Bound to Shadows

"If you're asking me if his feeding killed Renatta Bailey and Janette Crowley, then the answer is yes. He boasted about it."

"And why would he do that when he knows you're as trustworthy as a snake?"

Her smile was bitter, hard. "Because it was a reminder that he could and would do the same to this nest if I stepped out of line."

I frowned. "How could one man kill an entire nest? Even if that man is your creator?"

It might be possible to kill Vi

"It is because he's my creator that he can do it. I ca

Hence her sudden desire to use us to get rid of her master.

"And you have no idea where he is staying?"

"No. I would give him to you if I could, but I really do not know."

She telling the truth? I asked Qui

Unfortunately, yes.

I grunted and released my grip on Vi

"I appreciate your help, Vi

It was sarcastically said, and the old arrogance flared in her eyes. "And I'd appreciate it if you leave and never come back."

"I'm afraid that is never going to happen. It's the price you pay for empire-building."

She didn't say anything to that. I turned and walked for the door—and felt safe only because Qui

The outside guard swung the door open as we neared, but before I could exit, Vi

I paused and glanced at her. "What?"

"There is something else about Nasser you might want to know. Something that is vital if you're to have any hope of tracking him down."

I met her gaze and saw the cu

"Oh, consider this a freebie."

I snorted softly. "Hardly, when us getting rid of your creator means we'd actually be doing you a great favor."

"There is that, as well." She smiled benignly. I didn't believe it for a second. "Mirror wraiths have two interesting sets of skills. In vapor form, they can use reflective surfaces to travel through, therefore releasing them from the usual restraints of blood vampires."

Which explained how he managed to attack Sal during the day. "And the second?"

"The second will make your hunt more interesting." She paused—just to be a

Chapter Eleven

"Well, that sure puts a spa

"I think you would," Qui

Maybe, and maybe not. There were ways and means of covering a base scent, and if he were an old vampire—or wraith—then he could probably also tone done his energy 'vibe' or whatever the hell it was. "At least it explains how he managed to use Martez's identity for so long without anyone picking it up."

"The obvious place to look is Dante's. That's where the murders happened."

"And that's where Martez went when I was following him last night." I raised my face to the morning sunshine, letting it warm my skin. "He could even be Dante himself."

But could an emo vamp who was also a mirror wraith constantly exude the sort of sexual allure that Dante did? Vi

"That is very possible."

For the first time, there was a note of weariness in Qui

He nodded. "As I said before, using the Aedh skills has its consequences."

"Meaning it drains you?"

"Depending on how much I use, it can drain me to the point of unconsciousness. Luckily, that was not the case here."

Meaning he hadn't used full power and yet had still been able to pulverize that person…

The thought had another tremor ru

Jesus, Risa.

"Yes," Qui

"Maybe that's why Dia is so desperate to get your help. Maybe she saw something in her dreams." And hopefully, the death she'd seen for herself wasn't at the hands of her beautiful little girl. "Do you need to feed or something?"

He hesitated, then shook his head. "I do, but Jack will have my head if I drag you away from this investigation right now."

"You're older than Jack, and more dangerous besides. I don't think you're in any danger from him—metaphorically or otherwise."

"Jack is not someone you should brush aside so easily," Qui

"Hey, he knows I love and respect him. He just can't do what you just did." And thank God for that, I added silently. One and a half atom splitting beings in my little world was more than enough.

"I do not think I need to know the details of what Qui

"I have no idea."

"Then find out and get back to me. If he hasn't, then we'll need put cameras and bugs in place."

"We could just go in and talk to Starke." Then the undercurrent in his words hit me, and I added, "You have him marked as a suspect, don't you?"

"Starke is the likely starting point, now that we're dealing with a flesh shifter. For all we know, the real Dante Starke is a rotting headless corpse in a cellar somewhere."

"Someone would have smelled him by now if that was the case." I hesitated, then added, "Would an emo vamp have the same sort of sexual allure that Starke has? Because the Starke I've been meeting is dynamite."

"If he is old enough, yes. And if he has refined his methods, you wouldn't even know he was feeding. All you would feel was lust."

Well, I'd certainly felt that around Starke. And if he was our wraith, then he'd also paid me a visit. Which presented another problem. "There's one sticky point in all this—neither Renatta Bailey nor Janette Crowley apparently had lovers, and yet Sal claims wraiths can only travel through mirrors they've physically seen. How did he drain them nightly then, if he's never been to their houses?" He'd certainly never been near mine.

"I don't know enough about wraiths to answer that question," Jack said heavily.

Qui

"Come into the office."

"Will do." I clicked the com-link off and caught Qui