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Mom nodded. “But why would she do such a thing? If a meeting had been called to change Lawrence’s location, I would have been notified.”
“Oh, I doubt this had anything to do with the council.” Samuel’s voice was grim. “Rodrika drove your husband to your compound, was there just on twenty minutes, and then left. We of course followed, by air and by car. All tags were intercepted.”
“Was Saska injured? It was her voice I heard on the phone, wasn’t it?”
He glanced at me and nodded. “Her team have a few bruises but are fine. But they shot Reggie with a silver splinter arrow, and he’s been rushed to surgery before he loses the arm.”
I’d never heard of a splinter arrow, but I had firsthand experience on just how painful silver lodged into skin could be, and I wasn’t even a shifter. I hoped they got it out before he lost the arm and any ability to ever fly again.
“And the trackers placed on Lawrence?” Mom asked.
“Removed.”
“Even the magical?”
“Yes.” Samuel grimaced. “Rodrika was fully aware of all our precautions. She’s undone every single one of them.”
“But... why?” she repeated faintly. “Why would she do this?”
“I don’t know.” Samuel scraped a hand through his hair. “But we’ll do our damned best to find them and answer that question.”
“It’s possible,” Belle said quietly, “that our wraith had demons we weren’t told about.”
Ashworth frowned. “We were there, lass, performing the ceremony with you. You gave the demon a direct question, and it answered.”
“Yes, but perhaps it was too direct. Maybe I should have asked how many other demons the wraith had blood agreements with rather than how many he had with him.”
“Meaning Rodrika could be possessed?” Mom asked.
“We have to consider the possibility.”
“It would certainly explain how he’s managed to be two steps ahead.” Eli’s voice was grim. “He had a man—or rather, a woman—on the inside.”
Mom’s gaze came to mine. “But can you find him? Within the time frame?”
“If I can find something of his holding enough of a resonance connection, yes, but the wraith is aware of that skill—why else would he have said come to me and not give any sort of direction?” I hesitated. “It’s probably why they went to your house—they know I have to go there, and they’ve laid a trap.”
“But why would he—or the demon who controls Rodrika—bother?” Belle said. “He wants you to go to him, so why not give an address rather than play these games?”
“An address gives us time to plan a counterattack,” Ashworth said. “This way, we’re wasting precious time to find that location.”
“And if his trap ensnares and weakens me,” I said grimly, “all the better.”
The wraith might want vengeance, but I’d beaten him once, and he wouldn’t risk me doing it again. I doubted there’d be any coming back—no matter what the form—if death found him a second time.
Mom swore—something I’d never heard her do before. It said a whole lot about the tumultuous state of her mind right now.
“Then he’s alone with the wraith and his creatures, and we have no hope of finding him without risking your life.” She glanced at me. “I might be late coming to the party as a mother, but I do love you, Elizabeth. I cannot allow you to exchange your life for Lawrence’s. Not when he has lived a full life and you have not.”
A statement that made me feel all fuzzy and warm but also a little angry. It had taken so long—and too many deaths—for her to openly admit she loved me. I’d always known it, of course, but a child—hell, even an adult—liked to hear it said out loud every now and again.
But I guessed it was better late than never.
“Thing is, Dad’s not alone. Cat’s likely with him.”
She stared at me for a few seconds, her eyes a little wider than usual, as if not daring to believe what she’d just heard. While that hint of incredulity was the only emotion she displayed, it was not the only emotion she showed. Her aura was a riot of disbelief and hope.
“Cat?” she whispered. “How is that even possible? Her soul was consumed—”
