---

The alley was cast in shadows. Magnus walked swiftly to the door he knew to be hidden beneath the rusted fire escape. He wiped his forehead, wishing he had remembered a handkerchief. Damn these loose and ridiculous clothes. He hated their rough fibers and bright colors. He wouldn’t have to worry about the sweat dampening his brow and upper lip, not to mention his underarms if he was wearing the cool smooth fabric that made up his uniform.

He hooked his finger into the latch in the wall and turned it counter-clockwise three times. The alley smelled like something had died there recently, the sharp metallic fumes assaulted his nostrils forcing him to breathe through his mouth. This realm, Mundad, with its pollution and blood, was an abomination. If it couldn’t be terra-formed then it would have to go. Although, there was almost nothing left to harvest anymore. The oil giants had seen to that. They should never have banished them. Magnus warned the council. It would have been better to study and understand what drove them to greedily consume so many fossil fuels. Maybe they could have even re-educated them like they had for the bourgeois.

A window opened and Magnus pressed his hand on the print within. He felt the stone move and crunch against the gravel. The other side was dark, there must be only one moon out tonight. Magnus hurried across the threshold and took a deep calming breath. How was he going to tell Ralik he failed? He hoped Greer would have educated his only daughter on the ways of their world. He had assumed she would know something. Instead, he was shocked to find nothing but a sunny California girl sitting across from him. She knew nothing of the darkness and the glory of their existence. Was this how Greer planned to protect her? Magnus chuckled. The old fool became too comfortable in Mundad…and now he and his pretty daughter would pay.

“Hello, brother.”

Magnus turned, his skin chilling at the deep growl behind him. He hated it when his brother disguised himself as a bloodwolf. His instincts were too raw in such a form, his anger too great. “Ralik.”

Golden eyes stared back at him in the darkness. “Do you have it?”

“No.”

The answering growl was loud and angry. Spittle sprayed between them, and Magnus held firm. He would not be cowed by him. “Do stand up, Ralik. A man as great as you should never grovel.”

Another growl, this time louder and more vicious. Magnus clutched the sleeve of his uncomfortable brown jacket, his fingers fidgeting with a buttonhole. He waited. Slowly Ralik stood on his hind legs, muscle turned into a calf, then a thigh. Hair began to fall from his body like the leaves from a willow tree in winter. He made a strangled sound as his neck and snout returned to their original form. Magnus silently watched his brother return. Shapeshifting was one of his least favorite activities, despite the obvious advantages.

“Better?” Ralik stood naked in front of him, hands splayed.

“Much, Thank you.” Magnus blinked at him. “Now as I was saying, I do not have the book. She knows nothing.”

Ralik’s face twisted into a smile and a bark of laughter burst from deep in his throat. He shook his head, sweat and spittle flung from his blonde hair. Magnus took a step back. “She knows nothing, eh?” Ralik spit the last of the wolf on to the ground and looked back at his brother. “Follow her.”

“You mean go back?”

“Yes, but shift this time.”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “You know I hate that. I have a man watching her. I don’t need to shift.”

“Never task someone with something you can do yourself.”

“I trust Duncan. He’s a Scarlet Warrior. He will be true.”

“Little brother, never trust anyone.” Ralik shook his head and rested a hand on Magnus’s shoulder. “You’ll learn, but for now—go back, shift, and follow her.”

“But-“

“I don’t believe for a moment that she knows nothing. Greer is no fool. He would have planted it deep, she just needs to be reminded.”

Magnus sighed, resigned to his fate, and rested his hand Ralik’s shoulder. “Yes, brother. I will succeed this time.