. If he’s a member of the Board—and I’m almost sure he is, because he knew things about me only they would know—then he’s probably a dhampir. Most of the BOD is.”
Talon scowled. “How in Lilith’s name is he moving around the island without any of us knowing?”
“Maybe he’s one of us,” I said.
“A double agent? Describe him,” Talon told Twilight.
“About medium height with short brown hair. Slim, with Asian features—Japanese, maybe. But he’s American, at least his accent is. I suppose he could be Canadian—maybe even French-Canadian. Probably a martial arts expert—he moves like one, you know?”
“We have a couple of Asian men in the syndicate,” I said. “That’s if he’s a syndicate man. He could be a member of our support staff.”
Talon nodded. “I’ll talk to Kerry and William, see if we have any recent hires.” Pulling out his phone, he showed Twilight a photo of a Japanese-Canadian soldier who’d been with the syndicate about five years. “That him?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“What about him?” Talon pulled up another photo, this one a man of French and Vietnamese descent. “Although he’s off-island and has been since early August.”
Twilight frowned at the photo. “No. That’s not him either.”
“He could be using a glamour,” I said. “Did you ever spend an extended period of time with him?”
She heaved a breath. “No, I didn’t. Never more than a few minutes. And I was blindfolded when they gave me the tattoo.”
“So he might not even be Asian,” Talon said.
Twilight’s shoulders slumped. “You’re right.”
Her stomach growled. She darted a glance at the bowl of chowder.
“Go ahead and eat,” I told her. “Talon, you talk to Kerry and William. And for now, have them lock down the thralls so they can’t talk to each other. When you get around to it, you can question them about Twilight and Kuro. If you have to, compel them to tell the truth. We need to get to the bottom of this.”
Talon nodded, his expression grim, and left the apartment.
