Darkness Hunts (Dark Angels 4)

“Your father cares as much for the human part of your nature as any Aedh ever does. As long as that is retained—however minor it might be—he will not notice the change.” The tone was still smug, and yet oddly kind. Like a parent talking to an obtuse child.

I guess if she intended to weave her DNA through mine she technically could be considered a parent.

“But he can read my thoughts as easily as you lot. It’s illogical to think he won’t know.”

“Which is why you will not remember exactly what we have done,” she replied. “In fact, we bet your life on this.”

Fuck, they were going to alter my memories. Then the rest of her words sank in and my gut began to churn even harder. “What do you mean, you’re betting my life on it?”

“Hieu will not risk our regaining control of the keys, so if he does notice the insertion, he will kill you.”

Maybe. Maybe not. After all, my father seemed overly determined to get the keys for his own nefarious reasons, and I was his only way of doing that when he had no physical form here on earth.

But then, what did I really know about the man who was my parent? He’d been one of the Raziq, had worked with them to create the keys. They surely had more of an insight to his character than I did.

“How will this insertion help you capture my father?”

“As you have noted, your father has always been one step ahead of us. Now that he knows of the device, he will work on a way to mute it.”

“Yes. And?”

“By threading my DNA through your lesser being, I will be aware of your movements, no matter where you are. If the device within your heart becomes subdued, I will still be able to find you.”

I stared at the energy of the Raziq, and felt ice crawl through me. There was more to this than that. It would do more than that.

“If the keys were so damn important, how the hell did you lose them in the first place?”

“We did not expect treachery.”

I snorted. “More the fool you, then. Treachery comes with any attempt at power.”

“The keys were meant to end our servitude to the portals by closing them permanently. They were not a means of power.”

The person who had control of the keys had control over the gates to heaven and hell—how could that not be considered a means of power? Hell, maybe that was the real reason Hunter wanted the keys. It wasn’t about the high council using hell as their own private prison—a stupid idea if ever I’d heard one—but rather yet another means of Hunter solidifying her power base.

“Can I remind you that it’s the reapers who have been guarding the gates? The priests who were actually supposed to guard them died out long ago.” Or rather, had died out or become Raziq.>“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.

No, no, no! It can’t be happening again. They can’t have taken me again.

I opened my eyes. Realized my fears were all too real.

They had taken me.

The last time I’d been in this place the heavy blanket of darkness had been lifted only by Amaya’s lilac flames. This time there were torches on the wall. Why they were there I had no idea, but they sputtered and spat and threw an angry light, as if they had no desire to be in this place.

It was a desire I fully understood.

Because this was the place where the Raziq had torn my molecules apart to place the tracker in my heart.