block table with a built-in knife rack along the edge. The rest of the kitchen had been designed in a horseshoe shape around the table, with the refrigerator to its right as you entered the room. It had been covered to match the stained pine cabinets. The gas stove had been designed to look like something out of a pioneer kitchen with its cast-iron shel , though it had modern guts. My second-favorite item in the kitchen, it charmed me only slightly less than the brick floor, which must’ve cost a fortune to lay, but made me feel cozy every time I came into the room.
Aaron’s comment, as usual, kind of pissed me off. “This room doesn’t real y fit the rest of the house. You should have it redone.”
I pressed my lips together. If Junior real y was Vayl’s son, I’d have to find a way to get along with him. And snapping his head off every ten minutes probably wasn’t a good place to start. So I kept quiet and let Vayl answer. “I suppose an interior decorator would find it clashes,” he said. “But I am not so concerned about these matters as I am about surrounding myself with fond memories.” That was al he said, so I didn’t know if the kitchen he’d had such happy times in had belonged to a woman he’d loved. Or if he’d just enjoyed meals from a cook who’d had a similar setup. And right now—I didn’t wanna know.
So I dug into the bowl of cookie dough ice cream that Vayl had dipped for me and grooved on the grossed-out expression that passed over Aaron’s face as he watched his former target sip a second helping of government blood from his favorite mug.
Raoul was the one who final y spoke up. “Does knowing that Roldan ordered the young man who may be the incarnation of Badu to kil you real y change anything? As far as I’m concerned, my mission remains unchanged.”
Vayl’s chin dropped slightly. “I agree that you should continue.” It seemed like he was about to say something more, but he let it go.
I said, “In four days, if your people haven’t met with any success, we’l take the path you think wil most likely get us there successful y. If you can recruit fighters for that journey, we’d appreciate it. But be straight with them, okay? We want them to understand it’l be a battle the whole way in.” I stopped there. No sense adding that we’d be lucky if any of us made it back out.
“What about the Rocenz?” Raoul asked.
I glanced at Vayl. Then I said, “We found out on our last mission that Roldan’s people had been guarding its resting place for a while. I imagine they know the spel that separates the parts, don’t you?”
“How do you plan to get that information?”
“Our psychic is stil working her resources,” Vayl said. “But tonight’s event confirms that Roldan has anticipated our next move. And that he fears its success to such a degree that he is trying to kil us”—he pointed to himself—“or cripple us to the point that we can no longer act.” He pointed to me.
“What I am saying is that Roldan knows that we must come after him, because we believe he knows how to separate the pieces of the Rocenz. It is inevitable that we should meet one more time. And he is terrified of the outcome.”
“So’s Brude,” I murmured, rubbing my forehead even though it didn’t hurt anymore. “They both have so much to gain from our failure that their partnership couldn’t be tighter if it was forged at an anvil. That means we can’t play them off each other. And Brude’s been in my head long enough that, even though he can’t hear my thoughts, he can definitely sense what’s going on in the world beyond my eyebal s. Plus we know, somehow, he’s able to communicate with Roldan.”
“Yes, but how?” wondered Vayl.
“It has to be the gorgon,” said Raoul.
“The who? The what?” Aaron backed his chair up an entire foot as he asked, pushing hard against the table as if he wanted nothing more than to flush his life, once and for al , of a group of people who spoke so casual y of werewolves and demons, and who might actual y put him face-to-face with a demigod who could transform him into a pigeon perch.
Vayl, kind and loving father that he was, patiently explained. “Roldan once attempted to turn a ward of mine named Helena because he felt they were destined to become lifemates. I wounded him fatal y during that fight, but I did not wait to see him die. Instead I threw him into the gutter where he was rescued by a gorgon and her retinue. She offered him eternity—he accepted. Even now, I do not think he understood the price he would have to pay, because gorgons eat death. In a way, she has been consuming him since the day his natural life ended.”
“How can anything be that powerful?” Aaron whispered. To give him credit, he didn’t sound one bit envious.
“There’s a Balance,” Raoul said, somewhat cryptical y. “However, I believe that the gorgon’s power al ows her to stimulate communication between Roldan and Brude. Maybe she’s woven a psychic connection between them, I don’t know.”
“She’s a damn demigod. She can do pretty much what she pleases,” I muttered.
“So we agree that the gorgon is the mediator between Jaz’s enemy and mine, bringing them into a partnership designed to destroy us both,” Vayl said.
Raoul grimaced. “So much for the element of surprise.”
Aaron had crossed his arms over his chest like he needed a big hug and sure as shit nobody else was gonna give him one. Now he said, “Wel , that’s just great. Your enemies have the inside scoop. Which means they probably already know I didn’t kil Vayl. So when I show up at Roldan’s door with a bag ful of dirt and rags, he’s going to kil me. Then
I smiled at him. “I like you better when you swear.”
His jaw dropped.
Vayl
