Ken leaned on a rock next to me. “A man came to the Guild. He walked in and didn’t say anything. He just waited. He didn’t look right. Chris asked him what he wanted, and the man said, ‘Crush my enemy.’ Then he turned and left. Then”—Ken clapped his hands, making a loud pop—“magic. He kicked the front door, but it got stuck. We tried to get out through the back door, but it was jammed shut. You know the rest.”

In the parking lot, thin, wiry Alix Simos crouched by the remains of his Lexus. A few yards away Cruz, six inches taller and about fifty pounds heavier, said something to him. Simos ignored him.

“I thought I saw something shiny in the giant’s left ear,” I said.

Ken nodded.

“It’s not there now. I checked.”

“It wasn’t there when he fell,” Ken said.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded.

We both looked at Lago. Well, well, looks like our hero got himself a souvenir. You greedy idiot.

“Bad idea to take it,” Ken said.

It was my turn to nod.

The reporters began to walk away. The impromptu press conference must’ve ended. Lago came striding toward me, his smile bright. “Hey, Kate! Hell of a thing we did today.”

“What did you take from the giant, Lago?”

He raised his eyebrows, but his eyes were sly.

“You took something out of his ear.”

Lago grinned at me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, honey.”

Call me “honey” again, see how that works out for you. “That was really stupid. He was naked except for that item, which means it was probably essential to him being a giant. You took an enchanted object of unknown power from a destructive creature who probably used to be human. You have no clue what effect it will have on you.”

“You’ve got one hell of an imagination.”

“She’s right,” Ken said.

“Turn it in,” I said. “It’s not worth it.”

Lago’s smile died. “Look, I get it. You’re sore that you had to share the credit. But no need to make up lies.”

“Lago, I looked into that thing’s eyes. They were empty. He started out as a man but ended up as a giant who had the intelligence of a toddler. He couldn’t even talk. Is that what you really want?”

He raised his hands to the sides. His voice rose. “You think I got it? Frisk me! Go ahead!”

Cops were looking in our direction. He was too confident. He must not have had it on him. If I searched the hero giant slayer now, I’d have to answer questions and likely be detained. I couldn’t afford to be detained and spend hours in a cell or being interviewed. I had to find Curran and Julie.

“I’m trying to save your life,” I ground out.