Page 32 of Death Bringer

“Not easily. Each Fae’s spell is unique to the individual and to his line. If Delia hasn’t recovered by tomorrow, there are other ways of freeing her.”

“More dangerous ways. The Fae don’t like it when their spells are threatened or tampered with.’” Liz turned to Vadim, her eyes as silver as her Fae-Web, and her expression not human at all. “Be wary, the human mind is very frail.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Of course, you bespelled Brad, didn’t you?”

Ella shot a glance at Liz. “What makes you think that?”

“Just an educated, Fae-Web-assisted guess.” Liz allowed herself a small satisfied smile. “The other patients were virtually impossible to sedate, and yet Brad was reported to be sleeping like a baby.”

“I certainly helped with that,” Vadim admitted.

“Then how did Brad breakyourspell and end up on the windowsill? As you just said, it’s very hard to fracture a Fae dream spell because of the complexities involved in creating it.”

“That’s a good question. I have to assume that whoever we are dealing with has stronger magic than I do.”

“I find that difficult to believe.”

Vadim shrugged. “Why? I’m not invincible.”

“But you are connected to several of the most powerful Fae bloodlines in Otherworld.”

“Then this Adam, or whatever we want to call him, is obviously even more powerful and was able to override my magic and wake Brad up.”

Liz sat back and stared at Vadim while the silver lines of her Fae-Web writhed around like a tornado.

He raised an eyebrow. “What is it, Liz? Do you think I broke the spell I placed on Brad, and caused him to leap to his death?”

“No, but?—”

“Why would I do that?”

“This isn’t getting us anywhere.” Ella interrupted the staring contest that seemed to be going on between her mate and her best friend. “Can we focus on what we do know? What about the untouched nature of Brad’s face? Were the other victims’ the same?”

“I don’t know.” Liz turned to look at Ella. “I’m still attempting to download the pictures through that new Fae interface. It doesn’t seem to work, which means I might have to go back to Otherworld to get the photos of the previous victims.”

Ella shuddered. The last time she’d visited the records office at Merton, the Siren had tried to wipe her mind clean of all thought and bring her his version of empath peace, which meant her death and an increase in his powers. “Can’t we just request them?”

“We can, but it will take a while. They’re shorthanded over there.”

“And I bet they blame me for that too,” Ella groused. “Anyone would think they’d be glad not to have a crazed empath in their midst.”

“TheyareOtherworld. Apparently he did a good job.”

“Killing empaths.”

Feehan cleared his throat. “Speaking of going off topic, Ella, shall we focus on the matter in hand? Liz, you can request the photos by internal mail or send Sam for them, as long as it’s quick. Rich has been working on the security tapes and has isolated the time period we need. Do we all want to take a look?”

Rich opened his laptop and clicked his mouse. They all gathered round.

“Here’s the hallway in front of Brad’s room. The camera is facing that direction, so we should get some good shots of everyone who is going in and out of that door. I’ve gone back a few hours to where his grandfather, the ex-senator, came to visit and set his guard outside the door. This is just before they leave.”

Ella pointed at the screen. “There’s me and Morosov arriving and being told to take a hike.” She inclined her head an inch. “Wow. My ass looks huge in those jeans. Why didn’t anyone tell me? You look good in that suit though, Morosov.”

“Thanks.” Vadim was close behind her. “Delia looks fine here. Let’s watch her when the senator leaves and see if anyone interacts with her.”

There was silence as they all stared at the screen. Vadim’s breath curled around Ella’s throat and she inhaled his fancy aftershave and unique scent. The senator emerged looking suitably anxious, shook Delia by the hand and left. His security guard fell into step behind him, and they headed for the bank of elevators.

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