A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(72)

“No.”

“So, we’re back to square one. I’m beginning to think that this woman is more trouble than she’s worth. The person in charge of getting her mother screwed up, and the mother died before she could be extracted. I assume you know what happened to the person I’d placed in charge of the mission.”

Considering Elias had been part of that mission, he knew only too well. “You had her expelled for gross incompetence.”

“She’s still in the realm I sent her to, dealing with hundreds of thousands of blood elves. Would you like to help her?”

Elias shook his head; he had a hard enough time dealing with only a handful of the vicious little bastards. He was never sure of how far their loyalty went, or how long it would be until they decided to become their own masters.

“No, Lord Nergal. We will find and capture the woman.”

“Reinforcements will be with you soon enough. I can’t restock your blood-elf count beyond those who are coming with Masako. She should be there soon. Please heed my warning about her: she does not play well with others.” Nergal paused for a second, before sighing. “It may become prudent to remove Thomas Carpenter and his friends from the equation. There are others who would be upset with that decision, but it’s looking more and more like that is the best course of action. Do you have a plan for getting close to Layla?”

“Her friend Chloe killed Dara. I’m going to kill her for it.”

“That’s not answering my question. Kill who you need, but do you have a plan?”

“Yes.”

“Keep me informed.” Nergal ended the call, leaving Elias staring at a blank screen.

“Boss still not happy?” Shane asked as he entered the room and grabbed a can of Coke from the fridge.

“I believe he’s running out of patience with our inability to capture Layla.”

“We weren’t to know that the cavalry would arrive,” Shane said defensively. “We followed in the truck and engaged as needed. The blood elves wanted vengeance, though. They went after Chloe to kill her.”

“She will be mine to take,” Elias said, with just a touch of threat in his voice.

“I don’t really care who kills her, Elias. I’m just saying the blood elves risked their lives to go after her. They didn’t care about the cavalry, or about Diana. A lot of them were killed because of it.”

“We need to find Layla and end this. Nergal’s patience is barely capable of dealing with small set-backs.”

“So, what do we do?” Reyes asked.

She’d been in the far corner of the room, reading. Elias was happy to see that his last ‘talk’ with her had seemed to give her the impression he was not to be messed with. After Elias had throttled her, she’d avoided being alone with him for too long. Elias hoped the fact that she’d felt comfortable enough to be in a room with him meant she still knew her place. He didn’t want to have to speak to her again about her behavior.

“Do we have anyone who works for Avalon that might know where Thomas and his boy scouts have taken her?” Shane asked.

“You have me,” a woman said as she entered the room. The newcomer was Japanese, no more than five foot two, slim, and looked to be no older than mid-twenties. Her black hair was in a topknot, with loose strands falling over her ears. Darkness encircled her eyes and her pupils were blood red. She wore a simple white dress that ended just above her knees and black trainers. “I worked with Thomas Carpenter many years ago. He . . . saved me, as it were. I know where he takes people he’s trying to keep safe.”

“And you are?” Reyes asked.

“Masako,” she said softly. “I am here to make sure you succeed.”

“Nergal sent us someone who knows Thomas Carpenter?” Shane asked.

“He felt I might be of service.”

Elias’s eyes narrowed. “You want to explain why you didn’t let us know you’d arrived?”

She smiled, showing completely normal-looking white teeth. “I like surprises.”

“So, you’re a jikininki,” Reyes said, finally putting her book down and standing. “I’ve never met one of your kind before.”

Masako’s smile didn’t falter as she looked over at Reyes. “Lucky you.”

“Where is Thomas Carpenter?” Elias asked, not wanting the conversation to go too far off track.

“A mansion not too far from Winchester. He took me there when we first met. 1977, I believe it was. My kind don’t age. Our deaths see to that.”

“How old are you?” Shane asked.

“Sixty-seven. I was twenty-five when I died, which was when I became a jikininki. As much as I’m sure you have questions about my life and my kind, I would advise you to drop the subject now. It tends to . . . upset me.”

The amount of venom put into the word “upset” made Elias agree that right now there were better things to be discussed. “I’m going to need the exact address.”

“Of course. I shall find it on a map for you. In the meantime, I’d like to take my bag to a room. The blood elves who came with me are waiting for your orders by the lift.”

“Shane, take Masako to one of the rooms here. Pick a nice one.”

Shane nodded, looked over at Masako, and gave her his most charming smile. “This way.”