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that, he disappeared again.
    I blew out a breath, then spun on my heels and splashed my way toward McDonald’s. Once inside, I found the restroom and changed my clothing, dumping my wet things into my pack then dragging on my leather jacket in an effort to warm the chill from my flesh.
    Once I’d paid for my burger and Coke, I made my way to a table in the corner, as far away from everyone else as possible.
    He appeared seconds later, striding through the restaurant like an animal on the prowl. No one seemed to think it odd to see a half-naked man wearing a sword, yet he was obviously visible, if the man who apologized for getting in his way was any indication.
    I picked up my burger and bit into it, but barely even tasted it. My attention was on the reaper. On this man who could destroy me with a single touch of his finger.
    His gaze met mine again. Those bright depths burned, and if reapers were capable of anger, then this one was pissed.
    He pulled out a chair and sat down opposite me, his movements economical and fluid. The heat of him rolled across the table, and it did warm me even as the psychic part of me shivered away from the power of that fiery caress.
    And yet, if he was sitting down opposite me, surely that meant he didn’t intend to take me.
    Not yet, anyway.
    “No reaper did that.” The words were said flatly, without inflection, and yet his anger seemed to blaze all around me. “No reaper would ever do that.”
    “And yet you are capable of it.”
    He studied me for a moment, then nodded, the movement short and sharp. “As are you.”
    “The Aedh are not as adept at soul stealing as the reapers, and a half-Aedh even less so.”
    He acknowledged this with another nod, then said, “There are many other things capable of stealing souls in this world, but I’ve never seen one go after a child so young.”
    I took another bite of the burger, but the little girl’s plight had really killed my taste buds and the burger tasted like ash. I dropped it back into its wrapper, brushed the crumbs off my fingers, then picked up my Coke instead. After taking a sip, I said, “So which of these other things is responsible for her destruction?”
    “That I cannot tell you.”
    I raised an eyebrow—and felt somewhat surreal even as I did it. I mean, I was sitting here in the middle of McDonald’s with a reaper . The day could not get any weirder if it tried. “Cannot, or will not?”
    He studied me, and for the first time I noticed the hint of stubble around his chin. It made his face less perfect, and yet somehow more appealing.
    I blinked. A reaper appealing? Someone obviously needed to knock some sense back into me.
    “Cannot,” he said, eventually, “because I do not know who or what is responsible. But we will endeavor to find out.”
    I paused. “We?”
    “The Mijai.”
    “The what?”
    “Mijai,” he repeated. “We are the dark angels, the soldiers.”
    “Hence the sword.” And the winged tattoo. “But why would reapers need soldiers? Especially since reapers don’t take unwilling souls?”
    “Because, as I said, there are other things that do. The Mijai are responsible for stopping such thefts.”
    And for a whole lot more, I was betting. “Meaning someone screwed up big time when it came to that little girl.” I paused, taking another sip of Coke. “So is that why you were following me? Was I a suspect?”
    “How could I suspect you when I didn’t even know the soul had been stolen?”
    “Then why were you following me?”
    He hesitated and leaned back in his chair. If the sword across his back was giving him any discomfort, he certainly wasn’t showing it. In fact, it almost seemed an extension of his flesh—a metallic limb, of sorts.
    “Where did you get that necklace?” he countered.
    I blinked and automatically knew he wasn’t talking about Ilianna’s charm, but rather the gold filigree droplet I wore around my neck. It was shaped like two wings, and very much represented my