The Singer

“So you’re proposing aggression?” Lang asked. “Not just defense, but offense?”

Rhys paused. “I know it’s not the official policy, but—”

“Just clarifying, brother,” Lang said. “You won’t get an argument from me.”

“Nor me,” Damien said. “And technically, I’m still your superior.”

“So we find them,” Leo said. “Take them out where they sleep.”

Malachi said, “And we do it now. It’s near dawn. They’ll be hunting right now, but they’ll be sleeping at dawn. If we pull everyone in, find where they’re taking shelter and strike quickly, we might be able to stop this.”

Orsala said, “They won’t expect it. This is one of the things the Irina have learned. The Grigori expect Irin to be defensive, not offensive. They won’t be expecting an attack from you because it’s not officially sanctioned.”

“And we are oh so very good at following rules,” Rhys said.

Everyone moved closer to the map. Malachi took Ava’s hand again, leaning in to survey the red and yellow dots. It was true, there were many. Too many. But somewhere in the forest of attacks, they would find a nest of enemies.

Which was good. Malachi was more than ready to kill something.

“An apartment building in the city center?” Sari said. “Would that be too conspicuous?”

“A hotel?” Leo offered. “If many of them have come in very recently, they might not have a house big enough. But a hotel…”

“It’s possible,” Lang said with a nod. “They would be inconspicuous. And there are many hotels near the larger tourist sites where they’ve been hunting.”

“A group of supernaturally attractive men all in one hotel would be pretty darn conspicuous,” Ava said. “I mean, it might still be an option, but I have a hard time believing they’d be able to hide for long. It would look like a convention of male models taking over downtown Oslo.”

Leo added, “I’ll try to get in contact with Max and his friend.”

Sari said, “We’ll start without them. Send out scouts. Find the Grigori. Find their base. We find it before dawn, and then we kill them all.”

Only three hours later, Leo received the call from Max.

“We’ve found them. It’s not good.”

Chapter Twenty-four

Ava had spent little time in Oslo, usually only using it as a jumping-off point for treks in rural Norway. The waterfront was something new. The normally bustling sidewalks of the Aker Brygge were silent at dawn. None of the tourist traffic was out, and the few boats that sat in port bobbed quietly in the frosty air. Tall buildings rose on one side while the frigid expanse of the fjord stretched out before them. It was foggy and near freezing, and Ava stood as close to Malachi as she could while they huddled in the alley with Maxim and Renata. Jeremiah and the other Oslo scribes were cautiously strolling through the area, trying to spot any lingering Grigori or humans. They’d found the body of one girl, dead from attack or exposure, they couldn’t tell.

“The police are noticing,” Max said. “The girls who are disappearing are not just prostitutes and drug addicts anymore.”

Lang said, “Grigori attacks prior to this have been unnoticed—mostly because the women survive and don’t remember exactly what happened coupled with the fact the Grigori prey on the most vulnerable on the streets. But this many in the city? I’m surprised it’s not raised a public panic yet.”

“The house is two blocks down,” Renata said. “We haven’t been able to get inside, but we’ve been watching. I would guess there are around sixty soldiers.”

“I’d guess more,” Max said. “And I think some came in on a ferry today. I’m not positive—I was too far away—but they looked right for Grigori and the human women were reacting to them.”

“We never knew about this place,” Lang said. “They’ve kept it very quiet.”

“And you’ve been reactive, not proactive,” Renata said with a shrug, clearly not caring if she pissed off the tall scribe who glared at her. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. All the scribe houses are.”

“Renata,” Max said with a warning tone. “It’s not important now. What is important is that they’re here now.”

“We’ve been watching,” Renata said.

“And most of the Grigori are in for the night. Saturday night is easy hunting for them. They get their prey early, so the majority will be in the house.”

“Ava,” Sari said in a low voice. “Do you hear anything?”

“I haven’t been trying. Do you want me to?”

Sari nodded.

Ava took a deep breath and let go of Malachi’s hand. He didn’t want to, but she needed to lose the connection before she could open the door.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “All of you hum or something.”

“Hum?” Rhys frowned at her.

“Yeah, hum. Sing a little ditty. That seems to be the best way to keep your inner voices quiet when I scan for static.”

“Clearly,” Lang said, “there is much to learn about how the Irina fight.”

“Not Irina,” Renata said. “Just Ava.”

“And thank you again for pointing out how weird I am, Ren. Much appreciated.”

“You just have better range and accuracy than anyone else,” Sari said. “It’s not a bad thing.”