A sudden chill swept in to chase the relief away. John’s words tormented her from the spiritlands.

I see they’ve sent a sacrificial lamb. Or maybe that’s Elena’s role. Then again, maybe third time’s the charm.

Aisling’s stomach knotted as she looked around the worn, stark living room and thought of the abandoned fetishes and tools in the next room, of the man’s clothing left hanging in the closet.

John’s voice whispered through her mind. They don’t intend for you to leave. This is only the beginning act-if you survive it, of course.

She shivered as she remembered the bishop saying she would have a choice between staying in Oakland or going home-only there never had been a choice. Powerful forces in the ghostlands had seen to that and bound her to look for whoever was creating Ghost. She wondered if those same forces had led Father Ursu to her and if the Church was also looking for the Ghost source.

Her attention returned to the serpent curled up on the coffee table. The presence of a demon prince suddenly seemed like a clear message, a warning against trusting Father Ursu or the bishop.

Aisling shifted her focus to Elena. She didn’t know what Elena’s role in this was. Maybe John was right and his sister was a sacrificial lamb-maybe they all were. At the moment it didn’t matter. Elena was the starting point for finding the ones responsible for Ghost.

“I’ll help you discover how you ended up at the black mass, but I won’t hunt for Anthony Tiernan and his followers in the ghostlands, not unless there’s no other choice.”

“That’s fine. You can search for answers at the club.” Elena leaned forward eagerly but jerked back when she remembered the snake. “The man I bought Ghost from was new. He told me I’d have the best results if I found a private place where people couldn’t interfere with my trip. He said it was a special batch, one guaranteed to take me where I wanted to go.”

“Did it?”

“No, but it got me closer than I’ve ever been until today, with you.”

Elena’s eyes glittered with fevered intensity. “Find the man who sold me Ghost. Find out who he works for, but let me handle telling the authorities. You’re new here. You don’t know who can be trusted and who can’t.”

She leaned forward again, this time ignoring the serpent in order to whisper, “Don’t tell anyone you can control the Ghost ride. It’s not common knowledge, otherwise Father Ursu wouldn’t have made Luther promise to keep their conversation confidential.”

Horror shuddered through Aisling at the thought of being forced into the spiritlands again. Her hand twitched with the desire to hold the black onyx pentacle. “Tell me what I need to know about the club, and what you remember.”

“The club is called Sinners. It’s in the red zone. I’ve already told you about that. Do you have a map?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll show you where the red zone is and tell you how to get there by bus.” Elena looked down at her watch. “You don’t have much time. The buses will stop picking up passengers soon.” She frowned as she took in Aisling’s worn clothing. “You can get in wearing that, but if you look poor, you’re asking for trouble. Do you have anything newer?”

There were only a few garments in the satchel Father Ursu had handed her in the car, but each item was nicer than anything she’d ever owned. It was silly to resist wearing the clothes she’d been given, but she clung to the familiarity of her own possessions because they connected her to a life that seemed to be slipping further and further away.

Aisling buried her fingers into Aziel’s fur. She knew all too well what it meant to be poor and fair game. “I’ll wear something else.”

“Good.” Elena’s gaze lingered on the ferret then darted to the serpent. “Don’t take your pets. The bouncer won’t let you in with them, and if they’re discovered inside, they’ll be killed.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Aisling said and felt a small shimmer of gratitude toward Elena despite everything that had happened.

Elena placed her hand on the pouch of silver coins still lying on the coffee table. “This is between you and me. Luther believes I’m here to thank you for saving my life. I don’t want anyone to know I’ve hired you. I don’t want you contacting me. I’ll return to check your progress when I can. Will you agree to those terms?”

“Yes.”

Elena took her hand off the pouch. “Ghost sellers don’t come to Sinners every night. When they do, they arrive a few minutes before the club locks its doors. Until this time it’s always been the same two people, a man with a cross branded on his cheek and a woman with a similar one branded on her shoulder. I think they’ll talk to you when they find out what you are. It’s possible the man who sold me the Ghost is competing against them. He didn’t have a cross tattoo, but he was branded on the backs of his hands.”

“What did the brands look like?”

Elena closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she tilted her nearly empty mug and dipped a finger into the tea before tracing several wet symbols onto the coffee table.

“I think that’s what they looked like but I’m not positive. Do they mean anything to you?”

“No.”

Elena shrugged. “They’re probably criminal brands then. I’ve heard there are places that don’t bother with tattoos anymore because it’s cheaper to use a brand and harder for a criminal to hide by paying someone to alter the design.”

“I’ve heard the same thing. Besides the marks on his hands, what did he look like?”

“Short brown hair. A thin face. Pale. I wouldn’t have noticed him at all if he hadn’t been the last person to walk into the club before the doors were locked.”

“Did he seek you out?”

“No, I was waiting with the others.”

“People who wanted to buy Ghost?”

“Yes.”

“How many others?”

“Six, I think. He took me aside after he’d sold to them. That’s when he told me I’d have the best results if I found a private place where people couldn’t interfere with my trip. I don’t think he told the others that.”

“Where did you go to use Ghost?”

“To one of the upstairs master bedrooms. The closet is long enough to lie down in and it has a door.”

“Did he follow you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did anyone see you go into the closet?”

“There was a threesome on the bed. There were people hanging around watching them. I didn’t really notice who was there. What happens at the club stays at the club-that’s one of the very few rules. The clubbers won’t tell you anything, but the Ghost dealers, I think they’ll be very interested in you.”

Elena retrieved a thin billfold from another pocket and placed some money on the table. “This is enough to get you into Sinners a few times. It may take more than one visit before the Ghost sellers show up. There’s food and drink for sale inside, but you’re allowed to bring your own in.” She cocked her head and studied Aisling in an assessing manner. “With your looks, you shouldn’t have any trouble getting the men to buy you dinner and drinks. Rape’s not allowed. Even drunk, the men who’ll be in the club aren’t stupid enough to try that, but just about anything else goes.” She checked her watch. “You’ll go to the club tonight?”

Nervousness tightened Aisling’s chest. “Yes.”

“Let me show you where it is on the map, then I need to leave. I’ve already been here a long time. I don’t want to make Luther suspicious.”

The map was still on the table pushed against the counter. It took Elena only a few minutes to show Aisling the bus route and the street Sinners was on.

As soon as she was gone, Zurael reclaimed his human shape. “I’ll go with you.”

“They won’t let you in,” she said and his husky laugh sent heated need spiraling through her.

Despite his intentions to keep his distance from her, Zurael couldn’t stop himself from cupping her neck. The rapid beat of her pulse against his palm was echoed in the throbbing of his cock.