“However, businesses previously owned by numa have recently been reopening,” Gaspard continues. “They’re using different names but have the same human managers and suppliers as before. We suspect Paris’s numa have relaunched their activities from somewhere farther outside the city.”

“I can still see numa auras from a distance,” Kate confirms, “so I’m one hundred percent sure none are physically present in Paris.”

“But get this. Two days ago,” Charlotte says, “Ambrose and I were on patrol with Henri, one of our kindred, who was volant. We were doing surveillance on a reopened numa bar—used to be called Judas. While we were checking it out, we were attacked by humans acting suspiciously like numa.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“First of all, they used numa strategy,” she responds. “One distracted Henri so he wouldn’t see the others coming. Then the other two attacked us.”

“We fought them off, of course,” Ambrose says, as if it were nothing.

Charlotte rolls her eyes. “These guys were huge. And crazy violent. They had sword skills like trained numa. Two got away. Ambrose knocked the other out. We tried to bring him back for questioning, but he regained consciousness in the car and escaped.”

“Not before I got a picture of his tats,” Ambrose says.

Kate pulls a photo up on the laptop. She positions the screen so both I and Bran can see. It’s a close-up shot of a tattoo. Next to the letters “N.A.” is a symbol that looks like a swastika missing one arm.

Bran leans back. “Yes, you sent me that image. I have seen nothing like that in the symbols of my people...or elsewhere.”

“What’s it stand for?” I ask.

“Well, just before they ran off, one of the guys yelled, ‘Numa Army,’” Charlotte says.

“Thus the N.A.,” I say. “And they were human?”

“Definitely,” Charlotte confirms.

I look around at the group. “So, the numa have a human army?”

“It seems that way,” Gaspard says.

“That was our first contact with them,” Charlotte says. “Of course, the goal is to find the rest—if there are others—and get them to talk.”

“How are you going to do that?” I ask.

“Well, I suggested infiltrating them,” Vincent says.

“They’d know you were bardia right away,” I respond.

“That’s why one of us can’t do it.” He raises an eyebrow.

It feels like he dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over my head. “Um...me?” I croak, but the words don’t quite come out because my throat has squeezed shut.

“That’s not what we’re asking,” Kate says quickly. She turns to Vincent. “Like I said, that idea is a non-starter. It would be extremely problematic for us to ask Louis to go back to the numa, after he showed such courage to leave.”