Dark Descendant (13 page)

Steph was no match for them. Hell,
I
was no match for them, and I was supposedly one of them.

I walked Steph to her car on the pretense of being sociable when in reality I was looking

for lurking
Liberi
. I didn’t spot anyone, nor did I see any mysterious cars following when Steph pulled out of her parking space. I returned to my hotel, still trying to figure out how I was going

to keep Steph safe. Too bad I didn’t have the faintest idea how to go about it.

A good night’s sleep failed to miraculously solve my
problems, although I did feel

fresher and more optimistic when I woke up the next day. For all that the
Liberi
were dangerous, and for all that I had no idea what their range of power was, they operated in secret, doing their

best to blend in with the mortal population. That had to put some limits on their actions, and it

suggested I’d be relatively safe meeting with Alexis in a public place later. Not that I was

looking forward to it by any stretch of the imagination, but maybe when I talked to him again

and got the details about what he wanted me to do, I’d be able to form a plan.

I’d turned off my phone for the night, but when I switched it back on in the morning, I

found that I’d received another couple of calls from Anderson. I briefly considered calling him

back and giving him an update on my upcoming meeting with Alexis, but thought better of it

almost at once. I had no more reason to trust Anderson and his people than I did to trust Alexis.

Though I might at some point find it to my advantage to play one against the other, right now I

wanted to face one problem at a time.

I arrived at the Sofitel an hour before the appointment with Alexis. Not because I was

anxious to meet him, of course, but because I wanted to give myself every possible advantage.

I’d never been inside before, but I knew it was one of the more luxurious hotels in D.C. Of

course, Alexis struck me as the kind of man who insisted on the best of everything.

I’m sure Alexis picked the place specifically for its lavish décor, but if he’d been looking

for a place ideally suited for surveillance, I’m not sure he could have done better if he’d tried.

The lobby was large, but there were a number of secluded nooks that were almost cozy. There

were also a fair number of rectangular pillars, greatly cutting down on visibility, especially for

someone coming in the front doors.

I took a seat on a not particularly comfortable sofa in one of the sitting areas. My seat

was in a corner, where a pillar conveniently blocked me from view. Alexis would have to walk

down a long hallway past the elevators before he’d be able to see me. I then pretended to drop

something—not that anyone was paying particular attention to me—and positioned a small spy

camera under the legs of the chair across from me. The camera gave me a perfect view of the hall

leading up to the front desk.

Sitting once again in my secluded position, I opened my laptop and pretended to work as

I scrutinized the feed from the camera. I watched every person who came in the front doors,

without ever having to lift my head from my computer screen. If I saw anyone who tweaked my

radar, there was room for me to retreat down another hallway, and I could leave another spy

camera right next to my current position so I could keep up my surveillance. But carefully

though I watched, I saw no sign that anyone was getting into position for an ambush.

At noon exactly, Alexis strode through the front doors of the hotel. He was not alone,

although I didn’t recognize his companion, a tall, imposing guy with olive skin and a neat black beard. I couldn’t tell much from the somewhat grainy surveillance video, but it looked like his

suit was as expensive as Alexis’s, and he carried himself with the confidence of a man used to

being in charge. Konstantin, I wondered?

The two of them stopped halfway down the hall, both standing there with expressions of

impatience. A few more steps and they would see me, but I guess they figured it was my

responsibility to come to them; they weren’t about to expend the effort to look for me.

I watched them for another five minutes. Their body language got progressively more

impatient as they waited. I didn’t see anyone else come in after them—not anyone who acted like

they were slipping in on the sly, that is—so I closed my laptop and shoved it back in my

backpack. Then I took a deep breath and stepped into the main part of the lobby, where they

could see me.

“Oh!” I said in feigned surprise when Alexis caught sight of me. “Have you been

standing here the whole time? I was right over there waiting.” I jerked a thumb toward the

seating area.

Alexis narrowed his eyes at me. I had to resist the urge to glance at the spy camera, which

I would have to come back later to collect. It was inconspicuous enough that I doubted Alexis

would notice it unless I drew attention to it.

“You must be Ms. Glass,” Alexis’s companion said, and I took a closer look at him. He

wasn’t particularly good-looking in a traditional sense, but he fairly reeked of power, and I

suspected women fell at his feet in droves. I saw no sign of a glyph on him, but perhaps it was

hidden by his clothing, or even by his beard. His Mediterranean dark hair was just starting to

gray at the temples, and there were the beginnings of crow’s-feet at the corners of his eyes. On

another man, they might have looked like laugh lines, but not on him. His smile was warm as he

reached out his hand for me to shake, but I couldn’t miss the hint of danger in his eyes. This was

not a man to mess with, those eyes said, and I was inclined to believe them.

“I am Konstantin,” he said as I reluctantly placed my hand in his. Not surprisingly, his

handshake was crushing, though I gave back as much as I could before I remembered I’d decided

not to mess with him. “It is truly a pleasure to meet you.”

He released my hand, and I had to resist the urge to rub my now-sore knuckles. The

predatory amusement in his eyes told me he was quite aware of his own strength; the crushing

grip had been no accident. I hate bullies with a passion, and it took some serious willpower to

keep myself from going on the offensive. I wasn’t in a position to fight back, not yet, so for now

I was determined to keep my cool and not be any more antagonistic than necessary.

“Alexis was quite insistent I make this meeting,” I said, which was far more diplomatic

than what I
wanted
to say.

Konstantin’s face showed regret, but I had the strong suspicion it was only skin deep. “I

apologize for the Draconian tactics, but I understand Anderson has attempted to poison you

against us already. I think it only fair that we be able to argue our case, which is difficult to

manage if you refuse to meet with us.”

Oh, yeah, right. He’d forced me into meeting with him because it was the
fair
thing to do.

I’d convinced myself I had to stay as civil as possible, but that didn’t mean I had to roll over and

show him my belly. “You’ve done a better job of poisoning me against you than Anderson could

ever have done. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that threatening someone’s family is a sure way to

get a relationship off to a bad start?”

Konstantin shot a quick look in Alexis’s direction. There was no missing the reproach in

that glance. Alexis looked away. “Again, I apologize. Alexis can be rather impetuous at times.

He should have cleared it with me before making threats. We have had a long talk, and he’s

assured me nothing like that will happen again.”

Alexis’s shoulders tightened at the rebuke, and his gaze remained pinned to the floor. All

very convincing, but I had a hard time believing Konstantin really had a problem with what

Alexis had done. Maybe he’d have preferred it if Alexis tried a little harder to make contact

peacefully before resorting to threats, but the threats would have come eventually, one way or

another. And if Konstantin were really sorry about it, he’d have said so right from the start.

“So are you retracting the threat?”

He smiled at me, the expression condescending, though his tone remained completely

pleasant. “My friend threatened harm to your sister if you didn’t show up today. You’re here, so

the threat is no longer valid.”

I wondered if he thought he was being subtle. Some people are such good liars that they

can respond to questions with a complete non sequitur and make you believe they actually

answered you. Konstantin wasn’t one of them.

“So if I walked out of here right now, we wouldn’t have a problem anymore?” I asked,

pressing the issue even though I knew the answer.

“Let’s not make this meeting a waste of both my time and yours,” he said. “We can have

a civilized conversation over lunch.”

He gestured in the direction I presumed was toward the restaurant, but I didn’t budge. I

didn’t want to spend a moment more than necessary in the company of these men, and I sure as

hell couldn’t see sitting down to lunch with them.

“I’ve got a very busy afternoon,” I told Konstantin, still trying to be at least relatively

diplomatic. “I don’t have time for a fancy lunch. Why don’t we have a seat over there,” I

continued, gesturing toward the nook where I’d been sitting, “and we can get right down to

business.”

Konstantin was clearly taken aback by my refusal. Guess he was surprised I didn’t

automatically do what he wanted. He paused for a long moment before he spoke again.

“I can see how you and Alexis would rub each other the wrong way,” he said with a wry

smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He may have been genuinely trying to create some kind of

rapport based on shared humor, but the attempt was too forced to be effective. Beneath his

urbane veneer, an aura of cruelty clung to him.

“Yeah, I don’t think he and I will ever be on each other’s Christmas lists,” I said.

Alexis said nothing, merely stood to the side and glared at me, his arms crossed over his

chest.

“Then perhaps it would be best if you and I spoke alone,” Konstantin said. Without

waiting for my response, he headed toward the sofa in the corner of the seating area. I guessed I

was supposed to follow.

I felt Alexis’s glare on the back of my head the moment I turned away from him. He

hadn’t uttered a sound of protest, but I knew he was majorly pissed off that he was being left out

of the conversation. And he hadn’t appreciated Konstantin’s public rebukes, either, no matter

how insincere they might have been. Like he needed another reason to hate me.

I sat gingerly on the edge of the sofa, feeling anything but relaxed around this

self-proclaimed king of the
Liberi Deorum
, but he sprawled in the seat at the other end as if he owned the place. For all I knew, he did. I knew nothing about this man, not even his last name.

Not that I
wanted
to know anything about him.

“So what was it you were so desperate to talk to me about?” I asked, trying to release

some of the tension in my spine. We were in a very public place. I could hardly expect

Konstantin to try to attack me here. Still, I couldn’t dismiss the possibility out of hand, which

was why I’d done my surveillance before the meeting. There was just too damn much I didn’t

know, and the only people who could give me information were people I didn’t want to talk to.

“Alexis suggested you wanted to hire me for something?”

Konstantin nodded. “Yes. As a Descendant of Artemis, your skills would be a great asset

to us.”

I wondered if his “us” was a royal “we,” or if he actually meant the Olympians as a

whole. “Go on,” I said. I already knew there was no way in hell I was working for him, but I

figured it behooved me to hear him out for diplomacy’s sake.

“We Olympians function as something of a police force for the
Liberi Deorum
. As such,

we often find ourselves needing to track down people who do not wish to be found. Ordinarily,

we use private investigators to help us locate these fugitives, but even a skilled private

investigator has limitations, especially considering the level of secrecy we require. You,

however, would be perfect for the position. Not only a descendant of Artemis, but already an

experienced private investigator. You would make it infinitely easier for us to track down our

fugitives.”

He made it all sound terribly … benign. Of course, even if everything Anderson had told

me about the Olympians was true, they were no doubt the heroes of their own stories. What I

might see as a ruthless slaughter of innocents, they might consider a necessary purge to protect

their own people. Even so, I didn’t think that was what
Konstantin
believed. He might have

started his crusade against Descendants under the pretext of protecting the
Liberi
, but these days it was all about enjoying the power. Maybe I was reading things into his tone and body language,

but his words carried no sense of self-righteousness or conviction like they should if he really

believed them.

“What would happen to these ‘fugitives’ once I found them for you?” I asked.

“They would be dealt with in an appropriate manner.”

“Would dealing with them in the ‘appropriate manner’ involve killing them, by any

chance?”

“It would depend on the circumstances. However, it would be your job to find them, not