The smell of antiseptic was stronger out in the main room, but it wasn't fully cleaned. I tried to ignore the broken bits of humanity that still lay scattered about the floor, but I could hardly ignore the stench of blood and the horrified moaning of the ghosts. Not when I was forced to walk through them. It was a wall of misery and fierce anger, and it cloaked me like a shroud, suffocating me.
Somehow, I controlled the urge to run. Somehow, I got out of that hellhole without giving in to the desire to draw Amaya and shed some blood and body parts myself.
I glanced at my watch when we got to the street above. It was barely six, far too early to go get those tickets from Mike.
"I think I'll go back to the hotel and grab a shower, and then I'll need to shop for tonight." I glanced at Azriel. "Do you need to visit Jak to assume his identity?"
"Yes." His expression was back to giving little away. "But I can do that later, once you are safely back at the hotel."
I nodded and dragged out my phone to call a cab. Amazingly, it arrived within a couple of minutes and in no time at all I was back at the hotel and washing the stink of death from my body.
The rest of the day went by quickly. I shopped for clothes and shoes, purchasing not only items for the gala, but enough to see me through several more days. Then I bought a new cell phone and headed to Mike's to grab the tickets. He wasn't in, so the stay wasn't long. I rang Jak on the way back to the hotel.
"Okay, I have the tickets in hand," I said.
"Good." He hesitated. "I did a little more research on Mr. Elusive. It appears the real Nadler was married fifteen years ago. It only lasted a couple of months, but she might be the one person who can give us some decent information."
"Meaning she's still alive?"
"Surprisingly, yes. Obviously, if we are dealing with a face-shifter, then he either didn't know about her or didn't think she was enough of a threat to his takeover of Nadler's life."
"So she may not be able to tell us much."
He snorted softly. "Are you kidding me? You're a prime example of just how well you women can hold a grudge against a lover who has spurned you in some way."
"If I was holding a grudge, I wouldn't have come to you in the first place."
"Lie," he said equably. "You came to me because you needed me, and no grudge, no matter how well cherished, was going to get in your way. Simple as that."