there, didn’t you?” Then, her head tilted to the side. “Is that one bar straight through the tip? Or are there two different piercings on either side—?”
“Focus, Reaper,” Ian interrupted.
“Right,” she said, shaking her head as if to clear it. “I came in here because we’re in deep shit. The ghoul queen is refusing to meet with me. Marie didn’t give a reason, either. She just had her lackey reply, ‘This is Jacques. Regrettably, Majestic’s schedule prohibits new appointments at this time.’”
Ian gave a humorless smile. “And Marie tends to murder people that barge in without appointment.”
“Oh, yeah,” Cat said, with a shudder. “I did that once, and believe me, I barely survived.”
“I’ll go.”
Both heads swung toward me. Then Ian looked at his wrist as if checking a watch that wasn’t there.
“’Course you will. It’s been, what? Five hours since you threw yourself into certain death? Well past time, then.”
I ignored his sarcasm. “I’ve known Marie longer than either of you. She’s big on protocol, but she values the well-being of her people above all. She’ll want to know that rogue gods are on the loose. Since I saw them and you didn’t, it should be me telling her versus you, Cat. If I hadn’t been distracted by other things, I would have said that earlier.”
“You keep saying ‘me,’” Ian said in a warning tone.
I gave a wry snort. “Don’t you know by now that when I say ‘me,’ that’s still plural?”
“I don’t mean that,” Ian purred in the same don’t-test-me tone.
“I know what you mean,” I said, brief humor fading. “Of course I assumed you’d be going with me. Aside from meaning my former promise not to abandon you, I also admit that leaving you behind even briefly doesn’t seem to protect you. Either you do something reckless, or someone dangerous finds you, or both.”
“Not to mention all the times you’ve done reckless things when you’re alone, or someone dangerous finds you,” he pointed out.
“We’re a mess, aren’t we?” I asked, smiling in memory at his earlier vow.
He smiled back, and pulled me to him. “The worst,” he agreed, and kissed me.
Cat banged on the door frame hard enough to dislodge more wood. “Get freaky later. We have gods to stop now, remember?”
Reluctantly, I pushed Ian back. “She’s annoying, but correct. We only have time to shower and feed since we have more than Marie to contend with today. We also have the council.”
“I’ll get you two some robes,” Cat muttered. “Don’t want you streaking through the house because neither of you cares about covering up what you’ve got.”
“I agree we need to warn them, but we shouldn’t go to the council directly,” Ian said, ignoring Cat, who left after another disapproving glance at us. “They won’t listen if you call, and if you go to them, they’ll try to kill you on sight. Your safety aside, they’re more likely to believe what’s happened with Phanes, Morana, and Ruaumoko if they hear it from someone they trust.”
I let out a soft snort. “Anyone the council trusts will probably try to kill me on sight, too.”
“One won’t,” Ian said in a confident tone. “Your former girlfriend, Xun Guan.”
The last time I’d been to Athens, Greece, I ended up fleeing it after Ian had proved our marriage to the vampire council. Now, I was returning with Ian to convince my former lover, Xun Guan, that my unwanted fiancé, Phanes, and his previously deceased celestial besties were about to unleash supernatural mayhem.
I wouldn’t blame Xun Guan if she didn’t believe me. I’d have trouble believing this, too, if I wasn’t living it.
“Why is Xun Guan in Athens?” I wondered out loud as Ian and I drove away from the Larissa train station. We hadn’t taken a train to get from England to Greece; we’d teleported, but I didn’t want Ian burning through needless energy when there were perfectly good rental car places near the train station.
“The vampire council isn’t in session now, and Xun Guan hates Greece,” I continued.
“She must have found some reason to be here, because this is where Mencheres’s hacker traced her mobile to,” Ian replied.
My confusion deepened several minutes later as we reached the address where Xun Guan’s mobile signal had pinged from: a derelict building on a street with mostly closed businesses.
The Xun Guan I knew would never stay here. In addition to being a Law Guardian, she was a savvy investor who’d accumulated quite the portfolio. Even if her investments had suddenly tanked, she could become