"Yes," I said, my voice oddly calm despite the sea of boiling rage building in my chest. "I do."

She blanched. "I'm not saying you're wrong. Maximus is rotten to the core. But why do you sound so bloodthirsty? It's not like you."

Maximus laughs. He stands back from the table and points at me as he, Dash, and the Master laugh until they cry while I struggle with futility against the bonds. Rage. Fury. Frustration. My emotions roil through me in a tidal wave. I will destroy—

"Justin?"

I gasped and looked at Elyssa, the vision of my tormentors vanishing like smoke. "I—I don't know." The anger washed away, draining back into the dark depths from which it came. "Maybe I'm just tired. We've been through so much crap. And the dead—god, I don't even want to think about it."

Color returned to her cheeks. She graced me with a wan smile and hugged me, pressing her head against my chest. "We've all been through too much. I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose me either."

She looked up at me. "We'll rest. And then we'll talk to Meghan."

"It won't do any good."

"Please."

I sighed. "If it'll make you feel better. But Nightliss might know a cure."

She nodded. Smiled. "Thanks."

After a long hot shower, I called Stacey. Nightliss had been hanging with my felycan friend during her days as a little black cat. I hoped she might know where the angel was.

"Justin, you sound absolutely awful, love," Stacey said in her British drawl. "Whatever is the matter?"

"Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that." I recited a five-minute summary of the past few days.

She took in a sharp breath. "Why the bloody hell didn't you ask me and Ryland to come help? You know I do so enjoy fisticuffs against those vile bloodsuckers."

I laughed. "I might still need your help. Maximus escaped. We think he's back in Atlanta."

"Well then, lamb, we shall have to be sure his return is short-lived." She sniffed. "Now, as for Nightliss, Ryland and I will scour the area for her. I'll have my friends—"

"Your cats?"

"Indeed. They form quite an informative network. Ryland can ask his doggie friends for help."

"Hey now, cupcake," came a gruff voice from the phone. "They're wolves, not dogs."

"Hey, Ryland," I said.

"Howdy," he replied, his voice growing louder in the speaker. "I see you managed to go almost a week before stirring up trouble again."

A smile caught my lips. "I get bored easily."

"Ain't that the truth." He paused. "I do have news of your little angel friend."

Breath caught in my throat. "You do?"

"Wait a bloody moment," Stacey said. "How do you have news?"

"Wolves are smarter than cats for one thing," he said.

Stacey made a cute growling noise. "Someone doesn't want cuddle time tonight."

It was time to steer the conversation back on track. "Uh, guys, back to Nightliss. What do you know?"

Ryland cleared his throat. "A group of dark Arcanes was killing off supernaturals in San Francisco with nasty black magic. Rumor has it a young Arcane woman formed a coalition of supers to fight back. They were losing the fight until a woman matching Nightliss's description swooped in and helped them win."

"When was this?" I asked.

"About a day ago. Heard it from a lycan buddy of mine who was involved. He said she came outta nowhere, like an avenging angel."

"Anything else?"

"Not that I know of, but I'll have him ask the Arcane. Maybe she knows."

"Please do. It's literally a matter of life or death."

"Ain't it always?"

I spoke with them a few more minutes and ended the call after promising to contact them when I returned to Atlanta. Because I hadn't heard a word from Shelton during all this mess, I gave him a call next. He answered after several rings.

"Where the hell have you been?" I asked.

"Too much to explain." He sounded weary. "The past caught up to me, and I've trying to outrun it ever since. Should have known not to go back there, damn it."

"Crap, Shelton, why didn't you come to the Templar compound?"

He snorted. "Once I found out about the ambush the vamps pulled on you, I tried. It would've been a suicide mission." He sighed. "Look, I hate to be a disappointment and all, but I took the arch back to Atlanta. I had to pull a lot of favors just to do that."

Disbelief went through me. "Back in Atlanta? What's going on with you? Are you okay?"

"Too much to explain. Let's just say I didn't have a choice."

"Wow. Okay, I guess." I shook my head, wondering just who didn't like Shelton around these parts. Then again, considering he'd been in league with some dark people, including Vadaemos Slade at one point, he probably had as many enemies as I did.

Shelton apparently took my silence for his cue to say something. "Since you're talking on the phone, I assume you survived the ambush."

"I think my story is as long as yours," I said, and gave him an abbreviated account of events.

He blew out a low whistle. "And I thought I had it bad. Geez kid, you don't go halfway."

"We have to find Nightliss, Shelton. I know you just went through some kind of escapade yourself, but—"

"Hey, I'm on it." He chuckled. "Not a boring moment with you around."

"Tell me about it."

"Well…" he trailed off. "I guess I'll go."

"Glad you're okay." I remembered something. "Oh, and Bella's been asking about you—Harry."

"Uh, how nice."

"Is there something going on I should know about?" It took some effort not to laugh at his obvious discomfort. I just wished I could have asked him face-to-face.

"She's cute."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Another pause. "I'm gonna go now and hunt down an angel, okay?"

"Thanks."

"No problemo." He ended the call.

Elyssa emerged from the shower, a towel wrapped around her body. Leaning her head to the side as she dried her hair with another towel, she said, "Any luck?"

I nodded and relayed what I'd found out.

"Well, it's a start." She pressed her hands to my face and kissed me. "I'm so tired. It's always one thing after another."

"It never ends."

"I just want to forget everything. The pain, the anger. I want to let it all go." Her kisses became more insistent. "Just for one night."

I ran a hand up her neck, gripping her damp hair tight as need and desire swept me in a flood. "I just want you." My voice came out rough. "You're all I ever wanted."

She tore off my shirt. Pushed me onto the bed, and straddled me. Leaned down, her hair hanging in damp, tangled braids to both sides, violet eyes glowing with hunger. Her soft lips pressed against mine. I felt her fangs nip my lower lip. She ran kisses down my neck, groaning softly.

I gripped the towel and pulled it off, flinging it away to reveal her slender, athletic body. With a twist, I flipped us around, pinning her beneath me.

"You won't be needing these," she said, unbuckling my pants and pushing them down.

Brushing aside the raven dark hair from her face, I looked down upon her full lips, at the fangs protruding ever so slightly from beneath. I kissed her upper lip. Her bottom lip. Leaned into her neck and drew in the heady scent that drove me wild.

"You smell so…amazing," I said and pulled the sheets over us.

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. I pulled on my pants before answering.

"Oh!" Katie stood there, face blushing red, eyes wide as she stared at me. She reached a hand toward my stomach. Pulled it back, as if reconsidering. "God, I just want to touch your six-pack."

"Hello, Justin," said a calm, familiar voice.

I flinched, spotting the gray man as he stood motionless in the twilight outside. "What time is it?"

"Almost evening," Katie said. "The Templars brought us back here, although I had to convince them not to take poor—uh—whatever his name is and toss him into a cell." She jerked a thumb toward the golem. "I slept like a rock. Holy crap was I tired." Her eyes wandered up my torso. "Anyway, when I woke up, I came over here and found him sitting outside on that bench over there." She pointed out a wooden bench along a path leading through the compound. "It was kind of creepy."

"I did not intend any creepiness," the golem said.

"Weren't you bored?" Katie asked.

"I'm not familiar with being bored. Is this something I should attempt?"

"Not if you want to be bored," I said.

His head tilted. "I do not know enough about being bored to either want or not want it."

"Poor thing," Katie said, shaking her head. "He doesn't know much."

"Hang on," I said, and went back inside to grab a shirt.

"Is that Katie?" Elyssa asked, sitting up in bed.

"And the gray man."

She groaned. "Let me get dressed."

After we were properly clothed, I invited Katie and the golem inside and told her about my efforts to find Nightliss in the hopes Felicia could be saved.

Katie snapped her fingers. "Wait a minute. Now it makes more sense."

"What does?"

She pulled out an arctablet and accessed a document. "Underborn gave me access to a ton of information, like Templar crime reports, stuff like that, when I was studying for my undercover role. I found reports from all over the world where bad guys were being mean and all, and then a mystery woman showed up to save the day. But there were some weird cases where they described a blonde woman helping. Nightliss is short, has an olive complexion, and black hair, right?"