“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Don’t fuck me around on this, Risa. I’m warning you.”
“I won’t.”
He hung up and I threw the phone back into my bag for a second time.
What of your astral watchers? Azriel said. If Markel is on duty, you will – most likely – be safe against the possibility of the meeting being reported to Hunter. It is doubtful that the others would be so recalcitrant, given what Markel has said about them. And Hunter’s reaction will be swift and deadly.
I know. Just as I knew that if I wanted to stop my astral watcher from reporting back, there was only one way I was going to do it.
But could I take that step?
Could I take the life of someone who was doing nothing more than their duty?
Soldiers throughout history have lost their lives doing nothing more than their duty, Azriel commented. It is the way of war, be it waged on the fields or here on Earth.
Yeah, but this isn’t a war.
That’s where you’re very wrong. This is a war, and perhaps the only one that has ever mattered. You’re not only fighting for the lives of your friends, but for the souls of mankind and the existence of two – very different – worlds.
I knew all that. But I’d been hoping – perhaps naively – to survive this whole mess with as little blood on my hands as possible. I sighed. Let’s just hope it’s Markel following me, then.
You would need to be sure before you meet your uncle.
Yes. But we have ten minutes. More than enough time to step onto the astral plane.
More than enough time to take a life.
Ignoring the horror that spun through me at the thought, I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. Several seconds later, I stepped onto the astral plane.
It wasn’t Markel who watched me.
This vampire was short and thickset, with steel gray hair, swarthy features, and dead black eyes. His gaze, when it met mine, showed neither interest nor surprise, but rather the natural wariness of a warrior who has seen many battles.
My stomach began to churn. I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to take this vampire’s life and make him a ghost, with no future to look forward to. But I had no choice. I had to protect my friends and family – and Rhoan and Riley were the only family I had left. Hunter wasn’t going to take them from me. I wouldn’t let her.
Amaya, I said, imagining her shadowed in my hand. Get ready. And for god’s sake keep quiet.
Her weight appeared in my hand, but her blade was hidden, at one with the shadows that surrounded us.
If the vampire sensed the surge of energy that had briefly accompanied her shift in position, he showed no sign of it.
He raised his eyebrows. Why do you travel the fields?
I need to question a ghost.
What ghost? Jak? Is that what Rhoan Jenson asked you to do?
So he’d been close enough to hear at least some of our conversation – and it was enough to place Rhoan’s life on the line if it was passed on to Hunter. The churning in my gut got stronger, and I briefly wondered if it were possible to be physically ill on the astral plane.
What other ghost would he be interested in? I said, striding forward. Not directly toward him, but off to one side.
Even so, his stance shifted and his eyes narrowed. He sensed something was off, even if he wasn’t sure what. And does this sudden desire to question a ghost have anything to do with Jenson suspecting Madeline Hunter’s involvement in the death?
Fuck, fuck, fuck! He’d heard entirely too much and I really had no choice now. I didn’t know when Markel was back on watch duty, and I simply couldn’t risk this vampire reporting what he’d heard to Hunter.
My grip tightened on Amaya. Her excitement burned through my mind, thick and hungry. I was almost within killing distance. A few more steps, and his life would be mine. His soul Amaya’s. I wanted to run. Wanted to hide. Wanted to throw up so badly the bitter taste of bile stung the back of my throat.
I did none of those things. Just kept one foot moving in front of the other. I need to find out what Jak might have done to annoy Hunter.