could feel what he had been trying to hide—intense, profound worry. 'He is a forger of some repute, a mortal, but one who has dealings with immortals.'
A taxi zoomed to a stop as if it had read Adrian's mind. I slid into the back seat, waiting until Adrian had given the address before snuggling up to him, asking softly, 'Why did I hear an unspoken
His arm tightened around me. 'When I heard of him last, he was mixed up with the Eisenfaust, an offshoot of the German Mafia.'
'He sounds like a delightful individual.' I gave his ear a quick kiss, just because it deserved it. 'But if it comes down to you against him, my money's on you.'
'I am not concerned with beating him in a fight,' Adrian said, his eyes a bright cerulean that promised so much. 'I am worried about what payment he will ask.'
'Well, I've told you how much I can raise. If he asks for more than that, just flash a little fang. I bet that'll knock a couple of grand off his price.'
Seal turned out to be an emaciated man whose skin—the color of very milky coffee—was stretched tightly across his bony frame, making me think of him as sort of an animated skeleton. The entire five minutes we were in his apartment, the skin under one eye ticked constantly, but it was the jittery, slightly unfocused look in his muddy eyes that screamed
'What do you want?' he asked in impolite German through the barely opened door after Adrian had pounded on it for three minutes.
'Gigli sent us. She said you could help us.'
The eye peeping out at us narrowed as it examined first Adrian, then me. 'A Dark One and a human. What sort of help do you want?'
'I prefer to not discuss my business in public,' Adrian said. I nodded, holding firmly onto his arm while giving the hallway behind me a suspicious glare. I swore I saw something small and rodentlike move under one of the many piles of garbage that had been scattered down the dirty passage.
Seal's shadow moved behind the door as it closed, the sounds of several chains scraping across it as he unlocked it. His head popped out to peer around us.
'Come in, come in,' he said quickly, pulling us through the door before he slammed it shut, locking in fast succession three dead bolts, four chains, and a metal brace designed to keep a door from being kicked in. 'Now you will tell me what business you want of me.'
Adrian frowned as he glanced around the room. It, like our host, was threadbare and shabby, hinting of days of glory long past. Dingy wallpaper peeled off the walls, bits of it drooping onto a sad, shapeless armchair. Two and a half plastic chairs sat around a small linoleum table that held an extensive array of printing equipment—probably worth more than the entire apartment building. No wonder Seal was serious about keeping people out of his digs.
Adrian pulled out one of the plastic chairs for me, removing the plate of furry French fries and a half-eaten burger so I could sit. 'We need to get to London without anyone knowing our identities. How quickly can you make us passports?'
'How quickly do you need to be there?' Seal spoke in clipped German, almost as fast as Adrian. I lumbered along behind them both linguistically, German not being a language with which I'm very familiar, trying to follow the conversation without getting too lost.
'Before dawn.'
Seal shook his head without even glancing at the cracked and broken clock that clung drunkenly to the wall over the table. 'Impossible. It takes at least three days to make a passport that can get through international security.'
'We don't have three days. We need to leave tonight.' The muscles in Adrian's jaw tensed. I touched his arm, more as a way to remind him not to lose his temper with the forger than to assess how angry he was.
'That is no concern of mine. I'm telling you how long it will take me to make the passports.'
'Do you have any idea who I am?' Adrian snarled, his fangs flashing wickedly sharp as he grabbed a handful of the stained T-shirt that drooped off Seal's chest, lifting him up and slamming him against a wall. A tendril of wallpaper drifted down at the impact, following in the path of a piece of disattached plaster.
'Yes, you're a Dark One,' Seal squeaked, his arms and legs flopping around helplessly as Adrian held him a good foot off the ground. 'A very big Dark One.'
'I am the Betrayer,' Adrian answered, his voice a low hiss that promised retribution if he was crossed. 'I do not have three days.'
'I might be able to do it in one,' Seal gasped as Adrian lifted him higher against the wall. 'Tonight! I could have it for you tonight! Twelve hours, that's the fastest I can make them.'
Adrian snarled and let go of the man, who promptly fell in a whimpering heap. 'To delay an extra day does not please me.'
'Twelve hours is the fastest.' Seal dragged himself to his feet, dusting off already filthy pants and unbunching his dirty tee with an odd sort of dignity. 'It's not just a matter of putting pictures on existing documents. First I must find the names of people who've died recently, in order for the computers to register a history. Then I must create the holograms, and those take time. Twelve hours is barely enough time to do the background research, but as you are in such a hurry, I will make an exception for you.'
Adrian grunted an acceptance.
'Now, shall we talk reimbursement for my services?' Seal asked, rubbing his large hands together.
'I have money,' Adrian said stiffly, lying through his fangs as he took up a protective stance next to me. I leaned against his leg and tried to look wealthy.
Seal smiled. It was an awful thing, that smile, filled with black and yellow broken teeth, but the worst part was what the smile did to his eyes. He might not be one of the weirdo immortal beings who hung around Cologne, but the avarice that flashed in his eyes sent shivers down my back. 'The lady, she is your Beloved?'
'The lady is none of your concern beyond making her a passport,' Adrian growled.
Seal's smile grew broader until it was like looking at a grinning death's-head. 'So she is your Beloved. The Betrayer has found his Beloved. And if I am not mistaken, she is a Charmer as well. How very interesting.' He held up his hand quickly as Adrian took a menacing step forward.'I meant no disrespect, of course. My price, ah, yes, my price. For this special rush job, for the exacting nature of the work you demand, my price is naturally higher than a lesser job.'
'Naturally,' Adrian said dryly.
Seal transferred his grin to me. My creepy shivers went into overtime. 'You would not want me to provide your Beloved with a product that would not pass the scrutiny at the airports.'
'Get to the point,' Adrian snapped, moving closer to me.
'My point, Betrayer, is that my time, my expertise, and my resources do not come cheap. My price is not payment in coin, but payment in service.'
'Service?' I asked, my German sounding thick and awkward in the strained atmosphere of the apartment. I cleared my throat. 'What sort of service do you want? I can't charm anything, and my ward drawing is limited to a slippery containment ward and a binding ward.'
Seal's smile dimmed significantly. He glanced quickly at Adrian before looking back at me. Leaning against Adrian's leg as I was, I knew the minute he picked up the scent of fear that Seal was exuding. 'I find myself in the unenviable position of having attracted the attention of a member of the Eisenfaust. A most unwelcome attention, caused by a minor financial transaction gone awry.'
'I told you I have money,' Adrian said.
Seal's gaze slid away from Adrian as his large hands waved expressively. 'The nature of the man in question has driven me to take drastic actions. He will no longer be satisfied with a mere repayment of the amount I owe him. He must be destroyed.'
'Destroyed?' I asked suspiciously. 'Financially, you mean?'
'Destroyed as in destroyed,' he told me, his murky brown eyes meeting mine for a moment. The avarice still glowed behind their depths, mingling with a cruel satisfaction that had me even more worried.
'Killed,' I said.
'Destroyed,' he repeated, emphasizing the word. He glanced at Adrian again. 'Killed would lead directly back
