That drew a startled laugh. “Blimey, you think of the
strangest things. You take souls, steal hearts. Literally.
What do you care about a human skull?”
“I care about respect.” His answer sucked, but it
was all he had.
“Respect,” Alastor echoed, glancing at the skull.
“It might have been someone’s brother.”
The silence stretched until Alastor gave a deceptively lazy shrug and set the skull back on the shelf.
Their eyes met and held, both grief and the unspoken
promise of retribution hanging thickly between them.
“Maybe he killed a supernatural elsewhere,” Dagan
said, shifting the conversation back to Alastor’s
74
SINS OF THE HEART
original question. He passed his brother the photograph. Alastor studied it, then shrugged and shook his
head.
“Look again.”
Alastor did, taking his time. “The pendant,” he said
at length, handing the photo back. “You think he killed
one of Aset’s Daughters?”
“I think he killedsomeoneand took a photograph.
Can’t say if it was one of Aset’s Daughters.” Or if it
was a smart-mouthed girl with toffee-cream skin and
sleek, dark ringlets that fell over her shoulders. The
possibility made him feel like he was going to burst out
of his skin.
“What do you know about Aset’s Daughters?”
Alastor’s question hurtled him into the past. He’d asked
her almost the same thing as he’d held her necklace in
his hand, studying the hieroglyphics on the back,