Darkness Hunts (DA 4) (34 page)

God, this situation was getting worse and worse.

“How do you know about him? Few can see him.”

“He did do a good job of concealing himself, but the astral plane is
my
world, not his, and there are few there who can hide themselves from me.”

Markel
. He was talking about
Markel
, not Azriel. Thank
god
.

“What does it matter who I have following me around? This is between you and me.”

“Oh, the end battle will be, for sure, but that does not dampen my wish to see just what your guardian can do.”

Markel couldn’t do half of what Azriel could, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous. Not that Markel would actually be getting involved—not unless it was absolutely necessary. Especially when Azriel could project any human form he desired.

“So,” I said in a flat voice, “you wish to challenge us. How do you plan to do that
this
time?”

“Oh, the game hasn’t changed; the stakes are just a little higher.”

The stakes being Rhoan’s life. I closed my eyes again and tried to control the rush of panic. I could do this. I
had
to do this.

“Just tell me what you want me to do.”

“This time it is easy. I give you an address; you and your guardian go to it.”

“And?” I asked, when he didn’t go on.

“Inside, you will find Rhoan Jenson. You will lie down beside him and take astral form. From that point on, you and I will begin a battle from which only one will return.”

It was too simple, too easy. For a man who claimed to love his games, there
had
to be more than this. My grip on the phone had become so tight my hand was beginning to ache. I flipped it over to my left hand, then flexed my fingers. It helped with the ache, but not the overall tension.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“I’m shocked that you don’t trust me, huntress.”

I very much doubted it. “If that’s all you want me to do, why do you want my guardian along?”

“Well, there
are
one or two things I forgot to mention.” His voice was still jovial, but this time it held a darker edge that had horror crawling down my spine. “The first being the fact that your uncle has been injected with hemlock. So far, it has done little more than rob him of speech and movement. However, the suppression of movement will soon spread to his respiratory function, and death will result.”

Oh fuck, oh fuck
. I gulped down air and tried to keep calm. But my heart was racing and there was sweat dribbling down my spine and all I wanted to do was run into the bathroom and throw up. Only sheer force of will—and fear of what might happen to Rhoan—kept me on the spot and on the phone. “That still doesn’t tell me why you want my guardian there.”

“Your guardian is there because you have a choice to make. He can keep your body safe, or he can save Rhoan Jenson. He will not be able to do both.”

“Why not?”

“Because if you wish your uncle to live, he has to be taken to hospital. But doing so will leave your physical form unprotected.”

Trepidation crawled across my skin, but I had no intention of worrying about what he’d planned in the event I was left unprotected. I wouldn’t be, as simple as that, even if it meant calling in not only Markel but the whole damn Directorate.

“And do not think to call in aid from the Directorate,” Taylor said, seemingly reading my thoughts. “Because the place you walk into has been wired with explosives. The minute my people see anything out of the ordinary, they will detonate. And that, dear huntress, would be an inglorious end for one such as you.”

And it sure as hell wasn’t the way I wanted to go, either. I shivered, feeling colder and more helpless than I ever had before.

He does not know about me,
Azriel said, his words warm and comforting as they whispered into my mind,
and he will not know I am there unless someone attempts to harm you
.

But it means we have no choice but to involve Markel.

I do not think he will mind.

Maybe not, but his boss might.
Hunter had put him on watch duty, and she was the sort to expect exact compliance with her orders.

But she does not want you harmed, unless she is the one doing the harming. She will allow this
.

I guess
. But it meant Markel was yet another person being drawn into the web slowly closing around me. And while he might be an elite killer for the high council, that didn’t mean I wanted his death on my conscience any more than I wanted Rhoan’s on it.

“That isn’t really much of a test for my guardian, Taylor. It’s a choice for me, not him.”

“True. But you will not choose death, huntress, and we both know it. Therefore, your guardian will remain and he will be tested.”

And things would attack. Undoubtedly nasty things. While I had no doubt Azriel would cope, that didn’t make me feel any better. I rubbed my forehead wearily, then said, “How do I know you won’t explode the place when I win?”

“You don’t,” he said. “That’s all part of the game.”

Some fucking game. “What address do I have to go to?”

“Ah, so eager to begin. The address will be sent to you, huntress. And do not bother to trace the phone, because it will not be anywhere near my person by the time you find it.”

“Fine. See you shortly, then.”

“I look forward to it.”

He hung up. I did the same, then threw the phone at the nearest wall. It hit with a satisfying thud, then clattered to the floor. It didn’t make me feel any better.

“That,” Azriel said calmly, “probably wasn’t wise given that you need the phone to receive the address.”

“I know. But I doubt I did any real damage—the cover is thick enough to protect it.”

As if to prove my point, the damn phone rang. This time I didn’t recognize the tone, so it wasn’t a call from anyone in my contacts list.

I climbed to my feet and walked over to retrieve the stupid thing. “Risa Jones.”

“Risa, it’s Jack from the Directorate,” he said, voice brusque. “I’m afraid there’s been a—”

“I know,” I interrupted. “I just got a call from our favorite psycho.”

“Rhoan’s still alive?”

“For now. I’m just waiting for his location to be sent to me.”

“Good.” There was relief in his gravelly tones. “We need to get you here—”

“No,” I interrupted again. “He wants a showdown on the astral plane—just him and me. And if you or anyone else gets involved, he’s going to blow our bodies to kingdom come.”

“He won’t even fucking see us coming, let alone get the chance to blow you both up.”

“Bright is an IT specialist. They’ll be watching from a distance, and they’ll detonate the same way.”

Jack was silent for a moment, then said, “Fine. We’ll play it his way, at least for the moment. The minute you get a location, you contact me. We’ll start scanning the area for rogue frequencies and start blocking. Once we have the place locked down, we can storm his location and kill the bastard.” He paused. “You’ll be all right until then, won’t you?”

“Yes.” I had to be. There was no other choice except death, and I wasn’t going
there
willingly. “But I very much doubt Taylor is going to be in the same location as me and Rhoan. He’s not that stupid.”

“Oh, I know that. But I doubt he’ll be far away from either the location or his lieutenant. He’d want the pleasure of watching Rhoan burn after the fight he undoubtedly thinks he’ll win.”

And Taylor wasn’t the only one who thought that the odds were on his side. As another bout of foreboding shivered down my spine, the phone indicated an incoming text. “Hang on, Jack—I think he just contacted me.”

I switched screens. It was the address from Taylor. “Okay,” I said, switching back to Jack. “His address is Twenty Keeshan Court, Altona.”

“We’ll begin the scanning process immediately. Take your time getting there, because the more time we have, the better it will be for you.” He paused, then added, “And be careful.”

“I will be.” Whether it would be enough was another matter entirely. “What about Aunt Riley? Shouldn’t she be involved? Or at least informed?”

“Riley contacted me a few minutes ago. I’ve told her the situation is in hand.”

I snorted softly. “I can imagine what she said to
that
.”

“Yeah, she may be older, but she certainly hasn’t mellowed.” His tone was wry. “Avoid contact with her. I can’t stop her from searching for her brother, but we need to get this done before she finds him. There’s already been enough people hurt today. I do not want her on the list as well.”

God, I hadn’t even given a
thought
to the men and women who would have been with Rhoan in that house. “I hope there weren’t any deaths.”

“Two, I’m afraid. We didn’t get them to the hospital in time. It’s only thanks to the comlinks that we knew they were in trouble.”

The comlinks were small disks inserted into the earlobes of all guardians, and they worked in a similar fashion to the earrings I wore—only the comlinks had a “panic” button that sent out a distress signal when things went bad. “Have an ambulance waiting nearby. If I can get Rhoan out before I step onto the astral plane, I will.”

“Do not jeopardize your life to save his,” Jack warned. “Rhoan would not appreciate it.”

No, he wouldn’t, even though he’d do exactly the same for me. I hung up, only to have the phone ring yet again. I glanced at it, but the number was blocked. Trepidation surged anew, but I hit the
ANSWER
button and said, “Hello?”

“Risa, it’s Markel. I overheard your conversation with Taylor from the astral field and have returned to flesh. I will be able to meet you at the location Taylor gave you.”

“You’ve cleared it with Hunter?”

“Yes. Neither she nor the council currently has any desire to lose your services, so I am to do whatever needs to be done.”

Considering he was a Cazador and could basically do anything he
liked
to get the job done, that was a pretty chilling statement. “The only thing I need you to do is to get Rhoan out of there.”

“I’m sure that is not what Hunter—”

“In this case, I don’t
care
what Hunter wants.”

He hesitated, then said, in a distinctly cooler voice, “If that is your wish.”

“It is.”

“I shall be there in fifteen minutes.”

“See you then.”

I hung up a second time, then met Azriel’s steady gaze. “I have a really bad feeling about all this.”

He half raised a hand, but let it drop before he ever touched me. And at that particular moment, I almost hated him. I certainly hated the reasons he was distancing himself almost as much as I hated the madman I’d soon have to face. Right now, I
didn’t
want distance and I certainly didn’t care that those reasons made perfect sense. I just wanted the comfort of his arms wrapped around me, the heat of his body pressed against mine, the tease of his lips against my ear as he whispered everything was going to be all right.

Even if we both knew it was a lie.

Something flicked in his eyes, but he didn’t move or otherwise react. “You are not unprotected on the plane, Risa. You have Amaya, and she will do all she can to keep you safe. As I will.”

“I know. It’s just that—” I hesitated, and rubbed my arms. “He’s not sane, Azriel. He’ll do the unexpected.”

“Undoubtedly.” He hesitated, and a flash of frustration ran across his otherwise impassive expression. “I wish I could do more, Risa. I really do.”

My gaze searched his for a moment, and I suddenly realized he wasn’t talking about fighting, but rather the desire to comfort me as I longed to be comforted. I clenched my fists against the increasingly familiar urge to rant and scream in the face of the unfairness of it all. There was no point in saying anything, let alone ranting. We’d hashed this all out a hundred times and there was nothing more to be said unless he changed his mind. And I couldn’t see that happening anytime soon.

“You’d better remain invisible until we get the lay of the house,” I said, somehow keeping my voice even. “I don’t want Taylor setting off a damn bomb because he spots you.”

“He will not.”

I thrust a somewhat shaky hand through my hair, then said, “I guess I’d better take the car. I don’t think it would be wise to let Taylor know I’m something more than a werewolf.”

“I agree,” Azriel said. “And him not knowing might also give you the advantage—especially if you travel near the umbra.”

The umbra was the area where the real world and the gray fields merged, but I couldn’t see how that actually became an advantage.

“The Dušan,” he said. “She can take full form in the umbra.”

“Then all I have to do is get the bastard there and let her loose.” But how did I do that? How would I even know when I was getting close to it?

“The plane works in much the same way as your atmosphere,” Azriel said. “The closer you get to the umbra, the thinner or more distant this reality will be.”

I frowned. “So all I have to do is imagine myself flying up toward it?”

“It is not that simple. Nor would Taylor allow it to be even if it was.”

“Then how the
hell
do I reach it?” Frustration, and perhaps more than a little panic, edged my voice. I didn’t want to do this, even if I would never be entirely alone on the astral plane.

“The plane is separated from the gray fields by a series of—” He hesitated. “Layers, I suppose they can be called. The umbra is the fourth and last of these layers. Most astral travelers are only able to access the first two. The very seasoned can access the third and see the umbra. Psychics such as your mother and yourself can access the umbra itself and interact with the beings there.”

I frowned. “But I thought you said most psychics only interacted with ghosts.”

“I did. Ghosts inhabit the umbra, which is why even those who astral travel are rarely aware of their presence.”

“So I was in the umbra when I met Taylor the first time?”

“No. You were in the umbra when you talked to Logan, but retreated to the base level when you went to rescue the woman.”