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"Nor did I," Niley said. "If you will accompany me to the men's room, I will check you for listening devices. Milo will check your bodyguard."
"Shang-Da," Richard said. "His name's Shang-Da."
Niley smiled even more broadly. If his smile kept getting wider, soon his face would just split open.
"Of course."
"Who gets to search me?" I said. "Howard?"
Niley shook his head. "My other associate is running a little late today." He stood and there was nothing in his lap. Paranoia. "Shall we, Mr. Zeeman? May I call you Richard?"
"No," Richard said, voice deep and low, as if he wanted to say more.
I touched his arm as he moved past me. I looked up into his face, trying to tell him with a look not to do anything stupid.
Niley took Richard's other arm, slipping it through his like you'd walk arm and arm with your lover. He patted Richard's arm. "My, aren't you a handsome fellow."
Richard gave me a look as Niley led him away. I'd have given a great deal to see his eyes at that moment. Usually the bad guys make moves on me.
Shang-Da moved back so Milo could come out from behind the table. They moved off together, not touching, the tension between them thick enough to swing on.
I was left with Howard and my back to the door. I changed chairs, sitting where Milo had been, so I could see the entrance. It put me closer to Howard, and he didn't like that much. I smelled a weak link.
"How good are you?" I asked.
"Good enough to be scared of you," he said.
I frowned at him. "I'm not one of the bad guys, Howard."
"I can see your aura," he said in a voice that I could barely hear above the murmur of voices and silverware.
The waitress came with glasses of water and menus. I assured her the others were coming back to the table, but I wasn't sure if all of us were ordering. She left with a smile.
I turned back to Howard. "So you can see my aura. So what?"
"I know how powerful you are, Anita. I can feel it."
"I can't see your aura, Howard. I can feel a little of your power, but not much. Dazzle me. Show me what you can do."
"Why?"
"Maybe I'm bored."
He licked his lips. "Give me something benign. No weapons, nothing magic."
That sort of cut down on my options. I finally took the cross around my neck off and handed it to him. I pooled the chain into his hand. "Don't touch my skin with your hand," he said.
I let the last of the chain spill into his hand and was careful not to touch him. He closed his hand over the cross. He didn't close his eyes, but he wasn't seeing the restaurant. He looked past it all, and I felt his power ripple over me like a tiny electric current.
"I see a woman, older, your grandmother." He blinked and looked at me. "She gave you this when you graduated high school."
I nodded. "Impressive." I'd started wearing this particuliar cross just recently. I valued it, and I'd had a lot of crosses taken from me over the years. But lately, I'd felt the need of something special. Grandmother Blake had given it to me with a note that said, "May your faith be as strong as this chain and as pure as this silver." Lately, I needed all the purity I could get.
Howard's eyes went past me, staring at something at the end of the room. His breathing had stopped for just a second, like an inaudible gasp.
I turned to see what had captured his attention so thoroughly. The man was close to seven feet tall and had to weigh over five hundred pounds. His face was totally hairless, not just clean shaven. He had no eyelashes, nothing; smooth and unreal. His eyes were a nearly colorless grey too small for his large face. He wore a black shirt untucked over black slacks, black shoes. The skin of his arms and face were unbelievably white as if the sun never touched him.
The man didn't make my skin creep with power. In fact, he was too empty, walking towards us, as if he were shielding himself.
I stood up. Partly it was his size. Partly it was the lack of anything from him, like he wasn't there. I didn't like it when someone worked that hard to shield themselves. It usually meant they had something to hide. If this was the sorcerer that had killed Betty, I knew exactly what he was hiding.
The man stopped in front of us. Howard hugged himself and made introductions. "Linus, this is Anita Blake. Anita, this is Linus Beck." Howard's voice was higher than it should have been, like he was scared. He seemed to be afraid of a lot of people.
Linus Beck smiled down at me. His voice, when it came, was shocking, a delicate soprano of a voice. "So happy to meet you, Anita. So seldom do I meet a fellow practitioner of the arts."
"We don't practice the same brand, Linus."
"Are you so sure?" he asked.
"Positive." Even standing, I had to crane my neck upward to see his face. "Why does Niley need a first-rate clairvoyant and a sorcerer?"
Linus Beck smiled, and it looked genuine. "You know the correct term. I am pleased."
"Glad to hear it. Now, answer the question."
"When I have checked you for wires, then all will be answered."
I looked at those large, white hands and didn't want him to touch me. There was almost no hair, even on his arms. It was like a golden down, like the arm of small child. Something clicked in my head, and I stared up at him. Maybe it showed on my face. Maybe he read my mind, though I don't think so.
"My manhood was sacrificed many years ago so I could better serve my master."
I blinked at him. "You're a eunuch."
He gave a small nod.
I wanted to ask why but didn't. There was no answer that would make sense, so why bother? "What flavor are you, sociopath, psychopath, or schizophrenic?"
He blinked small eyes, the smile fading. "Misguided people have told me I was crazy, Anita. But I did hear voices, my master's voice."
"Yeah, but were the first voices your master or just bad brain chemistry?"
His frown deepened. "I don't know what you mean."
I sighed. He probably didn't. Sorcerers were people who got their magic through demonic -- or worse -- power. They bargained for what they got and bartered their souls for money, comfort, lust, power. But some were a version of possession. People weakened by some flaw: mental illness or even a flaw of character. The right kind of flaws can attract evil.
Niley led the other men back around the corner. He and Richard were not holding hands anymore. Richard's face was tight and angry. Shang-Da and Milo's faces gave nothing away as if nothing had happened. Niley looked happy, pleased with himself. He clapped Linus Beck on the back, and the eunuch raised the other man's hand to his mouth and kissed it.
Maybe I didn't know as much about eunuchs as I thought I did. I thought it meant sexless. Maybe I was wrong.
"Linus will search you for wires, then we can talk."
"I don't want him touching me. Nothing personal, Linus."
"You fear my master," he said.
I nodded. "You bet."
"I must insist it be Linus, in case you have some magic or other about your person that would disturb us."
I frowned at him. "Like what? The holy hand grenade?"
Niley waved the comment away. "Linus must search you, but if you like, you can have one of your men accompany you."
I didn't like it, but it was probably the best offer we were going to get. The waitress came to take our order, and I realized I was hungry. You learn to be able to eat in the midst of disaster and gore, or you get another line of work. They served breakfast all day. I ordered pancakes and maple-cured bacon.
Richard looked shocked. "How can you eat?"
"You either learn to eat in the middle of disaster and gore, or you get another day job, Richard."
"Very practical, Ms. Blake," Niley said.
I looked at him and felt a small, unpleasant smile curve my lips. "Just of late, Mr. Niley, I've become very, very practical."
"Good," he said, "very good. Then we understand each other."
I shook my head. "No, Mr. Niley, I don't understand you. I know what you are, and what you'll do, but I don't understand why."
"And what am I, Ms. Blake?"
The smile grew. "A bad guy, Mr. Niley; you're a bad guy."
He nodded. "Yes, I am, Ms. Blake. I am a very, very bad guy."
"Guess that makes us the good guys," I said.
Niley smiled. "I know what I am, Ms. Blake, and I am content with it. Are you content?"
