Page 69 of The Seeker
“More what?”
“Irina,” they said in unison.
They’re going after the havens.There was no way Rhys and Roch were letting these three Grigori leave the forest that night. She wouldn’t have let them leave either. As much as she hated to admit defeat, she wasn’t going to be able to turn any of these Grigori against their father. Their energy was ravenous, and she felt no light in them. The darkness enveloped them completely.
Meera’s stomach twisted as she asked the next question. “How have you been feeding?”
“We find prostitutes,” one of them said. “They come with us willingly.”
Not to die. Not to disappear.Meera’s heart ached, and she felt the tears on her cheeks. The shields she had lowered threatened to rise instinctually, but she forced them down even as the rasping soul voices of the men in front of her grew louder and louder.
“Don’t cry,” one of the Grigori said. “No one misses them.”
“I do.”
“Did we make you sad?” The first Grigori cocked his head. “I don’t like that feeling.”
“I know you don’t.”
“Make it stop.”
Their voices were calm on the outside, but their interior voices grew louder every minute that passed. Meera pressed her fingers to her temples, raised her voice, and asked, “Is there anything else you want to know?”
Rhys stepped out from the trees. The Grigori didn’t look at him. They were completely fixed on Meera. “Is Bozidar coming to New Orleans?”
“Is your father coming to you?” she asked.
Their eyes all lit up at once. “Is he?”
“They don’t know,” she said. “Is there anything else?”
“How many Fallen children are there in the swamp?” Roch asked as he walked from behind the tumbledown house. “How many others?”
Rhys and Roch moved closer, Rhys coming to stand behind her. Despite their proximity, the Grigori never looked at them and didn’t seem to react at all.
Meera asked, “How many of your brothers are nearby?”
“There were seven of us, but the wolves came in the night and killed the others.”
“The wolves?”
“She travels with wolves,” the Grigori whispered. “There was no sound. None at all. Then they were dead.”
The Wolf. Rhys’s hand fell on her shoulder.
Roch asked, “How did they escape?”
Meera repeated the question.
“Water,” one said. “We fell in the water and we couldn’t hear what happened.”
“Interesting,” Rhys murmured.
Meera felt sick inside. She turned her head and pressed her cheek to Rhys’s wrist. The growing cacophony in her head quieted instantly. She pressed her eyes closed and took a deep breath.
“Are you done?” she asked.
“I’m done,” Roch said. “I don’t think they know anything more.”
