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“Which family?”

“How would I know?” She tried to sound unconcerned.

“Find out, it makes a big difference.”

“To what?”

“To how long he’ll live, how strong his powers are and what exactly he can do with them over here.”

“I’m scared to ask.”

Liz studied her. “I would be too. He’s like nothing I’ve ever come across before.”

“That’s not very encouraging.” Ella moved her hand and hit something hard. “Look what I found!” She picked up the diamond and passed it over to Liz. “Jeez, it’shuge.Here you go.”

“Thanks a million. My Fae grandmother gave the earrings to me. She said that if I lost one, I’d be cursed forever.”

“And yet you still wear them?”

Liz made an airy gesture. “There’s almost always a way to get around a curse, you know that. Now what did you want to talk about?”

As they walked toward Liz’s cubicle, Ella described Brad Dailey’s situation. By the time they sat down, Liz’s silver Fae-Web was already active and circling around her head.

“So have you ever heard of anything like this happening in our world before?”

Liz briefly closed her eyes. “I’m not sure. There are fragments of information, but most of the potential candidates die so soon after the event that it’s hard to find a common thread.”

“Do they die from their injuries?”

“No, they usually kill themselves.”

“Damn.” Ella let out her breath. “I wonder if that’s what the creature wants? Maybe he thrives on that death. But what happens to the face of the victim afterward?”

“I’ve no idea. What I can do is type out the information I have and add any pictures through the printer. If I can get the sucker to work.” Liz cast a dark look at the center of the office, where a bank of supposedly new printers sat. “Fae technology is crap.”

“If you can’t print them out, Morosov said to send the info to him. He can retain it.”

“He can? That’s useful.” Liz cast Ella a speculative look. “So how are things going between you?”

“Ms. Walsh, where are you? I’m already in the car.”

“I’ve got to run.” Ella leaped out of her chair. “Morosov’s waiting. We’re heading down to the last bar Brad visited before he went home—well, the last one he remembers, anyway. I’ll see you later.”

“Coward!” Liz called after her, but then, Ella already knew that.

Vadim was in the underground parking lot that sat beneath the SBLE offices. She found him more by instinct than by design and paused to study the car he was driving. He opened the passenger window and angled his head so that he could see her. “Well, are you going to get in?”

Ella opened the door and slid onto the opulent leather seat. “When did you get this?”

“I had it delivered this morning.”

She stroked the dark gray leather. “It’s awesome.”

“The seats are both heated and cooled.” He closed the window and backed slowly out of the parking space. “They also massage you.”

“No way. Where’s the button?”

“Down on the side of the seat. The bright green one.”