“I know you’re strong, Sara. Khristu!” He ran a hand through his hair, and I could see his internal struggle in his eyes. “But we’re not talking about a few vampires looking for you. A Master wants you dead. Every time I think about that, it makes me want to forget my promise and take you far away from here.”

I walked around the bed and laid my hands on his chest, feeling both of us relax a little from the physical contact. “There is always going to be some vampire or demon that wants us dead because of what we are. They’ve been trying for a while now, but we’re still here. I have no plans to go anywhere. Do you?”

His hands came up to rest on my shoulders. “God, I wish it was that easy. Even with all the things you’ve seen, you still have no idea how much evil is out there and how bad it can get. And I don’t want you to ever have to see that.”

This was it, the opening I had been waiting for. There was never going to be a good time to tell him the truth about my training with Eldeorin, so I had to just suck it up and get it over with. I took a deep breath. “About that. There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

His phone rang and I nearly cried at the rotten timing of whoever was calling. He stepped back to answer it. “Nikolas here.”

Someone spoke on the other end, and I watched Nikolas switch back into warrior mode in the blink of an eye. “When? No, I’ll be there in five minutes. Tell Elijah to assemble his team.” He hung up and I saw worry in his eyes before he could conceal it. A cold knot of dread began to form in my stomach.

“What’s wrong?”

“One of our teams called in and said they ran into some trouble. I’m going to take another team to back them up. It’s nothing you have to worry about.”

“What team?”

“Sara, you don’t have to worry about it.”

The knot became a lump of ice and I gripped his arm. “What team, Nikolas?”

“Chris’s team.”

“Oh, God.” I’d known what he was going to say, but the words still cut through my gut like a knife. “We have to help them.”

“We will.” He took my chin in a firm yet gentle hold and forced me to look at him. “Chris knows what he’s doing and he’ll keep Jordan safe. Raoul said they are pinned down but no one is hurt. They’ll be okay.”

I didn’t ask to go with him because I knew what his answer would be. But there was no way I was staying here while Jordan and Chris were in trouble.

“Go. Do what you need to do.”

He pressed a quick kiss against my mouth then strode to the door. “I’ll call you when I find them.”

As soon as the door closed behind him, I picked up the phone and calmly called Heb who was always in the kitchen. “Heb, please find Eldeorin. It’s urgent.”

By the time Eldeorin appeared twenty minutes later, I had almost worn a path in the floor of my room. “Let me guess, another rescue mission?” he said.

“Thank God. I didn’t think Heb would find you.” I pulled on my black leather bomber jacket that already had my knives stowed away in the pockets. “It’s Chris and Jordan. They’re in San Francisco and Nikolas is on his way there with a team, but it’s over an hour away. Will you take me to them?”

He smiled and held out a hand to me. “Of course. You know I love to watch you in action, Cousin.”

I took his hand. “You know the drill.”

The drill was one we’d been through at least half a dozen times in the last few weeks. Eldeorin glamoured us so we couldn’t be detected, and then whisked us over to the command center to find out exactly where Chris’s team was. Nikolas had already left with Elijah’s team by the time we got there, and it didn’t take long to find what we were looking for.

“Well, this should be fun,” Eldeorin muttered when we arrived outside a plain two-story building in the waterfront area of San Francisco. It was raining and windy so the street was pretty much deserted. Eldeorin used his magic to keep us dry and invisible.

“Are we at the right place?” There were no sign of Chris’s team, and I couldn’t sense a single vampire nearby. I did sense demons, but it was impossible to tell how many or where they were. My demon radar was still developing, and it was nowhere as good as my vampire radar.

“This is it. Your friends are inside and they are not alone.”

“Okay, give me the rundown.”

Eldeorin made a face like he had stepped in doggie do. “This place is called a wrakk, a demon gathering place. It is considered neutral territory among demons, and they can socialize and do business here without fear of being harmed. For the most part.”

I studied the building, looking for the way in. “Kind of like a demon market?”

“Exactly.”

“What are Chris and Jordan doing in a place like this?”

“I do not know, but I can tell you demons are very protective of their wrakks, and they do not care for outsiders.”

“Gotcha. Anything else I should know before I go in?”

Eldeorin grinned. “They really do not like faeries.”

“What else is new?” I started walking around the building, looking for the entrance. “You coming with me this time?” He usually liked to stay back and let me have all the fun unless it was a bad situation like Vancouver.

“I think I’d better observe this time. If I go in there, it’s going to send every demon in the place into a frenzy.”