And he knew it, damn him. The quick glimmer of amusement firing his cold eyes was easy to see, even at night.
"Riley, keep him talking," Rhoan said into my ear, through my still-open link. "I'm armed and on my way."
Good, I wanted to say. Hurry.
But Rhoan was mind-blind, and I dared not use the com-link because it would only warn Gautier. I forced a smile and said, "So if you know it all, tell me why you killed Dunleavy and his girlfriend."
He raised a mocking eyebrow. "What makes you think I did that?"
"It's that smell thing I keep warning you about. It lingers, you know?"
"They died during daylight. You know I can't move around in daylight."
"I know you never used to be able to, but you've been off the leash for a while, and who knows what nasty sort of company you've been keeping? Or what talents they have that could help a foul piece of work like yourself?"
He raised a mocking eyebrow. "Nasty doesn't even begin to cover my current company, dear Riley. And you should watch yourself. He has his eye on you."
I forced a grin. "Is that concern I hear in your voice, Gautier? I'm so touched."
"You will be, if he gets his hands on you."
"So why the warning, Gautier? If you're working for these people, why warn me?"
"Because you are mine to destroy." He took a step forward. I took one back. He grinned, and it was a cold, ferocious thing. "I intend to destroy all you hold dear, and then I intend to destroy you. Slowly, and sweetly. And no one—no matter who or what they are—will stop me. Not when I get all that I am promised."
A shiver ran through my soul. There would be nothing sweet about his sort of destruction, of that I was sure. Especially not now he'd become the death head of an ancient legend. "And just what were you promised, Gautier? Or should I guess? Let's see, what do all good little psychos want? Power?"
"You will discover soon enough."
And with that, he attacked.
It was like fighting a cyclone—he was all power, speed, and bloody force, and stopping him was next to useless. He'd been bred for fighting and killing, and I was only a new inductee. And a reluctant one at that.
I twisted away from his blows, then backed away as fast as I could. I didn't want to fight Gautier—not now, and not in the future. And especially not when Rhoan was on his way armed with weaponry that would kill the bastard once and for all.
But Gautier didn't follow my retreat. Just stopped and shook the shadows from his form again. He gave me a grin, and sucked in a deep breath.
"Ah, fear. Such a sweet, sweet thing."
A familiar tingle ran across my skin, telling me Rhoan was near. I didn't react, not even when the red light of a laser cut across the night, arcing toward Gautier.
But he must have sensed Rhoan's presence at the last moment, because he twisted away suddenly. The laser aimed at his head cut into his shoulder instead, and the smell of burned flesh spun through the air.
Gautier laughed. Laughed.
The man was terminally insane, there was no doubt about it.
But while he might be insane, he wasn't stupid. He gave us a respectful bow, then faded into the night and ran away.
"Never attack Riley without looking over your shoulder for me," Rhoan shouted to his fleeing form. Then he gave me a grin and casually Bung the laser rifle over his shoulder. "Want to give chase?"
"As much as I enjoy a good hunt, that bastard probably has a trap ready and waiting."
"Probably. But it's all part of the fun."
"You're as mad as he is."
"Not really." He leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the check. "I'm not insane enough to tackle you alone."
I grinned. "Only because I'm armed with saucy secrets your lover would just adore to hear, and you know I'm not afraid to use them. I don't have that advantage over Gautier."
"The only advantage we'll ever have over him is if we tackle him together." He slipped an arm through mine and began guiding me down the street. "Next time you scent him, don't stand there waiting. Just run."
"And give him the satisfaction of my fear? No way in hell."
He looked at me, eyebrow raised. "And you call me mad?"
"Well, it does run in the family, you know."
He chuckled softly, then said, "So, give me an update on your date."
I did, including what Jack had said about the old Persian legends and my thoughts on who the dragons might be—including the fact that Gautier was one of them. And then I told him everything Gautier had said.
"And you believe him?" Rhoan asked.
"I believe that he's playing his own game, whatever else he might be doing or might have become." I shrugged. "Gautier's a killer, but he's not exactly the world's greatest thinker. It makes sense that if there was someone who was stronger and darker in town, he'd align himself with them. Even if it is just a means to an end."
"I don't understand what Gautier would get out of such a deal, though."
"Well, being the death head for a dark god would surely come with benefits. Like the ability to face sunlight. If he did kill Dunleavy and his girlfriend—and he certainly didn't deny it—then he can now move around in the day. And that shouldn't be possible for a vamp his age."
"Is there magic that can give such protection?"
"Who knows? But if magic can raise demons and a dark god, why shouldn't it be able to protect a vampire from the sun?"
He frowned as he slid open the van's door. "So now all we have to figure out is what Gautier and his cohorts actually are—and then a way to stop them."
"Well, Jin reads as human and Gautier still reads as a vampire, but maybe that's because their shells still are. Maybe their beings have become something else entirely."
He raised an eyebrow as he helped me into the back of the van. "Spirits of some kind?"
"If I can see souls rising from the dead, and Quinn can be hunted by demons, there's really no saying that an ancient spirit can't be recalled to claim a new body, is there?"
He slid the door shut then waved a hand at the thermos of coffee sitting on a small bench filled with weapons as he moved toward the seat in front of the bank of monitors, "You know, that's an awfully scary thought."
"Yeah, I can see you're shaking in your boots."
"On the inside, I am." His smile belayed any attempt of seriousness. "The Directorate as a whole has no experience in dealing with things non-substantial. I mean, how do you kill a spirit?"
"I don't know." I poured myself a cup of coffee and briefly breathed in the smell. Bliss in a cup. even if it looked like mud and probably tasted just as bad. "But I know someone who might."
He raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Quinn."
He glanced at the screens. "He's parked in the right corner of the back garden if you want to talk to him."
I grinned. "That's a might worse than having fairies in the bottom of a garden."
"Trust me, I'm the only fairy around this neighborhood at the moment."
"A good thing with the moon on the rise." I drained the coffee in several gulps, and winced a little at its bitter taste.
"True." He pointed a finger at the screen. "Check out the security lines before you go. Don't want you tripping over any alarms and tipping them off."
"Hey, I'm not a complete novice at this."
He merely grinned and pointed at the screen. So I checked it out and memorized all the hot spots. "That's a whole lot of security happening."
"Makes you wonder what, exactly, they're protecting, doesn't it?"