Read Online Darkness Devours by Keri Arthur - Free Book Online

through the Directorate. “And what, exactly, do you expect me to find at this bar?”
    She shrugged—an oddly elegant movement. “Talkto Brett. Look around the bar. You may see or sense something that the Cazadors—who don’t have your psychic skills or your knowledge when it comes to the gray fields—wouldn’t be capable of.”
    Given that they had Cazadors capable of astral travel, I actually doubted they’d have any less knowledge of the gray fields than I did. Although I guess astral travelers were restricted to
this
plane and weren’t able to travel on the fields themselves. “I’ll give you a call once I’ve gone there.”
And
gotten out alive.
    “Be sure that you do.”
    It was on the tip of my tongue to retort that it really didn’t matter if I did or not because she’d get the report from the Cazador who’d been assigned to follow me around anyway. But I resisted the urge. Right now, it was better if Hunter didn’t know I knew about my follower.
    I signed off without bothering to say good-bye and shoved my phone back into my purse.
    “There goes your afternoon nap,” Ilianna commented darkly. She’d expressed her opinion about my working for Hunter more than once, but had finally stopped harassing me about it. She knew, like I did, that there was no real choice given that half the council currently wanted me dead.
    I grimaced and stood. “Yeah. But there’s not a lot I can do about it.”
    “No. And I haven’t got holy water or even a stake in my purse to give you.”
    “You said that like they’re everyday items one finds in a purse,” I said wryly.
    She snorted softly. “Given the way Hunter is draggingyou further and further into her web, they should be. At least then when the spider calls to the fly, the fly will be better armed.”
    “Ilianna—”
    She held up a hand, stopping me. “I know, I know. But the fact remains, you want revenge more than you want out of any deal with Hunter.”
    Well,
that
was certainly true. “If this whole key business blows up in our faces, we might yet need Hunter and her Cazadors on our side.”
    “If this whole key business blows up in our faces, we’re
all
going to be ass-deep in demons and fighting for our lives. I think Hunter and her council cronies will be too busy saving their own skins to worry about the rest of us.”
    That was also probably more true than not. And Hunter was an unreliable ally. She may have convinced the council to give her more time to prove my worth, but that didn’t mean she—or they—couldn’t change their minds. And considering that they’d already thrown one test at me, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was yet another one.
    I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes wearily. “I’ve arranged for Sara to come in and do your shift at the café. I want you to go home tonight and get some sleep.”
    She wrinkled her nose. “Sara couldn’t pour a decent drink to save her life.”
    “Which is why I’ll be pouring drinks and she’ll be tending tables.” I raised a hand against her objections and added, “No more arguments. Just go home and rest.”
    “Okay, okay,” she muttered. “I promise.”
    Which meant she would. In this place, you didn’t break promises made. “I’ll see you sometime tomorrow, then.”
    She nodded. I dropped a kiss on Tao’s fiery cheek, then left. The day seemed even hotter after the cool darkness of the Brindle. I squinted up at the sky, looking for the storms they’d been predicting for later this afternoon but seeing only endless blue. This was Melbourne, though; weather could—and often did—change in a blink of an eye.
    As I neared my bike, Azriel appeared. “I do not like the sound of this bar.”
    “Neither do I.” I unlocked the Ducati, then pulled on my leathers. And immediately began to sweat. Having to wear heavy protection on a hot day was one of the few bad points of bike riding—although it was better than falling off and skinning my body down to bone on the tarmac.