Darkness Rising: The Dark Angel Series: Book Two by Keri Arthur Page A

lips quirked, and I had a sudden suspicion that he liked surprising me. “Catherine Alston is slated for death, and nothing we do can stop it.”
    “When will she die?”
    He shrugged. “Soon.”
    “From the Maniae, or through something else?”
    “The Maniae will attack again, because she will forget your warning and sleep. That attack will weaken her greatly. She will fall onto some furniture,break it, and in the process stake herself through the heart with a stray piece of wood.”
    I reached for the STOP button, but Azriel caught my hand. His grip was gentle, yet steel lay underneath it, ready to react should I fight. “Even if Alston heeds your warning, she will still die. Sometimes you can save them, Risa. This is not one of those times.”
    “But we can at least try—”
    “Then try with someone worthy of salvation. Catherine Alston is not.”
    “Many vampires are not,” I said irritably, ripping my hand from his. Warmth lingered where his fingers had rested. “But that doesn’t mean we should just give them up to fate.”
    “Fate does not like being thwarted too often, and she exacts consequences if she is. Alston’s death will be quick. If we change the timing, her next one may be long and painful.” He hesitated, then added softly, “Your mother knew that.”
    “Don’t you
dare
bring my mom into this!” I snapped, clenching my fists against the sudden rush of anger and futility.
    The elevator reached the ground floor and the doors opened. I stormed out, desperate to get away from Azriel. Desperate to ignore the confirmation of what Mom had already told me, and what I knew deep down to be true. Because it didn’t make me feel any better right now to know she couldn’t have been saved no matter what I’d done. Which was totally irrational given that the same knowledge
had
made me feel better earlier.
    But I guess it was an irrational sort of day.
    By the time I’d gotten back to my bike, I’d calmed down a little. I took a deep breath, released it slowly, then said softly, “I’m sorry, Azriel. I shouldn’t have jumped down your throat like that.”
    He reappeared beside me, one dark eyebrow raised. “Jumping down someone’s throat is a difficult task at the best of times. I certainly would have noticed if you’d done it to me.”
    I chuckled softly and shook my head. “Two funnies in one day? Be careful, Azriel, or I might just begin to think you’re not as emotionless as you let on.”
    “Just because I am not created the same way as you doesn’t mean I am emotionless,” he said, with a hint of censure in his voice. “We are not the Aedh.”
    No, he certainly was not. Although Lucian—the full blooded Aedh I was spending time with—not only had a somewhat wicked sense of humor, but he could and
did
enjoy sex with humans. Then again, he’d spent a whole lot of time—centuries of it, in fact—trapped here on earth. Which must have knocked some of the emotionless edges off him.
    Reapers didn’t have that sort of interaction with us, however, and I couldn’t ever imagine them thinking about sex, let alone doing—
    The thought stalled as his eyebrow lifted again. Heat seeped into my cheeks. Damn it, I really was going to have to watch what I was thinking around
this
particular reaper—especially when my thoughts headed in
that
direction.
    I shoved on my helmet and said, “I’m heading home to get the locker key, then into Melbourne to check out the locker. You’d better keep your distance, justin case my father changes his mind and decides to turn up.”
    “You will call if he does?”
    “Trust me, I have no desire to be thrown about like an old rag a second time.”
    “As you wish, then.”
    He winked out of existence. I climbed onto my bike, then headed home. Our place was a square, two-story brick building situated in the heart of Richmond, and its somewhat bland gray exterior belied the beauty of its internal space. Ilianna, Tao, and I had purchased it fresh from