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My branches elongated, begging to wrap their length around his neck. Given Grayson’s overall coloration, I was betting he was a cool will-o’-the-wisp. That meant he couldn’t burn my bark, which in turn made physical strangulation a possibility.

Head bent, Keir rested his chin on a bent finger. I knew that look. He was taking in this new bit of information and processing it, weighing the pros and cons. Silence reigned for a few moments. Coming to some sort of conclusion, Keir raised his head. I could read the determination in his eyes and steeled myself to accept his decision. I had a feeling having Grayson around would be worse than our recently lovestruck kitsune, Hikaru.

“I would request your discretion if you find treasure we are not actively seeking.”

Grayson tilted his head to the side as if contemplating. “I can adhere to that. Most likely what I find won’t be profitable anyway.”

Keir cleared his throat. “Which brings up an interesting point. You said earlier that you didn’t desire to keep everything.”

“No dead bodies,” Grayson reiterated, making Keir wince.

“Yes, well, hopefully there won’t be any of those. Although…it’s possible.” There was a wealth of sadness in that statement. We were still missing two of our members. According to Hikaru, if they were alive, the kitsune should be able to find them. Considering he couldn’t, we had to assume they were deceased. We’d be missing more if the wind elemental, Alethia, hadn’t compiled enough energy to seek out our medium, Tabitha Clark. Alethia led us to the bodies of so many of our fallen. They’d been beyond our help, but at least we’d been able to give them proper rites according to their individual species’ needs.

Inhaling, Keir shook away his mental angst. My friend had been forced to do that far too often recently. “I’ve little interest in monetary treasure, although I doubt Tenzen found such things important enough to conceal.”

I couldn’t agree more. Monetary wealth held its own form of power, but that wasn’t what Tenzen Huxley had been after. The power he sought was even more damning.

“Well, that’s disappointing,” Grayson answered on a sigh. “However, as Martin was kind enough to point out, I’ve kept enough of my findings over the centuries that I’ve no real need for more jeweled trinkets.”

“I see,” Keir answered, although his crinkled brow spoke differently. “What is it you desire then?”

I’d yet to see this smile tug Grayson’s lips. It was a little mischievous and a whole lot devious. He said he wasn’t a malicious creature, but that grin said something different. “I’m a simple will-o’-the-wisp. I want the unusual—the rare and unexpected. This hunt won’t be easy. It might even be a bit… Well, I suppose that’s my problem, not yours. If we’re talking payment, then I will say that I’ll let you know when the job is done.”

Keir sucked in a breath while I turned and paced. “No,” I answered. “How can we agree to that when we have no idea what you’ll find? Keir, you can’t let him⁠—”

“Nothing deemed harmful or dangerous to others,” Keir said, ignoring my rant. “And nothing sentient. At least, not without their express agreement.”

“Sentient?” It was the first time I saw Grayson appear truly puzzled. “You think there might be, what, something living hidden here?” Grayson looked around, as if that something might suddenly pop out of a nearby wall.

“Sadly, it’s possible,” Keir answered. “It’s also the reason I’m willing to risk employing you and agree to your questionable terms.” Keir gazed at me as he said the last, letting me know he agreed this was a risk, but also reminding me of the stakes if we did nothing.

“Interesting.” Grayson didn’t appear put off. In fact, he seemed eager. “I’m glad I answered your call, Acting Director Keir.”

“I sincerely hope I can say the same when this is finished,” Keir answered.

“Oh, I always find what I’m looking for. That I can guarantee.” There was nothing false coloring Grayson’s bravado.

Gaia help us.

“I’m worried,” Jima said. Being a ferret shifter, he was the smallest of us and possibly the most vulnerable. He was also the sneakiest and had taken down his fair share of maleficence via intel alone.

“You’d be a fool otherwise,” Frost answered via video conference. “And we all know you’re no fool. It’s a risk, Keir. No two ways about that.”

“It is a risk worth taking.” Tabitha appeared to agree with Keir before taking a sip of her tea. We’d gathered in Keir’s living room, a low banked fire adding more comfort than warmth. “Excellent tea, Keir. All these years and I’m still unsure how you do it. Perhaps I should ask Elvira to spy on your tea-making skills.”

“As if I would agree to such a boring endeavor.” Elvira rolled her ghostly eyes. “Really, Tabitha. Is that what we’ve come to?”

“You say that only because you can no longer appreciate good tea,” Tabitha answered.

“Tea’s a shit drink,” Elvira answered. “I might have spied if it were coffee.”

“Sacrilege,” Tabitha protested, a hand dramatically placed over her heart.

Jima snickered before taking a sip of his own tea.

“Excellent tea aside, I think it’s worth allowing Grayson into our space.” Keir brought the conversation back on track. “I won’t argue your concerns. They’re all valid. Most likely there are issues we haven’t even thought of that could come back to bite us in the ass.”

“I’ll say,” Frost answered. “I’m glad I already moved all my stuff out.” A shiver went through his voice. “I hate to think of that will-o’-the-wisp poking around my things.”