Bound to Shadows (Riley Jenson Guardian #8)

Of course, neither the blue of Dia's eyes nor her silver hair were natural. Dia wasn't only a psychic, but a clone with Helki shapeshifting genes, and she could subtly alter her appearance as easily as I could become a wolf. The silver and blue suited her psychic business better - and enabled her to use her true form when she didn't want to be noticed.

Little Risa's coloring was natural, and had obviously come from her father, although Dia never talked about him. Nor was there mention of him on Risa's birth certificate.

Dia's gaze met mine as I neared the table. Few would have guessed she was blind, because there was an amazing directness in her gaze. Of course, despite her blindness, she could see, thanks to the presence of a creature known as a Fravardin - an unseen guardian spirit that was by her side whenever she went outside the confines of her house. By linking lightly to the creature's mind, Dia was able to move with a serenity and grace that belied her handicap. I had no idea where the creature was right now, but given she was looking directly at me, it had to be somewhere close.

"You," she said heavily, "have created a monster."

"Who knew she'd take the word up with such gusto?" I slid into the u-shaped booth and untwined Risa's arms from around my neck, putting her on the seat beside me.

"Coke?" she said hopefully.

"I don't think your mom would approve," I said. Especially not right now.

I half expected the little girl to come out with the immortal 'Mommy Sucks', but she leaned forward on the table and gave Dia the sweetest of smiles. "Please mommy?" she said, the bottom lip quivering ever so slightly.

The child really knew how to work it. I grinned and leaned back in the seat, watching Dia struggle to control her smile.

"A small one," she said, "and only if you go play for a while."

Risa flung herself at Dia, gave her a big slobbery kiss, then scrambled over her and ran for the play equipment.

"That child is going to be so dangerous to the male population when she gets older," I said, shoving my handbag on the seat beside me.

"Especially given she seems to think you're a brilliant role model," Dia said dryly.

"Well, let's face it, she could do far worse as role models go. At least I work on the side of the angels,"

"Yes." Dia's expression darkened. "I'm not sure she will, though."

I frowned. "You've had a vision about her future?"

She nodded. "It was a little confused. There were angels and demons and goodness knows what else."

"Angels?" I had no trouble believing that demons existed - after all, I'd crossed paths with hellhounds on several occasions, and they were apparently classified as low level demons - but for some reason, I couldn't quite believe that angels really existed. But maybe it was simply a lack of solid proof. I hadn't really believed in demons, either - until one of them had tried to rip me to shreds.

But angel - like creatures had existed, and they'd been called the Aedh. Quinn's father had been a priest of the Aedh, and while Quinn might not have gotten the wings, he did have many of their abilities. Although just how many - and what they were - was something he'd never really explained.

Still, no surprise there. He might have opened up a whole lot more in recent months, but my sexy old vampire still had many, many secrets.

"Which is why I needed to talk to you," Dia said.

"Me?" I glanced up as the waitress appeared at our table. Once we'd placed our orders, I added, "I don't know a whole lot about men with wings, I'm afraid."

She smiled. "You know more than me, though. Or rather, Quinn does."

I raised an eyebrow. "So Dia's father was an Aedh?"

"If that's what you call one of those men with wings, then yes."

"I didn't even know they still existed," I murmured. "How the hell did you even meet him?"

She smiled again, but there was suddenly something haunted in her eyes. "Sometimes there are personal bonuses when you talk to the spirit world."

"And personal costs?" I said softly.

"Yeah." She grimaced. "I might have got my daughter, but I saw my death. It's not pretty."

"But you have the Fravadin to protect you."

"There are some things that not even the Fravadin can conquer."

As evidenced by the fact that Misha - her clone brother - had been murdered despite the protection of his own Fravardin.

I studied her for a moment, concerned. "It's not going to be soon, is it?"

"No. Risa will be well grown by the time it happens."

"At least that's something." Although it would be hell to live with that knowledge. Personally, I'd rather not know. "So how does one go about meeting one of the elusive Aedh?"

"I met mine in a bar." She shrugged. "One night, and I was pregnant."

"And you haven't seen him since?"

"No, but Risa's talents are growing at an extraordinary rate. She needs more guidance than I can give her."

"Which is where Quinn comes in."

"Yes." Her gaze swept my face. "Do you think he will mind?"

I didn't think kids were on Quinn's list of top ten things to experience, but he hadn't actually been adverse to the idea of my kid coming into his life, so maybe my vampire was getting accustomed to the idea. "I'll ask and find out."

"Thank you." She squeezed my hand, and some of the tension riding her shoulders seemed to dissipate. "Now, how can I help you?"

Now that the moment had arrived to talk about Kye, I suddenly found myself reluctant to do so. As if keeping him secret would make the situation any better. With a wry smile at my own stupid avoidance, I said, "You know about the beheadings?"

"I think you'd have to be living in a sealed box not to know about them." She crossed her arms on the table. "That's the case you're investigating?"

"Yes, unfortunately." I smiled a thank you up at the waitress as she deposited our drinks and banana cake.

Risa appeared from nowhere, clambering over her mother in her haste to get to her Coke. With the straw in her mouth and her chubby cheeks glowing, she looked a picture of bliss as she downed her drink.

I spooned a mouthful of the luscious cake and probably had a similar look of bliss on my face. "We really haven't got a lot to go on, but we need to get this case solved - and fast."

"Before the vampire and the humans start taking aim at each other, no doubt."

"Preferably, yes. Although it's not actually humans doing the killing, but another vampire."

Dia raised a pale eyebrow. "Really? That's not what the papers are saying."

"Which is why you should never believe everything you read."

She frowned. "Why hasn't the information been released? It would surely diffuse the situation."

"We only just discovered it. I dare say Jack will make a press conference his next priority."

"But you still need a quick solve, just in case the public decide not to believe what is printed?"

"Exactly." I took another bite of cake. "Right now, I have no concrete clues and I'm willing to give anything a try."

Surprise flitted through her bright eyes. "Meaning you're willing to let me give you a reading?"

I hesitated. I might be discussing the case, but I'd really come here to sound her out about Kye. And letting her do a reading might just reveal a whole lot more about my soul mate than I really wanted to know. And yet, what choice did I have? If she could find something useful to stop these murders, then uncovering more about Kye was a small price to pay. "Usual restrictions apply. I do not want to know what the future holds."

"You know I can't always control where the visions go."

"I know. I just don't want to hear the nitty-gritty details of just what might happen to my love-life in my future." I waved the spoon at her. "I'd rather muddle along at my own speed."

"I can understand, given the future I've been shown." She took a sip of coffee, then pushed it to one side. "Give me your hand."

She held out a hand, palm up. I took a large gulp of coffee to fortify myself, then placed my hand in hers. Her eyes closed and her fingers wrapped around mine. Her skin was cool initially, but electricity soon surged, jumping from her skin to mine and spreading up my arm like wildfire. It made the made the hairs on my arms stand on end and my pulse race, and it felt like her essence was somehow entwining around mine. It was a merging that was both metaphysical and ghostly, and stronger than anything she'd done before. The wolf inside instinctively bared her teeth, ready to fight against the intruder, but this was a force I'd invited in, and I couldn't back away from it now.

She shuddered. "I see the murders. The papers didn't report half of it, did they?"

"No." My reply was soft. I knew from experience that if I spoke too loudly, it seemed to jar her out of the moment.

"There is a lot of hatred in those killings. And a fair bit of revenge." She paused. "Look to the vampire council, to old decisions. This began seven months ago. It is not a recent thing."

"You can't tell who or what sparked this?"

"No." She tilted her head slightly and added, "You need to be careful."

"Dia, don't - "

Her grip on my fingers tightened, even though I made no move to pull my hand from hers. "There is a player in your life at the moment. He is more dangerous than you think or know."

No prizes for guessing who that was. "I know - "

"No, you don't," she said, voice suddenly fierce. "He is a man without heart, without conscience, and he threatens people you care about. He will kill. You need to tread softly around him, and never, ever trust him."

"I don't. Believe me on that."

Her bright gaze flew open and pinned me. "You need to walk away from him. Now, before it is too late."

She actually sounded scared, and that was scaring the hell out of me. What on earth had she seen? I might have said I didn't want to know, but was the not knowing any better? Suddenly, I didn't think so.

"I can't, Dia. He's my wolf soul mate."

"Oh, God." Her fingers were clasped tightly around mine now, this time free of energy beyond the tension I could feel in her. "Fate really does have it in for you, doesn't she?"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. I'd said it so often myself that it just sounded so funny hearing it on someone else's lips. "Yeah, she really does."

Dia's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Cling to what you have with Quinn. Use that link to fight the wolf one. It will give you a strength most other wolves would not have in this situation."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are there actually other wolves out there who hate their soul mates?"

"Not hate, perhaps, but there are certainly those who are disappointed." She shrugged. "We all have our dreams and desires, and fate doesn't always deliver."

As I'd discovered time and again. I hesitated, and then asked the question that I feared the most. "Who does he kill?"

Her gaze darkened. "I didn't see. You just need to be very careful around him. He is playing a game, and while I can't see his end goal, I sense it is a dangerous one for you." Her fingers crushed mine. "Please, please, be careful."

"I will. I promise."

"Good." She squeezed my fingers a final time, then released them and picked up her coffee. It was frightening to see her hand was still shaking in reaction to whatever she'd seen.

Meaning she'd seen a whole lot more than she'd ever admit.

I suddenly lost my appetite for cake and picked up my coffee. It didn't do a whole lot to warm the sudden chill.

Still, I'd known the moment I agreed to the reading that this could happen. And she warned me often enough that she would not hold back on what she saw.

And yet she was, and that was the scariest thing of all.

I glanced at my watch and saw it was nearing six. Time for me to get going, or I'd be late for my date with Quinn. I gulped down the rest of my coffee, scalding my insides for the second time that day, then retrieved my credit card from my purse.

. "I need to go," I said, swiping the card through the slot and punching in our table number. "I've got dinner with Quinn, so I'll ask him about taking Risa under his wing."

The little girl looked up at the sound of her name, and gave me a cheeky smile. "Risa doesn't suck."

Dia rolled her eyes. "Indeed not."

I laughed and stood up. "Usual time on Thursday?"

"Yes. And this time, my treat. You pay enough, and I know it doesn't always go on the Directorate account."

I shrugged and leaned across the table to give Risa a quick kiss on the top of the head. "Bye, monkey."

"Bye," she said, enthusiastically waving for all of three seconds before she grabbed her straw and began a final assault on her Coke.

I grinned and slid out of the booth. But I'd barely taken a step when Dia said softly, "Riley, make sure that when you shoot, you shoot to kill."

It was an echo of the warning Kye had given me, and it chilled me to the bone.

But I didn't stop to ask why. I just got the hell out of there before she said anything else.

Chapter Nine

Quinn was leaning against the side of a black Porsche when I arrived at Essendon airport. He was dressed casually - in blue jeans and white shirt with the sleeves roughly rolled up - but casual on that man was as hot as hell.