Keri Arthur - Bound to Shadows

Her smile was bitter, hard. "Because it was a reminder that he could and would do the same to this nest if I stepped out of line."

I frowned. "How could one man kill an entire nest? Even if that man is your creator?"

It might be possible to kill Vinny, but there'd still be an entire nest to cope with, and even Quinn with his Aedh powers wouldn't have an easy time of that.

"It is because he's my creator that he can do it. I cannot deny his demand that we feed him, and he could, if he wished, drain us so completely that we die."

Hence her sudden desire to use us to get rid of her master.

"And you have no idea where he is staying?"

"No. I would give him to you if I could, but I really do not know."

She telling the truth ? I asked Quinn.

Unfortunately, yes.

I grunted and released my grip on Vinny. The movement was so sudden she staggered backwards and fell into the chaise lounge. The toga-clad teenagers instantly began to caress her skin, and the soft humming I'd heard early resumed.

"I appreciate your help, Vinny."

It was sarcastically said, and the old arrogance flared in her eyes. "And I'd appreciate it if you leave and never come back."

"I'm afraid that is never going to happen. It's the price you pay for empire-building."

She didn't say anything to that. I turned and walked for the door—and felt safe only because Quinn was at my back. Had I been alone, I probably would have had a dozen silver bullets in it long before I ever got there.

The outside guard swung the door open as we neared, but before I could exit, Vinny said, "Riley?"

I paused and glanced at her. "What?"

"There is something else about Nasser you might want to know. Something that is vital if you're to have any hope of tracking him down."

I met her gaze and saw the cunning in them. "We're not paying you for the information, Vinny."

"Oh, consider this a freebie."

I snorted softly. "Hardly, when us getting rid of your creator means we'd actually be doing you a great favor."

"There is that, as well." She smiled benignly. I didn't believe it for a second. "Mirror wraiths have two interesting sets of skills. In vapor form, they can use reflective surfaces to travel through, therefore releasing them from the usual restraints of blood vampires."

Which explained how he managed to attack Sal during the day. "And the second?"

"The second will make your hunt more interesting." She paused—just to be annoying, I'm sure. "You see, they are flesh shifters. They can mold their skins to resemble any person they touch."

"Well, that sure puts a spanner in the works," I grumbled, once we were clear of Vinny's building. "He could be anyone and we'd never know it."

"I think you would," Quinn said. "You've crossed paths with him several times now, so even if he assumes another form, you'd probably pick up his scent."

Maybe, and maybe not. There were ways and means of covering a base scent, and if he were an old vampire—or wraith—then he could probably also tone done his energy 'vibe' or whatever the hell it was. "At least it explains how he managed to use Martez's identity for so long without anyone picking it up."

"The obvious place to look is Dante's. That's where the murders happened."

"And that's where Martez went when I was following him last night." I raised my face to the morning sunshine, letting it warm my skin. "He could even be Dante himself."

But could an emo vamp who was also a mirror wraith constantly exude the sort of sexual allure that Dante did? Vinny could seduce just about anyone, but it was a power she could switch on or off and one that drained her after a while—unless she was feeding while using it. Dante was simply 'on' all the time.

"That is very possible."

For the first time, there was a note of weariness in Quinn's voice and I glanced up at him. His normally tanned skin seemed redder than usual, suggesting the sunlight was beginning to burn him even though midday—the dangerous part of the day for him—was a ways off yet. I lightly touched his arm. Despite his color, his skin was cool, which was unusual considering it generally only happened when he wasn't feeding enough. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "As I said before, using the Aedh skills has its consequences."

"Meaning it drains you?"

"Depending on how much I use, it can drain me to the point of unconsciousness. Luckily, that was not the case here."

Meaning he hadn't used full power and yet had still been able to pulverize that person…

The thought had another tremor running through me. It was scary to think that one person could contain so much power…

Jesus, Risa .

"Yes," Quinn said, before I could ask the question. "Risa will have the skill, which is why I so readily agreed to train her. If she doesn't know how to control it, she could be a threat to everyone around her."

"Maybe that's why Dia is so desperate to get your help. Maybe she saw something in her dreams." And hopefully, the death she'd seen for herself wasn't at the hands of her beautiful little girl. "Do you need to feed or something?"

He hesitated, then shook his head. "I do, but Jack will have my head if I drag you away from this investigation right now."

"You're older than Jack, and more dangerous besides. I don't think you're in any danger from him—metaphorically or otherwise."

"Jack is not someone you should brush aside so easily," Quinn said wryly. "Especially when he's probably listening."

"Hey, he knows I love and respect him. He just can't do what you just did." And thank God for that, I added silently. One and a half atom splitting beings in my little world was more than enough.

"I do not think I need to know the details of what Quinn just did," Jack said into my ear, confirming that he had indeed been listening. "But I agree with him that we need to start with Dante's and it's owner. Do you think Kye still has the place monitored?"

"I have no idea."

"Then find out and get back to me. If he hasn't, then we'll need put cameras and bugs in place."

"We could just go in and talk to Starke." Then the undercurrent in his words hit me, and I added, "You have him marked as a suspect, don't you?"

"Starke is the likely starting point, now that we're dealing with a flesh shifter. For all we know, the real Dante Starke is a rotting headless corpse in a cellar somewhere."

"Someone would have smelled him by now if that was the case." I hesitated, then added, "Would an emo vamp have the same sort of sexual allure that Starke has? Because the Starke I've been meeting is dynamite."

"If he is old enough, yes. And if he has refined his methods, you wouldn't even know he was feeding. All you would feel was lust."

Well, I'd certainly felt that around Starke. And if he was our wraith, then he'd also paid me a visit. Which presented another problem. "There's one sticky point in all this—neither Renatta Bailey nor Janette Crowley apparently had lovers, and yet Sal claims wraiths can only travel through mirrors they've physically seen. How did he drain them nightly then, if he's never been to their houses?" He'd certainly never been near mine .

"I don't know enough about wraiths to answer that question," Jack said heavily.

Quinn and I reached my car and stopped. "Where do you want me to go once I find out whether the bugs are still online or not?"

"Come into the office."

"Will do." I clicked the com-link off and caught Quinn's hands in mine. "Are you going to be okay to drive, or do you want me to drop you off somewhere?"

"And leave the Porsche sitting around here for the vandals? Bite your tongue, woman."

I grinned. "It's not like you can't afford another one. Or a hundred."