Piers ignored the sarcasm. “But I did hear that the Key was to be destroyed. Most people weren’t keen on the idea—the Key is one of the ancient artifacts of power—but the fae insisted. Have I mention how much I dislike the fae? Arrogant bastards said that while the Key existed, there was always the risk that their enemies could enter the Faelands.”
“So what happened?”
“At a guess, someone must have hidden it instead.”
He thought for a moment, remembering back—it was more than a thousand years ago and as he’d said, he hadn’t been particularly interested in the brand new Order of the Shadow Accords and whatever crap they decided. But he had known of the Key. Andarta had been negotiating for it before they had had their little falling out. The Key had been an integral part in her plot for world domination—the crazy bitch.
Demons varied in their powers. Andarta was strong, but she had a weak point—her inability to open portals with ease. The effort drained her. That had been the one thing that kept her in check, limited her movements. With the Key, she would be unstoppable.
Something occurred to him. Something he’d forgotten. All those years ago, she’d been negotiating with another demon. He shook his head. “Do you know who had the Key back then? You’re going to love this.”
“Why do I doubt that?”
“None other than Tara’s father—your brand new father-in-law.”
“Asmodai?”
“Yeah. Shit, could he be involved in this?” Piers ran a hand through his hair, trying to make sense of the separate threads.
Christian shrugged. “So Asmodai was in possession of the Key when the Shadow Accords were drawn up. He agreed to destroy it, but instead he hid it away.”
“No doubt, just in case he ever needed it.”
“And he hid it away in the convent that your friend Jack attacked a couple of nights ago.”
“He’s no friend of mine.”
Christian had been pacing. Now he stopped in front of Piers and studied him. Piers stared back. “So what is Jack to you?” Christian asked. “There’s something that ties the two of you together.”
Piers considered not answering—it was no one’s business but his. Then he realized that was no longer the case, and maybe it was something Christian needed to know. “He’s my maker.”
Shock flared on Christian’s face. “So he’s even older than you are?”
“Yeah. But he’s been…sort of out of it for the last couple of thousand years, so I’m not sure how strong he is.”
There were strong vampires and weak ones, and their strength also tended to increase with age. But maybe that age didn’t count if you’d been locked in a tomb.
“What does ‘out of it’ mean?”
“Locked away, no doubt sleeping like an innocent babe for the majority of the time.”
“You did that?”
“Yeah. You could say that I wasn’t too pleased about the change in my circumstances. In fact, it pissed me off. And you might have noticed, when things piss me off I tend to react.”
“So you were stronger than him, which means he shouldn’t be a problem. Just get him out of the picture. You have enough justification with him bringing the police down on us.”
“Well, I could do that, but it’s not actually Jack we need worry about.”
Christian sighed. “Who is it?”
“Andarta.”
“Andarta?” The shock was back with a vengeance. Andarta hadn’t been around for two thousand years but obviously, Christian had heard of her. Why didn’t that surprise him?
“Andarta, the goddess of war and pestilence, the demon queen?”
Piers nodded, and Christian was silent for a minute while he digested the information. “The Andarta who’s been missing for the last two thousand years?”
“That’s the one. Tucked up with Jack.”
The Andarta he’d once believed he loved beyond life itself. The goddess he’d been willing to lay down that very life for. Until she had betrayed him, ordered Jack to turn him, and made that particular sacrifice impossible.
“How the hell did you manage that?” Christian asked.
“I pretended to be happy about the whole thing, lulled them into an entirely false sense of security, and drugged them both. They were locked up tight in their cozy little tomb, warded by Andarta’s own magic, by the time they woke up.”
“Clever,” Christian said.
“Maybe. But maybe it would have been cleverer to finish them off while I had the chance. I somehow doubt she’ll be accepting any more glasses of drugged wine from me.” He rubbed his scalp. He hated rehashing the past. But then it was no longer the past—enough to give anyone a headache.
“Enough of Andarta. Right now, I’m hungry.” He pressed the comm unit on his desk. “Graham, get me the London address of the mother house of the Sisters of…” Shit, he couldn’t remember. “Whatever it was they were sisters of.” He could hear the tap of Graham’s fingers on the keyboard.
“There is no mother house in London,” he said a few seconds later.
“What?”
“The mother house is in Devon.”
“Really?”
“What is it?” Christian asked.
“It appears our little nun was telling a few untruths.”
“Why?”
“How the hell should I know? But I aim to find out. Graham—find her.”
…
By the time Roz reached home, it was after two in the morning. The apartment was quiet and in darkness, but Maria popped her head out of her bedroom as Roz collapsed on the sofa.
“Is everything okay?” Maria asked.
“Fine.” She grinned. “In fact, everything is great.” Though it occurred to her that she was going to have to break the news that she was leaving soon and it was time for Sister Maria to return to the convent. Tomorrow would be soon enough for that.
“You look tired,” Maria said. “Would you like me to make some coffee?”
What she really craved was her bed, but she needed to contact Shera first—set things in motion. And also check the bug. See what was going down at the Order. Whether they had heard about Jessica being found, and whether it mattered to them. “Yeah, I’d love a coffee.”
Grabbing her laptop, she sat cross-legged on the sofa waiting for it to power up. After sending an email to Shera, she opened the program, and a whole load of conversation filled the screen.
She read it quickly, knowing she would go back and read more slowly, but right now, she was fascinated. In the last couple of days, she’d learned more about the supernatural world than in the previous five centuries. But when she got to the mention of Asmodai, she stopped and reread. She could feel her eyes going round in amazement.
Asmodai was Christian Roth’s father-in-law.
The idea was staggering. That meant Asmodai had a daughter? Somehow, she couldn’t imagine it. Did he love her? He had certainly never mentioned her in all the time Roz had known him.
She continued reading. Until she got to the end, and shock closed down her mind for long seconds.
“Holy shit. Bugger. Crap.”
Maria placed a mug of coffee on the table in front of her, and the movement brought Roz back to herself. She blinked and slammed the laptop closed.
“What is it?” Maria asked.
“We have to get out of here.”
“Why? What’s happened?”
