“The fact that he apparently supported Hunter in her dealings with you does not mean he supported her overall,” Azriel noted. “The majority of vampires, from what I have witnessed during my time here on Earth, always seem to put their own interests first and foremost.”
I snorted softly. “If they were putting their own interests first, they sure as hell wouldn’t be going up against Hunter in any way.”
“Unless, of course, they thought the end reward was greater than the risk.”
“Which I guess they did. And because of that, they’re dead.” As dead as we would be, if we weren’t very careful.
“Except for the technicality that you can’t actually die this time around,” Azriel noted, pressing his fingers against my spine and gently guiding me toward the stairs. “You become a Mijai on your death, and that does have certain benefits in this particular case.”
I raised my eyebrows as I began to climb the stairs. “How is becoming a dark angel a benefit in this case?”
A smile lurked in the mismatched blue of his eyes, despite the seriousness of his expression. “It means you could come back and kill her. I’m sure Amaya would be willing enough to help out.”
Be good to consume, Amaya agreed. Provide plenty of dark energy, that one.
I snorted, though the sad truth was, Amaya probably could survive months—even years—without consuming the energy of anyone else. Hunter was a feast of all sorts of evil.
“I thought the powers that be frowned on that sort of behavior,” I said, as I reached the landing and headed for the office and my desk.
“They do,” he said. “But in this case, I think it would be worth it.”
“You could be right,” I agreed. “The whole trouble is, I’d have to be dead first, and I’m seriously wanting to avoid that right now.”
“A goal we are, for once, in complete accord about.” He stopped long enough beside me to brush a kiss across my lips, then moved on to his usual post near the window.
I booted up the computer, then Googled the latest news reports, but they didn’t really reveal much more than the names of the other two murdered men.
I scrubbed a hand across my eyes and leaned back in the chair. “These murders have to be the reason why she’s given us twenty-four hours to find the second key. She’s decided to move up her domination schedule.”
“It would appear so.” Though he stood several feet away from me, the warmth of his presence chased away the chills. “The question is, why?”
“Who fucking knows!” I waved a hand in irritation. “It’s not as if the mad bitch actually needs a reason.”
“True, but it is nevertheless unusual, especially given her brother had no inkling that this was her plan.”
I spun around to face him. “You read Jack’s mind?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Why do you always seem so surprised, given you are well aware that I can touch the thoughts of any I choose?”
“It’s just that Jack is one of the strongest telepaths around, aside from Aunt Riley and Uncle Quinn.”
“Even the strongest telepath cannot prevent a reaper’s access.”
The thought made me frown. “Maybe that’s why she’s been contacting me via the phone these last few days—she wanted to keep you out of her thoughts and her plans a secret.”
“That is entirely possible.” He shrugged. “It is, however, not a concern right now. Nor is the murder of those three men. The key has to be our priority.”
“Except that we haven’t got a fucking clue about that right now, either.” I swung around again, and for the first time noticed the small white envelope sitting in the middle of the desk. I stared at it for several seconds, that sick feeling in my stomach growing.
Because I’d seen such envelopes on several occasions now, and recognized the handwriting. It was from Markel.
I took a deep, somewhat quivery breath, then slowly picked it up it. After sliding my nail under the edge of the flap to open it, I pulled out the crisp white paper. The message was short and to the point:
Meet me where we first met. It is a matter of urgency.
I stared at it for several minutes longer, then screwed it up into a tight ball and tossed it into the bin. “What the fuck am I going to do now?”
“You have two choices—either you go, or you don’t,” Azriel said.