Lady Elara vanished exactly as she had arrived. Silently and completely.
One moment, she was standing in the ruined office, her glass eyes fixed on Zane.
The next, she was gone, leaving only the chilling scent of ozone and stillness hanging in the air.
Where she had been standing, a single, black leather folio lay on the floor.
It was the promised dossier.
Zane stood motionless, allowing the deep sense of cold dread that Elara radiated to wash over him.
Wren, who had stayed crouched behind the shattered desk, slowly stood up.
"Did we just get hired by a psychopath?" Wren whispered, her voice rough with disbelief and residual fear.
"Worse," Zane said, walking over and retrieving the folio.
The leather felt cold and oddly warm in his hand, smelling faintly of expensive parchment
