The Vulture had never once considered that it was Fu Tailan's next meal.
After Fu Tailan convinced it that he, too, was a Vulture, the trust it extended him was almost startling — as if knowing they were the same kind was all it took.
Fu Tailan helped it track down a Hunter inside the Nest, then walked alongside it — freshly shifted into human form — into the world of the living, and led it straight into the Black Abyss Belt. The whole thing went off without a hitch. No complications, no surprises. When it came down to it, the whole thing was just legwork.
"This is the place?"
The Vulture stood beside him on the lawn of Westley Manor, craning its neck into the thick black fog. "And after, we just use the Path to get back to the Nest?"
The word "yes" caught in Fu Tailan's throat.
Something unfamiliar had wedged itself in there alongside the lie.
