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"So that's it, then," I said. "Your 'gift.' You see evil. See it, feel it..."
"We learn to control it," Trsiel said. "Focus, so we see only what we need. When you--" He stopped, audibly swallowing his words. "I'm--this isn't--Zadkiel does this--handles the inaugural quests and the new recruits, guides them, teaches them how to use the gift. It's not..."
He sighed and I heard him sink into a chair. When I turned, he was slouched in the white armchair, head resting on the top, gaze fixed on the ceiling.
Surely, if you're as old as Trsiel had to be, you'd have enough experience and enough confidence in yourself to act, if not with perfect results, then at least with perfect resolve. Yet he looked as frustrated as any human thrust into a job he's not qualified for.
I walked to the other chair, and perched on the arm-rest. "What do you normally do, then? Angels, I mean. This--that 'gift'--somehow, I doubt you guys use it to flit about spreading messages of peace and hope."
A slow shake of his head. "That's for the living. Angels aren't evangelists. We're warriors. Instruments of justice."
"Hence the really big swords."
His lips twitched and he rolled his head to the side, his eyes meeting mine. "Yes. Hence the really big swords."
"You see evil because that's what you fight."
"Some of us--only the ascended ones these days. The full-bloods--" He bit the last words off and gave a sharp shake of his head. "Things have changed, and--"
Another sharp shake. He looked away for a moment. Before I could say anything, he continued, "The traditional job of angels, full-blood or ascended, is to enforce certain codes on an individual level. Clearly, as you just said, we don't--can't--stamp out evil in every form. We are given quests, not unlike the one you're on, to bring certain souls to justice."
"Celestial bounty-hunters."
His gaze met mine, eyes sparking in a tiny smile. "Exactly."
Again, an image of Savannah sprang to mind, but this time I left it there. "So...you can affect the living world? Protect people in it?"
"Within limits."
"What limits?"
He shrugged and pushed to his feet. "It's complicated, but you'll get to that when it's time. For now, since we know you can access the gift through me, let's get back to Janah."
11
TRSIEL DID ALL THE TALKING AGAIN. HE TRIED CARRYING on the conversation in English, but it was obvious Janah was more coherent, and comfortable, in her native tongue, so with a quiet apology to me, he switched languages. When they'd finished, he took me back to the white room. He grabbed the second chair and swung it around to face the one he'd been using earlier, then sat on the edge of his and motioned me into the other one.
"You need to find the Nix's last partner," he said.
"Okay. So we talk to the Fates and find out who--"
"While the partner is alive, the Fates don't know who she is."
I sighed. "Of course not. That would be too easy. So somehow I find this latest partner, hope the Nix is still in her--"
"Our chances of finding the Nix while she's still cohabiting are next to nil--by the time the police solve the crime, the Nix is long gone. Yet when she leaves a partner, part of her stays behind, a thread of consciousness. Completely one-way, and completely passive. Her partners can't communicate with her nor she with them. Instead they catch glimpses through her eyes, in sporadic visions."
"So that's why we need this angel gift. Hook up with her last partner and we'll see what the Nix is up to now. This is where my necromancer will come in handy. With her help, I can dig through recent cases of female murderers..." I looked over at Trsiel. "The Fates showed me two past partners. Both serial killers. Both with male partners. Is that the Nix's MO?"
Trsiel frowned.
"Her usual method," I said.
He shook his head and stretched his legs. "Coincidence. But you're on the right track. Two partners, two sets of sensational murders--"
"Headline-grabbers. Nixen, like most demons, get off on chaos. The more chaos, the more payoff. The crimes will be front-page news. So I should look for women accused--" I stopped. "But if they've been accused, they've probably been caught, and this Nix
must have learned a thing or two about hiding her crimes by now."
