"If he was drunk," Azriel said softly, "he could be found. But his essence has disappeared, which can only mean the elemental has overtaken him again."
"I know that," I snapped, then sighed and scrubbed a hand across my eyes. "Sorry. I shouldn't be taking my frustration and anger out on you."
He shrugged. "Is it not better to release such emotion than to restrain it?"
"Depends who's at the end of the release." If it was Hunter, maybe. She deserved my anger, and a whole lot more. Azriel didn't.
"I have broad enough shoulders. I can take it."
"And it's just as well, given the grief I've been dumping on you lately." I looked around the room, not really seeing the mess, until my gaze fell on an odd-shaped plastic globule sitting near the remains of the dining table. The computer. And while we'd had everything backed up, spotting that globule oddly reminded me of the cuff link I'd found at Lauren's place on the Gold Coast. I'd shoved it in my purse and had promptly forgotten about it, which was stupid, given that finding out who'd made the thing might just provide our next step forward.
I got my phone and Googled "maker's marks using the letters RJ." Over a dozen different links immediately popped up, so I headed into the bedroom, plopped down on the bed, and started going through them. After trawling through nine different sites and coming up empty, I hit a U.S.-based site that listed trademarks and contact details for artists and metalsmiths, both in the U.S. and overseas. And that's where I hit gold – or silver, given most of the smiths listed on the site appeared to deal more in that than gold. The maker was one Rubin Johnson, originally from Santa Fe, but now living and working in Sydney, Australia. It listed a shop address rather than a home one, so I checked the yellow pages and confirmed the address was still current. A search for his home address didn't reveal anything. Maybe his listing was private.
"Do you wish to talk to him?" Azriel asked.
I glanced at my watch. "Yes, but not right now. It's barely six. He's not likely to be there until nine."
"Which leaves us with three hours to fill. Unless, of course, you have something else you plan to do."
I half smiled. "I know what I'd love to do, but I'm thinking you might veto the suggestion."
"You'd be thinking right." His expression was severe but amusement crinkled the corners of his blue eyes. "I would love nothing more than to be with you physically, but we cannot afford the distraction given the Raziq, your father, and Hunter all want to assure your allegiance is to them alone."
"Yeah, but none of them can get into our home. Not with my father's wards in place."
"The wards will not stop Ania, and your father is as capable of enforcing his will on them as the Raziq. And Hunter will have many contract killers who are not vampires she could call on."
I poked his chest with a stiffened finger. "You, reaper, are such a spoilsport."