And those were far from the only gifts I had.
Jak raised an eyebrow. "Meaning you can use the ley lines?"
"I can't even see them."
"So why is it so important to you that the consortium be stopped?"
I picked up a spoon and scooped up some chocolate cake. It was a little dry, but I needed the sugary energy right then. The air-conditioning might be blasting every other scent away, but it didn't seem to be doing a whole lot to erase his. And every intake of breath had the past stirring within me.
"These people attacked friends of mine. I want to find them."
His gaze scanned mine again and a smile tugged at his lips. "The truth, but not the whole truth."
I acknowledged that with a slight nod. "But the whole truth is a little out there."
"I'm a reporter who investigates all things paranormal and occult, remember?" Sarcasm edged his voice. "You'd be surprised at just how ‘out there' I'm willing to go."
I was betting even he wouldn't believe the real truth—that the intersection might well be tied up in a desperate scramble by at least four different parties to find the keys that would unlock the portals of heaven and hell. That one of those keys not only had been recently found, but had been used to open the first of the portals that protected our world from the hordes of hell.
I'd held that key in my hand. Held it, and lost it.
I didn't want that to happen with the next two keys, and that meant finding out as much as we could about all the players involved in this race. Which meant digging up as much information about John Nadler—the consortium's elusive third man—as we could get.
But computers could go only so far. Sometimes the only way to find out anything useful was to hit the streets. But the sort of people who would hold the information we needed weren't likely to talk to someone like me, even if I could find them. They would talk to Jak, though. They always had. He had a talent for putting you at ease.
Or at least he did when he wasn't sitting opposite the woman whose heart he'd shattered.
"An intersection as powerful as this one," I said, "can be used to manipulate time, reality, or fate. If someone succeeds in controlling such an intersection, he could wreak havoc on the very fabric of our world."