It took a moment to turn, suggesting that Franks had covered a lot of ground since he’d left this spot. The Key stopped, pointing due west.

* * *

Franks had eluded them again.

This was beginning to frustrate Kurst.

He had begun their search where Myers had crashed. A pair of his brethren had been left to confirm the kill, only they had lost contact. By the time Kurst and the others had arrived, those two physical bodies had been burned to ash. The human overseer’s body had been mutilated. The trail of shell casings and blood told the story. Franks had been here.

Cratos had dived into the river and searched the submerged car. It had belonged to the MCB. Eight, who had been known in the before time as Thymos, had found the boat Franks had stolen downriver. Bia discovered the tire tracks of Myers’ rescuers and followed them back to the main road.

As ordered, Kurst had called in the information. Humans would be sent to gather evidence. Kurst suspected they would discover nothing of use.

He knelt next to the puddle of blood. The spray had kept it moist enough not to completely dry. Two mortals had bled here, but only one had perished. Curious. They had taken Myers’ corpse with them, whether to unnerve Stricken that his rival might still be alive or out of the strange human respect for their dead, he did not know, but Kurst could sense the lingering death in this spot.

Bia joined him at the riverbank. I know who Franks left with. I recognize his scent.

Kurst looked at her. How?

You never forget the man who killed you.

It was not the sort of thing they could reveal to Stricken, but the information could be of use. I will destroy Franks. You may have the humans.

The local authorities had not been here yet. No one lived close enough to have seen the fire through the trees and Myers’ car was completely submerged beneath the water. Kurst would be able to justify leaving the scene. They would keep moving, just as Franks had. They returned to the vehicle that they had taken from one of the Hunters at the shipyard. The Hunter had tried to stop them, but Cratos had casually broken his neck and tossed him in a dumpster. There had been no witnesses and in the confusion the humans would probably blame that murder on Franks as well.

Franks was picked up by MCB agents. They must have been following Myers to the rendezvous. They must have radioed Franks where to intercept our brethren. Franks knows MCB vehicles are tracked. He will get rid of it. They will have procured a new one.

Bia got on the radio. “November One Three requesting a GPS check on the closest MCB vehicles to our current position. Over.”