Kate Pearce - Death Bringer

He pressed the button and watched the lights of the elevator flicker downward to his level. He sensed Ella in the parking lot below him and concentrated on screening his thoughts from her. Of course, if he was right and the creature returned to seek his prey, he’d blown his cover completely, because like knew like.

The elevator arrived and he stepped in, his stomach sinking along with the descent. The magic stemmed from his bloodline.

From someone who was supposed to be dead.

“There you are, Liz. How are you?”

The last time Ella saw her friend, she’d been stuck between two Fae portals and ended up hospitalized in Otherworld. It hadn’t been pretty.

“I’m fine. Luckily, the Fae heal super fast. How are you?”

“Good.”

And that was the most Ella was prepared to say about the matter. She’d found Liz in the old conference room that used to serve as Vadim and Alexei’s temporary office. Her new partner had been extremely quiet on the ride back to the office, letting her and Feehan discuss the case to their hearts’ content. She didn’t like it. He’d shut his mind to her completely. The moment she got him alone, she was going to find out what the hell was going on...

She refocused and noticed Liz was sitting in the middle of the floor.

“What exactly are you doing?”

“Nothing!” Liz jumped up so quickly that she almost fell off her impressively high heels.

“You’re not mooning over Alexei leaving, are you?”

Liz made a face. “As if. Actually, I was looking for something.” Her normally pale complexion was now as pink as her shoes.

“In here?” Ella turned a slow circle. “There’s nothing except two tables and a ratty chair.”

“Exactly.” Liz tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. “Last night, Doug came to the office to pick me up, and because I had to work so late, the place was deserted and we, um, took advantage of the facilities.”

“ Gross! ” Ella jumped away from the nearest horizontal surface. “Are you nuts?”

“Shut up. Doug has animal instincts, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s one of the things that attracted me to him.”

“Anyway, so what did you lose?”

Liz sighed. “One of my antique diamond earrings.”

“Damn. I’ll help you look.” She got down on the coffee-stained beige carpet and methodically searched the space. “Are you sure Doug didn’t bite your ear in a surge of manly passion and eat the thing?”

“He would’ve choked. It’s a big diamond.” Liz continued to pat the carpet. “What did you want, anyway? I thought you’d be avoiding this place like the plague for a few days.”

“Feehan called us in to deal with a new case.”

“‘Us’? Do you mean Vadim didn’t go back to Russia with Alexei?”

“No.”

Liz sat back on her heels. “That’s a surprise.”

Ella looked up at her friend. “He’s been seconded here to work as my partner.”

“The poor, poor man.”

“He’s not human, and he’s definitely not a man, Liz. Don’t waste your sympathy on him.”

Liz raised her eyebrows. “Did you find out what he is, then?”

“Not exactly, but he does have some Fae Royal blood.”

“Which family?”

“How would I know?” She tried to sound unconcerned.

“Find out, it makes a big difference.”

“To what?”

“To how long he’ll live, how strong his powers are and what exactly he can do with them over here.”

“I’m scared to ask.”

Liz studied her. “I would be too. He’s like nothing I’ve ever come across before.”

“That’s not very encouraging.” Ella moved her hand and hit something hard. “Look what I found!” She picked up the diamond and passed it over to Liz. “Jeez, it’s huge. Here you go.”

“Thanks a million. My Fae grandmother gave the earrings to me. She said that if I lost one, I’d be cursed forever.”

“And yet you still wear them?”

Liz made an airy gesture. “There’s almost always a way to get around a curse, you know that. Now what did you want to talk about?”

As they walked toward Liz’s cubicle, Ella described Brad Dailey’s situation. By the time they sat down, Liz’s silver Fae-Web was already active and circling around her head.

“So have you ever heard of anything like this happening in our world before?”

Liz briefly closed her eyes. “I’m not sure. There are fragments of information, but most of the potential candidates die so soon after the event that it’s hard to find a common thread.”

“Do they die from their injuries?”

“No, they usually kill themselves.”

“Damn.” Ella let out her breath. “I wonder if that’s what the creature wants? Maybe he thrives on that death. But what happens to the face of the victim afterward?”

“I’ve no idea. What I can do is type out the information I have and add any pictures through the printer. If I can get the sucker to work.” Liz cast a dark look at the center of the office, where a bank of supposedly new printers sat. “Fae technology is crap.”

“If you can’t print them out, Morosov said to send the info to him. He can retain it.”

“He can? That’s useful.” Liz cast Ella a speculative look. “So how are things going between you?”

“ Ms. Walsh , where are you? I’m already in the car. ”

“I’ve got to run.” Ella leaped out of her chair. “Morosov’s waiting. We’re heading down to the last bar Brad visited before he went home—well, the last one he remembers, anyway. I’ll see you later.”

“Coward!” Liz called after her, but then, Ella already knew that.

Vadim was in the underground parking lot that sat beneath the SBLE offices. She found him more by instinct than by design and paused to study the car he was driving. He opened the passenger window and angled his head so that he could see her. “Well, are you going to get in?”

Ella opened the door and slid onto the opulent leather seat. “When did you get this?”

“I had it delivered this morning.”

She stroked the dark gray leather. “It’s awesome.”

“The seats are both heated and cooled.” He closed the window and backed slowly out of the parking space. “They also massage you.”

“No way. Where’s the button?”

“Down on the side of the seat. The bright green one.”

“Oh, man. That’s so cool.” She shivered as the mechanism within the seat rolled up and down her spine. “It certainly beats my car.”

“Everything beats your car.” He emerged into the sunlight and tapped on the screen on the navigation system. “I’ve already programmed in directions to the Blue Flamingo, so we should be fine.”

“What about Penny Jordan?”

“She’ll be at the hospital in a couple of hours. I’ve arranged for us to meet her privately before her shift.”

Ella hunched a shoulder and stared out at the crowded streets, where the tourists and office workers jostled for supremacy. “You’re so organized. I’m not sure why you need me at all.”

“Don’t be childish. Pouting doesn’t suit you.” He looked to his right, then cut across the junction out onto Embarcadero. “It must’ve been difficult for you to walk away from Brad without easing his memories.”

“It was, but I know we need more information before I can do that.” Ella shook her head. “I just hope he can keep it together. He felt incredibly fragile.”

“I agree.”

She studied his flawless profile and wondered why she worried about anyone thinking they were mated. No one in his or her right mind would think she was in Vadim’s league.