Chapter 207: Strategic Intelligence And The Final Shard

"Here. A progress log." She highlighted the most recent entry, dated three days ago.

Kane read the entry aloud, his voice dropping with each word.

ACQUISITION STATUS UPDATE:

Screaming Shard: SECURED

Whispering Shard: SECURED

Singing Shard: SECURED

Silent Shard: IN TRANSIT (Expected delivery: 72 hours)

Roaring Shard: LOCATION UNKNOWN

Kane’s breath caught.

"He has three already," Rina whispered.

"Technically four," Kane corrected, his mind racing through calculations. "If the Silent Shard’s delivery was expected seventy-two hours from three days ago, then it’s already arrived."

Rina’s fingers stilled on the keyboard.

"You’re right." She pulled up a calendar overlay. "That timeline expired yesterday."

Kane paced, his tails flickering beneath his glamour.

"But wait—the real Screaming Shard is locked in Cyrus’s vault. Elias only has the essence extracted from it."

"Which might be all he needs," Rina pointed out quietly. "These protocols don’t specify intact shards. Just viable essence in sufficient concentrations."

Kane stopped mid-step.

She was right. Madam Xiu had given Elias the essence but swapped the depleted shard. The physical crystal didn’t matter if he’d already harvested what he needed.

"So he has three complete shards—Whispering, Singing, Silent—plus extracted essence from the Screaming Shard," Kane summarized, his stomach sinking. "That’s functionally four out of five."

"And he’s searching for the Roaring Shard," Rina added, highlighting the final line.

Kane’s enhanced hearing picked up footsteps in the corridor. His hand instinctively moved toward the flash drive Rina had prepared.

"Copy everything," he said urgently. "All of it. Elias’s resurrection protocol, material requirements, candidate profiles—"

"Already done." Rina ejected the drive, pressing it into Kane’s palm.

"Thanks for this," he said quietly. "You’re the best forensics specialist I know. Maybe the only one I trust completely."

Rina’s expression softened slightly. "Just promise me you’ll be careful with that data."

"I know." Kane slipped the drive into his jacket pocket. "We need to find the Roaring Shard before he does. That’s our priority now."

He turned toward the lab door, then paused, remembering something Ginsei had mentioned earlier. The conversation in the bullpen replayed in his mind—six enhanced pixies, organized attacks, volunteers joining Elias’s cause.

And those rat spirits from Hoshino’s shop.

"Rina," Kane said slowly, facing her again. "Ginsei told me the enhanced rat spirits died suddenly in containment. All of them, within hours of each other."

Rina’s eyes widened fractionally.

"He said nobody could figure out why," Kane continued. "With you gone, Martinez couldn’t properly analyze the remains. The bodies have been sitting in cold storage."

"You want me to autopsy them," Rina said, already reaching for her tablet.

"When you have time," Kane amended. "I know you’re recovering, but—"

"I’ll start tonight."

Kane thanked Rina again and stepped into the corridor, his mind churning through the implications of everything they’d uncovered.

The flash drive felt heavy in his pocket—damning evidence that could shift the Bureau’s entire approach to Elias’s operation.

His phone buzzed. Cyrus, probably wondering what was taking so long.

Kane turned the corner toward the lobby and collided with someone solid.

"Watch it—oh." Ginsei steadied Kane with one hand, his white hair slightly disheveled. Dirt streaked his usually pristine Bureau jacket. "Didn’t expect to see you here this late."

"Field work?" Kane asked, eyeing the grime.

"Rogue water sprite in the industrial district." Ginsei brushed dust from his sleeve with obvious distaste. "Messy."

Kane hesitated, his hand drifting toward his pocket where the flash drive waited.

Ginsei’s file designation flashed through his mind—Hybrid Specimen 31-G. Genetic Compatibility: 72%.

Ginsei was a target. A contingency.

Should Kane warn him?

"Something wrong?" Ginsei’s ice-blue eyes narrowed.

"No," Kane said quickly. "Just tired. Long day."

Ginsei studied him for a moment longer, then shrugged.

"Get some rest. You look like hell."

Kane nodded, already moving past him toward the exit.

Not yet, he decided. Not until he understood the full picture.

Kane pushed through the BSA’s glass doors into the cool evening air.

The parking lot stretched before him, illuminated by harsh fluorescent lights that turned everything slightly sickly.

Cyrus’s Lamborghini idled near the far edge, engine purring.

Kane approached, spotting Cyrus through the tinted window. The dragon sat with the phone pressed to his ear, his free hand wrapped around something dark and gleaming.

The egg.

Kane opened the passenger door.

"—tomorrow morning works," Cyrus said into the phone, his thumb stroking the obsidian shell in slow, rhythmic circles. "Send the finalized contracts to Isabelle."

The egg pulsed faintly beneath Cyrus’s touch, crimson veins flickering like a heartbeat.

Kane slid into the seat, shutting the door quietly.

Cyrus’s gaze flicked toward him, acknowledging Kane’s presence without interrupting his conversation.

"No, I won’t be available for the Singapore merger call," Cyrus continued, still absently caressing the egg. "Delegate it to the VP of acquisitions."

Kane buckled his seatbelt, watching Cyrus handle the egg like a worry stone—unconscious, protective, and entirely natural.

The dragon inside pulsed again, brighter this time. Cyrus ended the call with a sharp tap.

The egg dimmed immediately.

Cyrus finally looked at Kane, expression softening marginally. "Productive meeting with Rina?"

"Very," Kane said, patting the flash drive through his jacket pocket.

Cyrus carefully returned the dragon egg to its cushioned case in the backseat before shifting the Lamborghini into gear.

"Good news or bad news?" Kane asked, watching streetlights blur past the window.

"Bad." Cyrus didn’t hesitate. "Always bad first."

Kane pulled the flash drive from his pocket, turning it between his fingers.

"Elias has four out of five shard essences. The Whispering, Singing, Silent, and Screaming Shards. He’s only missing the Roaring Shard now."

Cyrus’s knuckles whitened on the steering wheel.

The Lamborghini’s engine growled louder as they accelerated through an intersection.

"And the good news?" Cyrus’s voice remained carefully neutral.

"We have his complete resurrection protocol. Every material requirement, candidate profile, contingency plan—all of it." Kane held up the flash drive. "Rina decrypted everything."

"That’s not good news," Cyrus said flatly. "That’s strategic intelligence at best."

"Fine." Kane pocketed the drive again.

"Then here’s the actual good news—we know exactly what he needs to complete the ritual. Which means we know exactly what to keep away from him.