Darkness Rising: The Dark Angel Series: Book Two (10 page)

“No, I said I’d consider it,” I flung over my shoulder. “Which I have. Consider the request denied.”

He swore, long and viciously, but I ignored him and walked around to check out my other prisoner. He was also beginning to wake. But I didn’t really have anything to tie him up with, so I did the next best thing—I knocked him out again.

Rhoan appeared ten minutes later, and he wasn’t alone. The man who accompanied him had dark hair and well-defined, handsome features. His eyes were the blue of the ocean, his shoulders broad, and his body lithe. He was also a werewolf. Vamps might not be able to traverse the daylight hours well, but other nasties certainly could, so it was logical for the Directorate to have more than just vamps on their team.

“Ris,” Rhoan said, his gaze sweeping from me to the man at my feet and then back again. Humor glinted in the cool depths of his eyes, but died quickly as his nostrils flared. “You’re hurt.”

I shrugged. “It’s a scratch.”

He eyed me, demeanor disbelieving—undoubtedly because he could smell the blood. “This is Harris. Riley’s threatened me with death if I spend more than an hour away, so Harris will ensure these two are taken back for questioning. And it doesn’t smell like a scratch.”

“Honestly, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

If my reply sounded halfhearted, it was only because I was racking my brains trying to remember where I’d heard Harris’s name before. Then it hit me—Harris was the cop who’d helped Aunt Riley out the time she’d been kidnapped and brainwashed.

The man in question nodded my way, then continued on past us, heading for the other side of the lockers, moving with an economy that spoke of both grace and understated power. As he disappeared around the corner, the shifter’s swearing abruptly ceased.

I glanced at Rhoan. “I asked the other man who his maker was, but he said the information had been burned from his mind. Can you check that out?”

Rhoan nodded. “What did they want?”

“The letter my father left in the locker.”

His gaze narrowed. “Why would your father leave a letter in a locker in the middle of a train station?”

“Because that’s just the way he does things.”

“What does it say?”

I shrugged. “It’s instructions on how to read the Dušan’s book, which is pretty useless given the Aedh have the book, not me.”

He grunted, accepting the half lie.
“That
could be a good thing. If you don’t have the book, you can’t
chase keys. And that means Hunter might just leave you alone.”

Given Hunter was all that stood between me and the high vampire council, I was actually hoping she didn’t. And I had hell’s chance of the Aedh giving up. But I didn’t say that. I simply shrugged.

He eyed me for a moment, obviously suspecting there was a reason behind my silence, but thankfully Harris chose that moment to reappear. He was dragging the second man along behind him by the ethereal webbing.

“A very interesting rope you’ve got here,” he said, his gaze meeting mine. The blue depths were cool and distant—not a man who trusted easily, I thought. “What is it made of?”

“I couldn’t say, because it isn’t my rope.”

He raised a dark eyebrow. “Whose rope is it? And can you remove it?”

“It’s Azriel’s. And yes, he probably can.”

“Who’s Azriel? The cop at the door?” Harris asked.

“That’s no cop,” Rhoan said.
“That
is a reaper.”

“He
is a reaper,” I corrected gently.

Rhoan glanced at me, bemusement crinkling the corners of his eyes, but all he said was, “Can he remove it so that transporting our prisoner is a little easier?”

Even as he made the request, the webbing disintegrated. The shifter groaned when his legs and arms were released, but it was a sound that became another curse as Harris quickly replaced the webbing with cuffs.

“Thanks, Azriel,” Rhoan said, then frowned.
“Have you been the victim of any other recent attacks that you haven’t told us about?”

I shook my head and lied. “This is the first.”

“If there are any more, you
will
tell us, won’t you?”

“Of course.” It would have been stupid to do say anything else.

He relaxed a little, bending to cuff the shifter at my feet before glancing at Harris. “Let me know how the questioning goes.”

Harris nodded, then dragged the second shifter to his feet. He shoved him forward, then looked at me. “You okay there while I get this bit of scum out to the van?”

“Of course.”

“Good. I won’t be long.”

As he headed out, Rhoan kissed my cheek. “Be careful. And if you’re free tomorrow night, come around for dinner. The twins would love to see you.”

“I’ll try, but the café’s fully booked and it could be a long night.”

“I’ll let them know. They might even drop by on the way to the Blue Moon.”

“Tell them drinks are on me if they do.”

Rhoan snorted. “You could regret that.”

I grinned. Ronan—the older of the twins by a mere three minutes—and I had a long history of trying to drink each other under the table. Of course, both of us had nonhuman constitutions, so getting drunk took not only a long time, but a whole lot of patience
and
money.

“Take care of that wound, Ris, or Riley will have my hide.” He touched my shoulder lightly then jogged
out of the room. Harris returned soon after. I watched him drag the second shifter to his feet.

“I don’t suppose you could let me know if you uncover anything about his employer?”

His gaze met mine, blue eyes glinting. “I don’t suppose you’ve double-checked with your uncle first?”

I half smiled. “I don’t suppose I have.”

“Then I’ll give him the information, and you can attempt to get it from him.”

“Fair enough. Have fun with the interrogation.”

“I always do,” he said cheerfully, then swung the panther around and pushed him toward the exit.

Azriel appeared almost immediately. “What does the note actually say?”

“I don’t know.” I pulled it from my pocket and opened it up. I quickly scanned the spidery writing, then read it out loud.
“The Dušan’s book is being held by the Raziq at the underground lair where they interrogated you. At one o’clock tonight, I will arrange a diversion and draw them out. Be there to get the book.”
I snorted softly and looked up at Azriel. “Like it’s going to be that easy.”

“No,” he said, obviously taking my words at face value, “it won’t. Just because the Raziq have gone doesn’t mean there won’t be Razan. And I presume our window for getting in and out will be extremely small.”

More than likely. I glanced down at the note again, then folded it up and shoved it back into my pocket. “I have no idea where the Raziq were holding me, so I hope you can find your way back there.”

“I can.”

I studied him for a moment, then said, “I’m a little
surprised that you haven’t suggested you retrieve it while I remain behind.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And what would that achieve? According to your father, the Raziq have the book veiled, and only one of the blood can see it. I am not of the blood.”

“No, but you’re Mijai, and surely if anyone would be able to see through a veil, it would be you.”

“The veil could be magical rather than connected to the gray fields. And if it is, it would work on me as effectively as on anyone else.”

“Really? You saw the spell on the elevator clearly.”

“That was human magic. The Aedh are more adept at concealing their magic from us.” He shrugged. “We will have little enough time as it is, and attempting to find something that I might or might not be able to see would be foolish.”

Point taken. A glance at my watch revealed it was nearly two thirty. I wasn’t going to make Stane’s this afternoon, given I started work at three.

“Isn’t the nanowire more important at this juncture?” Azriel commented.

“Yes, but I doubt Hunter is going to come waltzing into the restaurant anytime soon. Plus, we’d never get anyone to step in for me this late.”

“Then what time do you finish this evening?”

“Eleven. Or thereabouts, depending on how busy we are. Why?”

“Because while you are working, I will scout out the tunnels the Raziq hide in.”

“Won’t they sense you?”

“Yes, but one of their Razan is allotted to die this evening. I will use that to our advantage.”

Meaning he’d follow him around like a regular reaper until the moment his death occurred. As plans went, it was pretty good. At least we’d know the lay of the land before we went in. “But won’t that piss off whatever reaper has already been assigned the job?”

He frowned.
“Piss off means
‘annoy,’ does it not?” And when I nodded, he continued, “Why would you think it would annoy whoever was his previously allotted guide?”

“Well, you’re usurping his position.”

“That’s not the way it works for us. And this investigation would get priority even if it was.”

“And here I was thinking you were stuck like glue to my ass until everything was done and dusted.”

“Well, at least it
is
a most suitable ass to be following,” he said, and winked out of existence.

Leaving me a little speechless. What sort of compliment was “suitable”? And why the hell was he even noticing my ass anyway? Especially given his stated disinterest in the human race as a whole, and the human body in particular?

I shook my head, beginning to suspect I was never going to understand him. Then I left the locker room and made my way back to my bike, pausing only to place my promised call to Ilianna, assuring her all was okay.

The streets were crowded, so it took me longer than usual to get over to Lygon Street—and of course that meant I was late.

I jogged up the stairs to wash and change, thankful that I’d made a habit of keeping several changes of clothes at work. After grabbing an apron, I pitched in, taking orders, working the till, clearing tables—
basically, just being where I was needed the most. We were busy the entire shift, and my side wasn’t the only thing aching by the time we neared the end. Of course, doing this job in stilettos was never a good idea, but the shoes were new and pretty, and sometimes that won out over sensible.

By the time Ilianna came in for her shift, we’d hit a lull and I was leaning a hip against the bar, one shoe off as I rubbed an aching heel.

“Here,” she said, stopping at the other side of the bar and delving into her bag. “I brought you this.”

She held out a little red bottle, and I grinned. Foot balm. “You’re an angel.”

She smiled. “I prefer goddess. Especially since you already have one angel in your life.”

“A very dark angel.”

“At least he’s cute.”

I raised my eyebrows. “And why are you even noticing something like that?”

“Hey, just because I bat for the other team doesn’t mean I’m incapable of appreciating a good male form. Azriel is all that and more.”

“Yeah,” I said wryly. “The
more
being extremely dangerous, and only here for one reason.”

She shrugged. “Which doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the show while he’s around. Did anything happen that I need to know about?”

It took me a moment to realize she was talking about the café. “Nope. We were running around like mad, though. We might have to think about hiring more people if this keeps up.”

“Can’t be sad about that,” she said, and headed up to the changing room. I rubbed the oil into my poor
feet. And then, feeling decidedly better, I counted the shift’s take. Once I’d taken it up to the safe, I clocked out, changed into jeans, a sexy purple shirt, and more sensible shoes, then headed off.

The night was cool and fresh, and filled with music and the delicious aroma of wolves having fun. I paused on the sidewalk, looking a little wistfully toward the Blue Moon. There was a line out front. Even if I
was
tempted, I wasn’t going to stand there for an hour or so to get in. Not after such a busy shift, and not when I was a member at Franklin’s, which didn’t have Jak Talbott—the wolf who’d used our relationship to get close to Mom and write an in-depth but somewhat fictitious story about her life—as one of their regular clients. Mom had sued the paper and him—and had won an out-of-court settlement as well as a retraction—but some mud always sticks.

I glanced at my watch and cursed softly. Given my one o’clock appointment, I really didn’t have time to go enjoy myself at
any
club. Maybe another night. Of course, it would be better if Lucian got back to Melbourne. Maybe I needed to give him a call, just to remind him what he was missing out on.

The thought brought a smile to my lips. I grabbed my phone and said his name as I made my way around to the secure parking lot the café shared with several other business.

As the old gates screeched open, Lucian came online and a sigh escaped me. If ever there was a man who was perfectly formed in every way imaginable, then he was it. His face was truly beautiful, though he could never be considered effeminate—there was simply too much strength, too much … manliness.
Which was odd, because he wasn’t a man, but an Aedh, an energy being. His hair was golden and his eyes were the most glorious jade green. They were also so full of power that, even through the phone’s screen, it was almost impossible to look at them without flinching.