Chapter Six
AS SOON AS THE THICK METAL BARS HAD clanged home, a rainbow shimmer flared up around them, quickly encasing us on all four sides as well as above. I knew that shimmer—it had been present in the cell, too. It was a veil of magic that prevented me from reaching for the Aedh. To do so would only send me crashing to the floor in writhing agony—or so I’d discovered the last time they had me trapped.
“You have to get us out of here,” I said, turning quickly to Azriel. “I can’t shift shape when that veil is in place.”
“And I can’t transport you out of here when it is present,” he said, his expression grim. “So let’s hope this works.”
He raised Valdis and swept her across the nearest barrier. The sword screamed as she bit through the air, the blue flames incandescent by the time metal hit metal. Sparks flew and Azriel’s arms jerked as the sword’s speed slowed abruptly. Still, bit by bit, Valdis was cutting through the bars, hissing and screaming every inch of the way. Metal melted, running like water down the bars to pool at their base.
The sound of running steps began to echo from the tunnel we’d just left. The Razan were coming. The Raziq were probably on their way, too. I licked my lips, my heart racing as Azriel withdrew the sword and started cutting again lower.
Valdis’s screaming continued to fill the air, her fire flicking across the darkness, sending blue shadows dancing up the slick brick walls. When the second cut was as long as the first, Azriel withdrew the sword, raised a foot, and kicked at the metal. The bars went flying, clattering noisily against the opposite wall. A shout came from one of the men in the tunnel and the sound of their steps grew faster.
“Go,” Azriel said, turning to face me. Sweat beaded on his forehead and ran down the edge of his face.
I shoved the book down the front of my top, then grabbed the bars above the cut and swung through feetfirst. My wounded leg brushed one edge and pain rolled through me. Gasping, I stumbled forward, going down on one knee, my hands disappearing into the thick slime lining the floor as I tried to stop my fall.
“Don’t move!” a voice said from the tunnel doorway.
I looked up and saw a blond Razan burst into the main tunnel. I saw the gun in his hands, already raised. I saw him pull the trigger.
I threw myself sideways, but it was too late. Far too late … only suddenly I was jerked roughly to the right and there was a body standing between me and that bullet.
As Azriel’s arms wrapped around me, I felt him jerk. Then energy surged and we were on the gray fields. This time the trip was short and sharp, and darkness still encased us when we reappeared.
We hit the ground together and sprawled forward, landing with some force against a surface that was hard and cold. For several seconds neither of us moved. Azriel’s weight pressed me against the cold concrete, making it difficult to breathe. Not that I really cared; I was too busy listening to the silence, smelling the damp and the cold, and wondering where the hell we were.
“Not clear yet,” Azriel stated as his weight lifted off me.
There was an edge in his voice that made me frown. “Meaning we’re still in the tunnels?”
“Yes.” He pushed upright. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll survive.” I rolled onto my back and accepted his offered hand. His warm flesh was slick—not with moisture or slime, but with blood.
“You’ve been shot?” I said, watching the blood pour from his wounded shoulder as he hauled me up. “How the hell can a reaper get shot?”
“When I’m in flesh form, I can be damaged.” He shrugged.
“Meaning you can also be killed?”
“We are not immortal, Risa. If death is our fate, it will find us—whatever the form.”
“But you’re more vulnerable in flesh form?” The blood pouring down his arm dripped from our twined fingers—an indication of just how serious the wound was even if he didn’t appear to be worrying. Hell, did reapers even feel pain?
“Yes,” he said softly. “We are not Aedh. We live and love and hurt.”
“So why the hell are we just standing here? Let’s zap ourselves away.”
“The bullet is silver. With it still in my flesh, I am prevented from doing anything more than short jumps into the gray fields.”
“Then let’s get the fucking thing out.” I hesitated, and frowned. “Wait—they used silver?”
That didn’t make sense. The Razan had aimed for my head, but the Raziq needed me alive. But it also meant that Azriel had saved my life by stepping in front of me and taking the bullet.
“I suspect the bullet was meant for me all along,” he said. “The Raziq would have felt my presence the first time I rescued you. They’d know I’d do so again should you be captured a second time. By shooting me with silver, they are giving themselves extra time to find us.”
“Then let me shift the two of us so we can get the hell out of here.” The only problem was, I’d only ever shifted to Aedh form with another person in my arms once, and only then because we’d had no other option. But I knew Tao almost as well as I knew myself, and I’d been lucky. I suspected that would not be the case with Azriel. Hell, I didn’t even know if I could reassemble the damn book after a shift.
“Which is why we cannot take that option,” he said softly. “We cannot risk the book, and you cannot disassemble or reassemble me as you did Tao. I am an energy being, and my makeup is unlike anything you could ever imagine.”
And yet, here he was, bleeding like a regular person. “Then let’s damn well run! Anything is better than standing here.”
He ignored my outburst, his expression as calm as ever. “You cannot go home. That is the first place they will look.”
“Then where will we go?”
“Not we. You.”
I frowned at him. “I’m not leaving without you—”
“You must,” he said. “The Raziq have arrived back in the tunnels. They will be here soon. Go, before they find us.”
“But they can track me, can’t they?”
“If you remain here, yes they can. If you flee, if you get as far away from this tunnel as you can and don’t go back to your apartment, you will be safe.”
I eyed him doubtfully, torn between not wanting to get caught by the Aedh again and not wanting to leave the man who’d just saved my life. “But if I remove the bullet—”
“We do not have the time. There is a small manhole above us. Use that to escape.”
“Fuck it, I can’t—”
Anger surged—a brief flare of energy that stung my skin and rushed through my mind. Then it was gone, and he released my hand, pushing me back from him. “Go. I will be fine.”
I swore again, then shoved the book at him and said, “You’d better be, reaper.”
I slid a hand into my pocket and wrapped my fingers around my keys and wallet, then reached into that place inside that wasn’t wolf, that was something far more powerful and dangerous. My Aedh half surged to life and flared through my body—a blaze of heat and energy that numbed pain and dulled sensation as it invaded every muscle, every cell, breaking them down and tearing them apart, until my flesh no longer existed and I became one with the shadows, one with the air. Until I held no substance, no form, and could not be seen or heard or felt by anyone or anything.
Except reapers and undoubtedly the Aedh, if they were close enough.
I glanced at Azriel, but he’d already gone, zapped away to God knew where. I swirled upward, found the manhole, and slipped through the small opening in the center of the cover.
And found myself in the middle of Swanston Street. A tram rattled by inches from my smoky form, stirring rubbish and sending a breeze through my particles.
Don’t go home, Azriel had said. So where the hell should I go? I couldn’t go to Stane’s, simply because I didn’t want to place him in danger. Azriel might suspect that the Raziq couldn’t find me unless I was close, but until we knew that for certain, I was better off keeping well away from those I cared about.
It also meant I’d better get the hell away from this manhole. I fled, swirling randomly through the city streets, the chill night air seeming to seep into my particles, making them feel heavy, as if ice had settled somewhere deep inside. I flowed out of the city and followed the Tullamarine Freeway into the suburbs—more out of habit than necessity, because in Aedh form I wasn’t restricted to using regular roads and pathways.
I ended up at the airport. I had to meet Lucian here later, anyway, and it was certainly the last place anyone would think to look for me.
I re-formed in a dark corner within the parking lot, releasing my grip on my phone and wallet as I dropped inelegantly to the concrete floor. My body shook and my head spun, and for several minutes I could do nothing more than simply lie there, my lungs burning as I dragged in thick, ragged breaths.
Becoming Aedh had its price for those of us who weren’t full-blooded—and for me it meant a complete inability to do anything other than battle for breath for several minutes after re-formation.
When the debilitation finally started to ease, I pushed upright and cautiously rocked back on my heels. Several more minutes passed, and the stabbing pain in my head settled to a more durable ache behind my left eye. An ache that matched the one in my leg.
The other bad thing about becoming Aedh was its effect on my clothes. They disintegrated just fine, but re-forming them was trickier, as the magic didn’t always delineate bits of me from the other particles. Which meant I often ended up with a dust-like sheen covering my skin rather than fully formed pieces of clothing. Thankfully, my jeans had come out of the change almost intact, showing only a small patch just under my right knee. My underwear and bra hadn’t fared as well, hanging on in barely there strips that tickled my skin. My leather jacket, like my jeans, had a patch missing from the right elbow and was a little tatty around the bottom hem, but otherwise had come through in one piece for a change.
It was probably just as well that I’d left Azriel with the book. And that I hadn’t attempted to shift shape with him in tow.
I climbed carefully to my feet. The pain remained, constant yet bearable. The bullet wound had finally stopped bleeding, so I unwound the bloodstained bandage and tossed the scraps into the corner. Thankfully, my jeans were dark, so the blood wasn’t really noticeable.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. Metal and plastic weren’t affected by the shift into—or back out of—particle form, but unless they were touching skin, they wouldn’t actually change. Which is why I’d wrapped my hand around my phone and keys before I’d shifted. I knew from experience that there was nothing worse than metal and plastic stuck in the middle of your particle form.
“Hunter,” I said into the phone. The voice recognition swirled into action, its screen flaring with a vivid mosaic of color as I limped toward the elevators.
Her face appeared on the screen and she did not look happy. “This is not what I call immediately.”
Well, suck it up princess, I wanted to snap, because it’s the best I could do. I wisely didn’t say it, though, and was grateful she wasn’t here in person. Pissing her off wouldn’t be the wisest move right now, given she was all that stood between me and an extermination order.
I simply said, “Sorry, but something important came up,” then updated her on what had happened at Alston’s house, as well as what Azriel had said about both the creature and Alston.
“So,” Hunter responded, her voice a purr that was pure satisfaction. “Catherine is slated to die regardless of what we do. And in a manner that most becomes the bitch.”
“Yeah, she loves you, too,” I said.
Hunter laughed. It was not a pleasant sound, sending chills down my flesh. “I’m sure she does. Did you ask her to write up a list?”
“Yes. She said she’d get one of her thralls to deliver it.”
“Good. It will be interesting to see if there are any similarities to my own.”
“And if there are? Do you want me to pursue those leads or will you?”
“That will depend on which names we agree on,” she said, leaving me a little up in the air as to how to proceed. “What do you plan next?”
“I’m going to talk to Adeline Greenfield. She apparently set the protection wards Alston has in her home.”
“And you think the wards are faulty?”
“No. I’m just covering bases.”
“Excellent.” She paused, and darkness seemed to creep into her eyes. “It’s in your best interest to remember what you risk with the task, Risa. Keep me updated, or pay the price.”
I resisted the urge to gulp and said, “I will.”
The phone went blank. I blew out a breath, a little relieved to have gotten off so lightly, and said, “Tao.” Once again the phone sprang into action.
“Hey,” Tao said, as he came online. I could hear pots clanging in the background, which meant he was either at work or cooking up a storm at home. I was betting on the former. “What’s happening?”
“I wanted to ask you not to go home tonight.”
“I wasn’t planning to, but why? What’s happened?”
“Azriel and I stole the Dušan book back. I suspect the Raziq just might be a little aggravated about it.”
“Oh yeah, I imagine they would be,” he said drily. “I’m gathering everything went okay? You didn’t get hurt?”
“I’m fine,” I said, hoping he’d ignore the fact my voice ached with tiredness. And I was really glad he couldn’t see the state I was in.
“Ilianna’s here at the restaurant, so I’ll warn her as well. She can stay at Mirri’s until you give us the all clear.”
“It’ll probably be just for tonight.” Once the Raziq discovered the book wasn’t at our apartment, we’d be good to return home—I hoped. “How come you’re at the café tonight?”
“Hanna called in sick and we couldn’t find a temp.” He gave me a decidedly wicked grin. “It’s just as well I have legendary stamina, given I’m also on for the morning shift.”
I smiled back, even though what he said was true. He did have fantastic stamina, in the bedroom and out—a fact I knew because we’d once been lovers.
“I daresay you already have some luscious lady on standby to massage your poor tired self afterward.”
“I daresay I have,” he said cheerfully, then his expression sobered. “Keep in touch, or I’ll be contacting Riley.”
“I will.” Riley had given both Tao and Ilianna stern orders to get in touch the minute they even suspected I was in trouble. And Aunt Riley could be pretty damn scary when she wanted to be. “But I’m meeting Lucian at six, so don’t expect to hear anything from me until midday, at least.”
“Oh, thank God,” he replied, voice fervent but a twinkle in his eyes. “Do you know how grouchy you’ve been lately?”
“Says the man who has never experienced sexual frustration in his entire life?”
“And who has no intention of ever experiencing it,” he replied. “Take care of yourself.”
“Will do.” I hung up, then caught the elevator down and walked across the ramp over the road and into the airport. I desperately needed to sleep, but I wasn’t about to walk into the nearby Hilton looking like something the cat had coughed up. Thankfully, there were showers in the airport, and the stores were open twenty-four seven. I ignored the curious looks my bedraggled appearance was prompting and bought a week’s worth of clothes, simply because I had no idea when I was going to be able to head back home. Then, keeping Lucian’s promise to rip anything I was wearing right off again in mind, I found a sexy but inexpensive dress and headed to the nearest bathroom to shower and change.
Only to find someone waiting for me on the other side of the door when I opened it. I instinctively jumped back before I realized it was Azriel.
“For fuck’s sake,” I said, my gaze sweeping him and noting with relief that both the blood and the bullet wound had disappeared. “You could have at least warned me you were here.”
He crossed his arms and leaned his butt back against one of the sinks. “Do you not usually sense when I’m near?”
“Sometimes,” I muttered, feeling all that warm heat wash over my skin and stir things that had no right to be stirring. “But not always. How did you get the bullet out?”
“Once I was sure the Raziq were not following me, I called for help.”
“There are reaper field medics?”
His amusement stirred all around me, further fueling the fires. I resisted the urge to pat my face with cold water as I washed my hands.
“There are no field medics. I called a friend.”
I studied him for a moment, wondering if that friend was male or female. Wondering why I even cared. “What about the Dušan’s book?”
“For the moment, it is safely hidden in the gray fields.”
“It can’t stay there.” For me to read it, it had to be here on earth while I was on the gray fields, not the other way around.
He nodded. “But I suspect that the Raziq might have put some sort of locator spell on it. The minute we bring it out of the gray fields, they will be able to trace it.”
I frowned. “And you can’t undo the spell?”
“No. As I’ve said, reapers are not magic users. We can sense its presence, and we can sometimes—with care—manipulate it, as we did with the portals, but that is it.”
“What about the Brindle witches? Do you think they’d have a shot?”
“No. The Aedh priests have forgotten more magic than your witches will ever know.”
Oh fab. Not. I studied him for a moment, then said, “Well, I’m not going to attempt to read the book now. I need some sleep before I meet Lucian in a few hours.”
Something frosty crept into the air. He stood upright and gave me a slight bow. “I shall leave you in peace, then.”
With that he winked out of existence, making me wonder what the hell was happening. Or was he the same as ever, and it was me who was the problem? Or rather, my habit of reading far more into his words and actions than was intended?
I sighed, then dried my hands and headed across to the Hilton, taking a room for the night. Then, once inside, stripped off and slept the sleep of the dead—for a whole three hours. It wasn’t anywhere near enough, but at least it took the edge off my exhaustion.
I freshened up again, then pulled on my dress, smoothing its silky sides over my curves so that they clung like a second skin. I didn’t bother with underclothes—I might have bought them, but they were too nice to sacrifice if Lucian did go through with his threat.
Anticipation throbbed in a low-down ache as I left the room and walked—limped, given my leg was only half healed and still sore—across to the airport.
Naturally, his plane was late. I grabbed some breakfast—deciding on pancakes smothered with bananas and caramel sauce, simply because I figured I’d need the calories in the hours to come—and munched on it while I watched the screens and wondered if it were actually possible to burst with frustration.
His plane finally pulled in thirty-five minutes late. I leaned against a concrete pillar, scanning the disembarking passengers, my limbs trembling with anticipation. Damn, this was bad. The next time he went away, I needed to get to Franklin’s at least once.
Eventually, I saw him. He towered over those nearest him, his hair gleaming like finely spun gold in the airport’s harsh overhead lighting. His gaze scanned the waiting crowd and—when his green eyes met mine—a bright smile lit his face.
I pushed away from the pillar and walked across to him, loving the way he moved—like a sleek cat that had its quarry in sight. He dropped his bag onto the floor next to me, wrapped his arms around my waist, then kissed me.
It was heat and passion and desire, but his kisses also transcended all that, becoming something far more powerful and unearthly. Electricity surged between us, swirling around our flesh, through our flesh, until it seemed our flesh had disappeared and we were nothing more than night and air and energy. It was amazing. Truly amazing. And it was all I could do not to beg him to take me here and now.
When we finally parted, I could barely breathe and my legs felt like water.
He smiled as his hands slid from my waist. “I did so miss your lips.”
I arched an eyebrow and said teasingly, “Just my lips?”
“And your neck, and your breasts, and your waist, and your—” He paused as his hands slid over my rump, and a fierce light flared in his eyes as he pulled me even closer. His erection, thick and hard, pressed against my belly, making me wish there weren’t several layers of clothing separating us. His lips brushed my ear as he murmured, “Is it too much to hope that you’ve reserved a room at the Hilton? Otherwise, I might just be tempted to cause a major scene.”
I laughed, cupped his face with my hands, and kissed him fiercely but quickly. “Luckily for everyone in the terminal, I did have such foresight. Do you have any luggage to collect?”
“No,” he said, grabbing my hand as he bent to pick up his bag with the other. “Shall we go?”
“Let’s.”
We all but ran through the terminal and over the footbridge to the Hilton. The elevator doors hadn’t fully closed before he was stalking toward me, a heated look in his eyes.
I grinned as my back hit the wall. “So,” he said softly, stopping so close that all I could feel was the heat of his desire, and all I could smell was the raw scent of eager, hungry male. “I do believe I threatened to tear the clothes off your body the minute I saw you.”
“The elevator is hardly an appropriate place,” I murmured, resisting the urge to arch toward him. To encourage him with the press of my body, the heat of my need.
“It is likely to get us arrested if anyone happens to be monitoring the cameras.” He raised his hands, his fingers teasing the top edges of the dress and causing my already hard nipples to ache with even greater intensity.
I flicked my gaze to the camera in question, then glanced at the floor indicator. My room was on the hotel’s top floor, and the elevator was moving at a glacial pace.
“What would your clients think if you were arrested for indecent behavior in an airport hotel elevator?” I asked, pressing just a little into his touch as his hands skimmed down my body then moved back up again.
“They would think I’m a lucky man.” And with that, he gripped the edges of my dress and tore it open. “A fucking lucky man,” he repeated, his gaze sweeping down my fully exposed flesh.
Then he pressed against me, his lips claiming mine, his kiss like fire and his body trembling with the force of his desire. He kissed my chin, my throat, my shoulder blades. I gasped and climbed up his body, wrapping my legs around his waist, cursing the material that still separated us.
The elevator tinged and the doors opened. His grip slid down to my butt, supporting me as he swung us both around. “What room?” he growled, in between kisses.
“Nine-ten,” I gasped, throwing my head back as his tongue teased the base of my neck.
We reached my room. I somehow swiped the key through the scanner and pushed it open. Lucian kicked the door closed but didn’t step any farther into the room, pressing me back against the door instead.
“I need you,” he said, his voice a rough, urgent vibration that ran through every part of me. “So badly, right now.”
“Then take me,” I muttered, the need to feel him inside of me so fierce that it was becoming hard to breathe.
He shifted his grip, supporting me one-handed while he undid his pants with the other. I tore open his shirt and ran my hands across the hard, golden planes of his chest. Then I gasped again as he plunged inside me, going as deep as it was possible to go. Pleasure spiraled through me, as fast and as furious as his movements. This wasn’t lovemaking, this was fucking, pure and simple. And oh, it was so glorious. The tightness built up inside me, radiating out in fierce waves to the very tips of my toes and fingers, until it felt as if my body was ready to explode.
Then everything did explode, and I was shuddering and shaking with the force of my orgasm. A heartbeat later he came—an animal roar torn from his throat and echoing through the hush of the room.
For several seconds afterward, neither of us moved. He rested his forehead against mine, his rapid breaths fanning my lips, stirring the embers of barely sated desire. He was still semi-hard inside me, and anticipation of what was yet to come zinged through me. An Aedh’s lovemaking might never live up to the promise of his kisses—mainly because an Aedh’s kiss was designed solely to gain compliance for the act that followed—but it sure as hell blew everyone else I’d ever had out of the water.
“That was not a bad starter,” he murmured after a while. He raised his head, his wicked smile creasing the corners of his bright eyes. “You realize, of course, that after not having sex for well over a week, I have an almost unquenchable desire to lose myself in your flesh for the next week or so?”
I touched his cheek then ran my fingers down to his lips. He caught one finger, sucking on it lightly. A tremor ran through me. “I’m afraid I can’t manage a week. I can, however, promise you the next eight hours.”
Which would mean I’d have to go straight to work from here—but right then, I wasn’t caring.
“Only eight?” He clicked his tongue as he swung us both around and walked across to the king-sized bed. “That’s hardly enough to take the edge off.”
I laughed as he lowered us both to the bed, somehow managing not to break our intimate connection. “Then what about if I also promise to give you as much free time as I can manage over the next week?”
“That,” he murmured, as he began to move inside me again, “will just have to do. Now, shall we get down to business?”
“Let’s,” I agreed, and we did.
I relaxed against the back of the large bath and lightly played with the bubbles floating around my toes. Lucian walked in and offered me a glass of champagne, then sat down on the edge of the bath and studied me with a smile.
“If you don’t get out of that water soon, you’ll prune up.”
If I didn’t get out soon, I’d be horribly late for work. I sighed wistfully and took a sip of bubbly. “I know. I’m just all languid and content. Moving would spoil the moment.”
He laughed softly and clinked his glass against mine. “My job has been done, then.”
“For a while, at least,” I agreed. Which didn’t mean I’d offer too many protests if he decided he wanted another round. Even if it meant I’d be late.
“So how did the book hunting go?” he asked after a moment.
I blinked. “So it’s true. You can invade my thoughts.”
“I wouldn’t really call it invading,” he said, amusement teasing the lips I’d kissed so often this morning. “Nor is it truly telepathy. There are only a few relatively minor areas of your thoughts open to me. Unlike most, you seem to have more than your fair share of secret compartments.”
“Well, good,” I said, a little tartly. “A girl does like to keep her secrets, you know.”
“Then have no fear. I can only read what is foremost in your mind, and the Dušan book appears to be your biggest concern.”
I sipped my champagne and studied him over the rim. Was he telling the truth? For some odd reason, I suspected not—even though I wasn’t seeing any of the usual signs of deception. But maybe he wasn’t. Maybe I was just being overly suspicious thanks to everything that had happened to me over the last few months.
But if he knew about the Dušan book, then he undoubtedly knew we’d appropriated it from the Raziq. And why.
“It’s supposed to tell us what form the keys take,” I said eventually.
“Supposed?” he said. “You haven’t tried to read it yet?”
I shook my head. “Azriel suspects the book may have a locator on it.”
“Azriel being your guardian reaper?”
“Stalker,” I corrected, even though he’d saved my life that very morning. “Azriel wants what everyone else wants—my father.”
Lucian grinned and dipped a hand into the water, running his fingers lightly up my leg. “I don’t want your father. I’d much rather have the luscious, wanton female lying naked in my bath.”
My skin tingled where he touched and my hormones shifted from languid satisfaction to eager anticipation. I ignored them and said teasingly, “I vaguely recall you stating that you’ve indulged in more than your fair share of threesomes and orgies over the centuries. Are you saying that not one of those involved a male?”
“No, I am not,” he murmured, his fingers caressing higher up my thigh, making my breath grow ragged. “And I’m always more than happy to share some loving with several females and males. Now, however, the idea of a regular, one-on-one coupling has taken my fancy. Did you get this wound when you were retrieving the book?”
I nodded. The bullet wound was still raised and nasty looking, but at least the ache had eased. In a day or so, it probably wouldn’t even be noticeable. Which didn’t stop me wishing yet again that I’d gotten a higher percentage of a werewolf’s natural healing ability, because I had a bad feeling I was going to need it over the coming weeks.
“I hope our athletic escapades haven’t caused you any discomfort.”
“You would have heard me complaining if they had.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So you would have no objections if we continued said escapades in the bath?”
“Why would you want to do that when I apparently resemble a prune?”
He grinned. “Did I ever mention that I’m rather fond of prunes?”
I laughed and held his glass as he stepped into the bath and sat down at the opposite end, his long legs stretching out to either side of mine. I handed him back his champagne, and he took a sip.
“What,” he said, his eyes twinkling with devilry, “would you give me if I said I knew of a way to block whatever tracer magic the Raziq have placed on that book?”
“Ah,” I said, putting my glass down on the bath ledge. “For that, I might just be willing to be late for work.”
“How late?” he asked, the devilry vying with desire.
I shifted position and slid up his wet, warm body, my hands on either side of him. “Very, very late,” I murmured, as my lips met his.
For the longest time there was no more talking, only enjoying. When I finally straddled him, pushing him slowly—teasingly—deep into my body, we both groaned in delight. I began to move, slowly at first, then with mounting urgency, until desire burned, and all I wanted to do was reach that peak and shatter into a million pieces.
Then I did, and he did, and it was glorious. Oh, so glorious.
I rested my head against his shoulder for several minutes, breathing heavily and feeling completely—wonderfully—boneless.
Then he sighed, took my face between his palms, and kissed me gently. “You need to construct a void.”
I blinked. “What?”
“For the book,” he said patiently. “You will need to construct a magical void. It’s a zone that can be built around an object to render any outsourced magic emanating from that object useless.”
“How the hell am I supposed to do that?”
“You can’t, but Ilianna could. She is more powerful than you suspect.”
I looked at him. “You’ve only met her once, and then only for a couple of minutes.”
“Which is more than enough time to get a sense of her capabilities.” He paused. “Where is the book now?”
“Somewhere safe,” I said, frowning at his questions. For someone who professed to have no interest in the book, he sure wanted to know a lot about it.
He smiled and tucked a damp strand of hair behind my ear. “As much as I hate to say this, if you get out of this bath right now, you might still make it to work on time.”
“Only if I don’t take you home first. And I thought that was the whole point of me meeting you at the airport.”
“No, the whole point of you meeting me at the airport was me wanting to ravish you. And now I have.” He gave me another one of those devilish grins. “Of course, I wouldn’t complain if you did escort me home, but I rather suspect I’d drag you upstairs and make you even later.”
“A tempting prospect, but one I suspect would piss off Tao and Ilianna.”
“And Ilianna is not a woman I would like pissed off at me,” he agreed.
I laughed, kissed him quickly, then grabbed a towel and headed off to dry and dress.
I caught a cab to work, calling Ilianna in the process to ask if she’d drop in sometime during the shift. As it turned out, I was late for work, but only by a few minutes. The place was packed, so I slipped upstairs to dump my spare clothes and change into my work gear, then headed back down to once again help out where I was needed. By six the crowd had eased somewhat, so I headed up to the office to catch up on the paperwork.
Azriel found me there.
“The Raziq may know of this place,” he said, his arms crossed and his expression as stony as I’d ever seen it. “It is not wise to remain here for long.”
I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples wearily. Staring at the computer screen trying to make sense of the accounting was not a sensible thing to do after so little sleep. And the last thing I wanted was a confrontation with Azriel. “I can’t turn my life around just because they may or may not know about this place. I won’t go home, but I refuse to abandon everything and everyone in my life.”
He didn’t say anything. Just stared at me disapprovingly.
I sighed. “Look, if it’s true that the Raziq have placed a tracer signal on the book, Lucian has told me a way of getting around it.”
“How would he know?” Azriel’s voice held an edge that sounded a hell of a lot like contempt. “He is neither a priest nor a magic user, and he was stripped of any Aedh powers a long time ago.”
“He wasn’t stripped of all of them.” The annoyance surging through me hadn’t yet reached my voice—but I suspected it wouldn’t take that long. “And what does it matter whether he should or should not know? If it works, we’ll be able to read the book without the Raziq dropping in on us.”
“If it works,” he said.
“If it doesn’t, what have we lost?” I snapped my chair forward and leaned my forearms on the desk. “What the hell is your problem?”
He paused. “I have no—”
“Bullshit, Azriel,” I interrupted. “Every time I mention Lucian’s name you get all huffy and hostile.”
He shrugged. “I do not trust him.”
“But why? He’s done nothing to prove he’s untrustworthy.”
“And he’s done nothing to prove he is.”
“Meaning you’ll trust him if this idea of his works?”
“No.”
I snorted softly. “Then you’re just being unreasonable.”
He didn’t say anything. No surprise there. This reaper could make a clam seem chatty.
Footsteps clattered up the stairs, and I knew by the sound it was Ilianna. She might be fleet of foot, but she had a heavier step than most.
“Whoa,” she said, stopping abruptly in the doorway and glancing between Azriel and myself. “Tension, much?”
I grimaced. “It’s just a disagreement about trustworthiness. Nothing major.”
Ilianna’s gaze centered on Azriel. “So who don’t you trust?”
“Lucian,” he said, calmly.
“Why?”
“Good luck getting a real answer for that one,” I muttered, at the same time that Azriel said, “Because he is one of the fallen, and they should never be trusted.”
“Is this experience talking, or merely word of mouth?” Ilianna asked.
“Lucian is fallen.” He said it like that one word explained it all.
“One mistake does not mean the man is pure evil,” Ilianna said reasonably, though it didn’t look like it was having much impact on Azriel. “Are you sure there’s no deeper reason?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “I do not understand the question.”
Ilianna snorted. “Sure you don’t.” She glanced at me. “You wanted to see me?”
“Would you happen to know how to create a magical void around an object?”
She blinked. “In theory, yes, although I’ve never actually created one. Why?”
“Because—according to Lucian—that’s the only way we can stop the locating spell the Raziq have more than likely placed on the book.”
She grunted, frowning a little. “It may take a day or so. I’ll have to brush up on the technique before I attempt it.”
“Do it. We need to find and destroy these damn keys so my life can return to normal.”
I glared at Azriel as I said it, but he returned it passively. And that was even more frustrating. Damn it, I wanted him to react, wanted him to … what? He was a reaper, for Christ’s sake. I had to stop applying human sensibilities to him.
“It does mean I’ll have to go back home,” Ilianna said. If she still sensed the tension riding between me and Azriel, she didn’t mention it. “Mirri doesn’t have the texts or the equipment I’ll need.”
I frowned. “I don’t like the thought of you going there alone …”
“I will accompany her,” Azriel said abruptly. At my surprised look, he added, “If Ilianna were captured, you would drop everything to rescue her, would you not?”
“Yes.”
“Then it is beneficial for my quest that she not get captured.”
“So glad my safety came into consideration,” Ilianna murmured with a wry grin at me. “Oh, and I’ve found Adeline Greenfield for you. She said to pop in after you’ve finished work. She’ll be home all night.”
“Good.” I accepted the piece of paper she handed me and glanced briefly at the address. Toorak, not far from where Mom had lived. The protection-spell business was obviously booming. I tucked it into my jean pocket and added, “Where are you staying tonight? With Mirri?”
Ilianna nodded. “Although I miss the peace and quiet of our place. Her damn apartment always sounds like it’s in the middle of a battlefield.”
I snorted softly. Mirri lived in one of the old East Melbourne mansion blocks close to her work, and her apartment was on a middle floor, meaning it got noise from above and below. And the families living in the neighboring apartments had no qualms when it came to airing their grievances at the top of their lungs.
“Once we get the void in place around the book, it should be safer at home.”
“Well, I’d better get my ass into gear then, as I really don’t want to be at Mirri’s too long.”
If only, I thought with amusement, because Mirri didn’t have the latest and greatest in security as we did. Mirri might not have lived in Melbourne for as long as Ilianna, but she was infinitely more secure about being here.
“So where are you going to be staying?” Ilianna added.
“I’m not sure yet.” I flicked a glance at Azriel, and couldn’t help adding, “Maybe with Lucian.”
He didn’t react. Not that I could see, anyway. But that chill in the air got suddenly stronger, and a shiver ran down my spine.
Ilianna clicked her tongue. “You, Risa Jones, are positively evil.” She glanced at Azriel. “I’m heading home now. Are you coming?”
“Yes,” he answered. “I shall wait downstairs for you.”
He winked out of existence and, as far as I could tell, actually did leave the room.
“Ris, be careful,” Ilianna said, her gaze coming back to me.
“Is that a general be careful, or a there’s-shit-headed-your-way be careful?”
“General.” She paused, frowning. “I have no sense that Lucian is evil or that he ever intends you harm, but I don’t think you can entirely disregard Azriel’s misgivings. He may have reasons other than what he’s saying, but he’s a warrior—and, like any good warrior, he relies on instinct.”
“Lucian isn’t evil, and he’s shown absolutely no interest in the damn keys or my father.” And for that alone I would trust him. “He’s just an Aedh who’s been bound to earth and is doing his best to survive.”
She nodded. “I know, and I agree, but I’ve been wrong before and I’d hate for this to be one of those times. So just be careful.”
“I will. I am.” I gave her a crooked smile. “These days, the only people I truly trust are you, Tao, and the Jenson pack.”
“Well, you can’t go wrong there.” She hesitated again, then drew a paper-wrapped package out of her pocket. “Here, I bought you this.”
She offered me the package. Undoing it revealed a small, multipurpose hunting knife—the sort of knife that could cut wire as easily as it did throats. I glanced at her sharply. “You said you don’t see specific trouble in my future, so why hand me a knife?”
She grimaced. “My foresight is being decidedly ambiguous at the moment. I just felt the need to buy this for you. I’m hoping you don’t need it, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“I guess.” I tossed the knife lightly in my hand. It was very well balanced. “And at least it is small enough to keep hidden.”
“That’s the idea.” Then she gave me a sketchy salute and headed back down the stairs.
I considered the knife for a few seconds longer, then tucked it into my jacket pocket and tried to get back to the paperwork. Unfortunately, the figures refused to compute. After twenty minutes I gave up and rang the Langham Hotel, booking a suite for a couple of nights. I wasn’t able to go home, which gave me the perfect opportunity to indulge in a little pampering at one of my favorite five-star hotels. With that done, I headed back downstairs to help out until the end of my shift.
After grabbing something to eat from the kitchen, I caught a cab to the address Ilianna had given me. Adeline Greenfield lived in one of those beautiful old Victorian houses filled with character—the type of house all too often torn down and replaced by sterile concrete boxes. As the cab took off, I stood on the curb, admiring the graceful old elms that dominated her front lawn, and the thick carpet of moss growing across the tiled roof. There was an air of graceful age that hung over the place. And as I opened the old wrought-iron gate and walked through, it felt very welcoming.
The front garden was so lush with flowers that, even at night, they filled the air with a riot of perfume. And though it should have overwhelmed my olfactory senses, it didn’t.
I climbed the red-tiled steps and walked across to the front door. A little gold bell sat on the right edge of the door frame, its cord swaying gently in the breeze. I rang it a couple of times, and the joyous sound leapt across the night, making me smile.
Footsteps echoed inside, then the door opened, revealing a short, gray haired woman with lined, leathery features and the brightest blue eyes I’d ever seen.
“You’d be Risa Jones?” she said, looking me up and down before her gaze went briefly past me. If her expression was anything to go by, I wasn’t what she was expecting.
“Yes, I am. I hope I’m not too late. Ilianna did say to pop over after I finished work …”
“No, no, that’s fine,” she said, unlocking the security door then stepping aside for me to enter. “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting you to come alone.”
I paused. “Why’s that?”
“Ilianna mentioned you had a reaper following you about, but that I shouldn’t worry about it.” She snorted as she snipped the door closed then led the way down the long, shadow-filled hallway. The air smelled of ginger and some other spices I couldn’t name. It was tantalizing and pleasant. “Not that I would. I’ve seen more than my fair share of them buggers, and they don’t scare me.”
She led the way into a cozy sitting room that was dominated by a log fire. Two well-padded armchairs sat in front of it and, in between them, a small coffee table on which sat a tea pot and two china cups.
“Would you like a cup?” she asked, motioning me to sit on the chair to the left.
“Thanks,” I said, even though tea wasn’t high on my must-have list. “So you can see the reapers?”
“Well, technically, no. Not like I see you, for instance. But sometimes when I’m dream walking, I cross their paths. As I said, they don’t scare me. They seem to be mostly benevolent beings.”
I supposed they generally were—even the moody ones who carried swords. I watched her pour the tea, then nodded when she mentioned the sugar. She stirred in several spoons, then offered me the cup. I took it gingerly—I was a mug girl at heart, and bone china always seemed too delicate for me. “By dream walking, do you mean astral traveling?”
She nodded. “I find it beneficial when it comes to dealing with some clients’ problems. It is human nature not to be entirely honest, but there are no lies on the astral plane.”
“So do you watch them go through their daily lives or do you walk through their dreams?”
“Mostly the latter. Dreams can be interesting—and sometimes dangerous—places.” She studied me for a moment. “But you know that. You’ve walked the astral planes yourself.”
“What you call the astral planes, I call the gray fields. But I’ve never walked through anyone’s dreams.”
“You could. You have many more of your mother’s gifts than you think.”
I did? That was certainly news. I took a sip of tea, then said, “Did Ilianna mention why I wanted to see you?”
She nodded. “Catherine Alston ordered the protection spell three years ago. She mentioned that there was some nasty business going down in the council, and she wanted to be sure she was safe at home.”
I hadn’t thought to ask Alston why she’d wanted such strong magic guarding her. “I guess she didn’t clarify what the nasty business was?”
Adeline shook her head. “Vampires of her vintage usually work on a need-to-know basis. I didn’t need to know. I just needed to make the spell work.”
“So what sort of spell was it?”
She took a sip from her cup, then said, “Full protection. It should stop anything or anyone wearing flesh who intended her harm.”
“What about Maniae?”
She peered at me. “What about them?”
“Well, they’re considered spirits—or daemones. So should your spell have stopped them?”
“No, because Maniae don’t wear flesh. They’re also deities rather than spirits—a different type of being altogether. I don’t think Alston ever imagined someone would hate her enough to raise a daemon against her, let alone the curse of the Maniae. And that makes her situation extremely tricky.”
“Why?”
“Because the Maniae can usually be summoned only by great injustice. Alston must have cocked up pretty badly for the Maniae to be after her.”
“Meaning the event three years ago is unlikely to be the cause, because the attacks have only just begun.”
“Not necessarily. It could have simply taken that long to perform the summoning correctly. It is not a well-known spell, and it is not one that is well recorded.”
“Would the Brindle have it within their archives?”
“Undoubtedly.”
“Meaning it’s the sort of spell that any witch could perform?”
“It’s the type of spell anyone who feels they’re the victim of a grave injustice could perform if they can find the full version. However, the only people who would get access to the spell are witches connected to the Brindle.”
“So maybe all I have to do is go to the Brindle and ask who had access to that spell recently.”
“It is worth a try, though I honestly doubt a witch would be involved in such a summoning—even if it is only to supply the text of the spell.”
“Why?”
“Because of the threefold rule. And because one person’s great injustice can be another’s minor annoyance. It is a very gray area for a witch to be involved in.”
I nodded and finished my tea, wincing a little at the almost bitter aftertaste. Give me Coke or coffee any day. Hell, even the cheapest instant was better than this.
“I don’t suppose you’ve heard any whispers about this sort of summoning being performed, have you?”
She shook her head. “No, it is not my line of work. I protect, not destroy.”
I said, “No witch destroys. That is against the laws, isn’t it?”
Something gleamed in her eyes. Amusement, perhaps. Or pity. “Ask Ilianna that question. She could answer it more fully than me.”
“Ilianna hasn’t destroyed anything or anyone.”
“I’m not saying she has.”
“Ask her.”
Yeah, like that would do any good. When it came to talking about the Brindle and the brief time she’d spent there, Ilianna was decidedly mute. I pushed to my feet and held out my hand. “Thank you for your time.”
She rose and clasped my hand. “Be careful, young woman. Evil nips at your heels, and that is not a good thing when your dark angel is not by your side.”
“I can protect myself,” I said. And tried to ignore the suspicion that I’d just tempted fate.
Adeline smiled. It was a knowing yet sad smile. “Yes, you can. Except in the areas where it perhaps matters the most.”
I sighed. Why couldn’t people just come out and say what they meant?
“Because,” she said, a smile touching her thin lips, “speaking in riddles means we can never truly be wrong. It is merely a matter of interpretation.”
I grinned despite the rather shocked realization that she could read my thoughts. Was I an open book to everyone these days? I hoped like hell the nano-implants worked better on vampires than they seemed to on Aedh, reapers, and witches. “You know, that’s the most honest statement I think I’ve heard all day.”
“And that is a sad state of affairs,” she commented as she led the way back down the hall.
“I guess it is.” I shivered a little as she opened the door and the wind whisked in, colder and stronger than it had been fifteen minutes ago. “Thanks for taking the time to see me.”
She nodded and watched me leave, her gaze burning into my spine long after I’d left her house. I shivered again, then jumped as my phone rang loudly.
Lucian’s cheery features came up instantly on the vid-screen. “Hey gorgeous,” he said. “I’m missing you already.”
I grinned. “No, I am not coming over to your place tonight. I’m tired. I need to sleep.”
“And here I was thinking you had the stamina of a wolf.”
“I do. It’s just been one hell of a day.”
He laughed. “Where are you at the moment?”
A yellow cab cruised down the street toward me. I waved a hand and was relieved to see it pull over. “On Chapel Street, just about to catch a cab.”
I opened the door, hopped in, and told the driver the address.
“You’re going to the Langham?” Lucian commented. “And you’re not inviting me? I am offended!”
I laughed. “Yeah, right. Maybe tomorrow night.”
“By tomorrow night I shall be mindless with need.”
“Then go to Franklin’s. You’re a member there now.”
“Ah yes, so I am.” He sighed dramatically. “I suppose I shall just have to be satisfied with slaking my desire on a dozen or so of Franklin’s most nubile offerings.”
“Such a hardship,” I said drily, then glanced up as the cabdriver swerved and swore dramatically.
“Problem?” I asked.
“Just some asshole coming out of a side street without looking,” he replied. “Nothing to—”
The rest of his words were cut off as the cab—and the two of us—were flung hard sideways. Car engines roared, metal crumpled, and someone started screaming. The driver, I realized a little dazedly, feeling warmth trickling down the side of my face and not knowing how it had gotten there. Lucian was yelling, too, calling my name from what seemed a great distance. Then the door on the opposite side was wrenched open, and something sharp hit my neck.
And everything went black.