Darkness Unbound (Dark Angels 1)

“The tattoos, no. They’re my tribal signature. The winged dragon is.”

“I wouldn’t have thought a dragon with one and a bit wings would be of any use.” I crossed my arms and rubbed them lightly. The serpentine flesh felt cool under my fingertips, but I could feel the beat of life and power within it. It wasn’t a comforting sensation. Far from it.

This time, the smile escaped. And it was breathtaking. “The creature is fully winged when whole. It saved me recently on the gray fields.”

Surely if my father was behind the creature that had saved Azriel’s life, then that meant he had to be on the side of the angels? Or, in Azriel’s case, on the side of the dark angel? “Why would someone send you a Dušan? How would they even know where to send it? You’re a reaper, for fuck’s sake. You float around saving souls and whatnot.”

“That is not all I do. I have an existence outside my Mijai duties.”

And I was betting his definition of existence was far different from mine. “Which doesn’t answer the question.”

“No. And that is another reason we need to talk to your father.”

“What if you’re wrong? What if he’s not involved in this whole plot?”

“He was once Raziq. He will know of this plot, even if he is not involved.”

I frowned. “Mom mentioned that word. What is it?”

“The Raziq were a minority group of priests dedicated to preventing demons from being summoned, and they believed the only way to do this was to permanently close the portals between this world and the next. They also believed this world would be better for it.”

“Meaning they didn’t care about the whole human-race-becoming-vegetables scenario?”

“No.” He briefly looked surprised. “Why would they? The Aedh are not human—they aren’t even nonhuman as you define the word. Nor are they reborn. They welcome the eternity of their death when it finally comes.”

“But they interact with us. Hell, they beget children on us when they can’t find an Aedh female. Surely there’d be a little self-interest in preserving us?”

“There are enough new souls born in this world to satisfy their need. They would not care about everyone else.”

I stared at him for a moment, wishing I could read him, but in some ways glad I couldn’t. “Would you care?”

One eyebrow rose fractionally. “Of course. It is our duty to guide souls. Without humans—or nonhumans—we have no purpose.”

“And yet you said you have an existence outside of duty.”

“I do. But that doesn’t alter our purpose in life.”

I shook my head. I didn’t understand him at all, but I guess that wasn’t really surprising. He was a reaper. “You said your Dušan saved you—from what? I would have thought the gray fields would be safe for reapers.”

“For those of us who hunt, less so.”

“Meaning the attack happened during a hunt?”

“No. Afterward. Someone tried to destroy me.”

I frowned. “Why would someone want to do that?” How would someone do that?

“I can no more answer that than I can the question of why either of us was sent a Dušan. Now, if that is all—”

He hesitated as my phone rang, a brief expression of displeasure crossing his features.

Though I wondered why, I didn’t bother asking. He wasn’t likely to answer given he wasn’t telling me all he knew about this whole situation.

An intuition as odd as the man himself.

I drew my phone out of my pocket, saw it was Tao, and walked across to the window to answer it. “What’s up?”

“You need to get over to Stane’s right away.”