south.”
They backtracked away from the body, and Munro felt a stab of guilt. He should make sure the crime had been reported. His training told him he should preserve the scene and stay with the body. If he left, who knew what would happen? And who would discover the corpse? This was a school, he reminded himself. He didn’t want some kid stumbling upon the horror. But he also knew Eilidh was right, and, for Munro, doing the right thing, the thing his years of training told him to do, would be a mistake. It would lead to questions Munro didn’t have answers to, and would confuse an investigation doomed to fail anyway, at least as long as the police were searching for a human culprit with ordinary motives. Preserving forensic evidence wouldn’t tell them half as much as using Eilidh to track the killer.
Munro couldn’t sense the presence or scent Eilidh followed through town. He could tell she was frustrated at having to jog slowly enough to accommodate his human limitations, but she didn’t leave him behind. She covered her features with a hood as they moved into the more trafficked streets. Fortunately, the one they chased seemed to have avoided well-lit areas and took back streets wherever possible.
After about a mile of dense city, they moved more openly and picked up their pace. Eilidh stopped from time to time and stood perfectly still, listening hard. Then she would shake her head, and they’d go on, rarely deviating from a path that led straight south. After another mile, they passed the large expanse of the South Inch, down the Edinburgh Road to the edge of the city.
Eilidh stopped again, gazing south, and quivering. “He was just here.” Frustration rippled across her face. “Faith, I can go no further.”
Heart thumping from the long run across the city, Munro stared at her, confused. “Did the trail disappear?”
“No,” she said. “It is too dangerous. There are other fae about. Kingdom fae. I can feel the borders of the Otherworld nearby.”
“Eilidh, I don’t understand. Are you saying this murderer is a kingdom faerie? I thought they were the good guys.”
She snorted. “Good? You would think…” She locked her eyes on Munro’s, and he felt the intensity of her stare. “How is it that he is able to walk the borderlands freely when I cannot?” She paced back and forth on an invisible border, staring south.
Munro followed her line of sight. “What do you mean?” He knew an immense quarry was hidden from view just beyond those trees. Then came the highway, and then nothing but farms and woodland for quite a distance. There would be the odd village tucked along a B-road, but not a lot of civilisation.
“He must be an outcast, like me. None who know the Path of the Azure would be welcome within the kingdom. And yet he is not afraid to continue on.”
“He’s a psychopath.”
“I do not know this word,” she said, flicking her hood back with impatience.
“He must be crazy to do the things he’s done. He’s not going to think like you or I would.”
“Crazy?” She stared at him.
“Isn’t he? How could a sane person commit these murders?”
“There is a difference between evil and insane.”
Munro didn’t understand why Eilidh seemed so annoyed with him all of a sudden. “So he’s not afraid of the kingdom fae. What does it matter?”
“It matters,” she said.
Eilidh suddenly whipped her head around as though she’d heard something. Her eyes widened with shock, and she crouched, ready to leap. “Where are you?” she shouted into the darkness.
“What is it?” Munro asked. “What’s happening?”
“Run!” she cried out. “Go away from here.”
“I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.”
She spun. “No!” she shouted, turning to Munro, her face going alabaster white. She looked like she was about to speak, but then she collapsed.
Munro kept alert and watched the trees
They backtracked away from the body, and Munro felt a stab of guilt. He should make sure the crime had been reported. His training told him he should preserve the scene and stay with the body. If he left, who knew what would happen? And who would discover the corpse? This was a school, he reminded himself. He didn’t want some kid stumbling upon the horror. But he also knew Eilidh was right, and, for Munro, doing the right thing, the thing his years of training told him to do, would be a mistake. It would lead to questions Munro didn’t have answers to, and would confuse an investigation doomed to fail anyway, at least as long as the police were searching for a human culprit with ordinary motives. Preserving forensic evidence wouldn’t tell them half as much as using Eilidh to track the killer.
Munro couldn’t sense the presence or scent Eilidh followed through town. He could tell she was frustrated at having to jog slowly enough to accommodate his human limitations, but she didn’t leave him behind. She covered her features with a hood as they moved into the more trafficked streets. Fortunately, the one they chased seemed to have avoided well-lit areas and took back streets wherever possible.
After about a mile of dense city, they moved more openly and picked up their pace. Eilidh stopped from time to time and stood perfectly still, listening hard. Then she would shake her head, and they’d go on, rarely deviating from a path that led straight south. After another mile, they passed the large expanse of the South Inch, down the Edinburgh Road to the edge of the city.
Eilidh stopped again, gazing south, and quivering. “He was just here.” Frustration rippled across her face. “Faith, I can go no further.”
Heart thumping from the long run across the city, Munro stared at her, confused. “Did the trail disappear?”
“No,” she said. “It is too dangerous. There are other fae about. Kingdom fae. I can feel the borders of the Otherworld nearby.”
“Eilidh, I don’t understand. Are you saying this murderer is a kingdom faerie? I thought they were the good guys.”
She snorted. “Good? You would think…” She locked her eyes on Munro’s, and he felt the intensity of her stare. “How is it that he is able to walk the borderlands freely when I cannot?” She paced back and forth on an invisible border, staring south.
Munro followed her line of sight. “What do you mean?” He knew an immense quarry was hidden from view just beyond those trees. Then came the highway, and then nothing but farms and woodland for quite a distance. There would be the odd village tucked along a B-road, but not a lot of civilisation.
“He must be an outcast, like me. None who know the Path of the Azure would be welcome within the kingdom. And yet he is not afraid to continue on.”
“He’s a psychopath.”
“I do not know this word,” she said, flicking her hood back with impatience.
“He must be crazy to do the things he’s done. He’s not going to think like you or I would.”
“Crazy?” She stared at him.
“Isn’t he? How could a sane person commit these murders?”
“There is a difference between evil and insane.”
Munro didn’t understand why Eilidh seemed so annoyed with him all of a sudden. “So he’s not afraid of the kingdom fae. What does it matter?”
“It matters,” she said.
Eilidh suddenly whipped her head around as though she’d heard something. Her eyes widened with shock, and she crouched, ready to leap. “Where are you?” she shouted into the darkness.
“What is it?” Munro asked. “What’s happening?”
“Run!” she cried out. “Go away from here.”
“I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.”
She spun. “No!” she shouted, turning to Munro, her face going alabaster white. She looked like she was about to speak, but then she collapsed.
Munro kept alert and watched the trees
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