Shadow's End (23 page)

There was another couple present, which came as a surprise to Graydon. Bel responded to a flurry of greetings as
Graydon frowned at the new, unexpected pair. A human woman sat at the other end of the couch. She was young, with pretty features and strawberry blond hair.

Graydon recognized her easily. She was Grace Andreas, the most recent in a long line of Oracles that led back to ancient Greece. Standing beside her, arms crossed, stood a tall, imperious-looking Djinn male with raven hair, white skin and diamondlike eyes.

He was Grace's lover Khalil, a second-generation Djinn. Graydon's mind clicked through a mental Rolodex, until he had placed the Djinn's connections. The most important one stood out. Khalil's father was Soren, the head of the Elder tribunal.

Rune had followed the direction of his gaze and said telepathically,
You do know they work for us too, right?

I know,
Graydon said. He didn't like any surprises at this late point in the game.
I just wasn't expecting them.

Trust me,
Rune told him.
Khalil has valuable experience to bring to the discussion. And both Khalil and Grace are every bit as reliable as Claudia and Luis.

Graydon relaxed slightly. He had known Rune for as long as he had known any of the other sentinels. Rune had been Dragos's First sentinel for centuries, before he met and mated with Carling. Graydon did trust the other gryphon—with his life, if necessary.

With several people's lives, if it came to that.

Claudia nudged Luis, who rose to step into the kitchenette. Returning, he carried two dining chairs, which he placed opposite the couch. Murmuring a thanks, Bel sat.

Choosing to stand, Graydon reached for one of the Diet Cokes and popped the tab. He had a feeling the caffeine would come in handy.

“I guess that's everybody,” he said. “Thanks for coming.”

By the window, Constantine stirred. “Now that we're all here, why don't you tell us what the hell is going on?”

Graydon took a deep pull from his Diet Coke before he answered. “Some of you already know, or at least, I'm pretty
sure you must suspect,” he said. “We're here to discuss how to kill a Djinn.”

The atmosphere in the room shifted, as if everyone had drawn in a collective breath.

“No shit?” said Constantine. The other sentinel coughed out a laugh. “Now things have gotten really fucking interesting.”

FOURTEEN

K
halil spoke. His voice was deep and pure, like a bell. “I want to be clear from the beginning about Grace's and my involvement. We might attend this discussion, but I will not take part in a war against another Djinn again. Small children rely on me. Grace relies on me.”

Grace turned to look up at Khalil, and the expression of love on her face turned her into a luminous beauty. Khalil rested a large hand on her slim, tanned shoulder.

Out of the corner of Graydon's eye, he noticed Constantine turning thoughtful. While Khalil held his Power in tight control, it was still evident in the nearly invisible shimmer surrounding his physical form that he held a great deal of it. If Khalil wouldn't participate in any action against Malphas, it underscored just how dangerous an undertaking killing the Djinn was going to be.

“Khalil brings up a good point,” Graydon said, as he met the gaze of each person in the room. “Just because you're here right now in this room doesn't mean you've committed to doing anything—and going against this particular Djinn will be hard. He's a first-generation pariah.” He paused a
moment to let that sink in. “We have a lot of information to share. If anybody needs to see documentation, we've got it. Just remember, this is only a discussion, okay?”

“Let's hear what you've got,” Julian said. He looked sharp and totally engaged. At his feet, Melly nodded to herself. Shifting, she reached up and back, and laced the fingers of one hand with his.

Graydon didn't have to overhear any telepathic conversation they may have had. Her body language said it all—whatever Julian might choose to do, she would support him.

Graydon started talking. He used the kind of format that sentinels used in meetings.

Subject: Malphas, first generation pariah Djinn.

Issue: Trafficking and enslavement. Collusion, fraud. Suspected murder. Documented crimes against the Elder Races, along with crimes against humanity.

Danger level: Extreme.

After he had summarized, the silence in the room was so deep, he could hear each individual's breathing. Then came the questions, and almost everybody had several.

With a nod to Luis and Claudia, Graydon gave the floor over to them, and instead of leading the conversation, he became an observer.

Khalil's expression remained so studiously impassive, Graydon suspected he was cloaking strong emotion. The Djinn's hand never left Grace's shoulder. She had shifted so that she could lean against his hip.

Julian, Melly and Constantine had the most questions, while Rune asked a few and interspersed the conversation with his own observations.

Of the group, Carling and Bel remained silent. The quality of Carling's stillness was entirely different from Khalil's. She was like a river rock that had been worn smooth over time.

Bel's attentiveness showed subtle engagement. The skin around her eyes tightened at some of the information, and her lips compressed, a quiet sign of inner turmoil.

He wanted to reach out and touch her, like so many of the couples who were present did with each other. Instead,
he adopted a pose much like Constantine's, leaning against a wall with arms crossed.

While he maintained a physical distance, he couldn't stop himself from watching her profile. He felt like he could never get enough of simply looking at her and feeling a sense of her presence.

Eventually the questions over the details of the investigation slowed, and that was when the conversation turned challenging.

Graydon asked Carling, “You were a member of the Elder tribunal. What do you think of the case as we've presented it?”

She lifted a shoulder in a liquidly graceful movement. “It's much more solid than many cases the tribunal approves. But the outcome of acting on this one will also be much more costly than many other cases. I believe you'll get approval for taking some kind of action, but what this current tribunal will commit to doing itself is something I'm no longer qualified to answer.”

“Can you take a guess?” he asked.

“At the very least, I would guess you'll get Peacekeeper troops to back up any independent action you may be prepared to take. It's not sufficient, but it may be all they offer, although how they could justify that in light of what transpired with Senator Jackson's son and the current unrest in the human Congress, I don't know. At most . . .” She shook her head and shrugged again. “Personally, I will be very interested to hear what Soren is going to offer.”

Rune looked at Graydon. “I've been meaning to ask, what led you to investigate this?”

Graydon had been expecting that very question. He said simply, “I received an anonymous tip.”

“You've put in a significant investment in time and money over an anonymous tip,” Constantine observed. “Since you've been so careful to keep this separate from the Wyr demesne, I assume you've paid for the whole investigation out of your own pocket.”

Bel's gaze widened and flew to meet his. He could tell by her disturbed expression she hadn't thought of that before.

Small though her reaction had been, the room was full of smart, observant people, and her consternation did not go unnoted.

Constantine's attention fixed on Bel. He said, “I find the compilation of this group fascinating. For example, I know I'm only here because I pestered you until you didn't have any other choice. How did everyone else end up here, and why?”

At that, Rune spoke up. “Graydon came to us originally to have our agency handle the investigation. We put Luis and Claudia on the case, and we wanted to be part of the concluding consultation, which is why we're here. Since we had some idea of what was going on, we brought in Khalil and Grace for their input.”

With that, everyone focused on Julian, Melly and Bel.

Melly said simply, “I'm here because Julian is. I had no idea any of this was going on.”

“I'm not going to lie, Graydon knew I'd have a dog in this fight,” said Julian. “Earlier in the year, I helped block Malphas from harming someone in my demesne. Since then, he has nurtured a grudge. He helped to trap me when Justine kidnapped Melly.”

Rune looked at Graydon. “Sounds like you can add another count of collusion to that list.”

Julian nodded and continued. “I have every reason to believe he would act with malice again, if an opportunity presented itself.” He cupped Melly's shoulders. “I won't have him coming after me, or anyone else I care about. I want him dead, and I'm willing to help do whatever it takes to make it happen.”

Carling turned to Beluviel. “And you, Bel? What brings you here?”

Bel replied readily enough. “I am interested in the outcome of this conversation.”

Julian shifted, an uncharacteristic sign of restlessness from a Vampyre. From his position by the window, Constantine's eyes narrowed, and Graydon knew Bel wasn't going to get away with that nonanswer.

“Why is that, and how did you learn of it?” Carling pressed. “Has Malphas harmed you in some way?”

Bel met Graydon's gaze. She gave him a small, sober smile and said nothing.

She was experienced at diplomacy. She could have replied in any number of ways to continue deflecting Carling's questions, but as Bel had said earlier, silence can be its own answer.

As everyone waited for her to respond, the natural pause in the conversation grew prolonged. On the couch, Grace shifted, looking unsettled. Both Rune and Constantine leaned forward, their predatory instincts engaged.

“Graydon, you've spearheaded this whole thing,” Rune said, turning to him. “Why did you invite Bel?”

Graydon returned Bel's smile and said nothing.

Remain steady. Hold the course.

After all this time, don't falter now.

Constantine remarked, “It appears that either they can't answer, or they won't.” Telepathically, he asked Graydon,
Is she here because of something that happened when we were in London?

Graydon glanced at Constantine, but he didn't answer.

Daaaamn,
Constantine whispered.
Whatever it is, you and she have been carrying that around for a hell of a long time.

Julian said, “Graydon, what you've told us is very detailed, but it's quite clear you're not giving us all the information. You want to kill Malphas, and you've presented an excellent case for doing so, but why do
you
want to kill him?”

No answer.

Rune had tensed. He asked, “Gray, are you able to fulfill your duties as First sentinel?”

That was one of the right questions to ask. Without hesitation, Graydon said, “Absolutely, I can do the job.”

“Truth,” Carling said. She put an arm around Rune's shoulders, and he relaxed against her. “At least as far as I can tell.”

“So you are not personally being controlled by Malphas,” Rune persisted.

“No,” he replied. “I am not.”

“That's not quite true, though, is it?” said Constantine. “Your behavior right now is constricted by something.”

For the first time, Grace spoke up, her quiet voice hesitant. “I see connections, you know.”

The focus of the whole room snapped to her, and her demeanor turned self-conscious. Rune suggested, “Why don't you explain what you mean by that?”

“My Power as Oracle has become attuned to the Djinn, for a number of reasons,” she offered. “I've discovered a way to help injured Djinn heal, and I can see the connections they make, with each other and with other races. Most of the time, I don't pay attention, but sometimes they become too obvious to ignore.”

Graydon asked, “Can you remove connections?”

At Grace's side, Khalil's eyebrows rose, and the expression in his diamondlike eyes grew piercing and fierce. “Connections are made when Djinn strike bargains. You did not just ask my Gracie to break Djinn law, did you?”

“I didn't ask her to break any laws,” said Graydon, keeping his reply mild and nonthreatening. “I just asked if she could. There's a difference.”

“I don't know,” Grace told him. “I might be able to, but I couldn't swear to it. I don't think I could do it without alerting the Djinn who made the connection to begin with, so I guess it would be a pretty useless thing to try.”

“It could be hugely important, if you could break the bond Malphas has put on the souls of his victims,” Graydon said. His mind raced to the possible implications. Planning an attack on Malphas would be much simpler if they could free Ferion first.

The Oracle shook her head quickly, dampening his newfound hope. “That kind of bond sounds much more dangerous. I'd be afraid to try anything. For one thing, nobody knows how the victims would respond. If the bond is parasitical in nature, removing it the wrong way could kill them,
and I'd be worried that anything I might try would alert Malphas.”

Carling asked, “Could you identify someone who has one of those bonds?”

Grace lifted her shoulders. “I don't know. I've never seen anything like it before. I guess, maybe?”

“Why don't you have a look at each one of us?” suggested Carling. “Tell us if you think anyone here has a lien on their soul.”

Instantly, Khalil's physical form melted. He flowed over Grace, covering her body completely.

Grace's voice came from the shadowy cloak, sounding slightly distorted. “Now look what you made him do. Khalil, get off me.”

“Gracie, there are dangerous people here,” Khalil said. “What if someone does carry a soul bond? You might trigger a violent response. While you may carry the Power of the Oracle, you are also quite human and fragile. And too precious to lose.”

“Why did you ask her to check everyone?” Julian asked Carling, his eyes narrowed.

“Just humor me,” Carling said. “Graydon and Bel aren't answering certain questions, so some influence is at work on them. I'd like to know for sure the room is clear of that particular taint. Khalil, let Grace work.”