“Augustine?”
They were back on a first name basis. He felt tension drain from him. Curious how he hadn’t realized he’d been holding it. “Yes, Diana?”
“Can all illusion Primes do that?”
“Define ‘that’?”
“Don’t be obtuse. Can all illusion Primes create area illusions like you?”
He had to dodge this one. “To a lesser degree.”
“Do you know any other illusion mages who are as strong as you?”
“That is outside the scope of this investigation. We are looking for a specific kind of illusion mage, and that mage is unlikely to match me in power.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I could answer it, but you’re asking for House-specific intelligence, and it would be very expensive.”
“You’re a monster,” she murmured.
He blinked, sure he’d misheard. She’d said it like a compliment.
She asked, “Where are we going now?”
“To visit Sutton.”
“He was the broker who arranged the theft.”
He nodded. “Sutton is the seller’s agent. He specializes in blind deals. He doesn’t know any particulars. He doesn’t know who the client is, because he only works with brokers. You tell him what kind of specialist you want to hire, and he finds the right candidate and connects the two of you together. He collects an introduction fee and leaves it at that. Whether or not an agreement is reached matters not at all to him.”
If she understood correctly, Sutton knew two things: the name of the buyer’s broker and the name of the thief. She was almost certain that the culprit behind the theft was a Prime, and any broker that worked with Primes would be well protected and difficult to reach. Besides, they didn’t have a lot of time.
No, it was much easier to go after the thief.
“What should I brace myself for? The undead? Krakens? Colossal gelatinous globs hungry for human flesh?”
“Nothing like that, I assure you. Sutton and my family go way back. I do not anticipate any problems.”
“I’m bringing my dog,” she informed him. “Don’t try to talk me out of it.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he promised.
Sutton madehis lair in a sixteen-story office tower on Augusta Drive, right in the middle of the crowded cluster of retail, office, and apartment buildings that had sprung up around the Galleria. The mall billed itself as “Texas’ largest and most luxurious shopping destination,” and the resulting labyrinth of commercial property around it was its own busy, dense microcosm.
Augustine parked in the back lot, exited the car, and held her door open.
He was back in his perfect businessman persona. Not a single strand of pale gold hair out of place. No damage on his knuckles. There was no way to tell how much of it was illusion, but she didn’t smell blood on him.
She’d taken a good look at the bodies sprawled on the floor on her way out. They looked broken. He’d put four guards in the hospital. She was amazed they hadn’t heard an ambulance wail as they drove out.
This man was utterly terrifying. And he was holding open her door. A frisson of alarm dashed along her nerves. It was delicious.
Diana stepped out of the vehicle.
Augustine then opened the rear passenger door, and she sent a light push along the bond to Lila. The dog jumped out and took her usual position by Diana’s side. The familiar feedback of Lila’s emotions trickled in through the bond: happiness, anticipation, curiosity, and a slight tinge of eagerness. Lila was a young dog, conditioned to be a bodyguard. She had personally trained Lila to respond to immediate threats and to make her own judgements. The Doberman lacked the single-minded drive of some police canines who started whining as soon as they saw a suspect, anticipating the chase and the release of the bite. But she had spent a long time in the car. Lila was looking forward to a bit of exercise.
They crossed the parking lot, aiming for the entrance. All of Diana’s senses were dialed up, keyed to Augustine striding at her side. She noted everything in detail: the way he moved, the way he placed his feet and shifted his weight, his breathing, his scent… Her memory reproduced that dark suit, the contours of hard muscle stretching the dark fabric.
