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Bigfoot and all the other crap you two get up to? ” Her roguish grin was so like that of her brother that it made Dane flinch. It was one thing to notice Angel was hot. To think that Bones ’ sister was hot – that was something else entirely.
    Otto cleared his throat.
    “ There is something else I must tell you. ” Not meeting anyone ’ s eye, Otto recounted the time after they had left him alone in the cathedral. His voice was soft, remorse weighing heavily in every word. “ I told them about the three hares. ” He lapsed into silence, but Dane sensed there was more. ” And I gave them Jade ’ s name. ”
    Dane and Jade exchanged glances. He couldn ’ t tell exactly what she was thinking, but she didn ’ t seem too upset about it. She was tough.
    “ One of them knew you and he sounded very upset when I told him your name. ” Now Jade did look surprised, but she kept her silence. “ That was when the authorities arrived. ” Otto finally looked at her. “ I am so sorry. I have read adventure novels and i Magi ned myself a hero, but reality is something entirely different. I am not a strong man. ” His chin fell to his chest and his face darkened.
    “ It ’ s all right. ” Jade took his hand in both of hers. “ I would have done the same thing. ”
    Dane knew that wasn ’ t true. Jade was stronger than Otto ever dreamed of being.
    “ This is really jacked-up, ” Bones said to Jade. “ If you have any rivals in your field, they ’ d have one of your specializations, wouldn ’ t they? ”
    Jade shrugged.
    Dane looked at Bones and could tell they were thinking the same thing. There was only one group that was likely to have it in for Jade. If his hunch was correct, they were all in danger.

Chapter 7- A Theft
     
    “ Did he say what, exactly, we are looking for? ” Ulrich appeared in the doorway looking annoyed. “ I searched the other two rooms and found nothing but suitcases that had not even been opened. It appears Ihara ’ s friends checked in and stayed only long enough to drop off their luggage. ” He ran his fingers through his wavy black hair. His vanity and legendary poor swimming ability had earned him the nickname Hasselhoff, though few dared say it to the quick-tempered man ’ s face.
    “ The skulls, obviously, and anything else that might connect to the three hares, the Magi , or the cathedral. ” Niklas finished his search of the bag. Neither it nor Ihara ’ s luggage had turned up anything. The name on the identification tag read Dane Maddock. The name meant nothing to him, but he committed it to memory all the same.
    “ Have you found anything? ” Uhlrich opened the bathroom door and peered inside.
    “ I have not yet finished. ” Niklas felt a flash of annoyance. He did not want to leave empty-handed, but he was concerned that Ihara had taken the skulls with her. He searched the dresser, closet, and even the floor beneath the bed skirt , but came up empty. Uhlrich poked around, looking in all the places Niklas had already checked.
    He was about to give up when he noticed a bulge behind the curtain. Not wanting to give away his presence to anyone looking in from the outside, he drew back the curtain just far enough to see a black backpack resting on the windowsill. Dark, hollow holes gaped up at him from sinister, horned skulls. H e had found what they were looking for.
    “ I ’ ve got them! Let ’ s go. ”
    Uhlrich ’ s tense face sagged with relief. He cracked the door open and peered up and down the hall before signaling that the way was clear.
    They took the stairs down to the first floor and, along the way, Niklas slipped out of his overcoat and draped it over his arm, concealing the backpack. Neither Ihara nor the rest of her party knew him or Uhlrich, but there was always the slim chance she would recognize her own backpack, and he did not want to risk blowing things through a chance encounter. By the time they exchanged the warmth of the hotel for the cold