Free Into the Void (The Godhunter, Book 10) by Amy Sumida Page A

the back of my chair and leaned into me so he could see the pages.
    “Fire casting,” I read from the table of contents. “There's a whole section.”
    “ Da, I told you,” Kirill nodded and pushed back the heavy curtain of his hair that had fallen forward.
    I smiled at him, he handled that hair in such a feminine manner sometimes but I guess that was unavoidable when you had hair down to your ass. It's hard to look manly while you're flicking shiny black hair over your shoulder but Kirill pulled it off. Mainly because he looked like he didn't care. I pulled a section back toward me, stroking the silk of it through my fingers like a child with a favorite blanket. He leaned his forehead to mine in a very cat way and rubbed it back and forth. Then he nudged me and pointed to the page I'd turned to.
    “Zere it is,” he tapped the page. “Ashes to Ashes.”
    “ How appropriate,” I went still as I looked over the artistic rendering of a body burnt black, arms up in a defensive gesture. “This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you, baby.”
    “ My pleasure,” he purred.
    “ Hold that thought,” I kissed him quick on the cheek and put the book back down. “I have one more thing to do before we can to see to some pleasure for both of us.”
    “ I'll vait right here,” he sat back and crossed his arms over his thick chest, smiling in anticipation.
    “ Then I'd best hurry,” I smiled back and raced from the room to grab a handkerchief I'd brought back from the Faerie Realm with me. I ran down to the tracing wall and traced over to Dr. Malcolm Armstrong's office.
    I went in invisible, just in case he had a visitor with him, but he was alone so I dropped the spell and unfortunately startled him. He threw the papers he'd been holding, up into the air, scattering them around his little office.
    “Dr. Armstrong, I'm so sorry,” I helped him pick up the papers. “I wanted to make sure you weren't with anyone before I popped in.”
    “ Oh, it's okay, Vervain,” he laughed off his alarm. “I guess I should be used to that by now.”
    Dr. Armstrong had been hired by Demeter to alter the rabies virus into something that could harm an immortal. He'd done it unwillingly and he'd helped us fix his mistakes, so he was off the hook with the Froekn. We'd actually put him into a kind of god run witness protection program and hid him until the Demeter threat was neutralized. Then he'd gone back to work, at ease now that Demeter was dead.
    “I'd like to hire you,” I put the handkerchief on his desk. “Could you have the contents of this analyzed? I need to see if there's been an fire accelerant of some kind used.”
    “ What is it?” He opened the hanky with his pen and peered at the pile of black ash.
    “ It's part of a faerie corpse,” I said and he cringed. “I'm not sure if it will give you strange readings or anything because of that but what I'm looking for is what caused the body to burn so completely.” I put an envelope of cash on the desk. “I hope this will be enough to cover your expenses and pay for your expertise but if it isn't, just let me know and I'll bring you more. You remember my number, right?”
    I'd given the doctor my cell phone number when he decided to return to work, just in case he ever needed anything. Or was ever harassed by another god.
    “Yes, of course, but this is unnecessary,” he tried to hand back the envelope.
    “ Work deserves recompense,” I pushed it back to him. “Believe me, Dr. Armstrong, I'm not hurting for cash. Keep it.”
    “ Well if you insist,” he cast a look around his cramped office and I smiled.
    “ Just give me a call when you have the results,” I nodded and shook his hand. “Actually, make it a text, calls are usually a little scratchy when I try to take them in the God Realm.”
    “ Okay,” he huffed a little laugh, “text only for the God Realm.”
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Ten
     
    “Happy Thanksgiving,” I hugged Fenrir and then