say, then we must go somewhere he doesn’t know about. Stane’s.”
I frowned. “But I don’t want to drag Stane into danger—”
Tao cut me off with a snort. “Oh, trust me, Stane is more than able to take care of himself. Besides, his place is almost as well protected as this apartment, especially with the wards Ilianna gave him still online.”
I had forgotten about those, though I doubted that even wards designed to keep demons out would deter astral travelers. “But that doesn’t mean we should risk—”
Tao touched a finger to my lips. “No arguments. I was going to Stane’s for the night, anyway, as it’s game night and we’ve planned to shoot the shit out of people online. So, get ready while I go ring Ilianna.”
He walked out. I gave in to the inevitable and went to have my shower, lingering long enough to get prune skin. Once dressed, I packed several days’ worth of clothing and other necessities, then slung the bag over my shoulder and headed out.
“Ilianna’s going to stay at Mirri’s. She’s not happy about it, though.”
Mirri lived in an apartment building in Carlton, and while it was well enough protected magically, there were apartments both above and below Mirri’s and they weren’t well soundproofed. Ilianna hated the sensation of so many people surrounding her, as well as the fact that you could hear every little movement in the other apartments.
“I’ll ply her with her favorite ice cream when we all return home,” I said. “That’ll ease the grumpiness.”
“You’d better make it a couple of tubs, then.” He ushered me out, then set all the various locks and alarms. “Oh, and she said to tell you that the Brindle witches haven’t noticed any unu stichan able sual activity along the ley lines, which means the magic is being contained.”
“Did she say if they were going to follow up the possibility of containment?”
“No.” He opened the car door and ushered me in. “But you’d think they would. I mean, they wouldn’t want anyone controlling that sort of magic, would they?”
“I wouldn’t think so.” But then, when it came to the Brindle witches, who really knew what they would or wouldn’t want? Certainly some of their actions so far had surprised the hell out of me.
Stane greeted us with a cheerful hello and several boxes of pizza. He kissed my cheeks, then waved his free hand toward his bedroom. “It’s all yours. I’ve even changed the sheets.”
“You didn’t have to do that. I mean, you don’t use the thing, do you?”
He grinned. “I do tend to sleep on one of the couches, granted, but that doesn’t mean the sheets were clean. I don’t dust and it was thick on the bed.”
I laughed, then rose on my toes and kissed his cheeks. “Thank you. And enjoy your pizza and online destruction.”
“What, you’re not going to join us?”
I shook my head. “Right now, all I really want is to sleep.”
“We’ll try to keep the noise down.” Tao squeezed my arm gently, his touch light but comforting. “Yell if you need anything.”
“I will. And thanks.”
I turned and walked into Stane’s bedroom. It was very much like the rest of his apartment—filled with all the latest gadgets, and there was little in the way of dust, despite his claim to the contrary. Which wasn’t really surprising—dust could ruin the innards of expensive gadgets, after all, and there were lots of them up here.
I closed the door, shed my clothes, then tucked Amaya under the pillow and climbed into bed. It was big and warm and comfortable, and I was asleep in no time.
The sensation of movement woke me. For a couple of minutes I did nothing more than lie there, dizzy, confused, and feeling oddly transparent. Like my body had somehow disappeared and I was nothing more than particles drifting in the air. When I tried to wake, tried to move, I couldn’t do either. But as panic surged, the movement stopped, and suddenly I was full-bodied and fully aware.
I wasn’t in Stane’s bed.
Not unless it had suddenly turned to cold stone.
No, no, no! It can’t be happening again. They can’t have taken me again.
I opened my eyes. Realized my fears were all too real.
They had taken me.
The last time I’d been in this place the heavy blanket of darkness had been lifted only by Amaya’s lilac flames. This time there were torches on the wall. Why they were there I had no idea, but they sputtered and spat and threw an angry light, as if they had no desire to be in this place.
It was a desire I fully understood.
Because this was the place where the Raziq had torn my molecules apart to place the tracker in my heart.
My heart began to race so fast I could have sworn it was trying to tear out of my chest. But fear wouldn’t help me get through this. Truthfully, nothing would. They’d do what they wanted to regardless of what I said or did.
But I could at least face it with dignity and strength. If nothing else, it would make me feel better afterward.
I forced myself upright. I couldn’t stand—the ceiling in the cavern was far too low to allow that. The air was as stale as ever, and the torches only made it harder to breathe.
The Raziq were little more than a faint shimmer in the shadows, but the electricity of them crawled across my skin. This time, it was different, though—stronger. There was someone else here, someone I hadn’t met before. Someone more powerful than the other five combined.
And I was without Amaya.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Once again I shoved aside the panic that threatened to overwhelm me and hugged my knees close to my chest.
“So,” I said, somehow managing to keep my voice conversational, although it wouldn’t have mattered if it wasn’t. These Aedh had about as much understanding of human emotion as a brick wall. “My posse has gained a new member—how lovely.”
“I am not new.” Though I’d been expecting a male, this voice was not only decidedly feminine, but surprisingly pleasant. “But I am here due to past actions, both yours and ours.”
“And do you have a name?”
She didn’t answer immediately. I had the odd impression she was considering the wisdom of doing so, as she no doubt knew I’d ask my father about her. But then, they wanted me in my father’s presence so they could capture him, so there was little harm in telling me.
It was a conclusion she must have agreed with. “I am called Malin.”
“And what do you want from me this time, Malin?”
“We want what we have always wanted—your cooperation.”
“And as I seem to be saying a lot lately, it isn’t like I have much of a choice to do anything else.” I considered the shimmer that was her presence. “How did you get past Azriel?”
“The distance the reaper kept between you was foolish.” There was a hint of smugness in her voice. The Aedh might be unfeeling creatures, but they were not above feeling superior. “He did not realize the danger he had placed you in until you were in our grasp.”
And he couldn’t rescue me, either. For some reason, earth inhibited a reaper’s ability to track souls, so being this deep underground meant that not only would Azriel be unable to find me, but our chi connection wouldn’t work.
If he’d been frantic when I’d been confronted by the hellh s by’ounds, I could well imagine his state right now. And he’d no doubt blame himself for my capture. But even if he had been close, he wouldn’t have been able to stop this kidnapping. They’d wanted me, and one solitary reaper could not have stood up to the number of Raziq currently in this place. No matter how fierce a fighter Azriel was, it would have been six against one, and the death I’d feared at the train station would have been real and devastating.
“Look, my father sensing your damn device was not my fault. I didn’t warn him. I did what you asked.”
“We realize this. The device placed within you was somewhat hurried in its creation. I plan to rectify this now.”
