Shadow's End (Elder Races #9)

She said, “Working for Carling will extend my lifespan significantly. It still won’t bring me to anything near what Luis’s life would have been before he met me, but instead of having thirty or forty years together, we’ll now have eighty. Maybe even a hundred, if we’re lucky, and I’ll be fit and healthy to the end.”


“You fuss too much,” Luis told her. He accepted a mug too. “Things have turned out better than I could have hoped. I like fieldwork and being independent, so those were my requirements. Long story short, we ended up in Florida, applying for positions at Carling and Rune’s agency. We’ve been working for them ever since.”

“Well, you know I wouldn’t have trusted you with an investigation as sensitive or dangerous as this if Rune hadn’t recommended you so highly,” said Graydon. “I want to go over everything to make sure it’s in order.”

“Of course,” said Luis. “Since we didn’t know what you might choose to do, I’ve created files that meet Elder tribunal litigation requirements. It’s kind of my thing.”

Graydon glanced at Claudia again. The twinkle had returned in her eyes. She said in a gentle voice to Luis, “I get all hot and bothered when you talk about files and litigation requirements.”

The younger Wyr laughed a little under his breath, and his skin darkened.

Watching them, Graydon’s sense of discouragement turned to hope. If anybody looked mismatched at first glance, it had to be Luis and Claudia, yet they appeared to have found a solution that allowed them to be together in the best way possible.

Maybe he and Bel really could find a way to be together. Of course, they might not, but at least it looked more possible than it had earlier at Ruby’s Diner.

“I want to have a meeting on this sometime later tonight,” he told them. “I would like for you both to attend, if you would.”

“Of course,” Claudia said. “Rune and Carling are in town, and they wanted to be kept updated. Is it all right if they attend too?”

“I would prefer it.” Rune was one of the most formidable fighters Graydon had ever known, and as a Powerful witch and Vampyre, Carling had once fought in a war against a first-generation Djinn—and won. Her input would be invaluable.

“I’ll let them know,” Claudia promised.

Luis led him to the dining table and logged him onto a laptop. Once Graydon had taken a seat, Luis handed him something square and black. It was an external hard drive.

“The laptop’s Wi-Fi capability has been disabled,” Luis told him. “The only record of the files is on that hard drive. This is as secure as we could possibly make it.”

“That’s terrific.”

Plugging in the drive, Graydon explored the contents.

The files were massive. Neatly labeled, each folder contained copies of financial records, photos, and extensive notes, each document logged with the date and time. There were also interviews in audio files.

The other two left him to his reading. It took him several hours, but he reviewed each file thoroughly. He worked through lunch.

Silently, without interrupting him, Luis set a plate stacked with roast beef sandwiches beside his elbow. Graydon nodded his thanks and, without taking a break from reading, plowed through the food.

Finally he closed the hard drive, unplugged it from the laptop and slipped it into his pocket. Looking for Claudia and Luis, he followed the sound of a TV and found them in one of the bedrooms.

They hadn’t bothered to close the bedroom door. On one side of the bed, Claudia had propped her back against some pillows. She was reading a thriller. Luis lounged beside her, watching ESPN. They looked relaxed, like a dangerous pair of cougars stretched out after a long hunt, and just about as domestic.

“Damn fine, meticulous work,” Graydon told them. “I’d offer you a job—I can match or beat whatever dollar amount Carling and Rune are paying you—except I can’t help you with the Vampyre attendant issue.”

Both Claudia and Luis’s expressions lightened with pleasure at his praise. “Thank you,” Luis said. “Is there anything else you want us to do before this evening’s meeting?”

“Can’t think of a thing,” Graydon said. “Get some rest. I’m going to go home, shower and take a nap myself.” He hefted the external hard drive in one hand. “Again, you’ve done a great job, and it’s not that I don’t trust you, but I’m gonna keep this with me now.”

“Sounds good,” Claudia said. She swung her legs off the edge of the bed, stood and walked with him to the door of the suite.

“Until tonight, then,” he said. He met her gaze. “Be careful. Lay low.”

She smiled. “Don’t worry about us. We’re good at laying low.”

He returned her smile, but it died quickly as he stepped into the hall.

They were good. They appeared to be competent warriors, and were some of the best investigators he had worked with in a long time, but going to war against a first-generation Djinn was one of the most dangerous things anyone could do. The casualty count was invariably high.