Detective Elias Black stared at the body sprawled beneath the flickering streetlight, a single black feather clutched in its hand.

The rain had washed away most of the blood, but the symbol carved into the cobblestones beneath the body remained, stark and deliberate.

Elias knelt down, tracing the edges of the symbol with a gloved finger, its intricate curves disturbingly familiar from the case files buried deep in the precinct’s archives.

What a mess have I gotten myself into this time, it's going to be a tricky one.