"Go." Amory turned to Jalen and waved his fingers in the direction of the stairs that Angel had just walked up. "Bring word to me yourself when you have completed your task." Jalen nodded, but before he could turn away, Amory said, "Send the five Hosts I spoke with earlier to my garden, after they are debriefed, so they can be sealed. Assign two escorts. The others can be sealed tomorrow after their tests are examined." Jalen rushed down the flight of steps leading from the balcony to where eight hundred Hosts and Shells waited for instruction.

Amory held back a smile as he watched as Jalen approach the heads of his military. The advisor would gather them together to perform the exercise he had been requested to do.

"Come." Amory looked at Angel and gave a slight inclination of his head toward the open archway leading back into the manor.

Normally he would have taken her to the garden like the others. It was where he preferred to seal individual Hosts or small groups. He wasn't sure what he would do yet with the four hundred Hosts he needed to seal.

Instead of taking her to the garden, he would bring her to his personal chambers and debrief her. The she would serve him in ways that made his own new Host body stir.

He sensed fear coming from the female, yet at the same time the strong impression of the female Host's will to fight. For some reason both emotions coming from her pleased him.

When they reached his bedchambers, Amory released the two servants from the quarters, sending them away. He escorted Angel to the largest sitting room that had airy open windows, comfortable couches, and soft floor cushions.

The air was still but cool and smelled of the flowers from the garden as well as the female Host's soft perfume.

"Sit." Amory pointed toward the smallest reclining couch with its soft cushions in silks and velvets that matched the rest of the sitting room. Everything surrounding them was in shades ranging from sugar-snap green to deep-water blue and sunrise purple.

Angel kept her eyes on him and perched on the edge of the reclining couch, her hands clenched at her sides. She looked like she would either run or fight him at any moment.

Ah. He nodded to himself in understanding. Because she wasn't yet sealed she didn't have complete and singular devotion to him.

Amory found her rather entertaining in this state. He would wait until he was through with her-through with her in all ways-before he sealed her Host.

"What news do you have for me, Tracker?" He sat near her on the couch and she scooted a little farther from him. "Tell me all that you know."

"Desmond." The name came out of her mouth like a slap. "The Sorcerer Desmond is alive."

"What?" The name caused Amory to recoil. "In the Earth Otherworld?" Was that satisfaction on her face as she told him something she had to know would upset him?

He had the sudden desire to backhand her. He ground his teeth to get his emotions under control.

"Explain," he said.

Angel told him about the visit to the Magi, how they had heard about Desmond, and what the Trackers were doing to try and stop Amory. This Tracker, Angel, knew far more than anything the Host named Lawan had been able to give him.

When she was finished, the Sorcerer let his anger rise up and manifest in one way he hadn't expressed for longer than he could remember.

"Remove your clothing," Amory said, and Angel's eyes widened.

"No." She stood and glared at him. "I will not."

Amory scowled, not sure if this would be good sport or not.

"Take them off." He rose to his feet, his voice a deep growl.

She took a step back. "No."

He started to make a gesture that would take total control of her.

She dissolved ...

Melted away ...

Shifted into a squirrel.

Amory was so shocked that for a moment he didn't know what to do. There were no shapeshifters in his world and he hadn't expected her to shift without his permission.

Before he had a chance to recover, the squirrel named Angel scampered under the couch, up the window seat, through an open window, and out into his gardens.

Rage shook Amory to his core.

He went to the window and looked out. "Angel!" he bellowed.

She was nowhere to be seen.

A bell jingled behind him and Amory whirled.

"My Lord." A messenger stood at the entrance to the chambers, his head bowed.

"What is it?" Amory said, trying to restrain the fury he felt within.

"I have a message from Fala," the messenger said, naming Amory's twelfth advisor, who had not been present today.

Amory gestured to the young male. "Speak."

"The Earth Otherworld Council is taken," the messenger said. "Fala and her team have secured them all."

THIRTY.

Thursday, December 30.

"NYPD has been flooded with calls." I frowned at my computer monitor while Desmond ate his bagel.

It was only a few hours after finally leaving the mess at the theater and heading to my office.

"Almost four hundred people were reported missing from the concert at Town Hall last night," I added before I frowned. "Including Angel." My stomach twisted. "Did the Sorcerer get her?"

"I hope for her sake that he did not," Desmond said. He sat in one of the chairs in front of my desk, eating a bagel with lox and cream cheese with chives. He looked even more rumpled than he had last night. A sexy sort of rumpled in a good-looking, mad-scientist kind of way.

Desmond nodded, but his eyes had the look of a man mulling things over in his mind and barely registering the comments of those around him.

"Town Hall's box office reported ticket sales of over eight hundred for that concert." I looked at my cinnamon raisin bagel, but with Angel missing, I didn't feel like eating anything. I hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday and Desmond had gone out and bought us fresh bagels for breakfast from a place on Amsterdam Avenue.

I turned my thoughts to the larger part of the problem. "What happened to the other four hundred not reported missing?"

"Amory." Desmond wiped his fingers clean with a paper napkin and rubbed a spot of cream cheese off his mouth. "I believe this was a botched attempt at something done on a greater scale than he's done before. Whatever it is that he's done, Amory hadn't planned to take four hundred Hosts and four hundred Shells back to Doran."

"You think that the Sorcerer had that many Sentients there at the concert to trade essences?" I asked.

He rested his elbow on the chair's arm and rubbed his stubbly chin with his fingers "On Doran I never saw or heard of Amory doing such a large exchange of essences at one time." He moved his hand away from his face and rested his elbows on the chair's arms. "If he is able to perfect it, he could exchange essences with thousands. Millions even. Theoretically it is entirely possible." I pushed at my bagel on its napkin before I rubbed my arms with my palms trying to suppress a chill. "If he can do this with a mass number of people..." I trailed off while shaking my head. "I can't begin to imagine what that would mean to this world."

"Quick, complete, and total takeover," Desmond said. "This world would eventually no longer be your own. And there is nothing the humans can do about it."

"It's up to us." I looked at Olivia's empty desk and swallowed down an ache that developed in my throat. Not only was my friend missing, but her body was Host to a Kerran now and I was going to have to interview her.

I blew out a sharp breath. "Where do we start?"

Desmond got to his feet. "First we need to get to the infirmary and interrogate the Host Candace Moreno."

I was relieved he didn't pick interviewing Olivia's Host first. It was not going to be easy.

Rather than driving, we decided to take the C train because it would take us to the 168th Street station. The paranorm infirmary was deep below Columbia University Medical Center.

On our way out of the office to the subway station at 103rd Street, I called Rodan to tell him what Desmond and I had just discussed, and what we were doing now.

I'd already filled Rodan in on everything that had happened yesterday and so far today, with the exception of my lunch with Adam. That, I left out.

When I told Rodan about Desmond transferring me into a Host body he was concerned, but I reminded him that the Magi had said I must do whatever the Sorcerer Desmond asked of me. There really wasn't a choice anyway.

After everything that had happened since then, it was hard to believe my lunch with Adam was only yesterday.

There were six secret paranorm entrances into the infirmary. The C train sped us to the 168th Street station where we clambered off in a crowd of people. From there we slipped away to the glamour-hidden elevator in the subway's darkness. The elevator carried us down below the medical center to the paranorm infirmary.

In the Earth Otherworld, I'd been in norm hospitals as well as medical and scientific facilities that I really wanted to forget, and one thing had held true in all of those cases. Sterile white prisons.

After my last two cases involving a mad scientist, Werewolves, and Vampires, I'd had more than enough of anything to do with medical or scientific research. And despite being Drow, after a horrific chain of events, in this Earth Otherworld I didn't like being deep below the ground.

Yet here I was.

Of course in a paranorm infirmary there were a lot of differences, including the fact that magic replaced any other form of healthcare. Our Healers used their gifts for all paranorm needs. It didn't mean the paranorm would be instantly well, it just meant that they would heal without the use of knives, lasers, medication, or whatever else they were using in the medical center above our heads.

"Let me go," came a shout from the room we had been directed to. "I swear you'll all be killed if you don't let me out of here. I'll make sure of it myself." Desmond and I looked at each other then picked up our pace to reach the room. After I showed my PI and Tracker credentials to the guards, Desmond and I went through the door.

The moment we entered the room I almost dropped my purse from the sudden heaviness of the stones within. At least one of the stones recognized the being within the Host body. I had no doubt it was the stone whose essence the real Candace was in.

We approached the female who was manacled to a hospital bed and strapped down tightly from ankles to chest. A cloth strap harness held her head secured tight. She had a snarl on her face and she was yanking against her restraints.

The Healer Sara stood at the foot of the bed and smiled at us as we walked in.

"What the hell are you smiling about?" Candace shouted at the Healer. Then she caught sight of me and her eyes narrowed. "You. Tracker." She made a sound like a growl. "That idiotic Una should have taken your Host."

I smiled. "But she didn't."

Candace narrowed her eyes. "You have it. I can feel it. Give it to me. "

"Give you what?" I said, even though I knew perfectly well what she wanted.

The draw of the stone from my purse made me lightheaded. The feeling crept up my arm and slowly made its way throughout my body like a virus. I shuddered. The sensation wasn't a pleasant one.

Desmond stepped beside me. "What's your Kerran name?" The female looked from me to Desmond. "You're supposed to be dead." Her lips parted in obvious shock. "He killed you. I saw my uncle kill you."

"Bryna." Desmond gripped the handrail of her hospital bed and studied her, his jaws tight.

"Worthless bitch."

"You're the one who ended up without a world, Sorcerer." Bryna laughed, a mirthless laugh.

The muscles in Desmond's arms and forearms were well-defined as he strained to gain control of himself. At least that's what it looked like.

"Perfect." He fixed his gaze on me. "We have Amory's niece. She's an advisor in his Inner Circle and he'll be happy to see her."

"You're letting me go?" Bryna stopped straining against her manacles. "Give me my stone." Desmond's smile was cold, ruthless. "You will never see your uncle again as an independent being."

"What are you talking about?" Bryna jerked against her restraints. "Lord Amory will never stop searching for me."

"Let him." Desmond shrugged then looked at me. "I obtained the information I need out of this one. We can go."

"That's it?" I asked as Bryna started thrashing her head and arms in the hospital bed, her attempts futile.

"Just knowing she's Amory's niece is good enough for me." Desmond patted the bars of Bryna's bed. "You be a good little bitch. We'll be back for you later."

"Bastard!" Bryna shrieked. "This time I'll make sure you're dead." Desmond smiled. "No, honey. This time you'll be helping me bring down your uncle." As Bryna screamed, I looked at the Healer and gave a single nod.

"Delighted." Sara closed her eyes as she placed her hands on Bryna's strapped-down ankles.

Bryna's screams ended abruptly and her Host body went limp.

"Sweet, blessed silence," the Healer said, and I agreed.

When Desmond and I walked out of the room I frowned at him. "All we learned is that Candace is the Host body for Amory's niece. Why didn't you question her more?"

"No point in it." Desmond shoved his hands into his front jeans pockets while we headed down the hallway toward the exit at the subway. "Anything else we need to know from her you'll absorb once you're in her body. This just gave us an excellent heads-up." He grinned as he turned and walked backward in front of me. "Amory's niece. Perfect. She is a confidant of Amory's and in his elite Inner Circle. She is a treacherous woman and very loyal to Amory."

"So I'll know exactly what to do when I'm in that Doran Otherworld?" I said as he turned and started walking at my side again.

"Everything." Desmond and I stepped into the elevator that would take us way up, back to the subway. "And in theory, you should know everything the Host Candace knows, too."

"In theory." I raised one eyebrow. "Have you ever done this before? Put two essences into one stone and then another essence into a Host with two imprints?" But the time I finished saying it, I'd just confused myself. The whole of it wasn't easy to follow.

Desmond shrugged as the elevator shot up. "Never had the chance to do it, but I don't think it will be a problem."

"You don't think?" I shook my head. "What about my body? What if it starts acting Zombie-ish?