"But two sorcerers and two face shifters?" Stane said. "That's pushing the coincidences, don't you think?"
Probably. I took a sip of coffee as I watched the images scroll across the screen. Hoddle Street was awash with cars, but there wasn't a lot of foot traffic. Which was good, I guess – it would make spotting the fake me easier. If there was a fake me, and I wasn't just grabbing at straws.
"If it is a coincidence, then yes," Azriel commented. "But Lucian's plans were centuries in the making. It is entirely possible he brought both sorcerers into this quest not only because they were powerful, but because their abilities would make it difficult for anyone to track them down."
"There is one other possibility," Stane said, as he bent to put his now empty plate on the floor under his desk.
I raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"
"That you're dealing with shifters capable of full-body shifts," he said. "Hell, there might only be one shifter, not two, and he or she is able to take on both male and female form."
I wrinkled my nose. "We did think of that, but full-body shifters are extremely rare. And I've never heard of any shifter being able to change their sex."
"Hermaphrodites are rare, but they can and do exist. What if we were dealing with one of those?"
If we were dealing with a hermaphrodite capable of full shifting, then heaven help us, because they'd be next to impossible to find.
"It could explain why Nadler listed Harry Bulter, Jim O'Reilly, and Genevieve Sands in his will," Stane continued. "He was hedging his bets and relying on the fact that most people think shifters are human-to-animal capable, not human-to-human."
Nadler was the man behind the company who'd purchased most of the properties surrounding the ley-line intersection. In fact, only Stane's shop and the pub down the road remained independent. He was also, more than likely, one of the sorcerers.
I glanced at Stane briefly. "So have you found either Bulter or O'Reilly?"
Stane shook his head. "No. And I've been keeping an eye on the solicitors handling his estate – they haven't tracked them down, either."
"Well, they have to have existed at some point, because Nadler couldn't just appear out of nowhere as one of them and expect to be handed everything on a platter."
"Totally," Stane said. "Which is why I've been searching overseas databases. Not having much luck, though."