A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(95)

“Elias has allowed this matter to become personal. I believe that is a mistake. Kidnapping Chloe was stupid, as was keeping an ogre and having it murder a bunch of people at a train depot. Nergal is fine with these matters, but I am not. I work for Nergal because he offers me certain things.”

“Hands up if you think it’s brains,” Kasey said.

A human-looking Diana put her hand up.

“You people sicken me,” Remy shouted as he continued on toward the car.

“My arrangement with Nergal is at an end. I have no interest in watching him murder innocent people, and I have no interest in watching him try to take over Avalon. Avalon would be best outside of the hands of someone like him or his associates. I’m here because I’m done, and I needed to help you live so that you didn’t run after me once this was over.”

“You think because you killed an ogre that we’re going to just let you go?” Kasey asked. “I’m not sure that’s how it works. You have killed people for Nergal.”

“Yes, many. But they were all bad people. How many have you killed? Tommy? Diana? What about your friend Nate? How many deaths have you all been responsible for? I’d put my money on it being more than a few.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re a good guy,” Jared said.

“First of all, I apologize for the attack on your transport. It was not my idea to kill Tommy’s employees. I know one died. Shane was responsible. I assume you have him in custody.”

“What do you want, Masako?” Tommy asked, finally losing patience.

“I want to interrogate Shane. I’ll get the answers you need, and then you let me go.”

“What answers do we need?”

“Where Elias has gone, for a start. You don’t think this is over, do you?”

No one said anything.

“He’s gone back to his home,” Layla said. “He needs to recharge.”

Masako nodded. “And once he’s done, he’s coming after you. A fully charged redcap. He’ll be more than enough trouble for your people, Tommy. You can get to him before he gets to all of you. I advise you to let me help.”

“Nergal will come after you.”

“Nergal is my problem. I need to do this. Do not mistake this for a change of heart. I was being paid to do a job, and now I don’t want to do it anymore, but I’m also not willing to let Layla talk to her father. For several reasons.”

“Name one,” Layla snapped.

“Your father killed a friend of mine. If Nergal uses him to find the other umbra in the world, a lot more friends of mine could die. Or be folded into Nergal’s plan. Neither of those things appeals to me.”

“I say let her help,” Kasey said. “But if she tries to screw us over, we kill her.”

Masako smiled. “Sweet that you think you can.”

“You want to do the conversation here?” Tommy asked.

“Back at your mansion. You can cuff me or whatever else you want to do, but you’re going to need to plan what you do next and see to your wounded. I doubt you want to do any of that here.”

“If you screw around with us . . .” Tommy said.

“You’ll hunt me down. Yes, it’s all exceptionally scary. Yet I find myself not caring, Thomas. You don’t scare me.”

Tommy whispered something in Masako’s ear that Layla didn’t hear, but whatever it was it caused the jikininki’s expression to change into complete and total fear.

Tommy stepped away. “Deal?”

Masako nodded once, her eyes never leaving Tommy’s face. “I swear I have no intention of crossing you, Tommy.”

“We’ll discuss things further back at the mansion,” Tommy said, turning to the rest of the agents working around him. “I want this place searched for any information about where Reyes and Elias might have gone. I want them found.”

“So, we’re running away?” Layla asked. “We beat them, and now we’re running?”

“We’re not running,” Tommy said. “We’re getting the injured back to the mansion so we can hopefully figure out where Elias might have gone.”

“And you think Shane knows?”

Masako nodded. “He’s been with Elias for a few years. I’m guessing he knows.”

“And how are you going to extract that information from him?”

“Well, I could ask nicely. Or I could threaten to take his flesh.”

“You’re going to eat him?”

“We’ll see. I’d rather not. But one dead body is as good as the next when it comes to nourishment.”

She walked away, leaving Layla in the middle of the yard, radiating anger. She wasn’t even sure who the anger was aimed at, she was just angry. “No,” she shouted. “No, we’re not just going to walk away and let him regroup. He doesn’t deserve to do that.”

People turned to look at her, but she didn’t care, she needed to vent the rage inside. “He doesn’t get to go back to his home and try to come after me again. How many times are too many? How many times before we actually act, not react? We need to find Elias. And we need to do it now.”

She spun on her heel and walked over to the car where Shane had been put, pulling open the door and forcing him out.