Page 101 of Cry of the Firebird

The Shishiga stood by the broken window where the rain poured through the gaps in the boards, dripped down the wall, and pooled next to the Ovinnik. The Shishiga stepped into the puddle, and Anya gasped as she shone pale blue before melting into the water. The blue light pulsed as it went up the water on the walls, through the crack, and disappeared. The awe of the moment was shattered as heavy footsteps, and loud shouting echoed through the house.

"Do you think she made it to the canal?" Anya asked.

"I hope so because you may just regret helping her before the night is out."

"Doesn't matter. It was worth it."

Völundr burst through the door and kicked the empty bowl across the room with a shout of fury. He whirled on Anya. "You vindictive little slut. I don't know how you did that, but it seems I'm going to have to up your doses."

"When is Vasilli going to get here?" she asked in a bored tone.

He grabbed her face and squeezed it roughly. "Why? Do you wish for death already?"

"No, not death." She pulled her face away from him. "It just would be nice to deal with a professional with real power."

Anya expected the blow, but it still rattled her. She managed to keep her feet and propped herself against the wall.

"I have real power, and I would enjoy proving it if I wasn't under orders from Ladislav. Oh, I would delight in making you scream, little girl. I'm tempted to tell them that I have you just to see what they are going to do to you."

"Why haven't you told them that you have me already?" Anya wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand.

"They would get here too quickly, and I have plans to make you useful to me before you go," Völundr said softly, his personality completely altering and becoming gentle. He lightly touched her damaged face. "Don't you see, Anya? You are my bait."

"Bait for what?"

Völundr smiled, and a heavy weight settled in Anya's chest. "You are going to help me catch Death itself."

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

It had been twenty-four hours since Anya was taken, and plans of the city littered the thick cream carpet in Trajan's wing of the house. Isabelle had marked areas that she had been suspicious of, but two buildings had already come up empty.

They had only just started to admit a need for sleep, leaving Trajan alone to pace. Yvan had barely spoken since they had discovered Anya gone, and when Trajan had tried to talk privately with him, Yvan had turned into the firebird and ignored him.

"Have you slept at all?" Isabelle asked as she walked in.

"Not exactly. Why aren't you resting?" There was something about the hunter that just didn't feel right to Trajan. Unlike other humans and their bright souls, she was a blurred presence in his mind.

"I don't need a lot of sleep," she admitted as she made herself comfortable on one of his couches.

"Why is that, Isabelle? What kind of bite turns someone into a supernatural creature?"

"The kind that's dead, so you don't have to worry about it. The important thing is finding Anya, not what I have runningthrough my veins. I'm going to revisit some places I got a weird vibe from. I dismissed them at the time, but they are worth checking just in case."

"Thank you," he said, but it didn't alleviate the worry eating him away.

Isabelle leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "They might hurt her, but they won't kill her, Trajan. She's too valuable for that. They won't break her unless they have no other choice."

"I would like to say that your words give me comfort, but it would be a lie."

"I know. It doesn't make them less true." Isabelle was a blunt and beautiful woman, and he could see why Hamish was so infatuated with her.

"May I ask you something?" Trajan said as he sat down on one of the plush chairs.

"You may ask, but I might not answer."

"I want to know why you broke up with Hamish and let him believe you were dead," Trajan said.

The confidence that Isabelle always exuded seemed to abandon her. "I was being hunted, and they had seen me with him. I couldn't let them use him against me, so I left."

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