He raised his eyebrow. “UPS?”
“Yeah. Unusual Paranormal Shit.”
He laughed and hugged her. “Go to Matthias and talk with him. Try to sort some of this out. Open up and let him in. You’re not crazy, darling, and he is much more powerful than I am.”
“What if he can’t help me?” she quietly asked.
It was something he’d already considered but refused to give voice or unshielded thought to around her. “He is much older than you. We already know you’re stronger than him in some ways, but lean on him, allow him to teach you the many things he does know. That way, together, you can discover your full strengths and weaknesses.”
He prayed he was right, that Matthias was strong enough to stand beside her.
The next morning, Tim knocked on their room door and motioned Matthias into the hall. “Albert has Bartholomew on the phone,” he said in a low tone. “You’re not going to like this.”
“I’m sure I won’t.” He followed Tim to Albert’s room and took the call.
“What is it?” Matthias asked.
“You’re needed at headquarters. We have matters that must be attended to. You cannot slough this off, Matthias. We need you and the others here as soon as possible to go over things before the official inquest begins.”
Matthias sighed. “What time do you want us there? Taz isn’t feeling well this morning.”
“It’s Tribunal business, Matthias. Ms. Proctor’s presence is not required until later. I can send my car for her if you’re not finished in time.”
Matthias pinched the bridge of his nose and fought the urge to slam the phone against the table. “Fine. We’ll be there in an hour.”
They made the arrangements and Matthias hung up feeling slightly uneasy. He looked at Albert and Tim. “Do you think it’s safe to leave Taz alone?”
Tim nodded. “I think she can take care of herself here.”
He returned to their room and sat next to her on the bed. She’d been quiet all morning, barely speaking throughout breakfast. “Tim, Albert, and I must take care of some business this morning, for the Tribunal. Will you be okay by yourself?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I promise I won’t go roaming.”
He stroked her hair. “We’ll be with Torvald Bartholomew. I’ll call here and let you know what’s going on with…later. Grandfather will meet up with us then, too.”
Here she was in London, not the first time she’d been but the first time she’d been with free time on her hands, and she didn’t want to go anywhere. The weather wasn’t as bad as it could be. Overcast and cooler than Florida, to be sure, but she didn’t have the heart to go out. Matthias and the others would be busy for a few hours yet.
She didn’t feel like working. She didn’t feel like reading.
The image of the clearing and the two unmarked stones stubbornly refused to leave her mind.
At least the hotel had cable. She channel surfed all morning until the room phone rang.
“Ms. Proctor?” She didn’t recognize the man’s voice, but he had a slickly cultured British accent that made Albert’s smooth voice sound like a Cockney sailor by comparison.
“Speaking.”
“My name is Torvald Bartholomew. I’m sure Matthias has mentioned me.”
“Yes?”
“I’d like you to join us at my house for a little while this afternoon before the meeting with the Tribunal. I told Matthias I would call you for him. He had to take care of some additional matters for the board.”
“Something’s wrong, Taz.”
That wasn’t the gentle whispering voice of yesterday morning. That was the full-strength voice that sounded like Rafael. She willed the voice to shut up. With her other stresses, the last thing she needed to deal with was Rafael’s sound-alike phantom voice. Besides, if Matthias was worried, he wouldn’t have left her alone.
“Sure, if you’ll give me your address, I’ll take a cab over.”
“I can send my car for you, if you’d like. My driver is already in the city, and Matthias and the others will meet you here before we go for the meeting.”
“This isn’t good. Taz baby, please. Don’t go.”
She ignored the voice. “Okay, that’s fine. When?”
“He could be there in about fifteen minutes.” He told her how to recognize the driver.
“I’ll meet him at the front door.” When she hung up, the voice made its opinion known.
“Taz, wait for Matthias. Don’t do this.”
Why did the voice pick now to come back?
Bartholomew lived in an older, stately suburban residential neighborhood, his house just what you’d expect from a large, old-moneyed London family. Taz followed the butler to a drawing room where he left her alone to wait. She didn’t like the feel of the house. Not just old and drafty and in severe need of insulation. The very air felt…wrong.
“Taz baby, be very careful.”
Damn that voice. She shivered, rubbing her arms, her thumb working Rafael’s ring.
The door opened and a man she presumed to be Bartholomew entered. She remembered watching a show on Animal Planet about African predators, including hyenas. His stance and body language reminded her of one.
“Ms. Proctor,” he oozed. “I’m so glad to finally meet you in person.” He looked anything but. “Torvald Bartholomew.”
“Taz, pay attention!”
She jumped. It was hard to ignore the voice. Before, it was faint, almost ghostly. Now it was in her ear, as if Rafael was yelling at her. The jumpy, crawling out of her skin feeling had returned with a vengeance, and she forced herself not to run from the room.
She didn’t want to shake Bartholomew’s hand but finally did, resisting the urge to wipe her palm on her pants when he released her.
“Matthias has told me so much about you.” She felt his mental probe. She’d already put up a strong shield before getting into the car. “He didn’t tell me how beautiful you are.”
Okay, this guy was one of those annoying schmoozers who thought he was good at it but really sucked. Maybe it worked against humans and weaker hybrids, but it rubbed her the wrong way. She was itching to probe him, knowing even his mental barrier wasn’t enough to stop her, but remembered her promise to Matthias.
“Mr. Bartholomew, what did you wish to talk about?” Taz slipped into her lawyerly Ice Queen persona—cool, calm, collected.
Watch my frost.
It was a survival tactic more than anything, because given half a chance, she’d bolt. “And where’s Matthias and the others?”
“They’ll be here shortly. I wanted a chance to talk with you before you give your testimony to the Tribunal.” The butler appeared with a tea service and poured her a cup.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t like surprises, Ms. Proctor. Hate them. Can ruin your whole day. I much prefer to be prepared. As head of the Tribunal, it is my prerogative to be as prepared as necessary. Surely you can understand that?”
She took a sip of tea even though she almost couldn’t hear Bartholomew because the voice now screamed at her to leave. It took Taz a moment to speak because she could barely hear herself think.
“You want me to tell you the whole story now? It’s pretty long.” The tea tasted pungent and had an odd flavor. “I’d rather only tell it once. Besides, Matthias said he gave you a full report.” She felt odd and took another drink of tea to calm her nerves while she begged the voice to shut the fuck up. “When did you say Matthias would be here?”
Bartholomew had a weird look on his face. Weirder than before, watching her intently—