“Yes.” I glanced down at the note again, and wished I had the capability to read between the lines. But other than the tension flowing through me – both mine and Azriel’s – my psychic senses were giving me squat.
“The mere fact he wishes to meet on the astral plane suggests he has no desire for anyone to witness it.” Azriel’s voice was grim. “And that could mean this meeting would displease Hunter greatly.”
And Markel was canny enough not to displease Hunter – which only made this request all the more ominous.
“I should go. Just in case.”
Azriel raised an eyebrow. “In case of what? You have enough to deal with as it is, Risa. There is no need to be seeking more trouble.”
“What if it’s not trouble? What if it’s something vital about the keys or our sorcerers?”
“If it was something vital to our quest, it would have come to us via Hunter.” He crossed his arms. “But I can see there is no dissuading you.”
“No. Although I don’t know if I’ve got enough time left to get onto the plane.” I was still very much a novice when it came to astral traveling, after all, and it took me longer to find the right frame of mind to astrally step out of my flesh.
“Then you had best start now.” His words rang with disapproval, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t felt that before.
I crawled onto the bed and got myself comfortable, then closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing, slowing it down, drawing it deep. As my heartbeat became more measured, a sense of peace enveloped me and the tension in my limbs began to slip away. Then, as Adeline had taught me, I pictured a rope hanging above my head and reached up with imaginary hands to grasp it. It felt thick and real against those fingers, and as strong as steel… I pulled myself upward along it. Dizziness briefly swept over me, seeming to come from the center of my chest, but I ignored it and kept climbing that rope. The pressure grew and every inch of me began to vibrate. Then, suddenly, I was free and floating above my prone form.
I didn’t hang about, simply imagined the gigantic shed that was the Central Pier function center on Melbourne’s docklands district – the place where I’d not only first met Markel, but had interviewed the ghost of Frank Logan. In an instant I was there.
And so was Markel. He was tall, with regal features and a body that was as lean as a whip. He bowed as my gaze met his, his expression giving little away but his brown eyes showing a touch of relief.
It is good of you to come. His mind voice was cool, without inflection, but not unpleasant. I wasn’t sure that you would.
I did think about not coming. My reply, like his, was thought rather than spoken. You couldn’t actually talk here on the astral plane, just as you couldn’t physically move. Everything had to be done on a subconscious rather than conscious level – although that didn’t restrict you from fighting or even dying on the fields. And if you died on the astral plane, then you died in real time, too. But curiosity got the better of me. Of course, curiosity has also gotten the better of many a dead cat.
He smiled, although it held little humor or warmth. I did not arrange this meeting in order to harm you.
Then why did you arrange it?
He hesitated, and that in itself was enough to send trepidation skittering through me. Markel was a Cazador. They never hesitated. They just did whatever needed to be done, in the most efficient way possible.
Because someone wishes to speak to you. Someone neither of us should be seen with.
And with that, he moved to one side and a second man stepped forward out of the ghostly surrounds.
It was Harry Stanford, the manager of Hallowed Ground and the vampire who wanted me to kill Hunter.
Chapter 8
Fury swept through me and the plane responded instantly; shadows crowded close and the very air began to vibrate ominously.
I flexed imaginary fingers and tried to calm down. Getting angry in a place that reacted to your every thought and emotion was damnably dangerous.
What the fuck are you playing at, Markel? I glared at him. So much for attempting to calm down. If you were following me the day I went to Hallowed Ground, you know full well I want nothing to do with this man’s schemes.
I said as much to Harry, Markel replied, voice even and expression unperturbed. But he insisted.
“Harry,” not “Stanford.” Suggesting he and Stanford were, at the very least, well known to each other.
I snorted. And a Cazador has no other choice but to give in to a nightclub manager?
When that manager is not only a trusted friend, but a former Cazador himself, then yes, I do.
My gaze shot to Stanford, who was regarding me neutrally. He was a dark-haired, dark-skinned man of indefinable age, with incandescent green eyes that glowed with an unearthly fire here on the astral plane. That he was a former Cazador certainly explained the sense of danger I’d gotten the last time I’d been in his presence.
If you’re a damn Cazador, I hardly think you’d need my help to take the bitch out.
A smiled teased the corners of his lips, but barely reached his bright eyes. You’ve now seen what Hunter is capable of. Do you really think one lone Cazador is capable of beating her?
The only way he could know I’d witnessed Hunter’s full capabilities was if Markel had told him. And that meant Markel was more than just a messenger.
But you’re not one lone Cazador, are you? I waved a hand in Markel’s direction. That he’s here very much suggests he’s on your side.
Harry definitely isn’t alone in his desire to rid the council of the stain that is Hunter. Markel’s mind voice held a touch of grimness. But she is also by no means alone. Too many vampires fear her, and will never risk going up against her.
So, I commented, the majority of council members – many of whom are hundreds of years old and very dangerous in their own right – fear to cross Hunter. And yet you’re expecting me to?
Brought down to basics, that’s precisely what we’re expecting, Stanford said. She’s now killed a former lover of yours. How many more of your loved ones will have to die before you realize she will never get her hooks out of you? She owns you, Risa, for as long as you have people you care about.
She won’t kill any more of my friends. She’s not that stupid.
If you honestly believe that, Markel commented, then you are the one who is stupid.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew it was more than a possibility, but it was one I wasn’t about to admit to in front of these two men. If I acknowledged their point, it would somehow feel like I was giving ground. And are the Cazadors behind this coup attempt?
Again he hesitated. No. Not all of them.
What about the other two who follow me about? Do they side with you, or with Hunter? Or are they the reason we’re meeting here?
We meet here because it is safer for us all. Hunter cannot astral travel.
Meaning there was something the bitch couldn’t do? Amazing. That still doesn’t answer the question about my other followers.
They are not among Hunter’s supporters, he said, but neither do they side with us. They do not, in fact, know I support Harry. If they did, they would report it to Hunter, just as they would if they knew of this meeting.