Spell Bound - Kelley Armstrong [83]
Sean is a slender version of our dad—tall, blond, blue-eyed, and very good-looking. He used to wear his hair longer, tied back for work, but when he neared thirty, he decided he was past the ponytail stage and cut it off. He dresses well for work, but prefers casual wear. He’s quiet and even-tempered. He likes sports and live theater. He listens to new rock and old blues. If you really want to lay out every gay stereotype, I’m sure he fits some of them, but so would everyone else. Stuffing people into boxes is for those who have issues about their own box.
Cassandra figured out that Sean is gay because she pays attention. She’d noticed that he never checked out women on the street or talked about who he was dating, and she’d drawn her own conclusions from that. She’s a predator. She’s always paying attention, even when she pretends otherwise.
twenty-six
When we reached the car, Sean’s driver was there with two vehicles.
“That’s for you and Cassandra,” Sean said, pointing at an older model BMW. “Discreet enough in L.A. Lucas and I have a meeting with Granddad so I thought you two would want to head off on your own.”
“Just point us in the right direction,” I said. “I take it we’ll be dodging Nast security?”
He shook his head. “There is no official investigation to dodge. Launching one would suggest our grandfather has some doubts regarding who took the boy. He needs to hold off until Lucas denies Benicio’s involvement. Then he’ll launch one to prove it. Until then, he has simply secured the crime-scene.”
“Don’t you love politics?” I said.
“Quite,” Cassandra said. “I enjoy watching mortals chase their petty distractions, desperately and foolishly bent on convincing themselves that their actions will have meaning after their flesh has dried to dust.”
“I wasn’t asking you.” I turned to Sean. “So if they’ve secured the scene, can’t I get in?”
“You can. I’ve made arrangements. You’ll also find a folder in the car with all the details so far. Call me if you have any questions.” He turned to Troy. “Are you staying with Lucas or guarding Savannah?”
“My orders say Lucas,” Troy replied. “And in this case, my orders are right. While Savannah could use the shadow, mine is too large for an unobtrusive investigation. Ms. DuCharme will be playing the role of bodyguard today. Vamps may not have superpowers, but they make good shields and excellent cannon fodder.”
“Thank you,” Cassandra said.
Troy grinned. “Anytime, ma’am.”
I drove while Cassandra read the file. That plan lasted as far as the gate before I pulled over, handed her the keys, and grabbed the pages.
“I need the six o’clock news version,” I said as we switched seats. “Not the CNN commentary.”
“How dull.”
“Yep.”
I read aloud as she drove.
Each Cabal has a resident clairvoyant. It’s a rare but invaluable power. Clairvoyants can’t actually see the future, but they have the power of remote viewing. They can see the world through the eyes of their target. The best can also read a target’s emotions and combine that with the remote viewing to predict actions.
The catch? By the time a clairvoyant is that good, he or she is well on the road to madness. The human brain isn’t equipped to deal with that level of stimulation. Your average clairvoyant family produces only just one member with powers every few generations, which explains why Cabals employ only one of each. Add in the fact that working for a Cabal substantially increases the use of one’s powers, speeding them faster toward madness, and you can see why getting even one isn’t easy. Cabals either have to kidnap them or establish a relationship with a clairvoyant family.
The boy—Larsen—had been placed with the great-niece of the Nasts’ clairvoyant. She was married to a Nast half-demon employee, and they had a child of their own, a few years older than Larsen. It was as close to a safe and normal family as they could provide for the kid. I suspected Sean was the one behind the arrangement.
So Larsen lived his semi-normal life with his semi-normal family in a cute little bungalow.