"Excellent," was all he said.
He motioned us toward the elevator. It bounced us up to the lower ground floor and we stepped once more into the stinking morass of needy vampires.
I crossed my arms and followed Marshall through the darkness. The flickering light of the two swords cast eerie shadows across the gaunt faces of the nearest vampires, and it was all I could do to keep walking at a steady pace.
It was a huge relief to reenter the little foyer and watch the double doors close securely behind us.
"We'll be in contact if we need anything else," I said, clasping Marshall's offered hand. This time his grip was much stronger. "What was the name of the last victim, by the way?"
Hunter may have sent me his name and address, but it never hurt to double-check. She liked her games.
Marshall seemed amused, and I suspected its cause was Hunter's aversion to information giving. Obviously, he was well acquainted with it. "Jake Green. What about the ghosts?"
I shrugged. "I'll tell Hunter. She'll probably know someone who can disperse them for you."
Which wouldn't solve anything if he just kept on creating more of them, but that really wasn't my problem right now.
Although it might be in the future.
Azriel touched a hand lightly to my back, guiding me out the front door and into the black and red hall. Valdis gave me enough light to see by, although her flames still held a tinge of red. Thankfully, Amaya had calmed somewhat, though I think it was going to take hospital-strength painkillers to get rid of the headache she'd given me. To be fair, though, that could just as much have been caused by the situation we'd been in as by her song.
"Where to next?" Azriel asked, as he began climbing the steps.
The street-level door opened as we approached and the sudden rush of sunlight had me blinking back tears. "According to Hunter, Jake Green lived about five minutes away, on Little Miller Street. Flat one-twelve. I'll meet you there." I looked around, wondering where the Cazador was.
"He awaits near your motorbike," Azriel said and winked out of existence.
I grimaced and made my way back to my bike. It was tempting to look around to see if I could pinpoint our shadow's position, but that might only give the game away. He might be invisible, but I doubted he was dumb. I climbed onto my bike and rode across to Little Miller Street.