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I understood it now.
Understood, and feared it.
I’m not sure how long we stayed like that, but it was certainly long enough that Tao’s legs had to be cramping. He never said anything, just continued to hold me long after the tears had stopped falling. Eventually, I lifted my head from his shoulder and said, “You wouldn’t have a tissue on you, would you?”
“No, but I can produce a handy sleeve.”
He offered me his left arm. I made an odd sound that was caught between a laugh and a sob. “Thanks, but it’s too nice a sweater to ruin with snot.”
“Snot can be washed off.” He gently thumbed away a remaining tear, then placed his hands on my hips and lifted me onto the bed. “Now, do you want to tell me what that was all about?”
“It was this.”
I handed him the letter. He read it quickly, then met my gaze again, his expression curious. “Who is it from? It doesn’t seem the sort of thing the Raziq or your father would send, and they’re the only crazy people currently in your life, aren’t they?”
“Well, there’s Hunter and the vampire council, but this isn’t from them. It’s from someone who brings a very fresh approach to the business of being insane.”
“Well, you do seem to attract them.” Amusement ran through his voice, but there was concern in his eyes.
“Yeah, I do.” I rose, stepped past his legs, and walked around the bed to grab a tissue, blowing my nose before adding, “I met this one on the astral plane. Apparently he’s been killing people and taunting the Directorate for a week, but now he’s decided to turn his attention to me. Why, I have no idea.”
“The insane rarely need a good reason to do anything.” He studied the note for a moment, then threw it on the bed and rose. “Have your shower and then pack. We’re getting out of here.”
“Why? I mean, this place is more secure than just about anywhere.”
But even as I said that, I remembered that this foe could astral-travel and was apparently able to interact with people on both the plane and the real world while in that astral state.
And though we had the latest in security gadgets in our apartment as well as wards designed specifically to keep Aedh out, it wouldn’t keep out a human in astral form.
He knew where I lived.
All he had to do was wait until I was asleep and vulnerable. And because Azriel couldn’t interact with the astral plane, he wouldn’t be able to stop him.
Azriel.
I wanted the comfort of his presence so badly it hurt, and it was rather surprising that he hadn’t appeared, given the stress I’d been under. But then, he was a man fighting for control and warring against need while trying to do the job he’d been sent here to do. And as our all-too-brief kiss had proved, it was a war he was losing.
And while part of me did want him to lose that particular battle, I knew in the long run it wasn’t for the best. Whatever my fate might be, whatever my future might entail, it wouldn’t involve Azriel. It couldn’t. He was reaper, I was a half-breed werewolf-Aedh. We were two very different species physiologically, if not emotionally.
Even if, right at this point in time, what we both secretly hungered for was exactly the same thing.
“This place might be secure,” Tao said, dragging me out of my thoughts, “but if this guy is as bad as you say, then we must go somewhere he doesn’t know about. Stane’s.”
I frowned. “But I don’t want to drag Stane into danger—”
Tao cut me off with a snort. “Oh, trust me, Stane is more than able to take care of himself. Besides, his place is almost as well protected as this apartment, especially with the wards Ilianna gave him still online.”
I had forgotten about those, though I doubted that even wards designed to keep demons out would deter astral travelers. “But that doesn’t mean we should risk—”
Tao touched a finger to my lips. “No arguments. I was going to Stane’s for the night, anyway, as it’s game night and we’ve planned to shoot the shit out of people online. So, get ready while I go ring Ilianna.”
He walked out. I gave in to the inevitable and went to have my shower, lingering long enough to get prune skin. Once dressed, I packed several days’ worth of clothing and other necessities, then slung the bag over my shoulder and headed out.
“Ilianna’s going to stay at Mirri’s. She’s not happy about it, though.”
Mirri lived in an apartment building in Carlton, and while it was well enough protected magically, there were apartments both above and below Mirri’s and they weren’t well soundproofed. Ilianna hated the sensation of so many people surrounding her, as well as the fact that you could hear every little movement in the other apartments.
“I’ll ply her with her favorite ice cream when we all return home,” I said. “That’ll ease the grumpiness.”
