And I liked direct orders almost as much as I liked going to the dentist.

Dia nodded. "Entry is restricted to the scientists, Starr's lieutenants, and the head of security."

Meaning it might be easier to cozy up to one of the scientists to get in there than risk security, Moss, or Merle. "Where are the scientists quartered?"

Jack swore loudly. "Jesus, Riley, are you listening to me?"

For an intelligent man, he was mighty slow in realizing I wasn't. I touched my ear, flicking off the com-link. Yelling would be next, and I didn't need that on top of the headache I already had.

"The scientists are the next building down from security."

"And does this Henry Cartle bunk with his men?"

"In the same building, but he has his own room."

Better and better. "What can you tell me about escape tunnels?"

She frowned. "I do not know what you mean."

"I was following Moss through the trees earlier today, and he simply disappeared. Unless he can shapeshift, there has to be an entrance to the lower levels in those woods."

"If there is, I do not know of it." She hesitated. "I will see what I can discover, though. Starr likes his future read when I am here."

I raised an eyebrow. "Meaning you not only see the future when you touch someone, but can ferret out the past?"

She shrugged elegantly. "Sometimes."

"And what did you see when you touched me? Past or future?"

"Future." She stared at me for several seconds, her blue eyes seeming to see right through me, down to my very soul. "It will be troubled, with many unwanted detours. Some dreams will be yours to take or forsake. Some have already slipped through your fingers."

Avoiding direct answers seemed to be catchy. "Psychic mumbo jumbo that could mean anything."

She shrugged again. "Because I touched you without a specific question in mind, I saw only generalities. If you wish a more detailed reading, then I suggest you see me after this is over and we are all safe."

"It's a date."

She smiled and glanced at her watch. "I must be going before suspicions are raised. I walk the grounds before lunch. Meet me tomorrow and I will tell you what I have discovered."

I nodded. She turned around and walked out. As the closing doors snatched away the filtering moonlight, Quinn reappeared. "What was that thing with her?"

"A Fravardin. It gives her sight and provides protection."

Energy rippled across my skin as Kade shifted shape. "Whatever it was, it had no emotion as we recognize it. It was little more than a vacuum of emptiness to my senses. She, however, was delicious." His warm gaze met mine. "I demand an introduction after all this is over."

"If we make it through this, you'll get it." I glanced at Quinn. "Given you keep reminding me how old you are, I'm surprised you didn't know what that creature was."

His lips twisted into a smile that was bitter. "There are many places on this earth I've yet to visit, many people I've yet to meet."

"That thing couldn't be classified as 'people.'"

"Just because it hasn't human form as we currently recognize it doesn't mean it can't be classed as an offshoot of humanity." There was touch of censure in his voice, which was damn annoying considering he was the one who'd just called it a "thing." But given he seemed to be in an argumentative mood, there wasn't much point in saying anything. He continued, "Just as werewolves, shapeshifters, mermen, and the like cannot escape the reality that they are merely another branch of the well-spring from which humanity sprung."

"Werewolves, shapeshifters, and the like are not the ones you should be giving that lecture to," I reminded him tartly, "but rather those humans who hold themselves up as the pinnacle of development, and everyone else an oddity that should not exist."

He shrugged. "This is not the time for such a debate."

I snorted softly. "Yeah, that's why you're standing there throwing attitude my way—because you don't want to argue." I reached over the door and unlatched it. "I need to go find my brother before I'm tempted to get nasty."

"I shall accompany you." There was anger in Quinn's rich tones, but then, there often seemed to be when he was "talking" to me. "He needs to know I am here."

As did Jack, but given he was likely still ranting over my ignoring his orders, I had every intention of leaving Rhoan the task of informing our boss we had a fourth person on the ground.

I gave Kade a quick kiss good-bye, more to piss off a certain vampire than anything else, then headed out the stable doors. Quinn was little more than a shadow at my back, a presence I could feel but not see through normal vision. Hopefully, this meant no one else would see him, either.

"Unless they have infrared, they won't." His voice little more than a murmur that barely carried to my ears, but nevertheless brushed my senses as sensually as any summer breeze.

"They have infrared around the zoo and on the lower levels, so avoid those areas. And quit reading my mind."

"If you do not fully shield, I will continue to take it as an open invitation." Though I could not see his eyes, I could feel his gaze on me. "And in this place, it is extremely unwise—"

The rest of his words were cut off as an explosion ripped through the quiet night.

Chapter Ten

The force of the blast sent hot air scurrying past my skin and rattled the nearby windows. A plume of flame reached skyward, fat fingers of yellow and orange that briefly illuminated the western edge of the house and the trees that grew nearby. These fiery fingers were accompanied by chunks of wood and concrete—weighty missiles that thudded to the ground with bone-jarring force. The spurt of flame died, becoming little more than a sullen orange glow that lit the night, but the acrid smell of smoke filled the air, mingling with screams that spoke of fear or pain or both.

I didn't even stop to think about what I was going to do or how safe it might be, just ran like hell around the side of the house. I wasn't the only one. Guards filled the night, pouring out of the buildings like a well trained military force, some of them running for the end of the building, others forming a line to cordon off the area. Starr's men were efficient, you had to give them that. I kept the cloak of night wrapped around me as I slipped through the cordon and followed those heading for the explosion area. The closer I got to it, the more the air sizzled. Not just with heat, but with steam. The building's sprinklers, inside and out, were working, and the remaining flames were swiftly dying under the assault.

And the flames weren't the only things. The explosion had happened in the wing that housed the kitchen and dining areas and had basically blasted them apart. In normal circumstances it wouldn't have mattered, because most places who had live-in staff didn't often house them in the main building let alone in the same area. But the staff here were. With the force of the explosion tearing apart the ground floor level, the upper ones had no place to go but down.

I couldn't see any of the dead or dying in the black and burning rubble, but I could feel them. Their agony rode the night, surrounding me with the scent and despair of death, until every breath, every pore, was filled with it and it felt like I was drowning under the weight of it.

My stomach rolled, then rose. I spun away and bent over, losing what little dinner I'd eaten. A hand touched my back, and warmth spread like fire across the chill that was encasing me, holding it back if not totally erasing it.

"You are not an empath." Though I couldn't see him, his voice was next to my ear, indicating he was leaning close. "You should not be feeling what you are feeling."