Darkness Hunts

Chapter 6

I cursed mentally and swung around. Any idea where he went?

He has left the astral plane. Markel studied me for a moment, then said, It is impressive that your sword works on this plane. Usually, such a weapon would not.

Amaya is no ordinary weapon.

To which she practically preened. My sword was gaining a personality. Fabulous. Not.

Were you able to read his mind?

He shook his head. Unless there is some form of physical contact between astral bodies, you can’t.

I frowned. Is that what he was doing when we came across him the first time? Reading Dorothy’s mind?

I suspect he was doing much more than that, because mind reading usually does not leave a burned imprint.

I shivered, and the s Nmleze/em>So basically, you got no more from him than I did?

He half smiled. Cazador or not, on this plane I am just another traveler.

Somehow, I’m not believing that.

It was wryly said, and he acknowledged it with an almost regal nod. Perhaps I do oversimplify.

Perhaps? I seriously doubted there was any “perhaps” about it. I hesitated, then asked, Just how closely do you follow me?

Again that half smile appeared. It gave his almost stern features a softer edge, but didn’t ease the impression of . . . not menace—not exactly. Perhaps it was more an underlying sense that the urban exterior was little more than a veil concealing a darker, more deadly soul.

I cannot enter your home, if that is your concern.

Surprise rippled through me. So the vampire threshold rule applies on the astral plane?

Yes. He hesitated. I tail you everywhere else, though.

Everywhere else? I repeated, a little mortified by the thought.

He cleared his throat, and I had an odd sense that he’d swallowed a laugh. This Cazador did not fit the image I’d created of them. But then, neither did Uncle Quinn. Well, bathrooms are out of bounds, of course. As are boudoirs.

Oh, thank God.

This time, he did laugh. It was a somewhat harsh sound, as if he didn’t do it often. You’re an interesting person to talk to, Ms. Jones.

Thanks. I think.

He bowed again. You’d best return to your body. The weakness grows in you.

Odd that he could sense that and I couldn’t. But then, I’d become very good at ignoring my needs of late. Chat with you later, Markel.

Undoubtedly, he said.

I closed my eyes and imagined my body, and suddenly I was back there. I gasped at the shock of it and opened my eyes, but I didn’t move, wary of causing a repeat of the sickness that hit me last time.

“Well,” Rhoan said, voice impatient. “What happened?”

“Give her time to regain her full senses,” Elga said crossly. “In fact, go get her coffee and chocolate. This poor girl needs some fat on her body; otherwise she’s going to be of no use to anyone.”

“I’m a werewolf,” I murmured. “We’re naturally lean.”

But when even speaking hurt, I really was in trouble. I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead somewhat gingerly. There was a low-grade throbbing deep inside my skull, and I knew it was a result of doing too much on too little sleep and food.

“Werewolves are lean, granted,” Elga commented. “But you, my dear, are posit Sar,

Is this one of those occasions where an “I told you so” would be appropriate? came Azriel’s silent thought.

Probably. But I wouldn’t suggest it because I might get nasty.

And that is supposed to scare me? The dry amusement in his tone swirled through me, sending warmth fluttering.

It would scare most men.

I am not a man.

True. You, reaper, are frustration personified.

Not unexpectedly, he made no reply. Rhoan came back carrying a large bottle of Coke and two chocolate-covered protein bars. I carefully hitched myself upright, but the room still spun around me. Elga was right—I couldn’t keep risking the astral plane feeling like this. Not when we were hunting someone who was obviously very familiar with it, and also very dangerous on it.

Elga frowned. “Coffee would be better—”

“Trust me, it’s not coffee that refuels her, but Coke. She was born with the stuff running through her veins, I think.” He squatted beside the bed and handed me the Coke. “I know I’m rushing you, and I’m sorry, but we really do need to know what happened.”

I took several gulps, felt the delicious fizz work its magic all the way down to my belly, then filled him in on all that had happened.

“Why in the hell would he want to play a cat-and-mouse game like this?” He tore open a protein bar and handed it to me.

“I don’t think he’s actually playing with a full deck, so who really knows.”

“Whoever this person is, he’s very adept at covering his tracks and keeping his identity secret—neither of which the insane tend to be.” He hesitated. “Can you tell us anything else about him personally?”

“Well, he had hair this time.” I frowned suddenly. “But oddly, it didn’t really have any color.”

“So it was gray?”

“No. There just wasn’t any color. It merged with the shadows, as if it were part of them. It was weird.”

“You know,” Elga said suddenly, “he could be blind.”

We both turned to look at her. “Why would you think that?” Rhoan asked.

“Well, if he was born blind, then he would have no understanding of color,” she explained. “Of course, the blind can be taught to associate certain levels of heat with specific colors through the use of various colored-light filters, but they will never know colors as the sighted see them.”

“Would that explain why he has no features on the plane? Because he’s never actually seen his face?” I asked.

She frowned. “Not really, because while he may not see it, he can feel it. He would know the shape of his nose, mout Sis no Lh, and face, at the very least.”

“Then why are his features missing on the field? I thought your soul wouldn’t allow such deception.”

“Normally, it doesn’t. However, he may not be concealing it. What he may be doing is changing your perception of what you’re seeing.”

“Which means we’re dealing with a very powerful individual indeed.” Rhoan thrust to his feet. “Damn it, Ris, I like that you’re involved in this even less.”

“And you think I’m any happier?” I shook my head. “Trust me, if I could go home and leave you to it, I would.”

“I know. It’s just frustration speaking.” He made a sharp motion with his hand. “Until we get our phone call, there’s not much more we can do. I suggest you go home and catch some rest while you can.”

I wished I could, but I still had a meeting with Jak to get to. I downed the rest of the Coke, then said, “He wanted me to chase the leads, not you.”

“He can’t get into this place, not even astrally, so he’s not going to know who is doing what straightaway. And if he’s as clever as I think he is, he’ll know we’ll be beside you every step of the way, regardless of what he orders. He simply doesn’t think the Directorate is a threat. That’s evident enough from his taunting phone calls.”

I finished the last of the protein bars, then licked the chocolate off my fingers and got slowly to my feet. The room did a slow turn, so I pressed my fingers against the wall and said, “Have all his victims so far been women?”

Rhoan nodded. “Different ages, but all women.”

“And they’ve nothing in common?”

“Other than the fact that they’re all vampires, no.”

“What about their makers?”

“Again nothing in common.”

Meaning Stane’s search for information on Dorothy’s maker would be fruitless, because he wasn’t the connection. Which, in turn, meant there was nothing to even remotely suggest who his next victim might be. Frustrating, to say the least. I pulled off the monitors and got dressed. “You’ll ring me the minute the phone call comes?”

“I’ll ring the minute we uncover anything useful. You, in the meantime, will get some rest. Promise?”

I nodded. He grunted, then swung around and offered me his arm. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

He escorted me back upstairs, then dropped a kiss on my cheek, reminded me to ring Riley, and left. I glanced at Azriel as I made my way out to Spencer Street. Though he walked beside me, he kept a careful distance between us. It didn’t erase the awareness that stirred within, or the flow of heat that caressed my skin.

“How can the Directorate stop someone from entering that building astrally, and yet none of their devices even reacted to you?”

“Because I am not human. All the devices and magic are aimed at catching abnormalities Sabnth="2 in or on flesh-based rather than energy beings.”

I frowned. “So it should have reacted to you.”

“No, because this body is not real.”

“It damn well feels real when I touch you.” And it had certainly felt real when we’d made love. “Besides, you said you can find death in this form, so how can it not be real?”

“I bleed, and I can die in this form, true, but my being is energy, not flesh and blood.” He hesitated, frowning a little. “That place would not react to you, either, if you were in Aedh form. Neither their technology nor their magic is attuned to what you and I are.”

I frowned. “They’re obviously aware of both reapers and Aedh, so why wouldn’t they have some line of defense against either of you?”

“Because reapers interact with humans only on a soul-collecting basis, and why would anyone want to stop that?”

“But Aedh—”

“Have a long history of ignoring humanity, except when it comes to their own needs—procreation, for instance,” he said. “There is no major need for the Directorate to protect themselves against us, and they are well aware of that fact.”

Which meant Lucian could have followed us into the building, if he’d wished. Though why that particular thought occurred to me I have no idea. And it wasn’t like he could lurk in Aedh form anywhere nearby without Azriel being aware of him.

“So what if this person we’re chasing is also not flesh-based?”

“He cannot be energy, as that would make him either Aedh or reaper. And no reaper can interact with those on the astral plane.”

“That still leaves the possibility of another Aedh.”

“Aedh have no need to use magic to transport themselves to and from locations. This killer did.”

I grunted. I’d forgotten about that. “So what we need to do is uncover who in Melbourne sells powerful transport charms. It’s something either the Brindle or Jak will know or can find out.”

“What of Ilianna? And do you not think the Directorate would be already chasing that possibility?”

“I’ve involved Ilianna in enough dangerous shit already. She doesn’t need this as well.” I shrugged. “And the Directorate probably have investigated such an angle, but it doesn’t hurt to ask the Brindle witches.”

“Then why even bother with Jak?”

“Because I’ve got to meet him anyway, so it won’t hurt.” I eyed Azriel for a moment. “Has Jak suddenly become a problem for you?”

“No. I just think you risk his well-being needlessly.”

“He’s only going to ask around about charms, Azriel. I’d hardly call that dangerous.”

He didn’t say anything immediately, but then, he didn’t need to. His disapproval stung the air. shru She ont sizeAnd after this meeting, you will rest?”

“Yes.” If nothing else came up, that was.

“Good. Because if you do not, I will be forced to make you.”

“Try it, and I really will get nasty—” But I was speaking to air. He’d disappeared again.

Even though the bar was crowded with lunchtime patrons, Jak Talbott was easy enough to spot. It wasn’t that he towered above everyone else, because at five ten, he was pretty much the average height for male werewolves. It was more that he exuded a raw masculinity that drew the eye. Or maybe it just seemed that way to me because I still wasn’t entirely over the damn man, no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise.

He actually wasn’t what I’d call handsome, but his rough-hewn features were easy on the eye and his body was well toned without being too muscular. His hair, like his skin, was a rich black, although there was a lot more silver glinting in the shaggy thickness of it these days. It gave him a genteel edge, which was something Jak would never be able to claim otherwise.

He leaned back in the chair as I approached, but his smile of greeting faded as his gaze swept me. “Damn it, Ris, you look worse every time I see you.”

“Thanks.” My voice was dry as I pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him. “You’re looking swell, too.”

He laughed. It was a warm, carefree sound, and the deep-down part of me that wouldn’t entirely let go of the past, and this man, sighed wistfully.

“Yeah, lack of sleep does that to me,” he said, a little too cheerfully. He obviously had news of some kind that he was excited about. “What’s your excuse?”

“Same. What have you uncovered?”

His expression was one of resignation, but there was a twinkle in his dark eyes that had my pulse suddenly skipping. Once upon a time that twinkle had signified a sexual onslaught—one I’d always been willingly swept away by. “I thought we’d moved past this whole ‘business only’ deal with our rather erotic dance and kiss.”

That rather erotic dance and kiss had actually been shared with Azriel, who’d taken Jak temporarily out of the picture—and taken on his form—to protect him. But because so many people had seen somebody they thought was Jak with me, I’d asked Azriel to supply him with memories of the evening. I just hadn’t expected said memories to be so complete.

“Then you thought wrong, Jak. As I told you on that night, there’s nothing left between us and there will be no repeat.”

“Nothing left, huh?” His hand whipped out and snared mine. His grin was devilish as I tried—without success—to pull away. “So the racing pulse, and the desire that stirs the air, is nothing more than my imagination?”

“Nothing more,” I said, and wished it was. Wished the past would just leave me the hell alone. But then, I’d invited it—and him—back into my life, so I had only myself to blame.

“And if I leaned across the table and kissed you,” he said, in a voice so intimate it felt like a caress, “you would feel nothing more than the press of lips against lips?”

My gaze dropped to the lips I’d once known so well, and then I closed my eyes, drew back a foot, and kicked him. Hard. He yelped and released me, and I shifted out of immediate reach.

“Well, it’s safe to say that was not the response I was hoping for.” His grin was somewhat rueful as he rubbed his shin. “But do not think me defeated. If I breached your defenses once, I can do it again.”

“Jak, give it up and just concentrate on business.”

“I can’t. I love a good challenge.”

“Yeah, almost as much as you love a good story, and that’s what wrecked our relationship in the first place.”

“That is undeniably true.” He caught the attention of a passing waitress and ordered a couple of beers. “So, business. I’ve been asking around about the murders of Frank Logan, his ex, and his secretary, and I’m afraid I’m getting nowhere fast. No one is talking.”

“Not surprising, given that everyone who knows anything is ending up dead.”

He nodded. “I did discuss Logan’s murder with his partners, but other than sussing out who’s handling his estate, I wasn’t able to get anything helpful, either about Logan or Nadler.”

I crossed my arms on the table and leaned forward a little warily. His spicy, woodsmoke scent teased my nostrils, warm and familiar. “Just as well I managed to get something, then, isn’t it?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Like what?”

“Like the names of Nadler’s three heirs.”

“Three heirs? He’s making damn sure we can’t easily track him down again.” He contemplated me for a moment, then added, “How did you manage that feat?”

“I talked to Logan’s ghost.”

He frowned. “I thought it was your mother who could talk to ghosts, not you.”

“On this plane, yes. I talked to him on the astral plane. He died before his time, so he’s stuck there rather than moving on.”

“Huh. The things you learn.” He gave the waitress a cheery smile as she arrived with our drinks. When she’d left, he added, “What are their names? I take it you’re following them up?”

I gave him the three names, then said, “We’ve initiated searches, but haven’t found anything yet.”

“I’ll see if any of my contacts can tell us anything.”

“Good. Also, could you nose around and see if there’s anyone in Melbourne selling transport charms?”

His eyebrows rose. “I may not know much about magic, but even I can tell you those things are rare. And expensive.”

“Yeah. But someone used one recently, and I Scenhen, isn want to find out where it came from.”

“This related to our quest?”

“Nope.”

“Then am I allowed to know what it’s related to?”

I hesitated. “It’s a Directorate investigation—”

“The vampire drainings.” His voice was grim. “Has to be. Not that we’re allowed to print anything about them, which stinks.”

“I can’t do anything about that.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll ask around, but don’t expect much.” He took a drink, then licked the froth from his lips, the simple movement raising memories of other things he’d done with his tongue. Desire stirred anew, and the heated spark in his eyes grew. But all he said was, “Now, to my news.”

“And here I was thinking we’d have to dance around it some more.”

He grinned. “I thought about it, but decided to take pity on you. You really do look like crap.”

“Maybe I look that way because people keep saying it,” I grouched, and downed half the glass of beer. Which wasn’t a good thing to do on a practically empty stomach, but I was half were and it wasn’t likely to affect me the same way it would a human. I waved a hand at him. “So, give.”

“I think I may have discovered where the fake Nadler—if he is indeed our dark sorcerer—has his base of operations on West Street.”

West Street being the street where Stane was located, and the area Nadler’s consortium had bought up. But before I could say anything, Azriel popped into existence behind Jak and pressed two fingers against his temple. Jak froze instantly, but no one seemed to find this—or a half-naked, sword-bearing reaper—interesting. Azriel was obviously controlling what everyone saw again.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked in exasperation.

Azriel raised his eyebrows, though his attention wasn’t really on me, but rather Jak. “Getting the information he holds, of course.”

“And you couldn’t get it the old-fashioned way?” I said. “You know, by actually letting him tell us?”

“Why would I do that when this is quicker?” His differently colored blue eyes clashed with mine, as distant and matter-of-fact as his expression. “I will be back.”

Before I could object, he disappeared again. I growled, but stifled the sound as Jak regained life. I said, “So how did you manage this minor miracle?”

“By keeping my ear to the ground.” He took another sip of beer. “There’s been some rumblings among the homeless in the area about being forcibly moved on—”

“The consortium has armed security patrolling the warehouses to stop the looters and taggers, so that isn’t really strange.” Especially in this situation, where the abandoned buildings surrounded one of the most powerful ley-line intersections in Melbourne. A sorcerer intent on using it wouldn’t want anyone stumbling upon anything by mistake.< S by tag/font>

“Yeah,” he said, his voice dry. “But these particular guards were dogs. Dogs that were big and black, with glowing red eyes.”

I blinked. “Hellhounds?”

“If you believe in them, yeah.”

“Oh, they’re more than real. Tao and I barely survived an attack from a pair of them.” And if Nadler—or whoever he now was—had hellhounds patrolling the area, then he sure as hell was hiding something big.

Which might mean our suspicions were correct. The sorcerer had used the power of the intersection to get onto the gray field and open the first of hell’s portals.

“And just when did this event occur?”

I returned my attention to Jak. “What?”

“Hellhounds. You and Tao. Details, woman, details.”

I waved a hand. “It’s not important right now.”

His growl of frustration practically echoed the one I’d stifled. “But you will fill me in later, won’t you?”

“Maybe.” I lightly bit my lip. “Did you uncover an exact location, or was it more general?”

“Exact. A warehouse on the corner of West and Reeves.”

Which was the other end of the street from Stane. Maybe that was why the consortium had left him and the bar—the only two businesses in the area to remain in private hands—alone.

Azriel reappeared behind Jak. “I cannot access the site, but whatever is within, it is not the intersection itself. It lies farther down the road.”

Jak jumped and swung around. “Fuck it, reaper, you could at least give some kind of warning before you pop into existence like that.” Then he frowned. “How the hell did you even know about the site?”

“He can read any mind he chooses to,” I explained, and switched my gaze to Azriel. “How come you can’t get in?”

“There are wards similar to the ones your father once used set around the warehouse. I cannot enter when they are in place.”

I frowned. “I wonder if the wards are set to repel all energy beings, or just reapers?”

“I cannot tell. The magic involved is beyond my understanding.”

Ilianna would no doubt be able to tell us what it was, but I wasn’t about to ask anything else of her unless it was absolutely necessary. She’d already placed herself in enough danger for this quest of mine. “We need to get into that warehouse to see what the wards are protecting.”

“I’m glad you said ‘we,’” Jak commented, “because you’re not going anywhere without me.”

I flicked my gaze to him. “Hellhounds are not something you want to tangle with.”

“Probably not, but this is my story, remember, and I’m damned if I’m going to be Sm g wi cut out of it.”

Do you wish me to tamper with his thoughts and send him home? Azriel asked.

I hesitated. No. I don’t want to go into that warehouse alone.

If there are hellhounds, you will be better off calling your uncle. Jak will be of little use—you endanger his life for little reason.

We can’t keep preventing him from taking risks. It’s neither fair nor right when he’s holding up his end of the deal.

Doing what is fair and right did not stop you from diverting him last time.

That was a different situation because the threat was direct and real. Only it was Logan who the killer had been hunting, not Jak, as we’d presumed. Besides, we won’t be heading there unarmed.

Naturally. Amaya is always with you.

I didn’t mean Amaya. While I had no doubt Amaya could handle hellhounds, I wasn’t about to walk into a possible confrontation with them without some form of backup. In this case, that was holy water.

I do not think this a wise course of action.

It isn’t like I have many other choices. I wasn’t going in alone, and if I called Rhoan, he’d cut me out of the investigation completely. Which meant I went either with Jak or with Lucian—and Azriel sure as hell wouldn’t want me going anywhere with him. But your disapproval has been duly noted.

And ignored, he said, mental tones flat. As you wish.

He disappeared again—an action that was really starting to piss me off.

Jak cleared his throat. “Why do I have this feeling that there’s a whole conversation going on that I know nothing about?”

“Because there is.” I waved a hand at his beer. “Finish that. We have to go see a witch about some holy water.”

Ilianna looked up from the magazine she was reading when I walked through the door of our home, but she jumped to her feet when she saw who was behind me, her expression suddenly furious.

Shit, I thought, as she muttered something under her breath and flicked a hand. I swore again and spun around—just in time to see Jak hit the floor face-first, then go slithering back toward the door. Which was shut. He grunted, then began to curse as his body plastered itself to the metal.

“Ilianna!” I spun back round to face her. “Let him go!”

“No,” she spat back, her green eyes practically dripping with fury. “I did warn him never to darken our door again or there’d be consequences.”

“I invited him here. Let him go.”

“Why should I, after all the heartache he caused you? Damn it, Ris, he walked away unharmed and unregretful.”

“Maybe, but that was the past. Let it go.”

She snorted. “Is that what you’re doing? Letting it go and forgiving? I thought you had more sense than that.”

“Uh, hello?” Jak said, his voice a little hoarse. “Remember me? Still stuck to the door here, and it’s getting rather uncomfortable.”

I gave her a pointed look, and she sighed. “If you insist.”

She made another flicking motion, and there was a thunk as Jak was released from the door.

“So nice of you,” Jak muttered in a dark voice.

Ilianna snorted again. “Trust me, if it weren’t for the rule that states whatever harm I do to you will be returned to me threefold, I would have done a whole lot worse than try to force you out the door.”

He climbed slowly to his feet, then rotated his shoulders, as if trying to work out a kink. “Look, I can’t take back the past—”

“And you wouldn’t, even if you could,” she snapped.

“True, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have regrets—”

“The only thing you regret is not being able to unleash the second part of that damn story because you were under the threat of jail time—or worse—from her uncle.”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Guys,” I interrupted before things could get more out of hand. “Let it go. That’s not what we’re here for.”

Ilianna gave me a somewhat cross look. “I don’t care what he’s here for.”

I walked over and caught her hands in mine. “Thank you,” I said softly, “for caring so much. But right now we need all the help we can get, and I’m afraid that means using Jak. Just trust me, okay? I know what I’m doing.”

Her gaze searched mine, concern evident in those rich depths. “No, I don’t think you do.”

Unease slipped through me. I might have inherited clairvoyant abilities from Mom, but my abilities were nowhere near as reliable as either Mom’s or Ilianna’s. She could predict a sparrow’s fart to the second if she wanted to.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Bringing him”—she cast another scathing glance in Jak’s direction—“back into the fold is dangerous, for both the quest and you.”

“He’s not in my bed, nor ever likely to be.” As for our quest, could it really get any more dangerous? Somehow I doubted it. Yet even as the thought crossed my mind, I had to wonder if I’d just tempted fate. “And as far as my love life goes, it’s surely impossible for that to get any worse.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it.” She touched a hand to my cheek. “Just be careful, okay?”

“I will.” It wasn’t like I wanted another bout of pain and heartache—though I had Sth-1" a horrible suspicion that was exactly what I was headed for. Only the source wouldn’t be Jak, but rather a stubbornly distant reaper.

“Good.” She glared at Jak once more. “And if you do anything to hurt her again, I will cast a spell so strong that you’ll never even fancy a woman again, let alone get it up.”

Jak winced and held up his hands. “I promise. I don’t intend to hurt her or write another story about her or anyone else related in any way to her.”

“Good.” She tossed her hair, her eyes sparkling. A mare enjoying her victory. “Now, tell me what you need.”

“Holy water,” I said.

“Of course you do.” Her voice was dry. “Because it couldn’t be something easy like demon deterrent, now, could it?”

“You have demon deterrents on you?” Jak asked, walking a little closer to the lounge.

Ilianna cast him a look that stopped him in his tracks. “Not on me, no.”

“But you have got them?”

“I can make them—”

“Holy water,” I interrupted, in an effort to keep the conversation heading in the right direction. “Have you got any?”

“Of course. Given the shit that has happened of late, I thought I’d better keep a good supply at the ready.” She paused. “What is it this time?”

“Hellhounds. Maybe.”

“Oh, fuck.” She shook her head. “Why are you two tackling hellhounds?”

I gave her a quick update, then added, “We need to get into that warehouse and see what we’re dealing with.”

“Which means you actually need me—”

“No,” I interrupted forcefully. “Absolutely not.”

“Ris, I know magic. You don’t—”

“I don’t care. Azriel said the warehouse isn’t on the ley intersection, so until I know for sure that’s what we’re dealing with, you’re not going anywhere near that place.”

“You don’t have to be in the intersection to use the power of it,” she said. “There’s going to be magic there, trust me.”

“Yes, but we don’t know if it’s been leashed or not.”

“If the sorcerer has used the intersection to hit the gray fields and open the first gate, it’s been leashed.” She paused, her concern deepening. “And if he has leashed the magic, then he’ll have more than hellhounds protecting it.”

“Undoubtedly. Which is why I don’t want you in the middle of it until we’re sure what we’re facing.”

“So why does he get to go, when he knows jack shit about magic?”

“Because risking his life means less Se m when to me than risking yours.” I flashed him a smile to take the sting out of the words.

“I love you, too,” he muttered, but there was amusement in his eyes.

I snorted softly and returned my attention to Ilianna. “I need you to do a couple of other things, too, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Like?”

I hesitated. “There’s two things I need.”

Actually, there were three, but one I couldn’t—wouldn’t—ask with Jak present. I wasn’t about to give him that much information about the current state of my love life.

“So tell me,” Ilianna said.

“The first—can you contact the Brindle and ask if they’ve sensed any dark magic at work on or near the intersection? If he did use it, they’d have to know about it. Maybe they can tell us about either the magic or the man behind it.”

She frowned. “Not necessarily. It depends what sort of protection circle he’s using. It could be inclusive—keeping the magic and the spells within the circle and undetectable beyond it.”

“But surely the ley line itself would not be contained so easily?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask. The second task?”

I hesitated. “Tao’s struggling to pull himself together after the accident in the kitchen yesterday. I was wondering if there was some sort of potion or charm that might help him.”

She frowned. “Whatever I give him would be more illusion than reality. I’ve told you before, there’s no magic beyond time that will help him heal.”

If he ever does. She might not have said the words, but they nevertheless hung in the air between us.

“The illusion of help might be all he needs right now.”

She slowly nodded. “I’ll see what I can brew up.”

I hesitated again. “Good.”

Her gaze swept me shrewdly. She’d guessed that neither of my requests was what I’d really wanted. But all she said was, “The minute you sense anything magic related, you ring me. At the very least, I can advise you long distance.”

“That I can agree to.”

“Then go get something to eat before you collapse on your feet.”

“I do wish people would stop ordering me to eat,” I muttered, but nevertheless headed for the kitchen.

“Someone has to,” Ilianna said. “You seem damn determined to run yourself into the ground lately.”

“Which is an echo of what Azriel said not too long ago.”

“You should listen to him more often.”

I glanced back at her. “How much is he paying you to say that?”

She rol S St">I glanled her eyes at me. “Speaking of our reaper, where is he?”

“Sulking.”

“What have you done to the poor man?”

I snorted softly. “He’s neither a man nor poor, and you should be on my side, not his.”

She shook her head, amusement tugging at her lips as she headed for her bedroom. I opened the fridge to study the contents, then decided on lamb sandwiches.

I glanced up at Jak. “You want a sandwich?”

“Yep.” He propped his butt up on the counter. “What sort of accident did Tao have?”

“That is none of your damn business.” I slapped thick slices of lamb between slices of bread and handed it to him.

“Huh.” He bit into his sandwich, then added, “So what is going on between you and Azriel?”

“Nothing. He’s a reaper.” I squashed my sandwich down with a little more force than necessary. “They don’t do love or life.”

“Which, interestingly enough, does not preclude them doing sex.”

I pointed the knife at him. “Drop it. Now.”

He grinned and held up his hands again. “A little too close to the mark, huh?”

“More wide of the mark, and still none of your business.”

Thankfully, Ilianna chose to call me into her bedroom at that moment. It was a cool green and normally very calming, but it didn’t do a lot to ease the tension suddenly coursing through me. She closed the door, then crossed her arms and said, “Out with it.”

I plopped down on the edge of her enormous bed. “Is it possible that some sort of attraction spell has been placed on me?”

Surprised flitted across her features. Whatever question she’d been expecting, that obviously hadn’t been it. “Why on earth would you think something like that has happened?”

“Because it would explain my unrelenting need to be sexual with Lucian whenever I’m with him.”

The surprise gave way to amusement. “Why does a spell have to be involved? I mean, he’s a hot and sensual man and you’re a werewolf—unrelenting need comes with that sort of combination, doesn’t it?”

I was shaking my head before she’d finished. “This is something else. It’s almost a compulsion. It takes a huge amount of effort to say no to the man, and I’ve never been like that with anyone before now, werewolf heritage or not.”

She frowned and walked across to me. She raised her hands and skimmed either side of my body, not touching me but close enough that I could feel the sudden tingle of energy flowing from her fingertips. Reading my aura.

She stepped back. “I can’t sense any obvious spell, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one on you. It could be a geas of some kind, which tends to be subtler and harder to trace.”

< normally em">“Damn.” I thrust a hand through my hair. “Have you got anything that might be able to counter such magic?”

She hesitated, then went over to the huge, walk-in floor-to-ceiling cupboard that housed all her magical bits and pieces. She opened one side, revealing shelves stocked with all sorts of bottles, herbs, various tools, and other stuff I had no idea about, and fished around for several minutes. Eventually she returned with what looked like a thin rope bracelet entwined with dead leaves.

“This isn’t strong enough to totally counteract any spell or geas, but it will mute the force of it and allow clearheaded thinking.”

“Which is all I really need.” Sex with Lucian might be extraordinary, but I sure as hell still wanted the option of saying no occasionally.

She slipped the bracelet over my left hand, but as it settled on my wrist, the Dušan came to life, its head whipping around as if to study the intruder. Its tail lifted from my skin, curled around the bracelet, then returned to my flesh. And the bracelet went with it, prickling and itching as it leached into my skin. After a few seconds, it was little more than a leafed tattoo that encircled my wrist, one that was entwined by the Dušan’s serpent-like tail.

My gaze shot to Ilianna. “Was that supposed to happen?”

Ilianna’s eyes were wide. “Hell, no.”

“Azriel?”

He appeared and I shoved my hand at him. “Any ideas about this?”

He studied my newest tattoo with a frown. “Unfortunately, I do not know enough about the magic that created the Dušans, let alone understand what they are fully capable of. I had thought they were unable to be active on this plane, but that is patently untrue when it comes to the one that resides in your flesh.” His gaze met mine. His expression was flat, giving little away, and yet I felt the turmoil in him. He was fiercely glad that this had happened, and just as annoyed by the strength of that reaction. “This is not a bad thing, though.”

No, it wasn’t, though I suspected his reasons for thinking that stemmed more from a hope that I’d now stay totally away from Lucian rather than merely being less compelled in his presence.

Ilianna tentatively touched the tattoo. “The magic is still alive within it. Amazing.”

“Let’s just hope that if there is a compulsion, it works, because it looks like I’m stuck with it.”

But if there was a geas, and this bracelet did work, did that in any way imply that Lucian had meant me harm?

He’d made no secret of his desire for revenge, and definitely no secret of the fact that he would do anything—use anyone—to get it. Having a geas placed on me might be nothing more than his way of ensuring a continuing supply of the information he needed to hunt down the Raziq, especially since the only time he could fully read my mind was when we had sex.

Or was I simply trying to excuse the behavior of someone I liked, geas or not?

There was no easy answer to that one—or at least not one I wanted to confront right now—so I pulled the sleeve over the tattoo and said, “Holy water?”

“Ah, yes.”

Azriel stepped to one side as Ilianna returned to her cupboard. She came back a few minutes later carrying a purple satchel and a knife. “There’s six bottles in here. If you need any more than that, you get the hell out of there.”

“And the knife?”

“That,” she said grimly, “is for Jak. And no, I’m not going to stab him, as much as I might want to.”

I grinned, slung the satchel over my shoulder, and led the way back to the kitchen. Azriel made himself scarce again, although the heat that caressed my spine suggested he hadn’t gone far.

Ilianna handed Jak the sheathed knife and said, “This is for you, though you don’t deserve it.”

He took the knife tentatively. “I’m not much into weapons, you know—”

“If you’re tackling hellhounds, you’d better be,” she retorted. “And it’s not just a knife—it’s a blessed knife. It’ll work when other weapons don’t, so use it. I don’t want Risa hurt protecting your useless ass.”

“Thanks for the concern,” he muttered.

I restrained my smile and glanced at Ilianna. “Are you and Mirri still having dinner with your parents tonight?”

Mirri was Ilianna’s girlfriend, though like many mares she was bisexual rather than just a lesbian like Ilianna. She was also very open about her sexuality, whereas Ilianna kept hers a closely guarded secret—at least where her parents were concerned. She and Mirri had been in a steady relationship for a while now, but it was only very recently that Ilianna had acceded to Mirri’s requests to meet her parents—as friends, nothing more.

She grimaced. “Yes. And Carwyn will be there.”

Carwyn was the stallion her parents were trying to set her up with. According to Mirri, he was rather hot—in bed and out—but given Ilianna’s preferences, she was either going to have to be honest with her parents or get stuck in a situation that could only end badly.

“Oh,” I said, well aware that Jak was rather avidly listening in. Once a newshound, always a newshound. “Good luck.”

“Yeah, I’m going to need it.” She grimaced. “Just make sure you ring me if you find magic.”

I nodded, then picked up my sandwiches and headed out. Jak followed so close on my heels that his breath washed the back of my neck. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation.

“You can drive,” I said, as the front door slammed behind us.

“Color me shocked,” he said. “Here I was thinking you didn’t trust me to keep my hands to myself when you were in the same vehicle as me.”

“I don’t. Which is why you’re driving.”

He snorted s S>Heke Iliannoftly, but opened the passenger door of his red Honda Accord, ushering me in before running around to the driver’s side.

It didn’t take us long to get to West Street. We cruised slowly past the warehouse, then turned into Reeves Street. Halfway down the block, we stopped and I climbed out of the car, then leaned against it, my gaze sweeping the building. It was one of those old two-story, redbrick places that had become so popular with inner-city renovators. The iron roof was rusted and covered in bird shit, and the regularly spaced windows were small and protected by bars as rusted as the roof. But considering its age, it still seemed surprisingly solid. Like many of the other buildings in the area, it had walls littered with graffiti and tags, and rubbish lay in drifting piles along its length. It looked and felt abandoned.

Only it wasn’t.

Though there was no sign of guards or movement, there was an odd, almost watchful stillness about the place. In fact, the whole area was unnervingly quiet. Even the sound of traffic traveling along nearby Smith Street seemed muted.

Azriel reappeared, but the heat of his presence did little to chase the growing chill from my body. “I can sense no human life inside.”

My gaze swept the building again. It was waiting. Ready. Trepidation shivered through me, and I rubbed my arms. “What about unlife? Or hellhound-type life?”

“There is nothing in there other than vermin.”

“So why does it feel like a predator is about to pounce?”

“I do not know.”

“Well,” Jak said, from the other side of the car, “we’re not going to find out what’s going on by standing here.”

“No.” I hesitated and glanced at Azriel. “You really can’t get in there?”

“The wards are set just within the building walls. Destroy them, and I can enter.”

“If I do that, whoever set them will likely feel it.”

“Yes.” He half raised a hand and, just for a moment, he leaned closer, as if to kiss me. Then he stepped back. “Be careful.”

“Coward,” I muttered, then spun and walked away.

“So.” Jak’s voice was conversational as he fell in step beside me. “There’s absolutely nothing going on with that reaper and you, is there?”

“Just drop it, Jak.”

“Thought so.”

“Then you thought wrong.”

He chuckled softly. I ignored him and kept walking. There were no doors on this side of the building, and all the bars—despite their rusted appearance—were solid. But there were two entrances on West Street—one of them heavily padlocked and apparently leading into an old office area, and the other a roller door over what once must have been a loading bay. The door itself was battered and coated with grime, and the bottom edge had been torn away from the guides. Obviously, this was where the homeless had been getting in.

S widge had I took a long, slow breath that didn’t ease the tension knotting my stomach, then squatted and squeezed through the gap.

The room beyond the roller door was still and quiet. I shifted to one side so Jak could enter, and studied the immediate area. A platform ran around three sides of the dock, and there were stairs down at the far end that led up to it. I could neither see nor smell anything or anyone out of the ordinary, and yet there was something here. Something that crawled along the edges of that other part of me—the bit that saw the reapers and was sensitive to the feel of magic.

Jak hunkered down beside me. “Anything?”

His voice was little more than a whisper. Maybe he felt the closeness of something, too. Azriel? Can you hear me? There was no response. Obviously, the magic was broader than he’d suspected. I shook my head and said, “You?”

“Just rats and rubbish.”

“Yeah.” I pulled the satchel around and gave him a couple of Ilianna’s little blue bottles. “Put these in your pocket. If there are hellhounds here, pop the cork and use the water. It’ll deter them.”

“So holy water really does work?”

I glanced at him. “You investigate paranormal events and happenings, and you don’t know this?”

“Reporters are natural skeptics. Until I see it, I don’t believe it.”

“You haven’t seen ley lines or the gates to heaven and hell, yet you believe in those.”

He raised his eyebrows in amusement. “No, I believe you believe. I’m still holding out for proof.”

I snorted softly. “You may regret that.”

“Yeah, I usually do. It never stops me, though.”

A truer sentence had never been uttered. I rose and padded forward, still drawing in the scents around us, trying to find some hint of the magic I sensed was here. It might not be related to the ley line, but something was definitely going on in this place.

We followed the loading bay to its end, then carefully went up the steps and headed to the left. Several doors lay ahead. I paused and glanced questioningly at Jak. He hesitated, then pointed to the one in the middle. It was as good as any, I supposed.

I reached for the handle and felt the shimmer of . . . not energy, something else. Something darker. I said, “Be ready. Whatever is going on, I think it’s happening on the other side of that door.”

He nodded, his expression a mix of excitement and wariness as he drew Ilianna’s knife. I hoped like hell he’d use it if we got into trouble.

I took a deep breath, released it slowly, then opened the door. The room behind it was deep and dark, and the air still. The sensation that had briefly caressed the door handle wasn’t evident in the room itself, yet my uneasiness increased, and I wasn’t sure why.

I took one step into the room. The flooring was wood rather than concrete, which seemed odd. Sh sem">

Nothing happened. No one and nothing jumped out at us.

I took another step. Still nothing. Yet tension continued to crawl across my skin, and the feeling that something watched—waited—was growing.

“I can’t smell anyone or anything unusual.” Jak stopped beside me. His words seemed to jar uneasily against the still blackness of the room.

“That’s the problem.” I took another step.

It was one step too many.

With very little warning, the floor collapsed and we fell into deeper darkness.