I woke hours later, feeling stiff and less than refreshed. The scent of blood was heavy in the air, mingling with the stench of antiseptic. In the other room, someone whistled tunelessly, the sound grating across waking nerves.
I stretched, trying to work the kinks out of my body, and realized I was lying across the two chairs, my back against the padded wall and my coat under my head. I opened my eyes. Azriel leaned against the far wall, underneath the camera. His arms were crossed and his eyes were hooded. But a strange red-purple fire flickered along Valdis's sharp sides.
"I should be angry at you for knocking me out like that," I said. "But all I want to know is, can you force me to do things other than making me sleep?"
His gaze met mine briefly, then pulled away. "If I could, you can be assured that I would have by now."
I could hear no lie in his words, and relief slithered through me. I pushed rather stiffly upright and said, "I'm gathering nothing happened?"
"Plenty happened," he said, his voice harsh. "But it wasn't the sort of action we seek."
I glanced at him sharply. "You're angry."
"Obviously."
"Why?"
He flicked a hand toward the other room. "What happens in that room is beyond an abomination. Yet there is nothing I can do about it."
"Reaper rules?"
"Reaper rules," he agreed grimly. "Sometimes, I wish—" He stopped, then shrugged. "But I cannot. This perversity is one of human nature, and therefore it is something I am not able to stop."
I swung my feet off the other chair, wincing a little as stiff muscles protested the movement. "Why the anger now? Why not before, when we first discovered the truth about this room?"
"Before there were merely words and ghosts. Tonight, there was death, and a soul being set free by the brutal death of her body. Blood whores may be well aware of the risks involved in their addiction, but those who work here are not. It goes against every instinct to simply stand here and listen to that happen, Risa."
I studied him for a moment, wishing I could comfort him but not exactly sure he would welcome it. "I'm sorry—"