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Elders.
Despite her brilliant knack at espionage, she'd yet to learn about the
existence of the shadowy group of immortals who secretly ruled the world. This
didn't surprise Elijah, who knew to his detriment how closely the Elders
guarded their secrets.
    And Elijah was not about to tell Percy the truth, not until he absolutely
had to. God knew what she'd do with such information.
    It wasn’t that Elijah felt he owed any loyalty at all to the Elders. He
kept their secrets for Lady Christiana's sake, and no other reason. Hell, he
trusted Percy more than he trusted an Elder, which was why he'd
refrained from telling Rowan anything concerning O’Connor or the unknown Elder
he suspected was behind all of the Black Market's rotten business. Rowan was a
good man, but Elijah had no desire to test his true allegiances.
    "We'll find him, Percy," was all he could say to her now. He
couldn't tell her the whole truth, but he could tell her a part of it –
the only part that mattered to both of them. "We'll find all of them. My
vow hasn't changed." Even if it is an Elder , he
added silently.
    She nodded, satisfied for the moment.
    "So are you going to tell me why you're here?" he prompted,
changing the subject.
    "Right. Forgot my news. The Gentleman struck again. Just as you
said."
    "Bloody hell," he muttered.
    "How did you know he'd visit my new employer's safe?"
    "A hunch," he said. Though it hadn't been. He'd been tracking
the most notorious jewel thief to hit London in years for a few months now. He
knew the Gentleman’s patterns as well as he knew the back of his own hand. He'd
just never cared enough to actually try and catch the bastard, no matter how
much of a fuss the nobs in Mayfair kicked up over it down at the Yard. In fact,
he'd gladly let the thief nick all the baubles he wanted from the fat, indolent
Upper Ten Thousand. It had not been Elijah's problem.
    Until he worked out that Newgate Nick employed the Gentleman. Then it had become his problem. And Percy's. The thief was their best hope in years
of infiltrating O’Connor's stronghold at long last, but they had to catch the
elusive man first. Thus Percival Parminter, valet extraordinaire, had been
born, lending services to the rich aristocrats who were the Gentleman’s potential
targets. It seemed their efforts had finally paid off.
    "The thief went straight for Lord Montague's wall safe. Nearly had
it opened before I could even bloody blink. But I did as you told me to. I made
just enough noise to scare him off before the deed was done. He was out of an
attic window in a flash. I followed him the best I could, got halfway to Covent
Garden, then lost him. The little bugger is fast," Percy said, with
grudging admiration. "Faster than I ever was."
    "Did he know he was being followed?" he asked, taking his long
cane from Percy's outstretched hand. He'd used a cane to support his crushed
leg before the transformation, so he pretended to use one now – except
this one had a long, deadly sword sheathed inside of its hollow body. Perfect
for killing leeches.
    "I don't think so," she answered. "I’m not that out
of practice. I have a feeling he'll return to Lord Montague’s, though. He didn’t
like having to abandon his take."
    "I’m sure he didn't like having to return to O’Connor empty-handed
full-stop,” he said. “O’Connor is holding something over the thief's head to
get him to steal. He'll come back tonight, or sometime very soon. O’Connor will
make it impossible for him not to. Lord Montague has the best diamonds in the
city, and for some reason O’Connor wants them. I'll go there tonight."
    "There's something about this thief," Percy began hesitantly.
"He's not at all like O’Connor’s usual associates."
    "It's our best lead we've had in years. Do you mean to give up the
hunt because you feel sorry for this thief?"
    Percy glared at him over her spectacles. "Just don't forget to feed,
Drexler. I wouldn't want you to lose control before we even