Honesty.
I swore internally and scrubbed my free hand across my eyes. "Do that," I said, my voice holding an edge I couldn't quite prevent, "and you might well kill everyone we both care about."
His expression didn't change. If anything, it got more dangerous. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Look, we can't do this over the phone. Meet me at the café." I hesitated, then added, "Come alone, and don't tell anyone else you're doing it. Not even Aunt Riley."
"I'll be there in ten minutes. Don't fuck me around on this, Risa. I'm warning you."
"I won't."
He hung up and I threw the phone back into my bag for a second time.
What of your astral watchers? Azriel said. If Markel is on duty, you will – most likely – be safe against the possibility of the meeting being reported to Hunter. It is doubtful that the others would be so recalcitrant, given what Markel has said about them. And Hunter's reaction will be swift and deadly.
I know. Just as I knew that if I wanted to stop my astral watcher from reporting back, there was only one way I was going to do it.
But could I take that step?
Could I take the life of someone who was doing nothing more than their duty?
Soldiers throughout history have lost their lives doing nothing more than their duty, Azriel commented. It is the way of war, be it waged on the fields or here on Earth.
Yeah, but this isn't a war.
That's where you're very wrong. This is a war, and perhaps the only one that has ever mattered. You're not only fighting for the lives of your friends, but for the souls of mankind and the existence of two – very different – worlds.
I knew all that. But I'd been hoping – perhaps naively – to survive this whole mess with as little blood on my hands as possible. I sighed. Let's just hope it's Markel following me, then.