Dominion: Zoë Martinique Investigation, Book 6 (9 page)

I loved Daniel, too.

"Zoë." He arched an eyebrow at me. "I
brought you here because this is where your mind was. Where you
intended to come. I told you about Inanna so you'd understand. Now
you know a bit more of our history—more than even Nona knows. And
now…" He moved forward and put his hands on my upper arms. "What in
the hell happened at the Society House?"

I wasn't ready to switch subjects yet!
Oh! Damn him. I needed to know more about how Inanna felt. And if
she was the jealous type.

"Zoë?"

Give him an evil glare, I did! A cold
breeze blew strands of hair across my face, and I reached up to
move them. My fingers were like ice and I was pretty sure I had a
red nose. "You know everything there is to know about me,
right?"

"That's a loaded question. Right up
there with 'does this make me look fat?'"

I punched him in the arm. "Stop it.
I'm serious. You know I was raped here, right?"

His expression became very solemn.
"Yes."

"And you know a young man died here
because of it?"

"Yes."

"And that technically…I died,
too."

"That's how your mother's spell was
broken."

After a few breaths, I told him about
what happened at the hospital in Montreal. And about the picture I
saw, as well as my father's mark. Then I told him about the picture
Nick had and the murders in Atlanta before I left.

His expression never changed. "So this
guy wasn't a Power when he raped you."

"No. According to my
mother."

"And she's sure?"

"Yeah, she's pretty damn sure." I
licked my lips. "You hinted once that this incident wasn't an
accident."

"It wasn't."

His tone was so confident, I narrowed
my eyes at him. "I assumed when I saw the mark on the face of the
two sketches that my father created the event to break the spell.
But my mother confessed to doing it herself." I swallowed bile at
the thought. "She sent this man to do it, but said Barry wasn't
supposed to die and I wasn't supposed to be raped."

I studied his face, documented every
minute detail of his reaction to the news.

Damn ass-hat had a stone face.
Nada.

"TC?"

"Nona's lying, Zoë. But I don't know
why. There isn't any gain in saying something like that except to
make you mad."

Lying? Why in the hell would she lie
like that? Especially about something so…

"Hey." He put a hand to the side of my
face. "It's okay. Whatever the reason Nona has, it's got to be a
good one."

"When you came…" I tried to remember
everything that happened after they shot me with the gun, but it
was just really fuzzy. "Why did you come? How did you
know?"

"I know whenever there's something
wrong, Zoë. You and I are still connected. Especially now, after
sharing the same Throne. Your essence is still here with me." He
paused. "And the essence of…"

"Of?"

"The page. The one Rhonda tried to get
rid of."

Oh. Right. It was still there. Just in
a million floaty bits. "So you know when I'm in
trouble?"

"Yes. So I came to you. And what I
found pissed me the hell off."

"You and me both." I sighed. I was
still mad, but it was that after-mad feeling. The one you get after
a good ugly-cry. Drained. "But you also said the Society was
corrupt or something."

"Zoë, do me a favor, okay? Don't trust
half of what the Society's ruling body says, and don't believe
anything they tell you."

"That…" I blinked several times as my
brain had a little trouble with that sentence. "…makes no
sense."

"It will. Trust me on this. And
believe me when I tell you that your mom had nothing to do with
that man raping you."

"Then who did? He wasn't a Power, so
he wasn't being controlled by my dad. So it was a random attack?
And now Dad's got his Ethereal fingers inside the bastard, pulling
the strings so he'll kill and rape other people? For what? To
rattle me?"

Azrael took a step back and crossed
his arms over his chest. I realized he was still wearing only a
suit, no coat. But then, he wasn't really here, was he? "Probably.
Zoë, do you realize there's a much larger issue here? In fact,
there are several?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

He started ticking them off his
fingers. "First and most important, Dags and Rhonda are missing.
And the best guess anybody has is the Seraphim has them. I can't
say for sure because the moment I took office, each of us slammed
our front door to the other. So, we're not talking, and Geist
doesn't know."

I felt awful! In all of my wallowing
in a pity-party, I'd forgotten the love of my life was missing!
Possibly being tortured to get to that fucking goddamned
book!

"Second, no one can find Daniel and
Inanna. I sensed them in Montreal, and I knew the moment he drank
from you because I could hear Inanna doing it. The moment I knew
you were all right, I took off after them, but I lost them. She's
not answering and neither is he. They're in the wind. We don't know
what will happen when combining your blood with his
still-developing ties to the Abysmal."

"Is it that dangerous?"

"What if it breaks the mental buffer
Inanna set up to separate Daniel from the insane, darker side of
himself the Horror created?"

Oh, shit on a stick! That kind of
thing happening never occurred to me. I stepped back and turned
around. I was going to throw up just thinking about that happening.
"Oh, TC…that can't happen. She's got to keep hold of
him."

"Zoë, we don't know that it will, but
we also didn't know what touching you would do, either. I mean,
look what happened to us when I grabbed you. Sorry, but this wasn't
in the how-to-be-a-Symbiont-plus book."

"TC." I turned and faced him, but I
had my fingers on my chin. "That can't happen to Daniel, and if the
Seraphim does have Dags….what will he do to him?"

"I don't think he'll hurt Dags. He
can't—not really. And I don't think they can do anything if
Maureen's in there playing guard dog. I think you've already been
told it's been three days and nothing's happened."

"Can you be so sure?" My fingers were
damn cold, so I shoved them into my coat pocket.

Wait a minute…when did I put on a
coat?

"There's been no surge of power, no
attempts by the Ethereals here in the Physical. It's been quiet,
except when it comes to things surrounding you." He pointed at
me.

"Me?"

"Every other place in the world where
Ethereals have set up some kind of hub or ops or base has gone
quiet. No movement. The only activity has been near you. The
attacks Joe got word of in the park, and then the deaths in
Montreal. And isn't it interesting they all started right after
Dags and Rhonda disappeared?"

"You think they're
connected?"

"I just don't know how." He lowered
his shoulders. "I want you to concentrate on finding Daniel first.
I'll send Geist to help you."

I made a face.

"Zoë, he feels really bad about
helping Rhonda. Remember, he only operates on a platform of logic.
If she proved to him that removing Dags from your equation would
make a better Wraith, then that's what he did. There was no
malice."

"I don't want to work with
him."

"Too late. You will. He's actually
seen and spoken with Maureen and Alice."

Hear that? That sonic boom was my jaw
hitting the concrete in Piedmont Park, Atlanta, Georgia! "What? Why
didn't Mom say something?"

"Because she doesn't know," came a new
voice behind me.

I turned to see Joe standing here. His
hair was still sticking up at odd angles. He was dressed now, in
jeans and boots. He wore a black sweater and leather peacoat. His
nose was red in the cold. He looked…adorable. "How did you know
where we were?"

He nodded to Azreal. "My buddy
here."

Wow…they really were best friends,
weren't they? Weird.

"Joe's got some news."

I looked at my cop buddy.
"What?"

He smiled. "Remember how
when we first met, you called me a dick? Well, I quit." The smile
broadened. "I'm a
private
dick now."

!!!

Chapter Ten

At first I didn't know what he meant
by "I quit." I mean, he could have quit a lot of things. The
Society? Smoking (but I don't think he ever did that)? Mixing those
vile potions that drag astral-walking drug addicts back to their
bodies?

The private dick comment was sort of a
clue, but then he'd always been kind of a dick.

"Joe, are you okay? You're standing
kinda funny."

"Eh, it's this Orbital Veil thing…"
Joe's hand shot out and he gripped the concrete guard along the
edge. "I have to be careful when I stop quick. It's like…I stop,
but the ride keeps going." His expression transformed from happy
into worry when he looked at me. "Hey…never mind me. You all
right?"

"Yeah. I'm good." I don't know why I
did it, but I leaned in close to Azrael. He put his hand on my
shoulder. "TC took care of me."

"Look, I'm sorry I wasn't much help at
stopping them from doing that to you. They shouldn't
have—"

I raised a hand. "It's done. And it's
over. I quit."

"So did I."

"So you quit the Society?"

"Yes." He smiled, and the cool breeze
ruffled his wacky hair. "And the force."

?

I leaned forward with my brows all
bunched together. I probably looked like Bert. "Say
what?"

"I quit the force. The police force. I
no longer work for the Atlanta Police Department."

"Joe," Azrael said. "Was that a good
idea?"

The former APD detective nodded,
shoved his hands into his pockets, then shivered. "Uh, can we go
in? I don't know if you supernatural Abysmal types noticed, but
it's freezing out here."

Heh. And they say it never gets cold
in the South. P'shh.

"Are you cold?" Azrael asked me as he
leaned back from me.

I nodded. "Oh, I could use a roaring
fire, my booties, and a cup of coffee."

"I vote my place." Joe raised his
hand, then shoved it back into his coat pocket.

"Your place, it is." Azrael stepped
away from me, but kept a hand on my arm and grabbed Joe with the
other one.

Bam!

We were in Joe's living room. And the
funny thing was, we sort of landed on the floor. I don't mean fell
over, but the moment I realized where we were—since the park view
and setting sun changed into his bachelor pad and wide-screen TV—it
was like I dropped an inch or two onto the floor.

Like a tiny jump.

The jump did a number on Joe's
balance, though. Azrael had to keep him up right as he regained his
feet.

"Whoa," Joe said in a very Keanu
Reeves way.

"I didn't know you could do that." I
stepped away and started taking off the coat I couldn't remember
putting on. I knew Joe's apartment like the back of my
bunny-slippered foot. I lived above him and our floor plans were
identical. That, and we both bought at Ikea. Sort of the same
stuff.

"I couldn't before the Throne," Azrael
answered as he meandered about the kitchen, lifting plastic bags
and opening cabinets.

"I couldn't do that when I was in the
Throne." I felt a little like a kindergartener who was the leader
once but never got the playground privileges.

"That's because you never integrated.
No resonance, remember?"

"Grapes are in the refrigerator." Joe
removed his own coat and walked in a more leisurely way around the
apartment. I took his coat and hung it next to mine as he joined
Azrael by the fridge.

The Phantasm had half his body inside,
his nicely shaped Vin Diesel ass sticking out. "Where?"

"Under your nose."

"Oh. These are purple."

"They're seedless."

"I like the green ones."

"Beggars and choosers." Joe moved
around him to the counter and turned his Keurig on. The familiar
rumble of the appliance's water heater comforted me as I joined him
and grabbed two cups from his cabinet.

"So…" I set the cups on the counter as
Azrael pulled a strainer filled with grapes out of the fridge. It
was almost endearing to see this powerful being of a First Born
sitting on an Ikea stool at a mundane counter, popping grapes in
his mouth like popcorn. "Care to tell me how you managed to quit
the Society and the police force in one afternoon?"

Joe showed me his box of Starbucks
Pike Place Roast, medium, and I nodded. When the light indicated
the appliance was ready, he switched out the K-Cup, closed it, and
placed one of the mugs under the nozzle.