them sitting together in the low-lit
living-room, conjured memories of their time together in hotel
bedrooms while they had hunted for Othman, and brought with it a
sense of excitement.
‘It wasn’t that difficult,’
Lahash answered, smiling slyly. He was dressed, as usual, in a
smart suit, over which he wore a long raincoat. Aninka always
thought he looked as if he worked for the CIA, and wondered why she
found him attractive. She didn’t normally fancy men with short
hair, whether they were Grigori or human.
Taziel looked distinctly
uncomfortable, perhaps sensing that Lahash’s appearance would mean
they’d have to talk about Othman, and the experiences they’d
shared. Still, he did not leave the room, merely watched Lahash
with narrowed eyes through a veil of sweet-smelling smoke. He was
the opposite of Lahash — longhaired and scruffy, his body posture
languid rather than alert.
‘Are you in trouble?’ Aninka
asked. ‘What did Enniel say to you?’
Lahash shrugged. ‘He implied I
was careless, and in the heat of remonstrations, even that I might
have let the Anakim escape deliberately.’ He grimaced. ‘After all,
my blood too is tainted.’ He referred to the fact that the
Murkasters were a disgraced branch of the family.
‘That’s ridiculous!’ Aninka
exclaimed. ‘I did tell Enniel what happened, you know. I made sure
he knew there was nothing any of us could do, and even that it was
Taziel and I who wanted to give up the chase. You were the one who
thought we should carry on.’
‘Thanks. Although I don’t think
your — er — testimony did much good.’
‘I could speak to him again,’
Aninka suggested.
Lahash shook his head. ‘No,
don’t do that. I don’t think it’s a good idea he finds out I’ve
contacted you. As far as Enniel is concerned, you and Taz are off
the case.’
‘We’re not, you know,’ Aninka
dared to say, not looking at Taziel. ‘It’s not over yet, for any of
us.’
Lahash nodded. ‘That is one of
the reasons I wanted to find you.’ He gave Aninka a significant
glance, which effectively increased her heartbeat.
Taziel had not yet uttered a
word to Lahash other than a surly greeting. Now, he voiced a
question. ‘What do you want?’
Lahash glanced at him, his
expression showing plainly that he expected trouble from this
quarter. ‘I want to know where Peverel Othman is. No, I want to
know where Shemyaza is. And the best way to do that is to utilise
the talents of the one person who’s professed to have a psychic
ability to track him, namely yourself. I want him, Taz. He escaped
me, because I wasn’t prepared for what happened at Little Moor.
Now, I know what I’m dealing with, and I can handle it. This isn’t
over until I deliver Shemyaza, alive or dead, to High Crag.’
Lahash’s expression had become steely, with a hint of mania.
‘So you can absolve yourself in
Enniel’s eyes?’ Taziel laughed harshly. ‘Show him you’re a clever
boy, after all. You’re pathetic! You think I’ll help you? Are you
so obsessed with Shemyaza you can’t face an obvious truth? There’s
no way I want to open up that wound again. Aninka knows it, so why
don’t you?’
Aninka was annoyed with Taziel.
The confrontational side to his nature hadn’t manifested once since
they’d been in the flat. ‘Why haven’t you gone home?’ she asked
sharply. ‘If you’d really thought this business was over, surely
you’d have resumed your life as it was. You don’t fool me,
Taz.’
Taziel blinked at her,
apparently surprised someone he’d considered to be an ally had
turned on him. She suspected that, had they been alone, he might
have talked about his feelings, but Lahash was there, so Taziel’s
defence screens were raised and impregnable.
‘I just don’t see why we should
let ourselves be used, so Lahash can worm his way back into the
Parzupheim’s favour. You know how dangerous this is, Ninka.
Shemyaza is insane and unpredictable. He must have killed
living-room, conjured memories of their time together in hotel
bedrooms while they had hunted for Othman, and brought with it a
sense of excitement.
‘It wasn’t that difficult,’
Lahash answered, smiling slyly. He was dressed, as usual, in a
smart suit, over which he wore a long raincoat. Aninka always
thought he looked as if he worked for the CIA, and wondered why she
found him attractive. She didn’t normally fancy men with short
hair, whether they were Grigori or human.
Taziel looked distinctly
uncomfortable, perhaps sensing that Lahash’s appearance would mean
they’d have to talk about Othman, and the experiences they’d
shared. Still, he did not leave the room, merely watched Lahash
with narrowed eyes through a veil of sweet-smelling smoke. He was
the opposite of Lahash — longhaired and scruffy, his body posture
languid rather than alert.
‘Are you in trouble?’ Aninka
asked. ‘What did Enniel say to you?’
Lahash shrugged. ‘He implied I
was careless, and in the heat of remonstrations, even that I might
have let the Anakim escape deliberately.’ He grimaced. ‘After all,
my blood too is tainted.’ He referred to the fact that the
Murkasters were a disgraced branch of the family.
‘That’s ridiculous!’ Aninka
exclaimed. ‘I did tell Enniel what happened, you know. I made sure
he knew there was nothing any of us could do, and even that it was
Taziel and I who wanted to give up the chase. You were the one who
thought we should carry on.’
‘Thanks. Although I don’t think
your — er — testimony did much good.’
‘I could speak to him again,’
Aninka suggested.
Lahash shook his head. ‘No,
don’t do that. I don’t think it’s a good idea he finds out I’ve
contacted you. As far as Enniel is concerned, you and Taz are off
the case.’
‘We’re not, you know,’ Aninka
dared to say, not looking at Taziel. ‘It’s not over yet, for any of
us.’
Lahash nodded. ‘That is one of
the reasons I wanted to find you.’ He gave Aninka a significant
glance, which effectively increased her heartbeat.
Taziel had not yet uttered a
word to Lahash other than a surly greeting. Now, he voiced a
question. ‘What do you want?’
Lahash glanced at him, his
expression showing plainly that he expected trouble from this
quarter. ‘I want to know where Peverel Othman is. No, I want to
know where Shemyaza is. And the best way to do that is to utilise
the talents of the one person who’s professed to have a psychic
ability to track him, namely yourself. I want him, Taz. He escaped
me, because I wasn’t prepared for what happened at Little Moor.
Now, I know what I’m dealing with, and I can handle it. This isn’t
over until I deliver Shemyaza, alive or dead, to High Crag.’
Lahash’s expression had become steely, with a hint of mania.
‘So you can absolve yourself in
Enniel’s eyes?’ Taziel laughed harshly. ‘Show him you’re a clever
boy, after all. You’re pathetic! You think I’ll help you? Are you
so obsessed with Shemyaza you can’t face an obvious truth? There’s
no way I want to open up that wound again. Aninka knows it, so why
don’t you?’
Aninka was annoyed with Taziel.
The confrontational side to his nature hadn’t manifested once since
they’d been in the flat. ‘Why haven’t you gone home?’ she asked
sharply. ‘If you’d really thought this business was over, surely
you’d have resumed your life as it was. You don’t fool me,
Taz.’
Taziel blinked at her,
apparently surprised someone he’d considered to be an ally had
turned on him. She suspected that, had they been alone, he might
have talked about his feelings, but Lahash was there, so Taziel’s
defence screens were raised and impregnable.
‘I just don’t see why we should
let ourselves be used, so Lahash can worm his way back into the
Parzupheim’s favour. You know how dangerous this is, Ninka.
Shemyaza is insane and unpredictable. He must have killed
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