Page 38 of Tragic Ink
“And do you remember the person who purchased that tattoo from you?” Elsmedasked.
Purchased. He made it sound like nothing more than buying a sweater. Isnorted.
Rhys was the one who answered. When he did, his voice was grim. “It was Walter Glass. The deceased Seelie fae I mentionedearlier.”
“He’s the one who ran from Gwen’s apartment,” Elsmed said. “The glamoured Unseeliesoldier?”
“Yes,” Rhyssaid.
The room fellsilent.
“I see,” Elsmed said finally. He looked at Rhys. “So we know that a dark fae is here to exploit Gwen’sgifts.”
“How do you know he’s dark?” I askedsharply.
“Because the signature on the portal shows an unauthorized fae entry,” Rhys explained. “And no Seelie fae would glamour themselves to look like a dead guy in order to gounnoticed.”
I scowled, but said nothing. I knew the whole light and dark argument when it came to fae. I also knew most of them lived up to their reputations, thanks to the Unseelie apprentice I’d taken on last year. But I wasn’t a fan of prejudgment based on one’s genes. Then again, the guy that had killed Aelwyn, and maybe even Walter, was Unseelie, so maybe it was that simple afterall.
“Hmm. But we also know he doesn’t want to kill her. At least not yet,” Elsmedsaid.
I shuddered at the casual tone he used to talk about someone trying to murderme.
“And we know this dark fae can glamour himself to look like anyone he chooses,” Rhysadded.
“Yes, but so far, he’s only appeared as the dead,” I said. Both men looked at me, and I went on. “So far, he’s appeared as Walter—who was already dead at the time—and I think...” My forehead crinkled as I thought back. “The day after Aelwyn was— I was there going through her things, and I saw something out the window. It was only a split second, but it looked so much like her. It was enough to startle me, and by the time I got outside, they weregone.”
Rhys just stared atme.
“What?” I demanded irritably. “You’re not the only one withholdinginformation.”
Elsmed’s lips twitched. “Interesting. Well, that does present a problem, eitherway.”
“It’s going to make him damn near impossible to catch,” Rhys agreed. “If Gwen won’t hand over hergift—”
“He’ll just take it,” I finished for him, my voice hushed withhorror.
Elsmed nodded somberly. “My guess is he needs you alive in order to soak up what you have to offer. That’s why he continues to lure you out. He needs to get you alone long enough to steal your magic. He can’t kill you until that’sdone.”
Rhys huffed. “The question is, what can we do to identify him? I can sense his energy signature, but I can’t penetrate his glamour enough to recognize hisface.”
Elsmed rubbed his jaw. “The Court is working with the police already on the portal breach. What you’ve learned about his ability to disguise himself will be valuable toward that. I can put the wordout—”
“We can’t go through the Court,” I cutin.
“Do you have something against justice?” Elsmed asked, one brow rising inchallenge.
I could feel Rhys’s eyes on me, probably a glare that was meant to shut me up, but I purposely ignored him. “Considering I’m the prime suspect in my own mother’s murder, I don’t see how justice has much to do withit.”
Elsmed considered me for a moment and then threw a glance at Rhys. “She makes a fair point.” Before I could say anything else, he added, “But since revealing this new information would remove you from the suspect list, I’m assuming you’re mostly just worried about Ada’s preoccupation with yourability.”
I gaped at him and then tried to cover it with forced innocence. “I don’t know whatyou’re—”
“Gwen, your secret is safe here, in this room.” He cocked his head. “And just to reassure you, I have no intention of using your gifts for my owngain.”
I just stared at him, at a loss. Apparently, the rumors about Elsmed being some sort of mind reader were true. Judging from the surprised look Rhys wore, he hadn’t betrayed me. Elsmed had to have picked all that out of my mind—I’d been thinking about it hard enough since we’darrived.
“It’s not an exact science, you know,” he said—again, reading my thoughts. “But you do make iteasy.”
