Rion and I hurried toward the sound of the shout, our footsteps echoing against the narrowing stone walls. The alley grew darker as we pressed on, twilight bleeding away the light. The glow from the stones was faint now, no longer bright enough to chase off the shadows gathering in the corners.
The farther we went, the colder it felt.
When we reached the end of the alley, it widened suddenly, opening into what looked like a small courtyard hemmed in by low walls and a squat brick house. That's when I saw her.
A woman was kneeling on the ground, her shoulders shaking violently as sobs tore out of her. And sprawled in front of her—my stomach dropped—a man's body.
Lifeless.
Blood stained his shirt, pooling beneath him, dark against the cobblestones.
My breath caught, my chest tightening until it hurt.
"What happened?" I whispered, though I already knew there was no answer that would make it less cruel.
