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was a joint mission. No one was leader. Still, he kept his mouth shut as he turned a gently sloping corner and spotted a wide chamber around three hundred yards ahead.
    “Stay sharp,” he barked as he crept closer, all his senses on full alert.
    “Don’t need to tell me that, asshole,” Florence muttered from behind. Jack ignored her and slowed as he reached the entrance to the chamber. The interior was not lit by nightfire. Jack inched his way into the darkness, his eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light. He growled instinctively as a horrible smell assailed his nostrils.
    “Stay back, Florence,” he said, holding out a protective arm.
    “Get out of my way, Jack,” she hissed, ducking underneath him and kneeling to cobble stones slick with a dark substance. There were several objects strewn randomly on the floor. Bodies. Lycan corpses. Jack knew the smell and it always made him want to gag. He suspected the particular lycan smell triggered an emotional response.
    “How many?” he asked, determined to keep emotion from his voice.
    “Eight, I think,” Florence said in a thick voice. She was clearly trying to do the same but with less success.
    A movement by the far doorway drew Jack’s attention. He growled and felt his body tip over into the germ. Within seconds he was a good two feet taller and rippling with lycan muscle. He tasted blood in his mouth and his mind was flooded with a sea of information from his heightened senses.
    “There was nothing I could do,” said a clipped, educated voice. Jack knew instinctively that the figure wasn’t a threat but he allowed his razor-sharp claws to flex. His clothes had all but fallen to the floor, torn to shreds. For the moment, Florence remained in human form, but didn’t seem to mind that Jack had succumbed to his spirit beast.
    “We’ve all arrived too late,” she said in a soft voice. Jack wondered why she sounded so amiable, then he recognized the figure by the door. It was Julian Banes,the filthy rich aquilan they’d meet recently. The one who’d been sniffing around for lycan secrets. Jack didn’t trust him as far as he could throw him. The bird man liked to put on a noble act that seemed to melt Florence’s defenses. Luckily, Jack was immune to Julian’s charms. There was no way his presence here was a coincidence.
    “These lycans were killed more than two weeks ago,” the aquilan said with a searching look at Jack. “I’ve already checked the bodies.”
    “Well if you don’t mind, we’ll be checking them again,” Jack said defiantly.
    Florence sighed as Jack went about his grisly work. He picked through the corpses with a heavy heart, finding no reason to doubt what Julian had said.
    “Did you set those lamps down?” Florence asked the aquilan. “The nightfire?”
    “I did,” Julian responded. “I figured you’d need something against the wights.”
    “Have you seen one yet?” Florence asked.
    “No,” Julian said. “I felt a cold presence as I was navigating the tunnels. I believe one passed close by.”
    “We should leave, Jack,” Florence said urgently. “There’s nothing else we can do.”
    Jack nodded, finishing his difficult task. “I’ve identified all of them,” he said tiredly. “Dalton, Amelia, Cassia, Emerson, Lorenzo, Ash, Paul, Cole. All lycans, all dead.”
    These last words he said in a faint voice, the enormity of the situation hitting him. The Society hadn’t lost so many operatives since the Dark Ages. It was as if he’d entered another world, a world full of danger and mortality for lycans. The cocky sense of invincibility he’d felt all his life was quickly evaporating.
    “There’s something I should mention,” Julian ventured. Florence raised her eyebrow.
    “I’m no expert in these matters, but it’s likely these lycans were tortured before they died. Mentally, I mean.”
    Jack’s brow furrowed as he stepped forward.
    “How, exactly?”
    “The aquila have researched the various