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“How do you wish to travel to Ballarat?”
I hesitated, very tempted to ride the Ducati there and tell him where to shove it until he got over the moodiness, but I really didn’t have the luxury of time. Not if that premonition was to be believed.
“You can take me, if you’d like.”
Amusement briefly touched his lips, and there was something close to mischief shining in the blue of his eyes. “Oh, I would like.”
I raised an eyebrow. “If I didn’t know you better, reaper, I’d think not only was that a double entendre, but you were flirting.”
“Reapers don’t flirt.” He stepped close and wrapped an arm around my waist. His body was warm against mine, his touch tender and yet oddly possessive. “It is merely a truth I cannot deny.”
I rose up on my toes and said, my lips so close to his that I could almost taste him, “So you’re saying that you want me?”
“From the very first moment that I saw you,” he murmured; then his lips met mine and he kissed me fiercely and very thoroughly as his energy rose and swept us through the gray fields to the chill of Ballarat. Not that I actually felt, in any way, cold. Such a thing wasn’t possible when Azriel’s arms were still around me.
“God, get a room, will you?” a woman muttered as she walked past us.
I laughed softly and stepped back. His hand slipped from my waist, and my hormones mourned the loss. “Where are we?”
“At the Aboriginal Culture Centre.”
I turned around. The building was modern in style, all concrete and glass, and painted in colors that reminded me of the outback—reds, gold, pinks, and browns. I frowned. “This really doesn’t look like a museum.”
“That is something we cannot be sure of until we go inside.”
“True.” I half shrugged and headed for the entrance, paying the fee for both of us but refusing the guided tour. It was interesting to look around, but there was nothing in this place for us.
“Well,” I said, once we were back out. “That was a waste of time.”
“At least there is one less option on the list.” He pressed warm fingers against my spine, gently guiding me away from the cultural center. “What do you wish to do now?”
I pulled out my phone and glanced at my list. “Let’s try the Aviation Museum. That’s probably the next least likely.”
“Done.” He wrapped his arms around my waist again and took us there. The museum, it turned out, was a big tin shed.
“It is also not open,” he commented
It certainly looked that way. The huge sliding doors that ran almost the entire length of the building were closed, and the tarmac forecourt was empty. I grabbed my phone, brought up the files I’d transferred, and checked the opening time. “What sort of museum is open only on weekends and public holidays?”
“This one, obviously.”
There was amusement in his voice. I smiled and lightly nudged him with my elbow. “That was a rhetorical question, not one that wanted an answer.”
I scanned the outside of the building. Though I couldn’t see any physical guards, there were plenty of cameras on the outside and no doubt plenty of security measures on the inside. “I might just take Aedh form and have a quick look around.”
“If the second key is in there, you will not sense it in Aedh form.”
“I know, but at least we’ll know if the place has any sort of military weapons on display.”
“Presuming it is a military dagger.”
“Yeah.” Given the cryptic nature of the clues, who actually knew?
I called to the Aedh, and she swept through me in an instant. In energy form, I made my way through the fence, across the tarmac, and through the small gap underneath the massive doors. The shed was huge and filled to the brim with all sorts of old-looking airplanes—some single wing, some double wing, some with propellers and others without. I didn’t know much about planes overall, but I had a feeling this collection was pretty impressive. There were also engines, various machine parts, and tools. But nothing that resembled an actual dagger. I turned around and headed out.
“Nothing?” Azriel said, as I became flesh again.
“Not as far as I can tell.” I rubbed my arms against the chill in the air. “I guess we should try the Eureka Centre next. If the dagger isn’t there, then we’re left with Sovereign Hill being the most likely location.”
