did not think it would rain and compromise the open barrow across the way.
“You couldn’t have thought Khan would cooperate,” Kaye said over her shoulder.
“No, but I had to try. With little effort he could have upset whatever plans the mage Houses have. It would have been fast and complete, one danger among many averted.”
“And my role?” She turned back to watch the steps, minding the icy footing.
“As a mage yourself, you have a good chance of being invited past the wards on their Houses,” he said to her back. “You know how the families work, the underlying politics.”
“You want the mages hobbled. From the inside.”
Not his preferred choice of words. “I want the threat managed.”
“Khan said your Order had acted against him.” She reached the long rubber mat over the mud that led to the pseudo parking area.
Jack stepped around Kaye, got another headful of her soul-drawing scent, and opened her car door. She stood within his outstretched arms, waiting for him to explain, and he had the impulse to step forward, step closer. He wanted something from her. Badly. Shadow again, had to be.
“We did act against him.” His breath smoked the air between them, curling toward her while he forced himself to keep back. “Khan was Death then, and he’d forged a gate to Hell. The thing had to be destroyed, even if that destruction also meant the death of his beloved Layla. She lived, however, but Khan still won’t tolerate The Order.”
Her breath reached too, and tangled with his. “That would put you at odds. What House does she come from? Her connection to Khan is easily the match of the millennium.”
“No House. She’s human,” he said. “Khan works tirelessly for Segue. I hoped he might expand his scope.”
An eyebrow arched. “A human woman lies down with Death?”
Yes. Just like an angel is tempted to embrace Shadowfire. The universe was insane.
“Dark times,” he reminded her. He angled his chin toward the waiting seat, and she turned and slid inside the car. He shut the door and rounded the vehicle, taking lungfuls of the cold air to clear his head of woman and magic. This would not do. Once he was inside, she had another question ready.
“So now what? I might be permitted inside the Houses, but I can’t exactly knock on a front door. A mage never begs for favors.”
Jack had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but without Khan’s support... “What about Grey? The marriage contract provides an ideal opening.”
Kaye smiled warmly, so he knew she’d refuse. “Last time I spoke with a Grey, a wraith was set on me. Brand House burned to the ground.”
“Eventually you will meet him face-to-face. You can’t let your history compromise the work that we have to do. Grey will at the least be curious. And once he sees you ...”
Jack didn’t finish. She got the point: Use the same fire that was even now reminding Jack that he was a man before he was an angel.
“That’s one way to go about it, I guess,” she said, composed. But Jack could sense the light tension pulling at her lovely features, her scars slightly whitening.
The conversation turned sour in Jack’s mouth. The work was just beginning, and already he felt world-weary. He did not like his part in this, dangling a woman in front of a dangerous man. Even if the woman was dangerous herself. “The question is, how do we get his attention?”
She nodded and shrugged, world-weary too. “With that bad business at the Wake, it would be reasonable, expected even, for me to move my business elsewhere. It’s what I was going to do anyway.”
Immediately Jack knew where she was going with the idea. “And Washington, D.C., would be an ideal choice—where politicians would pay handsomely for a glimpse at their future. The move would show ambition, which the mages would respect.”
She brought her gaze back up. “Arouse their curiosity. Make them come to me.”
“It could work,” Jack said. “And we have a good
“You couldn’t have thought Khan would cooperate,” Kaye said over her shoulder.
“No, but I had to try. With little effort he could have upset whatever plans the mage Houses have. It would have been fast and complete, one danger among many averted.”
“And my role?” She turned back to watch the steps, minding the icy footing.
“As a mage yourself, you have a good chance of being invited past the wards on their Houses,” he said to her back. “You know how the families work, the underlying politics.”
“You want the mages hobbled. From the inside.”
Not his preferred choice of words. “I want the threat managed.”
“Khan said your Order had acted against him.” She reached the long rubber mat over the mud that led to the pseudo parking area.
Jack stepped around Kaye, got another headful of her soul-drawing scent, and opened her car door. She stood within his outstretched arms, waiting for him to explain, and he had the impulse to step forward, step closer. He wanted something from her. Badly. Shadow again, had to be.
“We did act against him.” His breath smoked the air between them, curling toward her while he forced himself to keep back. “Khan was Death then, and he’d forged a gate to Hell. The thing had to be destroyed, even if that destruction also meant the death of his beloved Layla. She lived, however, but Khan still won’t tolerate The Order.”
Her breath reached too, and tangled with his. “That would put you at odds. What House does she come from? Her connection to Khan is easily the match of the millennium.”
“No House. She’s human,” he said. “Khan works tirelessly for Segue. I hoped he might expand his scope.”
An eyebrow arched. “A human woman lies down with Death?”
Yes. Just like an angel is tempted to embrace Shadowfire. The universe was insane.
“Dark times,” he reminded her. He angled his chin toward the waiting seat, and she turned and slid inside the car. He shut the door and rounded the vehicle, taking lungfuls of the cold air to clear his head of woman and magic. This would not do. Once he was inside, she had another question ready.
“So now what? I might be permitted inside the Houses, but I can’t exactly knock on a front door. A mage never begs for favors.”
Jack had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but without Khan’s support... “What about Grey? The marriage contract provides an ideal opening.”
Kaye smiled warmly, so he knew she’d refuse. “Last time I spoke with a Grey, a wraith was set on me. Brand House burned to the ground.”
“Eventually you will meet him face-to-face. You can’t let your history compromise the work that we have to do. Grey will at the least be curious. And once he sees you ...”
Jack didn’t finish. She got the point: Use the same fire that was even now reminding Jack that he was a man before he was an angel.
“That’s one way to go about it, I guess,” she said, composed. But Jack could sense the light tension pulling at her lovely features, her scars slightly whitening.
The conversation turned sour in Jack’s mouth. The work was just beginning, and already he felt world-weary. He did not like his part in this, dangling a woman in front of a dangerous man. Even if the woman was dangerous herself. “The question is, how do we get his attention?”
She nodded and shrugged, world-weary too. “With that bad business at the Wake, it would be reasonable, expected even, for me to move my business elsewhere. It’s what I was going to do anyway.”
Immediately Jack knew where she was going with the idea. “And Washington, D.C., would be an ideal choice—where politicians would pay handsomely for a glimpse at their future. The move would show ambition, which the mages would respect.”
She brought her gaze back up. “Arouse their curiosity. Make them come to me.”
“It could work,” Jack said. “And we have a good
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