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“Look,” I said, “we have a very narrow window of weakness to track this bastard down. The wraith’s demon gave us his last known address, and I think we need to go check it out.”
“The laddie would already have sent his people there,” Ashworth said. “It would be pointless.”
“If one of his people is gifted with psychometry, I’d agree. But if not...”
Ashworth blew out a breath. “It’s a risk.”
“Right now, everything is a risk,” I replied. “But I’m utterly certain of one thing—we can’t sit back and let him continue to write all the rules.”
Ashworth grunted and glanced around as Samuel, his people, and a couple of medics walked into the clearing. “I’ll go talk to the laddie. You and Belle best deactivate your protection circle so the demon cup can be accessed and treated. Mrs. Marlowe, if you want to be a part of this team, you need to get those wounds treated.”
She raised an eyebrow at the command in his tone but nevertheless headed for the medics.
I glanced at Belle.
On it, she said and pushed to her feet.
She didn’t wobble, despite the fact I could still feel the weariness in her. Her recovery time had definitely improved in recent years.
Recent months, she corrected. And it’s not my recovery time as much as yours.
Because normally I’d be so drained that I wouldn’t have enough energy to share with her. That hadn’t happened here today though—or at least, not yet—and I couldn’t help but wonder why.
We deactivated our protection circle, picked up our stones, and then walked across the clearing to where Ashworth and Eli were still talking to Samuel. The wound on his cheek had obviously been treated, because there were a couple of butterfly bandages holding it together. While it wasn’t as long as I’d initially thought, he’d nevertheless be left with a smallish scar.
Which would probably give his handsome features a more roguish look rather than detract from them in any way.
His gaze met mine. “I don’t think this idea of yours is a good one.”
I stopped and crossed my arms. “Have you anyone capable of psychometry on your team?”
“No.”
“Then we have to try.”
“Oh, I agree. I’m just stating I don’t think the idea is a good one.”
In that one statement, I caught echoes of Aiden, who so often went along with plans he disagreed with.
Because he trusts your judgement, same as Samuel, Belle said. I do wonder who the idiot was that hurt this man, because he really would be a great catch.
On that, we agree. Hell, had my heart not been taken, I might have toyed with the idea of seeing where a relationship might lead, despite the fact he’d been “preapproved” by my father.
“I’ll grab the keys for two of the team’s cars,” he was saying. “Then we’ll get underway. Just give me a few more minutes.”
While we waited, we went over to explain what was happening to Ava, Edward, and Brian, then made our way up the hill to the parking area. Mom, Belle, and I climbed into the first car with Samuel while Ashworth and Eli were in the second with one of Samuel’s men.
“Did your people find anything at the address the demon gave us?” I asked as Samuel reversed out of the parking area.
He shook his head. “No wraith, and no evidence that he’d even been there recently.”
“What sort of evidence were they actually looking for, though? It’s not like he’d leave the usual sort behind.”
“We sent a Kang in. She couldn’t sense any lingering dark energy, so either he wasn’t there, or enough time had passed that his life force no longer stained the air.”
While the Kangs didn’t perform magic, per se, their ability to tap into the resonance of all living things and “see” both past and present events through the eyes of that energy probably made them one of the most formidable houses. I’d also seen Samuel track someone through the energy imprint their footsteps left in the soil.
“Is it possible the wraith disguised or somehow erased the metaphysical signs of his presence?” Belle asked. “Or would she have sensed that as well?”
