Darkness Hunts(72)

And while part of me did want him to lose that particular battle, I knew in the long run it wasn’t for the best. Whatever my fate might be, whatever my future might entail, it wouldn’t involve Azriel. It couldn’t. He was reaper, I was a half-breed werewolf-Aedh. We were two very different species physiologically, if not emotionally.

Even if, right at this point in time, what we both secretly hungered for was exactly the same thing.

“This place might be secure,” Tao said, dragging me out of my thoughts, “but if this guy is as bad as you say, then we must go somewhere he doesn’t know about. Stane’s.”

I frowned. “But I don’t want to drag Stane into danger—”

Tao cut me off with a snort. “Oh, trust me, Stane is more than able to take care of himself. Besides, his place is almost as well protected as this apartment, especially with the wards Ilianna gave him still online.”

I had forgotten about those, though I doubted that even wards designed to keep demons out would deter astral travelers. “But that doesn’t mean we should risk—”

Tao touched a finger to my lips. “No arguments. I was going to Stane’s for the night, anyway, as it’s game night and we’ve planned to shoot the shit out of people online. So, get ready while I go ring Ilianna.”

He walked out. I gave in to the inevitable and went to have my shower, lingering long enough to get prune skin. Once dressed, I packed several days’ worth of clothing and other necessities, then slung the bag over my shoulder and headed out.

“Ilianna’s going to stay at Mirri’s. She’s not happy about it, though.”

Mirri lived in an apartment building in Carlton, and while it was well enough protected magically, there were apartments both above and below Mirri’s and they weren’t well soundproofed. Ilianna hated the sensation of so many people surrounding her, as well as the fact that you could hear every little movement in the other apartments.

“I’ll ply her with her favorite ice cream when we all return home,” I said. “That’ll ease the grumpiness.”

“You’d better make it a couple of tubs, then.” He ushered me out, then set all the various locks and alarms. “Oh, and she said to tell you that the Brindle witches haven’t noticed any unusual activity along the ley lines, which means the magic is being contained.”

“Did she say if they were going to follow up the possibility of containment?”

“No.” He opened the car door and ushered me in. “But you’d think they would. I mean, they wouldn’t want anyone controlling that sort of magic, would they?”

“I wouldn’t think so.” But then, when it came to the Brindle witches, who really knew what they would or wouldn’t want? Certainly some of their actions so far had surprised the hell out of me.

Stane greeted us with a cheerful hello and several boxes of pizza. He kissed my cheeks, then waved his free hand toward his bedroom. “It’s all yours. I’ve even changed the sheets.”

“You didn’t have to do that. I mean, you don’t use the thing, do you?”

He grinned. “I do tend to sleep on one of the couches, granted, but that doesn’t mean the sheets were clean. I don’t dust and it was thick on the bed.”

I laughed, then rose on my toes and kissed his cheeks. “Thank you. And enjoy your pizza and online destruction.”

“What, you’re not going to join us?”

I shook my head. “Right now, all I really want is to sleep.”

“We’ll try to keep the noise down.” Tao squeezed my arm gently, his touch light but comforting. “Yell if you need anything.”

“I will. And thanks.”

I turned and walked into Stane’s bedroom. It was very much like the rest of his apartment—filled with all the latest gadgets, and there was little in the way of dust, despite his claim to the contrary. Which wasn’t really surprising—dust could ruin the innards of expensive gadgets, after all, and there were lots of them up here.

I closed the door, shed my clothes, then tucked Amaya under the pillow and climbed into bed. It was big and warm and comfortable, and I was asleep in no time.

The sensation of movement woke me. For a couple of minutes I did nothing more than lie there, dizzy, confused, and feeling oddly transparent. Like my body had somehow disappeared and I was nothing more than particles drifting in the air. When I tried to wake, tried to move, I couldn’t do either. But as panic surged, the movement stopped, and suddenly I was full-bodied and fully aware.

I wasn’t in Stane’s bed.

Not unless it had suddenly turned to cold stone.