The smirk fell from the Grigori’s face. He dropped into the fall, rolling over and away from Malachi, reaching for the dagger where it had fallen. Malachi saw his eyes dart into the night sky a second before the footsteps landed behind him. Three Grigori soldiers had joined their friend.
The Grigori with the angelic blade muttered, “Too soon.”
Malachi grinned as he spun around. Taking stock of his new opponents, he realized that all of them had human weapons. He kicked out, catching one in the solar plexus as his right arm extended toward the other. In one smooth movement, he had twisted the Grigori’s head around and plunged the knife deep into the base of his skull.
The human woman screamed, then passed out as the body Malachi held began to disintegrate. Within seconds, there was only a fine gold dust, drifting up in a column, reaching toward the heavens.
He looked over his shoulder, but the blond Grigori had fled, leaving him with the other two. One was just getting to his feet, and the other one looked like he wanted to run after his friend but was too frightened.
Malachi strode to the Grigori he’d kicked, curious whether the other would take the opportunity to run.
He didn’t.
Malachi ignored the glancing blow the gasping man swung toward his shoulder. The dagger hit the scribe’s talesm and bounced off, no more dangerous than a child’s toy. Malachi twisted the man’s neck around and ended him, too. Then he waved the second cloud of dust away and frowned at the last Grigori.
The young man was ethereally beautiful, like all his kind. He had curling dark hair and porcelain skin. His eyes were a light hazel green; his scent was designed to entice his prey.
And he was scared to death.
“Why didn’t you run?” Malachi asked, stalking toward him. “I’m going to kill you now.”
The Grigori couldn’t have been very old. His scent was bright and panicked. “I… I know. But I have to stay here. With you.”
Malachi halted.
“…please feel free to underestimate me for a while longer. That will suit my plans perfectly.”
The second trap snapped shut.
“What does he want?” He lunged at the man, lifting him in a chokehold and pushing him against the wall. “Why are you still here?”
Malachi knew the answer before the man’s lips moved.
“The woman,” the young soldier gasped. “He’s… after the human woman. Had to… keep you distracted. All of you.”
“All of us…?”
They had plans for Leo, too.
Malachi twisted the man’s neck around, striking quickly, and then he began to run. Behind him, a faint cloud of dust rose to the stars.
Chapter Six
Leo flipped through channels on the television as he ate another massive sandwich Ava had ordered from room service. His accent sounded Russian, but he reminded Ava of a giant happy Labrador with his gold hair and cheerful disposition. They sat in the hotel’s library, which doubled as a lounge. Books lined the walls and a television sat in one corner, streaming international shows from all over the globe. Ava was processing images on her laptop, so Leo had turned on the television.
She’d met her new bodyguard that afternoon after Malachi had called him to meet her in the hotel lobby.
“Who’s this?”
“This is Leo. He’ll be guarding you tonight if you need to go anywhere.” He’d handed over a small slip of paper. “This is his number. You already have mine.”
Ava had turned to Leo. “Hi.”
The blond giant gave her a boyish smile. “Hello, Ms. Matheson.”
Malachi said, “She likes to be called ‘Ava.’ Don’t leave her unguarded; you have my number.”
Then Malachi had turned and walked away without a glance back.
Asshole.
Ava turned to Leo. “Care to come inside? I was just about to order room service because I don’t feel like going out. I’ll buy you dinner since you’re on babysitting duty tonight.”
She saw Malachi pause at the door. She’d never once invited him into the hotel. They always met in the lobby.
“Sure,” Leo said. “Thanks!”
Malachi half-turned, then stopped, meeting her eyes over his shoulder before his narrowed and he spun around again.
“Night, Mal!”
Now she was wishing her silent shadow would return. There was nothing wrong with Leo; he was friendly as a pup, but he exuded energy, not calm, the way Malachi did. His internal voice bounced and jumped, almost always cheerfully, but much louder than Malachi’s did. And though his voice held the same odd resonance, it felt slightly out of tune. All in all, his presence was distracting.
A voice from the television caught her attention.
“What was that?” she asked.
Leo lifted an eyebrow. “What?”
“The TV.”
He’d already flipped past the channel. The one he’d stopped on looked like a soap opera set in Topkapi Palace.
“Turn it back.”
“Turn it back to what?”
Ava stood and grabbed the remote.
“Hey!”
Not that. Not that. Not that… There.
“Him.” She pointed at the TV. It was a news program, and an old man was being interviewed on the screen. “That man. What language is he speaking?”
Leo frowned. “That’s Farsi. It’s a Persian program; I’m surprised they even have it at this—”
“No.” Ava shook her head. “I’ve heard Farsi. I’ve been to Iran. That doesn’t sound like Farsi.”
The bodyguard shrugged. “Well, it is. His accent is odd. Let me…” Leo’s voice trailed off as he listened intently. After a few minutes, he said, “He’s Assyrian; that’s why it sounds different. He’s speaking Farsi with an Assyrian accent. They’re interviewing him for a cultural program. It’s just a different part of Iran. The accent is different.”
Her heart sank. “Oh.”
“Why did you want to know?”
“I didn’t… It just reminded me of a language I heard once. That’s all.” Ava watched the old man for a few more moments, memorizing the rise and fall of his voice before she handed the remote control back to Leo. It had to be a coincidence, but for a brief second, the man had sounded like he was speaking the silent tongue of the voices she’d heard her whole life. Ava had studied languages. She’d traveled the globe, listening to accents and intonation. The peculiar rhythm of foreign lands. She’d spent years searching for the language that haunted her.
She was never successful.
Leo was still watching her, clearly suspicious of her excitement over the news program. She concentrated on the computer screen, ignoring him, but his silent voice was colored with curiosity.
Ava tried to change the subject. “So how many languages do you speak?”
“I…” He hadn’t been expecting the question. “I’ve never counted, to be honest.”
“That many?”
Leo shrugged. “I’m not fluent in all of them, but I speak many. It helps when you travel.”
“Have you worked for Malachi long?”
“We, uh, we work for the same company. He’s more senior than I am, but we’ve both worked for the company a long time.”
“Oh?” She continued fiddling with the color balance on one file. “You’re not from Istanbul, I’m guessing.”
“Outside Moscow, originally. But I’ve traveled a lot.”
Ava snorted a little. He couldn’t have been older than his late twenties. Of course, she knew firsthand you could cover a lot of ground when you wanted to avoid home.
Leo asked, “How about you?”