Darkness Splintered (DA 6) (13 page)

She has not placed a block on his thoughts,
Azriel said, appearing by my side again.
I can feel none of her taint in his mind.

I glanced at him.
Which is odd. I know Hunter is head of the Directorate and therefore able to squash any investigation, but surely even she wouldn’t want the questions her involvement in Jak’s death would raise.

You accord her human thought processes, and that is something she long ago abandoned.
Azriel’s mind voice was thick with contempt.
Besides, she would not think us capable of catching her killer. He is not a Cazador, but he is very skilled in killing. Do not step too close or give him the opportunity to attack.

I wasn’t planning to.
I took several photos of the vampire – noticing in the process that Amaya didn’t show up in any of them – then tucked my phone into the purse’s front pocket, out of sight, but still close enough to record everything said.

“Okay, mystery man,” I said, “unless you want some
serious
damage done to your back, you’d better stop faking unconsciousness and start talking.”

There was no response, which wasn’t really surprising. Hunter wouldn’t have sent a fool to do her dirty work.

Amaya, twist a little closer to his spine.

Her chuckle – which could be described only as both gleeful
and
bloodthirsty – ran across the back of my thoughts as her blade did a slow circle in his flesh. Blood spurted, and the vampire hissed – a venomous sound if I’d ever heard one. He looked at me, face bloody and eyes narrowed. There was no pain in those black depths, no fear. Just fury. And the promise of death should I make one careless move.

“One last chance to start answering my questions, then I’ll sever your damn spine.” My voice was cold and flat. One look at his expression – or lack thereof – was enough to tell me I could not show any sort of emotion to this man. He was the sort to take it as weakness.

“What do you want?” His voice was controlled, even. One tough vampire, obviously.

“Everything.” I crossed my arms. “Your name, and the name of the person who sent you here to kill Jak.”

“I wasn’t sent here to kill —”

He cut the rest of the sentence off as Amaya did a half turn. Sweat dotted his face, but his expression remained unchanged. Uncaring. Deadly.

“You’re lying and we both know it.” To Azriel, I said,
What’s his name?

He hesitated, then said,
Trent Fagan. He is a killer for hire. The Directorate had a death order on him, but Hunter had it removed on the proviso he work for her.

Why would she do that, when she has the Cazadors at her beck and call?

They do not work for her, but the council as a whole. Kill orders must be cleared through the council before they can be enforced.
He studied me.
She is gathering her own personal hit squad; you are one of them, Risa.

But I don’t
—

Not yet,
he agreed.
But it is what she wants, nevertheless. You
–
and the remaining keys
–
would give her the ultimate command over not just the council, but the world.

I blinked.
Even she’s not
that
crazy
—

Oh, but she is.
His mind tone was grim.
She wants power. Hungers for it. And she will never be satisfied until all who live bow at her feet.

Wow. Just… wow. And yet it certainly made more sense than the council wanting the keys so they could use hell as their own private jail. Not that I’d ever really believed
that
particular statement – or, at the very least, I’d always suspected there was something more. I had no doubt that if Hunter
did
get the keys, then she
would
use hell. It would amuse her greatly to cast those who annoyed her into that place.

I returned my attention to the vampire. “Look, I know your name is Trent Fagan, and I know you’re a contract killer for hire. Tell me the truth about what happened here today, and I might just let you live.”

Surprise flickered briefly through his eyes, but he remained mute.

I sighed. “Fine. But consider this, the Directorate are on their way, and we both know they had a kill order out on you. It might have been rescinded, but do you honestly think you’ll be given such a chance a second time?”

He contemplated me for a moment, very obviously weighing options. “Living probably isn’t in my future, given capture was never part of the plan.”

“And what was the plan?”

Something flickered in his eyes. Annoyance or acceptance, I couldn’t tell which. But after a brief hesitation, he said, “To kill Jak Talbott.”

“Why gut him? Why not just drain him?”

“Because gutting is the more painful death.”

I clenched my fists. God, what I wouldn’t give for Amaya to be buried in Hunter’s flesh right now. “And who sent you here?”

Again he contemplated me. “What makes you think someone sent me here? That reporter has stepped on more than a few toes in his time.”

“He certainly has, but you’re not one of them. Besides, you don’t work for free, even on kills you desire.”

That last part was a guess, but I was betting it was a correct one.

A slight smile touched his lips. “If you know so much about me, then likely you’ll also know who sent me.”

“I suspect I do, but I nevertheless want it confirmed.”

“And if I tell you that, you’ll let me run?”

“If you can still run, then yes.” Even if he escaped the arriving police, he’d still have to face Hunter. She’d know in an instant I’d questioned her killer, but what she
wouldn’t
expect was me recording it. “But only if you’re honest with me. And I will know, trust me on that.”

He smiled, but it held little amusement. “The truth will do you no good, because my employer is beyond anyone’s reach. Even the Directorate’s.”

“She may be beyond the Directorate’s reach, but no one is beyond the reach of death.”

“Madeline Hunter is.”

He’d finally named her, but I felt no elation. I’d need a whole lot more than this confession alone to protect me from her. But it might go a ways toward convincing both her brother
and
the Directorate that there were extenuating circumstances if – god forbid – she and I ever came to blows and I managed to survive the encounter and she did not.

If you and Hunter came to blows,
Azriel said, voice grim,
she would
not
survive. And no one
–
not the Directorate, and certainly not her brother
–
would ever know of her death. Valdis would consume body and soul. There would be nothing left to find, and nothing left to move on.

Good. Even hell was too nice a place for the bitch. I once again returned my attention to the vampire. “Madeline Hunter? The woman in charge of the Directorate?”

“The same one.” He coughed. Bloody spittle lined his lips.

“Did she say why?”

“No. And I didn’t ask. I’m paid to do a job, end of story.”

It was the end, all right, for Jak and for him. Hunter wouldn’t let him live, and we both knew it.
Amaya,
I said, and reached out a hand.

She didn’t want to leave without a kill, and she hissed noisily, the sound rebounding through my brain. But she nevertheless withdrew, her hilt hitting my palm with a heavy thump. Letting me know she was unhappy by action as well as voice, I thought, amused.

I sheathed her, then said, “As much as I’d love to avenge Jak’s death with yours, I think the fate that awaits you is far worse, vampire. Enjoy what is left of your life.”

With that, Azriel took me in his arms and swept us out of there. It was only when I was home that I finally allowed myself to grieve for the man I’d once loved.

Hunter’s phone call came as no surprise, but it took all my willpower
not
to hit the Answer button and call her every name under the sun.

That would not only be a stupid move, but dangerous to those I loved.

“What?” is all I said. My voice was tight, and my hands clenched. It was a wonder I didn’t crack the phone, so tight was my grip.

“Did you get my message?” she all but purred. A cat enjoying playing with her mouse.

And the mouse had no option but to take it. At least for the moment.

“Yes.”

Her eyes gleamed with maliciousness. “And did the message get through?”

“Yes.” It came out as little more than a spit of angry air. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down, and added, “But why Jak? He wasn’t doing anyone any harm —”

“Which made him the perfect specimen for my little demonstration,” she cut in. “I would have chosen Rhoan, even though his death would have annoyed my brother greatly, but that would also take out Riley. I have no wish to come to blows with Quinn just yet.”

Meaning a confrontation with Quinn was in her cards sometime in the future?

More than likely,
Azriel commented.
Your uncle is not the type to sit back and let Hunter’s plans proceed unheeded. She would need him gone to openly make her move for domination of all.

The bitch wasn’t only certifiable, she was a glimpse of our future if we didn’t stop hell’s gates from being opened.

Because she sure as
fuck
had to be one of hell’s finest.

“But do not doubt,” she continued, in that same soft but deadly tone, “I
will
take out Rhoan, Riley, and even Quinn if you do not find me those keys.”

“I’m doing my best.”

Her expression was amused, but the specter of death shimmered in the depths of her eyes. “Your best is not enough, dear Risa. Try harder.”

And with that, she hung up. I swore and raised the phone to throw it at the nearest wall, only to have it plucked from my hands by Azriel.

“Taking your anger out on defenseless electronics is a waste of money and electronics,” he commented. “May I suggest this instead?”

He offered me a melted glob of metal – all that remained of one of the dining room chairs – and I couldn’t help laughing. As he’d no doubt intended. “Thanks, but it won’t shatter and therefore won’t ease the frustration in quite the same way.”

“Ah. Shame.” He placed both the phone and the globule on the glass table.

“Yeah.” I sighed. “How the hell am I ever going to get free of her, Azriel?”

“I do not know,” he said. “But we can always hope she personally threatens you. At that point, she is dead.”

“And you don’t think she’ll have found some way to counteract your presence?” After all, he had become a Mijai after coming to Earth to track down – and kill – the person responsible for the murder of several reapers, one of whom had been his friend.

“Possibly —”

“Then we don’t attack her,” I cut in. “Not unless we have an army behind us.”

“Harry Stanford has opened that possibility.”

Harry Stanford was the manager of a nightclub known as Hallowed Ground, and an archrival of Hunter’s. He was plotting to bring her down – for the good of the council, or so he claimed – and he’d already tried to enlist my help. I’d refused. It wasn’t as if I needed to get any more involved in vampire politics than I already was.

“No, he hasn’t, because he wants me to confront Hunter without his intervention. There was never any mention of a goddamn army.” I sighed. “I’m going for a shower.”

Though I doubted it would do much to wash the stain that was Hunter’s ever-tightening grip from my skin.

A half hour later – freshly showered and wearing a dress that
didn’t
remind me of Jak – I sat on the end of the bed and said, “So where the hell do we go from here?”

Azriel shrugged. He’d resumed what had become a normal position for him in my bedroom – when he wasn’t actually in my bed, that is – by my window, and the pale moonlight gave his warm skin a cool, silver sheen. “The one clear lead we have is Lauren Macintyre. Perhaps it is time we talked to her.”

“She’s not likely to give us anything —”

“She doesn’t have to,” he cut in. “It is key related, so I can force her to talk.”

“That’s presuming we can find her.” I pushed to my feet, walked over to the wardrobe, and slipped on a pair of red leather flats. Not my shoe of choice normally, but I had no idea how long I was going to be on my feet, so heels weren’t really practical. “Lauren seemed to have most of her possessions at her place on the Gold Coast, so why don’t we head there first?”

He nodded and held out a hand. I placed mine in his, and let him tug me close, smiling as I stared into the mismatched blue of his eyes. “Do you really have to hold me this close when you transport me? Or does it stem more from desire?”

Amusement touched his lips – lips I really wanted to be kissing right now. Only a huge amount of self-control, and the knowledge that time was ticking away for Mirri, stopped me from doing so. That, and the fact that one kiss was never going to be enough.

“I had to be with you, follow you, twenty-four hours a day, and yet every rule said I could not touch you. Not in the way I wanted.” His energy began to surge around us. “Holding you like this stopped me going crazy, without breaking the rules.”

Which he ended up breaking anyway. Not that I was complaining. “No wonder you were so against me becoming Aedh. It wasn’t concern for my strength at all.”

“It certainly was,” he refuted, voice offended but his smile growing. “It just wasn’t the
entire
reason.”

I laughed just as he swept us into energy. But the sound quickly died as we reappeared in Lauren Macintyre’s pristine white living room.

Because I found myself staring directly into a pair of bloodshot blue eyes.

And they
didn’t
belong to anything human.

Chapter 6

Demon, I thought, then found myself thrown out of the way. I hit the polished floorboards with a grunt, but rolled back to my feet and drew Amaya.