Cimerus struggled to keep his emotions in order. Lilitha was such a pitiful figure in front of him. He knew what the Shadowlings had brought back, the moment when he'd caught her and that Eali eloping. Father was furious. It would have been Cimerus's head rotting in hellfire if he'd failed to bring her back – not that it was ever a difficult task, considering how predictable his sister was. But still, he didn't bargain on how attached she would be for that pathetic little insect. Despite the disgust he felt at the sight of her taking on the weak form, a tiny bit of guilt gnawed away at him.

Especially when Azyazel dumped the Eali's body in the middle like that. He'd told him to 'take care of things', but obviously his second-in-command lacked the slight humanoid emotions he and Lilitha shared. In retrospect, perhaps it was an inconvenience at the time.

He would have justified it all: catching Lilitha, indirectly suggesting he would spare the Eali's life if she returned with them, eradicating the pest – it was because it was all Father wanted. It was for Lilitha's good. Once she returned, he would teach her a lesson; she would regret her stupidity and focus on becoming a great leading general after that. That was what was meant to happen.

Instead, Father took the elopement and failure to secure the Eali realm as the ultimate insult. And he'd sentenced her to a fate worse than death.

No doubt she was reliving the moment when her own brother killed her lover. Those guilt-ridden sobs and the broken voice could not have sounded more human.

And, of course, the Shadowlings loved it. So much loss and sadness – they feasted on it. Cimerus observed it all unfolding before him, waiting for Lilitha to reach the critical moment. Except it didn't arrive as he'd expected. Perhaps going through that difficult time was too much for her psyche, perhaps the presence of Shadowlings as well as the exhaustion from their fight just now proved too much for her human body to take. It was such a fragile form, after all.

"You wish to take Lilitha hostage?" he said to the Sentinel. The tall humanoid stood up, the negation rod clutched in his right hand. "Bludgeoning her with Lyre weaponry won't kill her, you know. It takes a lot more than that."

"Yes, but she can't shift," was the jeering reply. "So all the damage she takes now—" As if to make a point, he rose his foot and stomped. The bottom of the boot connected with Lilitha's left human forearm. A sickening crack snapped through the air. When he raised his leg again, the connecting bones were shattered; the distal part connected to the upper forearm by a flattened bit of bruised skin. "—will stay. And she will bleed slowly to death. It's funny, isn't it – how friable humans are?"

Cimerus's several hearts skipped beats. How sly of him. The Sentinel read his unease.

"Ah, starting to get worried, are you?"

The Sentinel crouched by Lilitha's body. He teased at her hair, running fingers down her cheeks.

"How interesting. I never expected a Shifter would have such human emotions." He was half-speaking to himself. "I could almost be fooled, just now."

Cimerus evened his breath. The Sentinel knew where the Artefact was. He was aiming for some sort of game with his humanoid pawns. Lilitha still held some purpose for him. If he wanted to use Lilitha as leverage against Cimerus, he was sorely mistaken. If sacrificing her allowed Cimerus to get the Artefact, he would do it a thousand times over.

The Sentinel laced his fingers into her hair and lifted. Her eyes fluttered but she didn't wake.

Without another word, he smashed her head onto the ground. She didn't move. A pool of blood grew around her.

"She doesn't seem to be looking that great, eh, Shifter?"

"What are you playing at?"

The Sentinel grinned, cocking an eyebrow. There were residual burns left on his body. Cimerus supposed the Lyre tattoo could only heal so much in such a short span of time.

"You know what Tora's goal has been, all this time?"

The Sentinel flicked a playful look up before grinning that irritating grin again.

"Keeping everyone safe. She's been with me for two years, and her outlook has been unwavering. She trusts every Seeker with all her heart and she'd give up her life for them."

Seeker... so this is what these clowns call themselves.

"And she's helped keep the humans safe and ignorant of supernatural existence. She values the lives of these cretins."

Cimerus could appreciate the same disdain as the Sentinel.

"Do you know why we keep our existence in the shadows?" He didn't wait for the answer. "Humans are puny life forms. They fear what they don't understand. They fear those that are different. They fear the more powerful. They can't bear being anything than supreme, and yet they are the single organism lacking in every facet to become powerful. Lions tear harder; fish swim faster; birds fly higher; tortoises live longer; octopi boast greater intelligence. And yet they think they are the top of the food chain."

None of those names made sense to Cimerus.

"Well, that's not strictly true. I'll give them one thing: imagination. If they cannot run faster, they envision creations that will allow them to do that. If they cannot fly, they will build something to take them to the skies. And so, because they are weaker than almost all the animals out there, they have weaponry to make up for their weaknesses." The Sentinel spun the negation rod in his other hand. "Not unlike Lyres, actually, but at least Lyres have a sense of justice. Even if it was their downfall. Humans are just downright selfish."

The fires dimmed, further enclosing the two in darkness.

"I fail to see the point of this."

"Let me ask you, dear Shifter: when threatened with life and death, what does any creature do?"

Cimerus wasn't sure what the Sentinel was playing at. "Fight."

"Yes, well, Shifters would say that. Most other species would flee. And such is the response in humans if they discover supernatural existence – when they discover supernatural existence."

"Frightening humans isn't something I find entertaining."

"Nor I. I'm sure we both have better things to do. But see, Shifter, there is something I want from the humans."

The Artefact.

"And, of course, it so helps me if they get panicked about invasion of aliens, their precious civilisation collapsing to dust, their assets lost, their lives broken... once they get sufficiently scared, confusion ensues. And with confusion comes... opportunities."

So that was what he was after. He wanted the Seekers weakened to act as bait for humans to see supernatural beings and stir up trouble.

That meant Sentinels were closing in on this realm.

"What's stopping me from tearing you to shreds right now?"

"Well... I know the Artefact is a far greater prize than Tora's life."

He read Cimerus like a scroll.

"But if you kill me, you'll never find out where the Artefact is."

"I fail to see how it's possible only a single Sentinel could know where it's hidden."

"Our numbers are low – you of all people should be aware." His eyes glittered with a warning. "And Tora here certainly won't take kindly to you killing me and harming her friends to that extent."

Cimerus hesitated. Lilitha was more than a match for him, especially when enraged. She might be incapacitated for now, but she could potentially wake up any time soon. She wouldn't forgive him about Maraduc, let alone if she thought he was the one responsible for the Sentinel's dirty work.

"Why are you telling me all this? What do you gain?"

The Sentinel laughed, a sound that was devoid of mirth.

"This brings me more joy than any mission could have. The look on your face when you realised I held Lyre weapon, the look on Tora's face when she realised she was a demon after all—"

"You caught on, then."

"Ha! It was so damn obvious. She had no idea, of course. Those vicious mood swings and the powering up were quite incredible; there was no way she was just an anomaly like the other guys. Truth be told, I only realised she was a Shifter recently, after our little meeting. If I realised she was this powerful, I'd have brainwashed her more thoroughly. At first I thought it was too much of a coincidence. A demon with such potential, having no memory, on the very same realm as the Artefact? I would have let my lieutenant kill her, but turns out it really was just a dirty coincidence."

And none of the humanoids suspected a thing about him. Sentinels were downright cold-hearted manipulators.

"I think the others were cottoning on, but, eh—" He shrugged. "—it doesn't matter anyway. They've all served their purposes. I've nearly finished what I came to the human realm to do."

A groan escaped from the collapsed Lilitha. The Sentinel cocked his head, waiting for her to stir. When it didn't happen, his dark brown eyes flicked back up at Cimerus.

"So what will you do now, Shifter? You can race me to the Artefact – see if you can survive an army of Sentinels armed with Lyre weaponry and Tora at the same time – or you can step back to your Shifter realm, and tell that red-faced demon of yours to stand down."

He knew about Azyazel as Cimerus's backup. This was no ordinary Sentinel.

"So what will it be?"

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