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He thrust a hand through his short hair and began to pace. His strides were long, lithe, and full of repressed fury. “But if it was one of them, why the hell would they be meeting with a wraith? That doesn’t make sense. Unless—”
“Unless,” I interrupted, “they’re planning to gain sunlight immunity for not only the vampires but also the wraiths—which is exactly what Sal said they were doing.”
“Surely not even they’d be so stupid as to contemplate that.”
“Why not? The three of them were caught in a rift with a wraith, remember, and they now carry those genes in their DNA.”
“Yes, but they’re still a part of this world. Surely they could see that such actions might well destroy the structure of all we hold dear—”
“Which might be the whole point,” I cut in. “Not everyone likes the current status quo, Jonas. Not everyone is happy that the shifters won the war.”
“For Rhea’s sake, that was a hundred years ago. We’ve all moved past that now.”
“Have we?” I couldn’t quite control the bitterness in my voice. “You and Branna still hate déchet as fiercely as ever. Why is it so hard to believe that there’d be some humans who’d feel a similar hatred for the victors?”
He stopped and studied me for several seconds. “Did your déchet friend feel that way?”
My smile held very little in the way of humor. “Oh yes.”
And if Sal’s loathing of both humans and shifters had bled over into the other two, then it wouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility that they’d do whatever they deemed necessary to end the current status quo.
Jonas grunted. “You’d better show me where this meet happened.”
“There’s at least one other wraith still unaccounted for, plus that stranger—”
“We’ll deal with them if we need to.” He hesitated, and his gaze swept me again. “Can you move?”
“If that thing attacks, I’ll certainly be moving faster than you, Ranger.”
He smiled—another all-too-brief flash that bathed me in warmth. “Fair enough.” He stepped to one side and waved me on. “After you.”
I hobbled more than walked. The cut on my thigh pulled tightly with every step and my knee ached. When or how I’d done that I had no idea.
The graveyard ghosts followed us at a distance, still wary, still uncertain, about my presence here in their home, but obviously also curious about what we were up to. I paused once we reached the graveyard’s boundary and looked down the hill. The crater was no longer hidden by that foul darkness.
“What?” Jonas immediately asked.
“The rift and the dark veil that was covering it are gone.”
He frowned, his gaze scanning the rubble-strewn slope. “It must have shifted when the wraiths were chasing you.”
“Real rifts don’t come supplied with their own little cloud cover, Jonas.” At least all the o
nes I’d come across hadn’t. “If they’re both gone, then it’s because either the wraith or the cloaked figure shifted them.”
“The former is a possibility I really don’t want to contemplate.” His expression was dark, and for good reason. If the wraiths were capable of dismantling a rift, then it was very possible they could create them—and that would have dire consequences for us all if they ever gained light immunity. “Where was it located?”
“In the crater.”
His gaze swept it. “The crater’s too deep to see its base, but it’s possible the man you were tracking is still there.” His gaze met mine. “It’s also possible he’s set another trap. He’s certainly had the time.”
Which felt like a rebuke, whether it was meant to or not. “I guess the only way we’re going to find out is to go down there.”
“You’re in no state to traverse—”
I snorted. “Since when have you worried about the state I’m in? If you want answers, Ranger, this is the only way we’re going to get them.”
He didn’t say anything to that. No surprise there. I started down, moving carefully, not wanting to risk the ground sliding out from underneath me. The last thing I needed right now was to split my barely healed wounds open.
