"Maybe the trouble he sensed was his approaching death." Aedh only bred when their end was nigh, after all.
"Possibly." Her gaze was still pensive. "Has this anything to do with what almost happened to Ilianna?"
"Yes." There was no use lying to her—she'd sense it, even over the vid-phone. Mom might be blind, but she didn't need her eyes to be able to see stuff like that. Of course, most of the time she wasn't exactly blind, either. She was psychically linked to several spirit creatures known as the Fravardin, and they took turns being her eyes and her guards whenever she ventured outside the walls of her home. I added, "But Riley and Rhoan are hunting down those behind the attack, so I'm not expecting any more trouble."
She didn't look convinced. But then, neither was I.
"Just be careful, Ris. That's all I ask."
"I will."
I glanced at my watch again. I really needed to get going because cabs were always damn hard to get along this section of Lygon Street, thanks to the proximity of two of the most popular wolf clubs and the fact that street parking was almost impossible to find these days.
And of course, Tao had insisted I take a cab this morning rather than risk the possibility of my bike being bugged again. I could walk, because Carlton wasn't actually that far, but I'd be rushed for time now and the last thing I wanted was to arrive all hot and bothered. But there was still one question that needed answering. "Mom, what can you tell me about Mr. and Mrs. Kingston?"
"Fay's been coming to me for years, but I don't really know a lot about her family. Why?"
"Because the thing that stole Hanna's soul took someone else's last night, and I don't think it's a random event. I need to find out what connects them."
"God," she said, rubbing her temple wearily. "If only I'd foreseen this—"
"Mom," I interrupted gently, "even you can't predict everything bad that is about to happen to your clients."
And even if she did, sometimes warning them didn't alter events, because there was no way to stop the reapers when a death was inevitable. I could only intervene when the matter was undecided.
"I know, but—"
"Mom, let it go. What we need to concentrate on is finding the connection between little Hanna and the second victim, and then stop this thing before it can attack anyone else."