and keep on as normal." Saleem seemed to have already made up his mind. "We don't raise eyebrows. Then, on our own time, we investigate the shit out of this whole thing."
"I'm in," I said.
Two pair of eyes snapped to my face, expressions incredulous.
So flattering.
I tensed at the look in Logan's eyes, the one that said clearly that he didn't want to endanger me. But, as I glared back at him, my shoulders tense, ready to jump down his throat, he sighed.
"Fine," he said.
I raised an eyebrow at the single word of assent.
"And Mel is in too." There was a smile in Saleem's voice as he spoke the soul tracker's name.
I hid a grin. "Good," I said. "At least with the two of us on the case something will get done right."
That set the two of them laughing, and I just sat there, uncomfortable at the sound. Not because they were laughing but because this laughter wasn't joyful. It reeked of desperation.
And fear.
CHAPTER 11
A FTER O'H AGAN ' S , L OGAN , S ALEEM , AND I ended up at my apartment.
They had spent an hour hatching their plans for Omega and an investigation into its involvement in their personal lives.
I'd spent that hour staying out of their plans for Omega, biting my tongue when Logan talked about finding Jess and demanding she tell him what she knew. As Jacinta Carnarvon--an enigmatic Titan--would know a lot more than she was willing to share, I doubted he'd be as successful as he wanted.
She was one of the Immortals, a being that had lived for thousands of years, and one who just happens to be guardian to Logan.
Also, she happened to be employed by Omega.
Even now, Logan had no idea that his partner was a Titan whose role was to protect him. Though Jess had confessed as much to me, she still hadn't told me why he was so important that he needed a Titan to watch over him.
They were still mulling things over when Saleem whisked Logan home leaving me to clean up the kitchen on my own. Which I resolved by heading to bed.
I was still drowsy, squinting at the gleeful morning sunshine streaming through the windows as I made a mental note to ring Mel and talk things through with her as soon as I'd dried the dishes, but I was wiping and putting away the last plate when a knock sounded on my door.
Hurrying to the door, I sniffed the air, finding nothing untoward on my threshold. But when I swung the door open the identity of my visitor took me aback
Nerina.
It figured. DeathTalkers had no living scent.
My stomach gave a twinge as I forced a smile onto my face. "Hello, Nerina," I said and waved her inside. "Come in."
The last time I'd seen the DeathTalker I'd just made a deal with her High Priestess in return for a portal key to take me to the Graylands, an in-between plane where the dead remained if they didn't move on to the next life.
Death talkers engendered a feeling of dread in most people, including me, but I knew Nerina better than any of her sisters. Death talkers were inherently immune to human emotion--or so went the general opinion. Which is why her behavior was worrying. It told me general opinion was very wrong.
Nerina wore the requisite grey robes, the hood covering her gray-white hair and shadowing the features of her pale face. But today the serene calm she always carried with her was markedly absent.
Her fingers shook and she folded them tightly in front of her waist.
"Are you okay?" I asked, guiding her to the dining table rather than to the sofa. Nerina didn't seem the lounging type.
She sat across from me, so still that I wondered if I should urge her to talk. Instead, the words, "Would you like some tea?" fell out of my mouth.
What the hell was it with me and tea these days?
She shook her head and twisted her fingers together.
At last she shifted in her seat and raised her eyes to me. Eyes that had been clear and pale with milky irises the last time we'd spoken were now reddened, the way human eyes got when you cried for hours on end.
"What happened?" I
"I'm in," I said.
Two pair of eyes snapped to my face, expressions incredulous.
So flattering.
I tensed at the look in Logan's eyes, the one that said clearly that he didn't want to endanger me. But, as I glared back at him, my shoulders tense, ready to jump down his throat, he sighed.
"Fine," he said.
I raised an eyebrow at the single word of assent.
"And Mel is in too." There was a smile in Saleem's voice as he spoke the soul tracker's name.
I hid a grin. "Good," I said. "At least with the two of us on the case something will get done right."
That set the two of them laughing, and I just sat there, uncomfortable at the sound. Not because they were laughing but because this laughter wasn't joyful. It reeked of desperation.
And fear.
CHAPTER 11
A FTER O'H AGAN ' S , L OGAN , S ALEEM , AND I ended up at my apartment.
They had spent an hour hatching their plans for Omega and an investigation into its involvement in their personal lives.
I'd spent that hour staying out of their plans for Omega, biting my tongue when Logan talked about finding Jess and demanding she tell him what she knew. As Jacinta Carnarvon--an enigmatic Titan--would know a lot more than she was willing to share, I doubted he'd be as successful as he wanted.
She was one of the Immortals, a being that had lived for thousands of years, and one who just happens to be guardian to Logan.
Also, she happened to be employed by Omega.
Even now, Logan had no idea that his partner was a Titan whose role was to protect him. Though Jess had confessed as much to me, she still hadn't told me why he was so important that he needed a Titan to watch over him.
They were still mulling things over when Saleem whisked Logan home leaving me to clean up the kitchen on my own. Which I resolved by heading to bed.
I was still drowsy, squinting at the gleeful morning sunshine streaming through the windows as I made a mental note to ring Mel and talk things through with her as soon as I'd dried the dishes, but I was wiping and putting away the last plate when a knock sounded on my door.
Hurrying to the door, I sniffed the air, finding nothing untoward on my threshold. But when I swung the door open the identity of my visitor took me aback
Nerina.
It figured. DeathTalkers had no living scent.
My stomach gave a twinge as I forced a smile onto my face. "Hello, Nerina," I said and waved her inside. "Come in."
The last time I'd seen the DeathTalker I'd just made a deal with her High Priestess in return for a portal key to take me to the Graylands, an in-between plane where the dead remained if they didn't move on to the next life.
Death talkers engendered a feeling of dread in most people, including me, but I knew Nerina better than any of her sisters. Death talkers were inherently immune to human emotion--or so went the general opinion. Which is why her behavior was worrying. It told me general opinion was very wrong.
Nerina wore the requisite grey robes, the hood covering her gray-white hair and shadowing the features of her pale face. But today the serene calm she always carried with her was markedly absent.
Her fingers shook and she folded them tightly in front of her waist.
"Are you okay?" I asked, guiding her to the dining table rather than to the sofa. Nerina didn't seem the lounging type.
She sat across from me, so still that I wondered if I should urge her to talk. Instead, the words, "Would you like some tea?" fell out of my mouth.
What the hell was it with me and tea these days?
She shook her head and twisted her fingers together.
At last she shifted in her seat and raised her eyes to me. Eyes that had been clear and pale with milky irises the last time we'd spoken were now reddened, the way human eyes got when you cried for hours on end.
"What happened?" I
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