Darkness Hunts (DA 4) (14 page)

Amaya, release him
.

Her grumbles filled the back of my mind, but the flames crawled from his flesh and dropped harmlessly to the ground.

I swung her lightly back and forth in warning. The stranger’s features followed the movement, even though he had no eyes.

Do not attempt to do to me what you did to Dorothy, stranger
. Amaya still burned with hunger and the need to attack, but her flames failed to lift the shadows around us. Whoever this stranger was, he seemingly had the ability to control how
I
saw the plane.

He didn’t say anything for several seconds, simply continued to study me as he shook fingers that looked red and blistered. It was a clear indication that you
could
be harmed on the astral plane, and made me wonder what the hell he’d actually been trying to do.

But waiting for him to speak made my nerves crawl, so I said,
What is this challenge you’re offering?

It is a race, of sorts.

Define “of sorts.”

I had an odd impression that he was smiling, but I didn’t think it was a nice sort of smile.
Tomorrow I will send the Directorate a clue to help you find my next victim. You—and you alone—will conduct the search.

And what will you be doing while I’m trying to save the next victim?

The sense of cat and prey suddenly sharpened. I shivered, and the buildings around me darkened even more. I swallowed heavily and thrust away the fear, but it didn’t do a whole lot to ease the tense atmosphere.

What will I be doing?
he repeated softly.
Well, my dear huntress, what I will be doing is hunting you.

With that, he disappeared.

And all I could think was, what the hell was he going to do when he found me?

Chapter 6

I cursed mentally and swung around.
Any idea where he went?

He has left the astral plane
. Markel studied me for a moment, then said
, It is impressive that your sword works on this plane. Usually, such a weapon would not.

Amaya is no ordinary weapon.

To which she practically preened. My sword was gaining a personality. Fabulous.
Not.

Were you able to read his mind?

He shook his head.
Unless there is some form of physical contact between astral bodies, you can’t
.

I frowned.
Is that what he was doing when we came across him the first time? Reading Dorothy’s mind?

I suspect he was doing much more than that, because mind reading usually does not leave a burned imprint
.

I shivered, and the shadows around me trembled in time with the movement.
So basically, you got no more from him than I did?

He half smiled.
Cazador or not, on this plane I am just another traveler.

Somehow, I’m not believing that
.

It was wryly said, and he acknowledged it with an almost regal nod.
Perhaps I do oversimplify.

Perhaps? I seriously doubted there was any “perhaps” about it. I hesitated, then asked,
Just how closely do you follow me?

Again that half smile appeared. It gave his almost stern features a softer edge, but didn’t ease the impression of . . . not menace—not exactly. Perhaps it was more an underlying sense that the urban exterior was little more than a veil concealing a darker, more deadly soul.

I cannot enter your home, if that is your concern
.

Surprise rippled through me.
So the vampire threshold rule applies on the astral plane?

Yes
. He hesitated.
I tail you everywhere else, though
.

Everywhere else?
I repeated, a little mortified by the thought.

He cleared his throat, and I had an odd sense that he’d swallowed a laugh. This Cazador did
not
fit the image I’d created of them. But then, neither did Uncle Quinn.
Well, bathrooms are out of bounds, of course. As are boudoirs.

Oh, thank God
.

This time, he did laugh. It was a somewhat harsh sound, as if he didn’t do it often.
You’re an interesting person to talk to, Ms. Jones.

Thanks. I think
.

He bowed again.
You’d best return to your body. The weakness grows in you
.

Odd that he could sense that and I couldn’t. But then, I’d become very good at ignoring my needs of late.
Chat with you later, Markel.

Undoubtedly,
he said.

I closed my eyes and imagined my body, and suddenly I was back there. I gasped at the shock of it and opened my eyes, but I didn’t move, wary of causing a repeat of the sickness that hit me last time.

“Well,” Rhoan said, voice impatient. “What happened?”

“Give her time to regain her full senses,” Elga said crossly. “In fact, go get her coffee and chocolate. This poor girl needs some fat on her body; otherwise she’s going to be of no use to anyone.”

“I’m a werewolf,” I murmured. “We’re naturally lean.”

But when even speaking hurt, I really
was
in trouble. I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead somewhat gingerly. There was a low-grade throbbing deep inside my skull, and I knew it was a result of doing too much on too little sleep and food.

“Werewolves are lean, granted,” Elga commented. “But you, my dear, are positively scrawny. You obviously need someone to sit you down and make you eat regular meals.”

Is this one of those occasions where an “I told you so” would be appropriate?
came Azriel’s silent thought.

Probably. But I wouldn’t suggest it because I might get nasty
.

And that is supposed to scare me?
The dry amusement in his tone swirled through me, sending warmth fluttering.

It would scare most men.

I am not a man.

True. You, reaper, are frustration personified
.

Not unexpectedly, he made no reply. Rhoan came back carrying a large bottle of Coke and two chocolate-covered protein bars. I carefully hitched myself upright, but the room still spun around me. Elga was right—I couldn’t keep risking the astral plane feeling like this. Not when we were hunting someone who was obviously very familiar with it, and also very dangerous on it.

Elga frowned. “Coffee would be better—”

“Trust me, it’s not coffee that refuels her, but Coke. She was born with the stuff running through her veins, I think.” He squatted beside the bed and handed me the Coke. “I know I’m rushing you, and I’m sorry, but we really do need to know what happened.”

I took several gulps, felt the delicious fizz work its magic all the way down to my belly, then filled him in on all that had happened.

“Why in the hell would he want to play a cat-and-mouse game like this?” He tore open a protein bar and handed it to me.

“I don’t think he’s actually playing with a full deck, so who really knows.”

“Whoever this person is, he’s
very
adept at covering his tracks and keeping his identity secret—neither of which the insane tend to be.” He hesitated. “Can you tell us anything else about him personally?”

“Well, he had hair this time.” I frowned suddenly. “But oddly, it didn’t really have any color.”

“So it was gray?”

“No. There just wasn’t
any
color. It merged with the shadows, as if it were part of them. It was weird.”

“You know,” Elga said suddenly, “he could be blind.”

We both turned to look at her. “Why would you think that?” Rhoan asked.

“Well, if he was born blind, then he would have no understanding of color,” she explained. “Of course, the blind
can
be taught to associate certain levels of heat with specific colors through the use of various colored-light filters, but they will never know colors as the sighted see them.”

“Would that explain why he has no features on the plane? Because he’s never actually seen his face?” I asked.

She frowned. “Not really, because while he may not see it, he
can
feel it. He would know the shape of his nose, mouth, and face, at the very least.”

“Then why are his features missing on the field? I thought your soul wouldn’t allow such deception.”

“Normally, it doesn’t. However, he may not be concealing it. What he may be doing is changing
your
perception of what you’re seeing.”

“Which means we’re dealing with a
very
powerful individual indeed.” Rhoan thrust to his feet. “Damn it, Ris, I like that you’re involved in this even less.”

“And you think I’m any happier?” I shook my head. “Trust me, if I could go home and leave you to it, I would.”

“I know. It’s just frustration speaking.” He made a sharp motion with his hand. “Until we get our phone call, there’s not much more we can do. I suggest you go home and catch some rest while you can.”

I wished I could, but I still had a meeting with Jak to get to. I downed the rest of the Coke, then said, “He wanted me to chase the leads, not you.”

“He can’t get into this place, not even astrally, so he’s not going to know who is doing what straightaway. And if he’s as clever as I think he is, he’ll know we’ll be beside you every step of the way, regardless of what he orders. He simply doesn’t think the Directorate is a threat. That’s evident enough from his taunting phone calls.”

I finished the last of the protein bars, then licked the chocolate off my fingers and got slowly to my feet. The room did a slow turn, so I pressed my fingers against the wall and said, “Have all his victims so far been women?”

Rhoan nodded. “Different ages, but all women.”

“And they’ve nothing in common?”

“Other than the fact that they’re all vampires, no.”

“What about their makers?”

“Again nothing in common.”

Meaning Stane’s search for information on Dorothy’s maker would be fruitless, because he wasn’t the connection. Which, in turn, meant there was nothing to even remotely suggest who his next victim might be. Frustrating, to say the least. I pulled off the monitors and got dressed. “You’ll ring me the minute the phone call comes?”

“I’ll ring the minute we uncover anything useful. You, in the meantime, will get some rest. Promise?”

I nodded. He grunted, then swung around and offered me his arm. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

He escorted me back upstairs, then dropped a kiss on my cheek, reminded me to ring Riley, and left. I glanced at Azriel as I made my way out to Spencer Street. Though he walked beside me, he kept a careful distance between us. It didn’t erase the awareness that stirred within, or the flow of heat that caressed my skin.

“How can the Directorate stop someone from entering that building astrally, and yet none of their devices even reacted to you?”

“Because I am not human. All the devices and magic are aimed at catching abnormalities in or on flesh-based rather than energy beings.”

I frowned. “So it
should
have reacted to you.”

“No, because this body is not real.”

“It damn well feels real when I touch you.” And it had certainly felt real when we’d made love. “Besides, you said you can find death in this form, so how can it not be real?”

“I bleed, and I can die in this form, true, but my being is energy, not flesh and blood.” He hesitated, frowning a little. “That place would not react to you, either, if you were in Aedh form. Neither their technology nor their magic is attuned to what you and I are.”

I frowned. “They’re obviously aware of both reapers and Aedh, so why wouldn’t they have some line of defense against either of you?”

“Because reapers interact with humans only on a soul-collecting basis, and why would anyone want to stop that?”

“But Aedh—”

“Have a long history of ignoring humanity, except when it comes to their own needs—procreation, for instance,” he said. “There is no major need for the Directorate to protect themselves against us, and they are well aware of that fact.”

Which meant Lucian
could
have followed us into the building, if he’d wished. Though why
that
particular thought occurred to me I have no idea. And it wasn’t like he could lurk in Aedh form anywhere nearby without Azriel being aware of him.

“So what if this person we’re chasing is also not flesh-based?”

“He cannot be energy, as that would make him either Aedh or reaper. And no reaper can interact with those on the astral plane.”

“That still leaves the possibility of another Aedh.”

“Aedh have no need to use magic to transport themselves to and from locations. This killer did.”

I grunted. I’d forgotten about that. “So what we need to do is uncover who in Melbourne sells powerful transport charms. It’s something either the Brindle or Jak will know or can find out.”

“What of Ilianna? And do you not think the Directorate would be already chasing that possibility?”

“I’ve involved Ilianna in enough dangerous shit already. She doesn’t need this as well.” I shrugged. “And the Directorate probably
have
investigated such an angle, but it doesn’t hurt to ask the Brindle witches.”

“Then why even bother with Jak?”

“Because I’ve got to meet him anyway, so it won’t hurt.” I eyed Azriel for a moment. “Has Jak suddenly become a problem for you?”

“No. I just think you risk his well-being needlessly.”

“He’s only going to ask around about charms, Azriel. I’d hardly call that dangerous.”

He didn’t say anything immediately, but then, he didn’t need to. His disapproval stung the air. “And after this meeting, you will rest?”

“Yes.” If nothing else came up, that was.

“Good. Because if you do not, I will be forced to make you.”

“Try it, and I really
will
get nasty—” But I was speaking to air. He’d disappeared again.