“Come on then,” she called brusquely.

Marek shot me an apologetic glance and waved a hand out for me to go next. I went, looking over my shoulder at him several times with distrust. I had the hilt inside my bag since I was wearing shorts, and I wasn’t letting his stealthy hands anywhere near it.

When I slowed near the door, Marek bumped me from behind and I let out a little screech, turning on him. He kept his hands on my back to steady himself, and I had to shove him away with an elbow.

“My apologies,” he said, all innocence. He slipped his hands into his pockets and nodded down at the paper outside someone’s hotel-room door. The caption was about a huge pawnshop robbery in Atlanta. “The headline caught my attention.”

Not knowing whether or not to believe him, I pulled the bag around from my back to my chest as I pushed through the doors. I felt the shape of the hilt through the bottom of the bag and breathed a sigh of relief.

Outside it was dark, but the air still held the heaviness of the day’s heat and humidity. I didn’t walk to my car, opting instead to stand in a patch of grass at the side of the hotel, away from prying eyes. I faced them with my stance wide, sliding the book bag onto both shoulders in case I had to fight, which I prayed I wouldn’t.

“Strange things are happening,” crooned Caterina. “Would you not agree?”

I kept my hands loose at my sides, prepared. “You have one more chance to tell me why you’re here before I leave.”

She narrowed her beady dark eyes at me, and Marek stepped forward to speak.

“We have a few questions, daughter of Belial. That is all.”

“Questions from you? Or questions someone sent you to ask?”

I was losing patience, feeling overly anxious.

“Are you a virgin?” Caterina blurted.

Great.

“Okay, so something you’ve been sent to ask,” I said.

She smiled, a malicious show of teeth. Dread pooled in my belly.

Marek glowered down at Caterina.

“I’m not answering your questions,” I said. “I don’t trust you.”

Her smile was one of genuine amusement this time. “It’s true—you don’t trust me. But evading questions is almost always a sign of guilt.”

“Almost,” Marek pointed out, speaking to Caterina. “But not always. You’ve cornered her like an animal, and she obviously feels threatened.”

“If you can do better, do it yourself!”

The look she gave him was frightening. He had over a foot of height on her, but she stared at him as if she could take him down one-handed.

“Forget it!” I yelled. “It’s bad enough I have to deal with whisperers following me around. I’m not dealing with a couple of Neph, too. I’m out of here.”

I turned for the parking lot, walking fast.

“We are not finished!” Caterina spat.

Marek said something to her in a different language, using a scolding tone, and she responded in kind. I heard them following me, and I was shaking by the time I got to my car. I reached into the stretchy side pouch of my bag for the keys.

They were gone.

A jingle sounded behind me. In a flash I dug my knife out of my pocket, slid it open, and turned, jutting it out.

Marek and Caterina were five feet away, at the back of my car. He dangled my keys in front of him, a pleading look on his face. How the heck had he taken them?

Caterina’s eyes widened at the sight of my knife.

“Give them to me,” I said.

Marek spoke calmly. “I will, but I had to be sure you would speak to us before you left.”

“Throw them to me,” I demanded.

Caterina crossed her arms. “Not until you answer our questions. If you prefer not to speak with us, I’m certain the sons of Thamuz would be more than happy to pay you a visit.”

The mention of the sons of Thamuz made me dizzy with fear. Thamuz was the Duke of Murder, and I knew their methods of extracting information. They’d broken sweet Marna when she was still just a child, hurting her in unthinkable ways until she opened herself to seeing the demon whisperers.

A knowing smile lit up Caterina’s face. “I see you know of them. Do you know what they do for a living, daughter of Belial? They assist in kidnapping-for-ransom heists in South America.”

I had to shut her up before she said another word about those two psychos.

“I don’t appreciate you showing up unannounced. I don’t answer to you or any other Neph. I do what my father tells me. He’s not the kind of Duke you want to cross, so I suggest you give me my keys and leave me alone.”

Caterina began to laugh, but quickly stopped when she saw Marek toss the keys to my free hand. She gave him a disbelieving look.

“She hasn’t answered our questions!”

“And she won’t now that you’ve treated her as our enemy.”

I pitied Marek. I’d hate to have to deal with the enraged mini-vamp girl.

I hit the Unlock button, opened the door, and threw my bag in.

“Good luck,” I said to Marek before I quickly slipped in, locked the doors, and cranked the engine on.

“Wait!” he yelled, grabbing the door handle. His face looked panicked. “Don’t leave yet!”

What did he expect when he threw me the keys? Caterina made a run for the front of the car to block me, but I hit the accelerator and she jumped back as I sped away. They’d have hell to pay with the Dukes for letting me go.

At the first stoplight I opened the bag and felt around until the hilt was in my hand, then I breathed a sigh of relief. I texted Dad with my information code: A411. I tried to keep my hearing around the two Neph, but they were both silent, and I wasn’t great at following sounds of cars when other cars were around. Just to be safe, I kept driving for the next three hours until my body demanded rest.

I pulled into the back of a supermart’s parking lot and used my backpack as a pillow. I never heard back from Dad. That night, I fell asleep haunted by the look of regret in Marek’s eyes as I sped away. What did he regret, exactly? Was he an ally or a foe? I didn’t know, but I intended to find out.

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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CHAPTER SEVEN

JAY’S FUTURE

I was certifiably grumpy when I woke in the car the next morning. If those restless moments of dozing could be considered sleeping.

I texted Patti first thing. U ok?

Yes. You?

Fine, I texted back.

We said nothing more, and I deleted the conversation from my phone, wishing it was safe to tell her I loved her. I would have given anything to sit out on our balcony with her this morning, sipping coffee like we used to, discussing college plans and other normal things.

I texted Dad again.

He never responded, which made me antsier. I felt stuck in limbo and I didn’t know what my next move should be. I decided to swing by our apartment in Cartersville to check the mail. It probably wasn’t the smartest move, but I tried to be careful. I stopped as I neared the neighborhood and did surveillance. No strange cars or people. I pushed my hearing into the apartment. The place was silent, but I wouldn’t be going in. I got the mail and left as quickly as I could.

I drove to Jay’s house and sorted through the envelopes as I sat parked in his driveway. I was glad I’d gotten the mail, because there were things from Virginia—information about checking into campus housing at Virginia Tech, and letters from the bank and realtor about Patti’s new house in the small town of Riner. I shoved everything into my backpack, slung it over one shoulder with a quick glance for whisperers, and walked into Jay’s house.

His parents were at work, and in his room I could hear clicking on a keyboard. The door was open, so I knocked and peeked in.