Darkness Unmasked (Dark Angels 5)

I took another sip of beer. It was, despite the grimy air of the place, surprisingly good. A couple walked past me, the man radiating lust and grinning with expectation. The woman’s expression was rather world-weary. Just another mark for her, I thought, as they made their way into the bathroom. I grimaced at the thought. If the bathrooms were as grimy as the rest of this place, it sure as hell wouldn’t have been my first choice for a rendezvous. Even the lane behind this joint would have been cleaner.

Trying to tune their noise out, I said, If she merely wishes to feed her young, why wouldn’t she just snatch someone off the street?

Perhaps she requires more in a victim than just mere flesh and blood. Her male victims were strong psychically, remember. And she consumed them, not her young.

Meaning maybe I should do a quick reconnoiter and see if I can sense any psychically strong targets in the room.

You do not need to subject yourself to the less-than-savory nature of those in the club. His mental tones held a note that I would have sworn was proprietary had it been anyone else. There are four such people in the room.

Who?

As I am not in the room, I cannot say precisely. I merely sense the vibrations of their souls.

Which isn’t much good given the room is packed. Our task would be easier if we knew who to keep an eye on. I downed my drink in several gulps and rose. I’ll take the long way to the bar and see what I can uncover.

If you wish. His tone suggested he didn’t think it was necessary, and I couldn’t help grinning all over again. My reaper might have accused me of being jealous over his flirting with other women on more than one occasion, but it really was beginning to sound like he was suffering from the same affliction. And I couldn’t help but be happy about that, if only because it suggested that I wasn’t imagining the caring I sometimes sensed in him.

Of course, taking the long way to the bar did mean walking past a lot of very merry men, many of whom seemed to think a female rump in close proximity really did need a pinch, if not a good fondle. It irked the hell out of me, but I kept my temper in check and a smile on my face and was rewarded by finding all four psychics. Two had parked themselves at the bar, one was sitting with a dark-haired woman near the front door, and the last one leaned casually against the wall opposite the bar, sipping his beer and idly surveying the crowd.

His gaze met mine briefly, and a frisson of recognition raced through me. Not because I knew him, but because I knew the type.

If he wasn’t Directorate, I’d eat my damn hat. If I’d been wearing a hat, that was.

At least his gaze slid past me and continued on. My inner devil was tempted to go over and chat him up, not only because he was one of the few half-decent-looking guys in the room, but because it would have been interesting to see if I could tease any information out of him.

But we were both here to catch a killer, and that sort of behavior wasn’t something either of us needed. Besides, it wasn’t like I needed another man in my life, however briefly I might flirt with the idea.

I made my way back to my table, but had barely sat down when Azriel said, She’s here.

Where?

Just entering the club via a rear door. He paused. She can sense me.

I swore softly and pushed up from the table so quickly that I half spilled my beer. Meaning she’s running again?

No. I retreated fast, and she remains.

I sighed in relief. Keep your distance, then. With the Directorate here, we can’t do anything until she picks out a victim and leaves with him.

The guardian will follow her, just as we plan to.

Yeah, but we can knock out his car or even him. Though it would undoubtedly be easier to do the former rather than the latter. He might be a shifter rather than a vampire, but he was still a guardian and therefore dangerous.

I sat back down and took a sip of beer. I had only half of it left, but I wasn’t going to walk over to the bar to get another one. Given our target had entered the building, it was better if I remained where I was.

After a few more minutes, a tall, thin man walked onto the stage and lightly tapped the microphone to get everyone’s attention. Unfortunately for him, just about everyone but me ignored him.

“I’m afraid tonight’s entertainment has been canceled. The lively Di Shard called in sick at the last moment, and we weren’t able to get a replacement.”

The news was greeted by general indifference, but it had me frowning. Azriel, has she left again or is she still here?

She’s there. I cannot pinpoint her location precisely because doing so means moving closer and increases the chances of her sensing me again.

So why the hell would the manager announce she was unavailable?

I cannot say.

Neither could I, and it was damn worrying. And it wasn’t like I needed anything else to worry about given the whole key situation and now Ilianna’s disappearance.