The stakes being Rhoan's life. I closed my eyes again and tried to control the rush of panic. I could do this. I had to do this.
"Just tell me what you want me to do."
"This time it is easy. I give you an address; you and your guardian go to it."
"And?" I asked, when he didn't go on.
"Inside, you will find Rhoan Jenson. You will lie down beside him and take astral form. From that point on, you and I will begin a battle from which only one will return."
It was too simple, too easy. For a man who claimed to love his games, there had to be more than this. My grip on the phone had become so tight my hand was beginning to ache. I flipped it over to my left hand, then flexed my fingers. It helped with the ache, but not the overall tension.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"I'm shocked that you don't trust me, huntress."
I very much doubted it. "If that's all you want me to do, why do you want my guardian along?"
"Well, there are one or two things I forgot to mention." His voice was still jovial, but this time it held a darker edge that had horror crawling down my spine. "The first being the fact that your uncle has been injected with hemlock. So far, it has done little more than rob him of speech and movement. However, the suppression of movement will soon spread to his respiratory function, and death will result."
Oh fuck, oh fuck. I gulped down air and tried to keep calm. But my heart was racing and there was sweat dribbling down my spine and all I wanted to do was run into the bathroom and throw up. Only sheer force of will—and fear of what might happen to Rhoan—kept me on the spot and on the phone. "That still doesn't tell me why you want my guardian there."
"Your guardian is there because you have a choice to make. He can keep your body safe, or he can save Rhoan Jenson. He will not be able to do both."
"Why not?"
"Because if you wish your uncle to live, he has to be taken to hospital. But doing so will leave your physical form unprotected."
Trepidation crawled across my skin, but I had no intention of worrying about what he'd planned in the event I was left unprotected. I wouldn't be, as simple as that, even if it meant calling in not only Markel but the whole damn Directorate.