The Broken Halo

”Blackmoon has connections to the Shadowgrave Clan.”

The words settled over the office like a blade laid across the table.

Korran’s expression changed first.

His eyes narrowed, and the thoughts that had filled his mind moments earlier stopped almost completely. Beside him, Dorel’s fingers became still against his knee, while Selan’s carefully restrained aura shifted for the briefest moment before disappearing again.

None of the three Vice Commanders had expected that name.

”The Shadowgrave Clan?” Dorel eventually broke the silence.

The disbelief in his voice was faint, but impossible to miss.

”How could a demon like Blackmoon possess connections to them?”

Selan leaned back slightly.

”The clan is elusive even by the standards of other elite assassin organisations. Demons do not simply visit them, request their services, or become acquainted with one of their members.”

His smoke-grey eyes became colder.

”And joining them is even more difficult.”

The Shadowgrave Clan was not merely known for producing the absolute best assassins.

It was known for making demons disappear without leaving enough evidence to prove an assassination had occurred. Nobles, merchants, commanders, clan and kingdom heirs, clan leaders, and even minor kings had died inside locked rooms, guarded fortresses, and moving convoys, only for rumours of the Shadowgrave Clan being the culprit to surface months later.

Sometimes those rumours were true.

Sometimes the clan allowed them to spread because fear was useful.

Marek rested both hands on the desk.

”I did not say Blackmoon was a confirmed member.”

Korran looked directly at him.

”Then what did your sources find?”

”Questions.”

Marek’s voice remained calm.

”Over the past several weeks, information brokers in more than one city have been approached by random demons asking about the whereabouts of a one-horned demon called Blackmoon.”

Dorel frowned.

”That proves very little. Blackmoon is a strange name yes, but I doubt that he’s the only one that was named Blackmoon in the entire demon realm.”

”The descriptions were specific,” Marek replied. ”White hair. Sky-blue eyes. A single horn on the right side. Travelling with a Kragh, a martial demon, and another demoness.”

Korran’s expression became more solemn.

Marek continued.

”The demons asking did not use the same faces twice. They avoided official information houses, paid through unrelated intermediaries, and disappeared whenever anyone tried following them.”

Selan’s eyes could not help but narrow and a tinge of interest could be seen in them.

”Those are methods associated with elite assassins.”

”Yes.”

Marek looked toward him.

”I have dealt with their traces before. Never directly, but enough to recognise the pattern. My sources believe the demons asking these questions belong to the clan.”

Silence returned.

The possibility that Blackmoon was connected to the Shadowgrave Clan changed the meaning of every decision they had discussed.

Killing an unknown recruit was one matter.

Killing a member of the most secretive and deadly assassin clan in the entire demon realm was another.

The Shadowgrave Clan did not announce vengeance.

It did not march an army toward city walls or send written demands for compensation. A demon responsible for killing one of its members might simply wake one night with a blade already passing through his heart.

Or never wake at all.

Korran looked around the office.

For the first time, the four demons inside it felt less protected by Black Horn’s walls.

It was as though a grim reaper stood somewhere close, unseen and patient, waiting to learn whether one of them had become its next name.

Dorel glanced toward the narrow window.

”If Blackmoon is one of their assassins, why is he inside Velmora?”

No one answered immediately.

Selan’s voice became quieter.

”Maybe a mission?”

The word made the atmosphere colder.

Blackmoon could have entered the city to kill a merchant, a noble, a military officer, or one of the commanders preparing the invasion.

He could already have other Shadowgrave assassins positioned around Velmora, and these assassins could be waiting and watching for the right moment to strike.

Perhaps one of the four demons in the office was the target.

Perhaps all of them were.

Korran’s thoughts moved rapidly.

Blackmoon’s missing background had always bothered him. Every investigation returned almost nothing. No family. No family. No master. No history that explained his artifacts, abilities, companions, or arrogance.

The Shadowgrave Clan fit that emptiness disturbingly well.

A clan built around secrecy would naturally erase the trail of those it trained.

Sonya and Akaza’s loyalty also became easier to explain. Their movement during battle, their instincts, and their refusal to reveal Simon’s secrets could all have been shaped by the same organisation.

It made sense.

Too much sense in fact.

However, Korran refused to believe that this was the truth without confirming it first.

He looked at Marek.

”What exactly is his connection to the Shadowgrave Clan?” he asked. ”Is he a member of the clan? Related to a member of the clan? Working for them? Or are they searching for him because he is their target?”

”I do not know,” Marek replied.

”Then confirm it.”

Marek’s eyes narrowed slightly and Korran leaned forward.

”If the Shadowgrave Clan is hunting him, our position changes completely. We no longer need to fear retaliation for imprisoning him or killing him.”

A cold calculation entered his voice.

”We could even cooperate with the clan and hand Blackmoon over. If he truly has another powerful family or organisation behind him, then the conflict becomes the Shadowgrave Clan’s problem instead of ours.”

Dorel gave a slow nod.

Selan, however, remained thoughtful.

Marek looked at Korran for several seconds before responding.

”The reason I have not pushed the investigation further is that the Shadowgrave Clan appears to be facing a crisis.”

All three Vice Commanders had slightly wide eyes.

”What kind of crisis?” Selan asked.

”It is unknown for now.”

Marek’s fingers tapped once against Blackmoon’s report.

”The reports mention unusual movement from some demons who we already know to be connected to the Shadowgrave Clan. Some of these demons are also missing. All of these are suspicions for now and nothing is confirmed yet because the suspected location of their headquarters is extremely far from Velmora, and reliable information takes time to reach us.”

Korran frowned.

”That is even more reason to investigate while they are distracted.”

”Or the exact reason not to attract their attention.”

Marek’s tone hardened.

”If we begin asking openly about Blackmoon, the Shadowgrave Clan may trace those questions back to Velmora. If they are already searching for him, we would be telling them where to look.”

Selan understood first.

”And then we would have an unknown number of Shadowgrave assassins entering the city when we’re close to the final campaign preparations.”

”Precisely.”

Marek looked toward the formation diagrams on the wall.

”We are preparing to open a road between worlds. The last thing I need is another hidden force moving through Velmora while Black Banner is already inside our walls.”

Dorel exhaled slowly.

”So we use Blackmoon on Earth first.”

”We monitor him, enforce the campaign oath, and take advantage of his strength,” Marek said. ”After the campaign, when the road is stable and our forces are no longer concentrated here, we decide the next step with less caution.”

Korran disliked the answer, but he understood it.

Before he could respond, Marek gathered the reports into one stack.

”Blackmoon is not the only matter requiring our attention.”

The three Vice Commanders looked toward him with slightly raised brows.

Marek’s expression became solemn.

”The White Crown has already arrived in Velmora.”