This has got to mean something, she mused. What did they find?
Kari looked up as a terra-rir appeared in the doorway of her office, and she smiled. Lord Allerius—or Albrecht, as he preferred she call him—was still head of the Order despite Kari’s own administrative position, but he considered her his partner in running the Order. He was a ruggedly handsome terra-rir with the white hair and green eyes most common to his kind. Like Kari, he had settled into an administrative position after marrying and having several children, but he was a veteran of the Apocalypse and a respected hunter admired by all of those under his command.
“What is it, sir?” she asked him. These days, he rarely made important decisions without consulting Kari first, and he often sought her advice on which hunters to send out on specific missions. In the previous few years, Kari came to know her co-workers among the Order quite well, and she was adept at matching their strengths and weaknesses to specific tasks that would help keep them safe but also allow them to grow stronger. Though she wasn’t as well-educated as Albrecht, he still deferred to her instincts on many matters.
Albrecht beckoned for her to follow. “The council wants you in on this,” he said. “A very important client just arrived on campus.”
Kari regarded him curiously; she had never been asked to help the council with any of their decision making. The council was comprised of priests, not demonhunters, so while Allerius was head of the Order, he still answered to Zalkar’s clerics. As it was, Kari had only ever stood before the council on one occasion: Her promotion to the rank of Sword of the Heavens after her mission on Tsalbrin. Only the council had authority to promote anyone above the twelfth order, and it had been one of the proudest moments of Kari’s life to stand before them and be judged worthy of the promotion by a unanimous decision.
Kari rose and followed Albrecht to the temple, which stood near the center of the sprawling demonhunter campus. It was clear from all the interested looks the cadets gave the pair that something unusual was going on, and Kari wondered what all the secrecy was about. Though the interior of the temple was arranged like all of Zalkar’s other churches—with an altar fronted by benches set up in a horseshoe-shape and a speaking area at the center—the rear of the temple was a conference room. The large table at the far end was shaped like a boomerang, and seated behind it were nine human priests of Zalkar. Allerius led Kari through the empty gallery toward the table, and it was only then that Kari saw who was standing before the council.
He was a giant, powerfully-built serilian-rir—or half-demon, as they were still commonly called—who must’ve stood over seven feet tall. Kari drew closer and the man turned to regard her, and she marveled at how similar his coloration was to her own. While he was clearly serilian-rir, he had the same dark ebon eyes and long, silky black hair Kari did. He lacked any sort of horns that she could see, his hair was brushed back and tied neatly into a tail, and there was an undeniable handsomeness to him. He was dressed in black leather armor, but it was stylish and could have nearly passed for formal attire at first glance, and he had a heavy black cloak that was bunched up between his folded, massive, black leathery wings.
“Mr. Black,” she greeted him shortly before she and Albrecht came to attention before the council. The massive male nodded curtly, and Kari saluted her superiors.
“Lady Vanador,” the councilors greeted Kari. The council and her coworkers continued to refer to her as Lady Vanador despite the fact that she and Grakin were officially mated; more people were familiar with her maiden name than her mate’s own proud surname of Tesconis. Kari never liked being referred to as Lady, but her promotion to the rank of Sword of the Heavens had brought with it a title of minor nobility—one the Order took a lot more seriously than she did.
Master Bennet, an elder human, was the head of the council and worked closely with Lord Allerius in running the Order and its academy. “Thank you for answering our summons so quickly. As you can see, the Order has a… delicate situation before it. However, I will let Earl Southwick explain it in his own terms.”
Kari turned to face the serilian-rir. She had heard many stories about Kaelin Black, the Earl of Southwick County, but better known as one of the most notorious crime lords in the world. What every story inevitably led to was Black avoiding all blame for the actions of his syndicate and somehow managing to look like a legitimate businessman. Still, he was the lord of the city of Barcon and Southwick County, and until the Demonhunter Order found solid evidence of him committing crimes or terrorizing his people, they treated him with the respect due his position, if not him personally. Kari tried to keep her expression neutral as she held his stare, recognizing he had to be on campus to request help from the Order. Fortunately, it was chillier than she’d expected in the conference room, so no one really paid attention when she folded her arms across her chest.
“As I explained to your council, I have a serial killer on the loose in my city,” Lord Black said. His voice was deep and somewhat threatening despite his posture and expression, and Kari wondered if it was something he’d practiced for years or if it was just a byproduct of being serilian-rir. “Normally my men are sufficient to take care of such things, but to date this assassin has proven too much for them to deal with. I have looked into the situation myself and even hired outside help, so far to no avail. As the death toll is now in excess of two dozen with no end in the foreseeable future, I am requesting the Order’s assistance on this.”
“When did the killings start?” Kari asked.
Lord Black folded his arms across his chest and sighed. “Roughly two weeks ago,” he said, and when Kari’s brows rose, he shrugged. “I am able to teleport thanks to my heritage, to answer your question; that’s how I arrived here so quickly. I couldn’t afford to waste the time it would take to ride here and let this killer have his way with my citizens for a month and more. I need the Order’s help as soon as possible.”
“It will take our people weeks to get to Barcon, unless you can take them there yourself,” Kari reasoned.
The Earl shook his head. “I cannot, but that shouldn’t be an issue. For the time being, my city is under martial law. All citizens have been ordered to stay off the streets after nightfall and keep their doors and windows sealed until dawn. I can mitigate the killer’s actions until help arrives, I simply cannot catch them myself.”
“And you believe it is a demon, Your Lordship?” Allerius prompted.
“I do,” Lord Black said. “This killer leaves no tracks, no traces, and no scent. I’ve even had a brys try to track and find this killer, again to no avail. I can only reason that it’s some kind of demon of the underworld sort. I believe one of your Order might have better luck determining what it is I am dealing with, and how best to eliminate the threat.”
“Why not ask the Avenger Order for their help? Gnarr is much closer to Barcon than we are,” Kari prodded.
The Earl shifted uncomfortably. “I should think it goes without saying that given my… relationship with the Duke of Sutherland, asking him or his order for their help would cost me much status as the Earl of Southwick. Your help would come at a more reasonable price.”
“And why should we help you?” Kari voiced everyone’s unspoken question.