I am not the oldest vampire currently living, but I am old enough to remember a time when the gods—and maenads—were more prevalent than they are today, Stanford said. And I am not the only one. More important, those others also remember how to counter them.
Then I’m surprised Hunter hasn’t tracked them all down and killed them. If Stanford knew of their existence, Hunter surely did as well.
She can’t, because they already are dead, Stanford said. But, as you are no doubt aware, not all souls move on. Some stay because they have no choice, but others remain because they know their task on this earth has not yet finished.
I raised an eyebrow. Meaning your source is a ghost who’s hanging about waiting for the chance to off Hunter?
Basically put, but yes. Amusement briefly lit his eerie eyes, but it just as swiftly disappeared. It gives us—and you—a small but important advantage.
It gives me nothing, I shot back. Because I’m not going to help you kill Hunter. Not unless I have absolutely no other choice.
It will come to that point, Markel said softly. You are walking a knife-edge with her now. In the end, she will leave you no other option but to act.
Perhaps, I said, still desperately trying to ignore both the bitter taste of bile and the knowledge that he was right. But, for now, there’s wiggle room.
Those you care about cannot remain hidden and safe forever. They all have lives, and people who depend on them, Stanford growled. It is always better to be on the offensive rather than the defensive.
Better for whom? I said. Not for me. Not at this particular moment in time.
You now have less than twenty hours to find that key, Markel said. What do you think will happen when you don’t hand it over?
That is something I’m actively avoiding thinking about.
Then you are a fool. Stanford thrust a hand through his hair, an action that was violent, frustrated, and had the ether around us spinning away in agitation.
Markel stepped forward and caught my hands in his. His fingers were cool in this place, ghostly, and yet a sense of strength and calm seemed to flow from his touch. It eased the sick sensation of fear but didn’t do a whole lot against the certainty that the confrontation that scared the hell out of me—the very one they wanted—was steamrolling toward me, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it.
I understand your desire to avoid any sort of battle with Hunter, Markel said. Once, I would have done the same. But it cost me all that I held dear, and it will cost you as well if you are not prepared.
My gaze searched his. I saw no lies in the brown depths, only a sorrow deeper than anything I could imagine. I may have lost both my mother and a former lover, but he’d lost a whole lot more than that. Curiosity stirred, but this was neither the time nor the place.
But he was right. Besides, it cost nothing to be prepared. Cost nothing for them to be prepared.
Okay, I said, gently pulling my hands from his. Whatever it is you need to do to nullify Hunter, do it. I’m not guaranteeing I’ll help. Not yet. But if I feel her web closing in any tighter, I’ll need you to be ready.
Markel smiled, though it was still tinged with that haunting sadness. As the saying goes, it is always better to step into a battle fully armed than not.
I snorted softly. And sometimes it is better still not to step into battle at all.
With that I can only agree, Markel said. But I fear fate will give us little other choice.
From what I’ve seen, she rarely does. I studied the two of them for a moment, then added, Is that it?
For now, yes, Stanford said. But be wary of Hunter. She may have given you twenty-four hours to find the key, but there is no guarantee she will actually allow you to take the entirety of that time.
She can’t have what I haven’t got, and she can’t kill me until I’ve got it. And if I repeated that often enough, I might just believe it.
I gave them a nod good-bye, then imagined myself back in my body and got the hell out of there. I didn’t immediately move, however. I just lay on the sofa for several minutes, drawing in air and trying to ease the queasiness still threatening to jump up my throat.
“Here,” Azriel said softly. “Drink this.”
I opened one eye and discovered a can of Coke hovering a few inches from my nose. For normal people, Coke would probably be the very worst thing they could drink to ease a less-than-stable stomach, but I’d grown up on the stuff, and it pretty much ran through my veins.
“Thanks.” I plucked the can from his grasp, then sat up. After consuming several mouthfuls of the brown fizz, I silently filled him in, then added, He’s going to contact a ghost who apparently knows how to stop a maenad. Just in case we need to.
As I believe you said, it never hurts to be prepared. He squatted next to the sofa and brushed some hair away from my cheek. His caress was warm against my skin, and all I wanted was to be taken into his arms and have his heat and strength and love wrapped around me. But that wasn’t a desire I could indulge in right now.
“Perhaps later,” he said, voice wistful. “When we do have the time.”