“This is your quest,” Viève said. “If I were alone I would simple phase through the ground and into the bunker. But if I did that with you and suddenly appeared—”

“Wait…you can phase me through as well?”

“Well…yes. All I have to do is touch you.”

“Those are very powerful hands,” he remarked, duly impressed with the extent of her ability.

“Not as powerful as most,” she muttered.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Viève said quickly. “So do you want me to phase you through or not? It will be dangerous for us to show up unannounced.”

“I don’t see how we have much choice. Those sentries aren’t about to let me pass.” Kamen’s mouth turned grim. “Phase us through. But you have to bring us directly to the Doyen. It’s the only way.”

“They will be able to see us go past them,” she said. “I can phase, not turn invisible. But as long as you are phased they cannot touch you and perhaps that will give you the time you need.” She bit at her lip a moment. “Please don’t make me regret this,” she said with imploring eyes. “If you try anything, I’ll be the first to touch you.”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” he countered. “But don’t worry. I won’t give you cause to touch me.”

She reached out and wrapped her hand around his biceps. Her touch was delicate, more like a caress. Kamen felt something inside himself tense with interest. It surprised him. He simply didn’t feel things like sensual pleasure any longer. And her touch was definitely a sensual pleasure. He didn’t know why, it simply was.

Suddenly she was pulling him downward and he felt his body passing through sand and earth. Then he was passing through the cold of metal and suddenly, they dropped into a large, richly appointed room. There were thick Turkish rugs laid out over deep Brazilian cherrywood flooring. Expensive artwork hung from the terra-cotta style walls. The shining, mellowed furniture was cherry to match the floors.

“I don’t know what room he would be in. But we are bound to run into someone—”

As she spoke, her voice came out a whisper, not because she was whispering but because it hardly held form in their disembodied state. No sooner did he hear the words then someone entered the room.

Now here was what he was used to a Wraith looking like. Gaunt and pale, washed of all color and, seemingly, life. There was a hollowness around his eyes. An emptiness in his pupils. He was thin and wiry. He wore a robe that draped to the floor over a pair of black slacks and a black button-down shirt, both of which came from a very expensive designer.

He spied them in the corner of the room and stilled. He shut the door and looked at them, not raising any alarm. He simply studied them for a moment.

“What can I do for you, half-breed?” he asked smoothly, his voice far richer than Kamen was expecting.

Half-breed? Ah, Kamen thought. That explained why she looked so different from the Wraith who stood before him now. She was not a fully bred Wraith.

“We are here to see the Doyen,” she said shakily.

“And why would the Doyen want to waste his time on a little half-breed and…whatever this is you’ve brought to him.” He nodded to Kamen.

“He’s a Bodywalker,” she said meekly. “He wishes to talk peace with the Wraiths.”

He laughed, the sound filling the room. “Other Nightwalkers do not ask for peace with the Wraiths. We are hated by all and we hate them in return. If you were fully bred perhaps you would know this. You best be gone before someone touches you with death.”

To Kamen’s surprise, Viève grew stubborn. “No. He wants to talk peace and I…I believe him. Isn’t it worth at least a few moments of the Doyen’s time? What if he is telling the truth? What if he really does want to talk peace?”

“And what if he’s using a silly little girl to get close enough to the Doyen to assassinate him?” the man countered.

“I may be a half-breed, but I am loyal. If he even thinks of hurting the Doyen, I’ll be the first to deathtouch him.”

She lifted her chin firmly and for a moment Kamen almost believed her.

Almost.

The other Wraith didn’t believe her either. He laughed.

“All right then, convince me. Let him speak for himself before I let him through to see the Doyen.”

Kamen stepped away from Viève, letting her touch fall away and becoming solid in the room. He kept his shield in place as he got closer to the other Wraith.

“There is a threat to all the Nightwalkers. A god named Apep has come to destroy all who stand in his way. Nightwalker…human…anyone. We must band together to fight this evil. It is the only way.”

“Apep,” the Wraith mused. “And would it surprise you to know that in the past the Wraiths have served the god known as Apep? That he has already approached us and demanded our loyalty once more?”

Cold dread sank into Kamen’s bones. He had not even considered a possibility like this. A Nightwalker race working in tandem with Apep? That would be catastrophic. Especially if it kept the twelve Nightwalker races from coming together and ending the curse among them. From ending Apep’s existence.

He took a step back, dropping his shield so he could reach back and take hold of Viève’s hand. He then raised the shield around them both, protecting them from the Wraith if necessary.

“I would say you are fools to obey an imp god. He may need you now, but the moment he tires of you or grows angry with you he will strike you down without any thought. Everything is disposable to him and he produces carnage wherever he goes. The imp god brings only chaos with him. His goal is to create havoc for the sake of his own entertainment. How long before it is you providing that entertainment, Doyen?”

The Wraith smiled. “So, you know who I am? What gave me away?”

“Your demeanor. Your inside knowledge of the god.” Kamen waved all of that off. “My offer of peace is genuine. All eleven of the other Nightwalkers wish to strike an accord with you.”

“Eleven? There are only five.”

“There are eleven. The other six are hidden from us by a curse. A curse that can only be broken with the Wraiths’ cooperation. Please, Doyen, see reason.”

“I am seeing reason. I am seeing that it is best we not get in the middle of all of this. If Apep strikes at us we will strike back. We will not serve him and we will not serve you.”