Page 1 (1/1)

1

I pulled the Miata to the curb and checked the address one hborhood It wasn’t what I’d expected The interview I’d had with the prince’s retainer had taken place in a conference rooeles hotels In fact, at this uards were stationed at that same hotel This place was nice, palatial even, but it was far enough off the beaten path that I’d had to use MapQuest to find it

I shut off the engine and looked down at the file sitting on the passenger seat I thought about looking at it again, but I’d practically memorized the contents already Prince Rezza of Rusland was in the United States with his father’s blessing,with private defense contractors Publicly the prince was being the very idom in eastern Europe, nestled pri on the Czech Republic as well

Ruslanda whole new level of proe supply of natural gas in the region The Russians were practically apoplectic Their control over Europe’s natural gas supply was critical to their econo them happy

Despite their common ancestors, the Russians hadn’t been happy with the Ruslunders since … well, ever Still, the little country ed to stubbornly exist as a monarchy in the face of socialised not to be overrun by Ger World War II, or absorbed into the Soviet Union afterward, was one of those burning political questions that nobody either could or would answer

Traditionally the public religion of Rusland was Orthodox, but a funda power and influence It was the kind of political turmoil that makes you worry about assassination The prince had very publicly declared his anti-American sentiments and allied himself with the zealots--ould not necessarily be pleased with his private plans while in LA Which hy an i the real prince up to do whatever it was he had in mind The retainer had been fairly coy, but the prince’s upco this was the equivalent of sowing the last of his wild oats Besides, using a stand-in is a fairly co to ditch the paparazzi It’s difficult and expensive to find so-term illusion, but they exist, and there’s always the old-fashioned "body double"

Whatever I wasn’t about to judge, especially not given Vicki’s situation My job is to keep the protectee safe Celia Graves, personal security consultant At one point or another I’ve served as a bodyguard for movie stars, politicians, authors, celebrities, and, now, royalty I protect them from the press, overzealous fans, and, when necessary, the e quite a lot and stay in business by ood at the political and social sides of the job: too blunt, too sarcastic, not inclined to suck up and play nice The "attitude" has cost enerally fail rab ht of the brightly patterned photo envelope sticking out from beneath the folder I checked my watch I was early I could spare a minute or two to look at the pictures from my best friend’s birthday party this afternoon

I grabbed the envelope, pulled it open, and began flipping through the photos The ones I’d taken weren’t great I’rapher But the others, taken by one of the staff members at Vicki’s insistence, were really nice There were shots of Vicki blowing out her candles There were flowers froround One or two really good shots of the two of us, and even ht her

Her face was absolutely alight with joy, and I couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction Unlike Christed to find the perfect gift Vicki’s a level-nine clairvoyant She uses a ift I’d found an antique mirror, backed with real silver, and had it put under h unbreakable That way she could have it in her roohed Vicki had been at Birchwoods, a high-end "treatment" facility, for alain, e the future if she got out of control Right now she was stable, but I didn’t doubt that the shielding and protected atmosphere of Birchwoods helped her So it didn’t surprise h I knew Alex wanted the two of theether

It was none of ht be sweet and quiet, but she had a will of iron She would do what she was going to do, and that was the end of it

I was still s as I stuffed the photos back in the envelope and tossed it back behind the passenger seat It wouldn’t do to have anyone spot them accidentally As far as the world is concerned, Vicki is not at Birchwoods Like the prince I was about to meet, she has a body double Hired by her wealthy parents, the fake Vicki plays on the Riviera, vacations in the Hamptons, and skis the Swiss Alps--none of which the real Vicki has ever had the luxury to do

Just thinking about that took away et down to business I clier seat I slid it on It took abalanced co ar and illusion spells cost a small fortune, but I consider it worth every penny Hidden discreetly beneath that jacket I had not only the holster with uns filled with holy water, a stake, and a very special pair of knives Oh, and a garrote Mustn’t forget the garrote, although honestly, I’ve never used it and couldn’t ih for use in a crisis I was also wearing an ankle holster with a little Derringer, but if things got desperate enough for me to draw that I was in deep shit Still, when it comes to weapons, better too much than too little Some of the older bats are damned hard to kill, and on houl without backup

I glanced down at my watch: ten fifteen I wasn’t due on shift until eleven I still had plenty of tiet I’d picked up at my favorite weapons shop I reached behind the front seat and pulled out a black box not er than the wallet I carried in ed, like a jewelry case, with the store’s logo e the price, it should be I’d actually thought twice about whether or not to get it But if it worked as well as advertised, it would be worth the ets, and this one eet I could hardly wait to take it for a test drive

Flipping open the lid revealed what looked like a Matchbox car and a sleaht of the street lamp overhead I set the tiny vehicle onto the pave where the prince was staying I took out the remote, then closed the box and slid it into reen button on the remote, I said, "Perimeter check," as clearly as I could The little vehicle zipped forith astonishing speed It stopped just inside the driveway of the building and turned sharply right I followed on foot, watching in pleasure as, with a soft whirring noise, it traced the invisiblethose inside from preternatural creatures I followed it over well-lit lawns, around to the one-lane service road that ran along the back of the building Abruptly the little car stopped, eht on the re red

I looked froain "Well, hell This can’t be good" I rued in my pocket to withdraw the box, where there’d no doubt be the instruction manual that I should’ve read ahead of tied to retrieve the instruction booklet and flip to the appropriate page

When encountering a peri in the foruessed But that didn’t explain the light show

The type of energy causing the break will be indicated by color on the transhouls or other necroics; aht indicates non-vaht indicates a current presence

"A demon?" I stared at the re the tiniest bit Yes, the deelic But it’s not like I run into either of them every day In fact, unless a person works for one of the o their entire life without running into either the angelic or the deood Particularly if you don’t have the clearest conscience in the world How bad a proble at a half-dereater deh the directions, I didn’t see any way of telling which it ht was flashing Bad news, it was red; I was dealing with a freaking demon of one level or another, and the barrier was down

I needed to fix this Fast I’ I had onde both the brand and a literal description For a vah time to kill it with one of my other weapons But this wasn’t a sih a standingwhatever it was, un would probably just piss it off