He did trust the system.But when he’d flashed into thatparking lot and saw that his Primori was about to abduct a woman, Hawkyn hadinstinctively tried to prevent it.Now he was left with one burning question:Was Ms.Mercer fated to die at Drayger’s hands...or had Hawkyn’s presenceprevented the escape she’d been meant to make?
Hell, maybeDrayger’sfate had been to die from theblast that Hawkyn had taken instead.If so, Hawk’s interference had changedhistory.And, if so, he was in alotof trouble.He could kissmembership in the Memitim Council goodbye...And that was assuming he was evenallowed to Ascend and become a true angel in the first place.
“Thanks, Idess,” he mumbled.
“You’re welcome.I’ll see you later.”She narrowed her eyes,going all big sister on him.“And don’t do anything stupid.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Except that was a lie.He had to find Aurora before Draygerkilled her, and he could only pray that he’d taken her to one of the placesHawk knew about.The guy seemed to have an unusual number of dungeons, andaccording to Drayger’s previous Memitim guardian, he moved his victims around,rarely keeping them in one place for more than a couple of days.If he heldtrue to his pattern, Aurora would be kept alive for two weeks in threedifferent locations.
Hawk just had to hope Drayger didn’t deviate from his usualroutine as he’d done a couple of times in the past.
Cursing softly, Hawkyn stepped out into the undergroundparking lot, which wasn’t protected by Underworld General’s ward preventingentry and exit via any means but the ER doors and the Harrowgate.Once outside,he squared his shoulders and released his wings, shadowy appendages that madehim unique amongst his wingless siblings and which allowed him to cloak himselfin a bubble of invisibility.
His brothers and sisters could also make themselvesinvisible, but they didn’t look as cool doing it.
Wings fully extended and invisibility cloak engaged, hebrushed his fingers over Drayger’s mark on his wrist and was instantlytransported to his Primori’s location, an office building in downtown Portland.
Drayger was at Interim, a computer software company where heworked as a database developer.It was both good news and bad that he was here.It meant he wasn’t harming anyone, but it also meant that Aurora would beharder to find.
The human looked so non-threatening sitting at his desk inkhakis and a green companypolo, hisI<3Computersmug filled with steaming coffee, knickknacks and a photo of his mom nearby.Allan attempt to appear normal.Psychopaths were often surprisingly adept atfitting in.Drayger was a chameleon, and he was good at it.
But Hawkyn had seen the real Drayger.He’d seen what wasunder the face Drayger wore in public and when he was playing with his victims.The true man beneath the mask still appeared human, but the humanity was gone.His eyes were cold and dead, his posture erect with the kind of derangedconfidence that only those who didn’t fear pain or death possessed.Dark energysurrounded him, the seductive kind that drew other evil beings.
And he could turn it on and off in a heartbeat.
Hawkyn despised the bastard, was sickened that someone likehim rated angelic protection.But Hawk would be first in line to kill thefucker once the protection was no longer needed.Angels were forbidden to killhumans no matter how evil they were, butevery once in awhilepermission to do so was granted, and Hawkyn intended to secureauthorization to rid the planet of one Jason Drayger no matter the cost.
Satisfied that Drayger was occupied, Hawk flashedtothe first of several hideouts, an old cellar at anabandoned country farmhouse.It was empty of everything but a filthy mattress,bloodstains, and nasty tools he used for his gruesome hobby.
Same results in Drayger’s residence, the shed on theproperty Drayger cared for while his brother, Ben, was overseas doing contractwork for an oil company, and the cave hidden deep in the Mt.Hood NationalForest.
The weird thing about the cave was the lack of obvioustorture tools and a mattress.Only a hammer, a rusty hand saw, a hatchet, and afew ropes lay in neat coils on the cave floor, nothing that would be suspiciousfor anyone stumbling upon the place.
Well, shit.Those spots were the only ones Hawkyn knewabout.
Where was she?What had Drayger done to her already?Andwhat was Hawkyn going to do once he found her?
Maybe there was a way to find out if his Primori’s fate wasstill on track...which would mean that Hawkyn hadn’t screwed up.But it wouldalso mean that Aurora Mercer was exactly where she was supposed to be.
And while that would be good news for Hawkyn’s future, itwould be very, very bad for hers.
Chapter Four
Hawkyn’s gut churned as he paced back and forth atthe Summoning Stone, a football-sized rose quartz placed in the center of anewly built gazebo at the edge of the Memitim training center in Sheoul-gra.With any luck, someone from the Memitim embassy in Heaven would pop down hereto see him, but in his experience, there only seemed to be a 50/50 chance ofthat happening...which was still far better odds than getting someone from theMemitim Council to show up.If they had ever visited Sheoul-gra, hewasn’taware of it.
He’d give the embassy fifteen more minutes, and then he wasout of here.
Footsteps behind him had him spinning around in relief, butwhen he saw his father standing there in black slacks and a button-down shirt,intense green eyes blazing like hot emeralds, Hawkyn’s gut dropped to hisbooted feet.
“Hawkyn.”Azagoth’s deep voice sent a shimmer of dreadthrough Hawk’s very marrow.His father was intimidating on the best of days,but lately his mood had been as black as his hair and clothes.
Steeling himself, Hawkyn inclined his head in greeting.“Yes, sir.”
“I heard you were injured.”
“I was, but I’m fine now.”He gestured in the direction ofthe armory, where hewas in charge ofinventory andacquisitions.“If you’re wondering about thatreportyou asked for, I sent it to your desk yesterday—”
