“So I slice myself, then stab her,” I said, trying not to ignore the fear that rose at the mere thought of having to get that close to the mad bitch. “The trouble is, she’s unlikely to let me enter the building with any sort of weapon.”
Which may apply to our swords, as well, Azriel said. She will be aware of their capabilities.
“That, I’m afraid, is a problem you will have to sort out,” Stanford said. “I have provided the means with which you can nullify her power, as promised, and I will take out whatever force she has protecting the building. But until you sever her connection to her god, I can do nothing more.”
“Why not?” I stared at him, looking for fear and, unsurprisingly, finding nothing. If he wasn’t afraid of Hunter, why would he not openly confront her?
“Because many others in recent times have tried to take her out and failed. I will not waste my life, or the lives of others, on a battle that will ultimately prove fruitless.” His expression was grim but determined. “Sometimes what is needed to take out a being with godly powers is another being with such powers.”
“But I’m not—”
“Human,” Stanford cut in. “You never have been; now you are even less so. And you have weapons at your disposal that we here on Earth can only dream of.”
He glanced at Azriel as he said that. And yet I knew, as Azriel knew, that this battle was always destined to be between me and Hunter. That he, in the end, could not and would not deal the final blow.
All we had to do was somehow survive to get to that point.
I took a deep breath and released it slowly. As usual, it didn’t do a whole lot to ease the tension in me. I held out a hand. “I guess you’d better give me the knife, then.”
He held it out, haft first. The minute my fingers touched it, the Dušan reacted, swirling down my fingers, then wrapping her entire body around the small blade. Stanford released it immediately and watched, expression closed, as the Dušan retreated to my flesh and once again became little more than a tattoo on my arm—only this time it was one that was entwined around an ancient-looking knife.
I guess that was one way to solve the problem of getting additional weaponry into whatever location Hunter chose. I doubted she’d paid all that much attention to my tattoos, especially given that I now had a number of them thanks to the Dušan.
“I would suggest you ring Hunter as soon as you can,” Stanford said. “But you cannot do so from this place, in case she has the call traced. And if you wish to remain free, I would not return to your café, either, as she undoubtedly has the place watched.”
I nodded and glanced at Azriel. “What about Aunt Riley’s place? It’s well enough protected and not an obvious place for us to be.”
He nodded and held out his hand. As I placed mine in his, I glanced back at Stanford. “You had better hold up your end of the deal, or there will be hell to pay.”
He placed a hand on his heart. “I vow on the life of my creator, I will do all that I promised—and more if possible—to help you in this quest.”
I nodded. Three seconds later we were standing in the warm and spacious surrounds that was Aunt Riley’s living area. The phone I’d borrowed from Stane was once again in bits, thanks to the fact that I’d become Aedh without actually thinking about it, so I walked into Rhoan and Liander’s suite of rooms, knowing that the phone lines in there had permanent scramblers on them. It was amazing the things you could learn when you were a nosy kid gifted with the a
bility to become little more than matter. I’m sure I heard more than one state secret over the years, even if I couldn’t remember them.
I hit the Speaker button and started dialing Hunter’s number. But before I could finish, energy surged across my senses.
Something—or someone—was coming into the house.
Azriel and I swung as one, swords raised and spitting fire. Then I realized whose energy it was and lowered Amaya as I walked back into the living room.
But I didn’t relax.
If Uncle Quinn was coming back here, then something had to be wrong. He and Aunt Riley had promised to keep away, to keep safe, and they weren’t people who went back on their word.
They re-formed near the kitchen. Riley immediately swung around, her expression wild, dangerous, and fear filled.
My stomach clenched. There could be only one reason for a reaction as fierce as this from her. Rhoan. Please, god, no . . .
But her very next words confirmed my fears.
“Have you heard from Hunter?”
I shook my head, afraid to speak in case my violently churning stomach took the opportunity to make its presence felt.
“Why?” Azriel’s hand cupped my elbow, as if ready to support me if my knees gave way.
“Because Rhoan’s disappeared. The bitch has him.”