Darkness Hunts(35)
I’d never actually met him, but I knew him all the same. This was Jack Parnell, senior vice president of the Directorate and the man in charge of the entire guardian division.
He was also Madeline Hunter’s half brother, and that made him very, very dangerous, even if he didn’t look it.
He finally looked up from the com-screen, then leaned back in his chair and studied me. There was little in his expression to give away what he might be thinking, but that was no surprise. He might be a few hundred years younger than his sister—an oddity due to both the long life span of shifters and the fact that they were born at either end of their father’s life—but he was still a vampire and more than a little practiced at controlling himself. I guess with a sister like Hunter, he’d have to be.
“Risa,” he said, his voice gravelly and holding the slightest hint of warmth. “Thank you for coming so promptly.”
“It’s not like I’ve got any other choice, is it?”
“Now that’s the sort of comment Riley would make. You’ve been hanging around her and Rhoan too long.” A half smile teased his lips, but it faded quickly as his gaze ran past me. “And this is your reaper?”
He’s not my anything. He’ll never be my anything. I swallowed the hollow bitterness that accompanied the thought, and simply said, “His name is Azriel.”
Jack raised one eyebrow. “All reapers are called Azriel, are they not?”
“Yes.” Azriel stopped beside me, his energy warm and intoxicating. “And you are well enough aware of the reason why.”
“All names have power,” Jack said. “Is that why Risa has you at her beck and call?”
I opened my mouth to refute the statement, but again Azriel jumped in before me. “You know the reasons I am here. Let us not play these games when life hangs in the balance.”
Again a smile played briefly about Jack’s lips. I glanced questioningly at Azriel, but he merely looked away. Which was frustrating, to say the least.
Rhoan motioned me to sit, then slid a mug of coffee in front of me. “Here’s the deal. Our hunter wants to meet you on the astral field, where he will outline the details of his macabre challenge.”
I wrapped my fingers around the mug, but it didn’t do much to ease the chill from them. “So no one else can be there?”
“No Directorate personnel,” Jack said. “But he did say the follower you had on the plane was permissible, as he would not interfere. We need to know who your follower is, and whether you can trust him.”
Him. Not her, not them. In those bright depths, I saw awareness. He knew who was following me. Knew why.
But was that so very surprising? Hunter might not want the Directorate overall—and Rhoan and Riley in particular—to know about my dealings with her and the vampire council, but Jack was her brother and the vice president of the Directorate. It was doubtful she’d keep too many secrets from him.
Although I had to wonder what he thought of her plans to take over the council.
“My follower is someone who currently means me no harm.” I hesitated, then half shrugged.
Rhoan frowned, his gaze flickering between me and Jack. He knew something was going on. “That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement—who is he?”
“No one important.” I took a sip of coffee, then added, “And we haven’t the time to discuss this if our killer wants to meet me in a few minutes.”
“True.” Rhoan’s gaze went to the woman. “Elga?”
She leaned her arms on the table, her gaze narrowing. “You have not had much experience on the plane, have you?”
A smile twitched my lips. “You can tell this by just looking at me?”
“There is a certain energy that radiates from those who travel frequently. How many times has your spirit walked free?”
“On the astral plane? Once. But I do walk the gray fields.”
“That is something, I suppose.” She pursed her lips and didn’t look happy. “We must go prepare.”
Jack nodded. “Take her. Harris, monitor all incoming energies and let me know the second there’s any spike. Rhoan, you’ve got the sensors ready?”
He nodded and rose. I gulped down my coffee, scalding my throat in the process, then followed suit.
“This way,” Elga murmured, her long skirts swishing as she strode past me.
I followed her out the door and down the corridor. The room she entered was small and dark, and reminded me somewhat of Adeline’s room, without the thick padding underfoot. But the air was ripe with the scents of lavender and chamomile, and there was a comfortable-looking bed stuck in one corner.