"I do know Vonda," the woman said eventually. Her voice was whispery and, like her gaze, lacked any sort of life or warmth. "She faces you."
Vonda might be facing me, but she wasn't the one forming the words.
He was doing that.
He was in her mind, controlling her. Maybe even seeing what she saw.
It was certainly one way for a blind man to check out his adversary.
Azriel, are you able to get into her thoughts? Can you catch anything about the man we hunt?
I am only able to read the minds of those who are in the same vicinity. She currently has no thoughts of her own, and while he may control her, he does so from a distance.
I guess I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, and barely resisted the urge to run from this freak show. Or at least run from the freak behind it. The only reason I didn't was because it wouldn't help—this was a game and, for whatever reason, it was one he wanted to play with me.
"And why are you here rather than in your own house, Vonda?"
"I knew you were clever. I just wanted to see how observant you were."
"So I've passed the test?"
"Yes and no."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning you found one, but you did not find the other."
I stared at him—her—for a moment, my stomach churning as I remembered that Vonda didn't live alone. "You've taken her sister?"