Darkness Rising: The Dark Angel Series: Book Two Read Online Free PDF

hair, dark eyes, an imposing nose, and seemed to possess the sort of distant arrogance often found in those of royal blood.
    “And this,” Hunter continued, “was Boulanger when I saw him not two hours ago.”
    It didn’t even look the same man. In this photo, he was stooped over and could barely manage to look at the camera. It was as if the weight of his head were too much for his neck. His black hair was shot with gray, and his unlined face was now seamed and littered with age spots. And his eyes were the eyes of a madman.
    I met Hunter’s gaze again.
Her
green eyes were assessing. I wasn’t entirely sure why, because she was the one who’d all but blackmailed me into helping the vampire council hunt down the prey that eluded the Cazadors. If she didn’t think I was up to helping, why even come here? “So you’re dealing with some sort of succubus?”
    Hunter shook her head. “I spoke to Pierre when this attack first happened, a week ago. He could not remember sexual dreams.”
    “And now?”
    “He is, as you guessed, lost to madness. He remembers nothing.”
    “I think the key word here is
remember.
I don’t know much about succubi, but I imagine that if one decided to target a member of the vampire council, then maybe it’s also decided to cover its tracks.”
    “A succubus would not have the strength to erase Pierre’s memories; nor do they drive their victims mad. A succubus is
not
at fault.”
    “Then what
do
you think it is?”
    “If I knew, the Cazadors would already be on the job.” She reached into her pocket and withdrew a business card. “You have an appointment with Catherine Alston at eleven o’clock.”
    I accepted the business card. It was one of Hunter’s, and on the back she’d scrawled an address. It was a city address—a penthouse apartment in the Green Tower, which was the latest of the government backed eco-building projects, and it had a price tag to match its credentials. But most old vamps also tended to be obscenely rich. I suppose it was one of the benefits of living so long.
    I shoved the card into my pocket. “So why am I going to see Catherine Alston when Pierre Boulanger was attacked?”
    “Because Catherine woke up this morning with a head of gray hair and an old woman’s face. Whatever is attacking Pierre is now after Catherine.”
    “And you wish to stop this before Alston goes the way of Boulanger?”
    “Catherine can wither and die, for all I care.” Mirth briefly touched Hunter’s lips but did little to crack the ice in her eyes. “She is not the reason I wish to see this matter resolved quickly.”
    “Then what is?”
    She studied me in a way that had fear curling through my limbs. This
wasn’t
about the need to stop a killer finding more victims. This was about
me.
    And her next words confirmed that. “There are some on the high council who think it would be better for us all if you were dead. I am trying to convince them that you might be useful for more than just finding the keys.”
    I swallowed heavily. “So this is a test?”
    “And you had better pass if you value your life.”

Chapter Two
     
    “I F THEY KILL ME,” I SAID EVENTUALLY, MY throat so dry it felt like the words were being scraped out, “they won’t ever find the keys.”
    “That,” she said coolly, “is precisely the point.”
    “But—” I paused, my thoughts filled with panic and going a dozen different ways. “I thought the reason the council recruited me in the first place was to find the keys so that they could use them?”
    “It was. It is.”
    The rhythm of her nails on the desk suddenly stopped, and something flickered in her eyes. Something dark and very deadly. A chill hit me and the sick sensation of fear ratcheted up several notches—though up until that point I hadn’t thought that was possible.
    Because, in that brief instant, I’d seen death. Not my death—not yet, anyway. But someone else’s, someone who’d had the stupidity to cross her