Chapter 9 #2
“Because I do not wish it to.” It was flatly said, in a manner that suggested no further questions about his twin’s part in his life would be entertained. “I also had three nieces. Jacy was the eldest, and her death was what caught my father’s attention.”
Which was an extremely odd way of putting it, but again, I didn’t question him—the shadows crowding his eyes suggested it was better not to. But I sure as hell would be asking Ginny. She was, after all, my local expert when it came to gossip.
“I take it your father went after Orion in revenge?”
“Yes.” Another flat statement.
I frowned. “What has Tane got to do with all of this? I gather there must be a connection, given Orion swore revenge on Ashworth rather than your father. Did your father know Tane?”
“Not personally, as far as I’m aware, but Tane and his siblings did have something of a reputation.”
“Not the gentlemanly kind, I’m thinking, given what I’ve seen of the man.”
René’s smile held little warmth. “They had a tendency to take what they wanted, and woe betide anyone who got in the way.”
“Why were they never pulled up by the HCI or even the Society?”
“Lack of evidence and no one left alive to make statements.”
“Lack of evidence has never exactly stopped the Society.”
“Even they have boundaries they will not cross.”
Good to know, even if I’d seen no real evidence of it so far. “So, what happened?”
“Orion’s family—”
“A man who fed on innocents had a family?” I cut in, surprised.
“He was a man, no matter what else he might have been. We all crave love and companionship.”
“According to the gossip mags, you only crave the latter.”
“The latter is easier to deal with when shadows are a fixture in your world.”
Another interesting comment he undoubtedly would not explain. “I take it Tane went after Orien’s family?”
“Not specifically. He was after an artifact Orion’s family held. He went there when Orion was absent, and when he couldn’t get what he wanted, he destroyed Orion’s wife and children, then ransacked the house until he found it.”
“The Lancet rune,” I said in sudden understanding. “That’s what Tane took, and that’s what Orion is now after.”
René nodded. “And once he gets all three sections, he will annihilate Tane’s family and anyone close to them.”
And in all honesty, I couldn’t fault him for that, no matter what else he’d done or was.
“If you know all this, there was obviously enough evidence to charge Tane, so why wasn’t he brought to justice?”
The smile tugging his lips held little humor. “Why do you think?”
“Tane’s family is powerful, and Orion is a blood witch who hunted innocents?”
“Yes.”
“Orion’s family should not have paid the price for what he was, though.”
“Theoretically, I agree, but theory and reality aren’t often close companions when it comes to blood magic and soul feeders.”
“Especially when you have the money to pay others to ignore your murderous actions.”
“It happens more often than you think, trust me on that.”
Which left me wondering if he’d ever paid others to look the other way. “Do you think the murders of both Francesca and Marnee are the beginning of Orion’s revenge on Tane and his family?”
And if Orion was behind their murders, it might also explain Levi’s brutal death if, as we surmised, Lanie was the woman I’d heard speaking to Luke in that tape. Levi, who had been sexually innocent, had been excellent fuel for her blood mage master.
“Yes,” René said. “Although we won’t know for sure until the forensic medium hands in her results.”
Because a medium could tell whether their souls had left their body naturally or had been violently torn away. I took another drink, although the coffee was all but cold now, then said carefully, “From the little you’ve said of your father, I would have thought he’d ensure Orion was dead.”
“He did.” It was flatly said again. “My father took absolutely everything the man had.”
His power, his soul, his life, Atticus murmured. His father was more than a mere gray mage, I think.
And not a man you’d want to cross, in any way, I replied with a slight shiver.
Did the son take after his father in that respect? He might claim to be an empty canvas, but he was certainly hiding something—something that perhaps even he was afraid of.
Which was a rather odd insight about a man I barely knew.
A fact that will not stop you lechering after the man.
Lechering? I retorted. Is that even a fucking word?
I know not; I care not.
I snorted softly and returned my attention to René. “If your father bled this man of power and life, how can he possibly be alive and walking around today?”
“It is possible he managed to make a deal with a demon as he crossed over, promising him fresh souls in return for a new body and assistance in gaining revenge.”
A man without a soul in cahoots with a demon is a dangerous thing indeed, Atticus said.
A body can’t live without a soul, I replied, frowning.
Generally, that is true, but it is possible his demon—most dark mages in their later years have them due to their descent into madness and their driving need for ever more power—holds his soul in stasis rather than having wholly consumed it.
I had no idea that was possible.
You have no idea about far too many things.
Ass. To René, I said, “When did all this happen?”
“Orion was killed by my father just before his death, nearly years ago.”
I blinked. “Then why has it taken so long for Orion to exact his revenge?”
René shrugged. “It is never an easy thing to find a new body to take over, especially when his requirements would involve a good degree of witch power. The resident souls in such bodies rarely want to give up their accommodation easily.”
There was a brief but odd catch of anger in his voice that suggested he spoke from some degree of experience. Did that mean his father had attempted to take over someone as he’d slid down into the dark madness?
Once again, I didn’t ask the questions buzzing in my mind. “What about the second thread of magic found in the shard? Was that Lanie’s, by chance?”
“No, Luke’s, and I have his current location.”
“Then we really need to get over there.” I reached into my handbag and removed my phone from the nulling box, but the minute I did, it rang, the tone telling me it was Ginny.
I hit the answer button. “Did you find out why Mark was in the apartment?”
“Mark Marlowe?” René asked softly.
I glanced at him and nodded. Ginny said, “He was there to do a little thievery.”
I raised my eyebrows. “He didn’t seem to be carrying anything out in that video.”
“Because what he took could fit in his pocket.”
“I’m guessing it was one of the runes Monica wrangled out of his family while he was overseas,” I said. “But why was he looking there rather than her apartment in Canberra? That would be the more logical place to keep it, surely.”
“Apparently he had family doing that while he came up here.”
“And did he find said rune?”
“He found one. Apparently that’s another reason Lanie went off her tree—she wanted the rune back, and Mark refused to cooperate.”
“Maybe that’s why they kept him alive—they wanted him to stew in his own excrement for a few days to weaken his will.”
“Yes, which is why, when he gets out of the hospital, he will be placed in a safe house until this matter is sorted. You have any luck with the dark mage?”
“Yes and no.” I quickly explained what René had uncovered. “We’re about to head over to Luke’s place now.”
“That wouldn’t happen to be in Ascot Green, near the racecourse there, would it?”
I glanced at René, and he nodded in confirmation. “Why?”
“Because I’m outside watching his apartment right now.”
“Obviously not in bird form, given you’re on the phone.”
“Of course not, idiot. I’m on the ground but I will fly over to a tree near his apartment once done.”
I grinned. “We’ll be there in—” I stopped and raised an eyebrow in query at René.
“Twenty,” he replied.
I repeated it and hung up. “Are we going there in separate cars?”
“It would seem illogical, but it would depend on whether you wish your own transport to go elsewhere after we capture Luke.”
“Presuming we do capture Luke.” I tucked my phone back into my handbag and began wrapping up the remnants of our food. “And whether you need another sneaky visit to a friend or a lover.”
A smile tugged at his lovely lips. “I have no lover up here.”