James Aubrey Bones Novels & Stories

Lyra couldn't take her eyes off the stranger. If she had encountered him alone on a road, she might have mistaken him for an ordinary traveler. There was no crown on his head. No armor. No overwhelming display of power. Yet every nerve in her body screamed that something was wrong. The Bone Crown had begun throbbing the moment he appeared, each pulse driving deeper into her skull until it felt less like pain and more like recognition. A recognition older than memory. The man noticed. His faint smile never quite reached his eyes. "You remember more than I expected."

Who was he talking about? The entire team had burned out together. There was no defector. Before I could process it, his next words plunged me into a deeper frost. "This land has been awarded to our family's hero, Jen, for developing the cure. I was going to build her a state-of-the-art lab as a wedding gift. Now this has to turn up." My soul trembled. I developed the cure. A familiar silhouette pushed through the onlookers. Jen's eyes locked onto my skeletal remains, and for a split second, raw panic sharpened her features. Then, composure snapped back into place.

I could tell immediately that he had worked for Robert’s late wife. “Hello, Madam Banks. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m James, the villa’s butler.” Mom flashed him one of her sincerest smiles. “Thank you, James. You can call me Aubrey.” They turned towards me and I yawned slightly, drawing a chuckle from Lucian. James stared at me in surprise, raising his brows, but I didn’t care. I was freaking jetlagged. “That’s Ezran, my son,” Mom said and James nodded perfunctorily.

Ever since I was young, I knew that my parents' work was unique. My father was a detective who had solved many major cases, while my mother was a forensic artist who was capable of finding clues from the victim's bones. Together, they solved numerous cases. Their most famous one was the White Bone Case five years ago. It was a case about a criminal gang who abducted and killed homeless people before using their bones to smuggle drugs. Since these were real human bones, they could easily avoid being caught by claiming these bones as medical materials.