Coast humidity. Thankfully I’m only in it a moment before I’m whisked off by Father’s driver in a black sedan, AC blasting.
“Stop at the sporting goods shop,” I tell the driver.
I buy a new knife and get back in the car. My heart beats a steady, fast rhythm the entire way to Father’s house, and I match it against my knee with my thumb. My face is schooled into an expressionless mask, and I’m eager to find out what this is about.
As we near the house I push out my hearing and find sounds of two people going at it in the den. We arrive and I stand outside the door of the den until a maid with ample hips hurries out, flushed, smoothing down her clothing. She glances at me and rushes past.
Father sits relaxed in a recliner when I enter, one of his dark whisperers bobbing in the air at his side. Father doesn’t get up or motion me to sit. He only scans me from head to toe. My straight face will not give away my nerves. I won’t allow it. I hook my thumbs in my pockets lazily.
“I’ve come as you requested.”
“You’re looking well,” he says. “Bulking up nicely.”
“Thank you, Father.”
He steeples his hands and runs his joined index fingers up and down his chin. “I’ve got a rather . . . strange job for you. But quite possibly the most important of your life.”
I force myself to take slow, even breaths. “Anything you wish, of course.”
“Of course,” he drawls. For a moment his eyes are lost in thought, then he kicks the recliner closed and stands to move closer. The spirit circles the two of us.
“We’ve been dealing with a load of nonsense recently,” he says. “Nothing we can’t handle, but a nuisance nonetheless.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I know better than to ask questions. Father hates questions. Finds them pushy.
“Yes, well. We believe Duke Belial has turned traitor, and he’s using his daughter Anna to work against us.”
Bugger . . . I push my eyebrows together as if this is shocking and appalling news. Keep it together, I warn myself. He continues.
“We will find Belial and return him to Lucifer straightaway, but we need to find his daughter first. We must know if all of our suspicions are correct.”
I nod, thrilled to hear news but terrified at the sound of Anna’s name coming from Father’s mouth.
“Do you recall she was a virgin when we last saw her in New York?” His whisperer makes a sound of disgust in my ear.
“I do recall, Father. Last New Year’s.”
He hmphs a breath through his nose, still annoyed, no doubt, that I didn’t take her virginity when he sent me off to train her originally. “Well, we have reason to believe Belial is keeping her innocent.”
I draw my eyebrows together again, as if the idea is absurd.
“If what we suspect is true, he has ulterior motives for keeping her clean, which you don’t need to concern yourself with. All you need to know is that it’s imperative the girl loses her purity immediately. I would ask you to kill her, but that pleasure will belong to the Dukes.”
Breathe slowly. Nod.
“Your job is to find the girl and personally make sure there is not a trace of innocence left in her body. I will accept no excuses this time, Kaidan. If she is found to be a virgin after this, you’ll be dead on the spot. Do I make myself clear?”
Darkness swirls behind my eyes, causing my fingers to tingle with numbness. “Yes, sir.”
“Good,” he whispers. “Very good.” He steps closer and puts his hands on my shoulders. He feels the girth there and nods to himself, running his hands down my arms to examine my muscles. His eyes shift over me.
Do not ball your fists. Do not clench your jaw. Do not pull away.
“Shall I leave straightaway?” I ask.
This brings him back to the moment and he drops his hands.
“Yes. You’ll take my BMW and head north.” He picks up his mobile from a side table and swipes through it. “She was last seen on Interstate 95 in South Carolina, heading north. I will text you updates as I receive them. We’ve got Neph and whisperers tailing her for other purposes, but I won’t trust this job to anyone but you.”
“Thank you, Father,” I say. “I’m honored.” And truly, I’m grateful. If they had asked another Neph . . .
Do not growl.
“My whisperer Rafe will escort you.”
My eyes