Touch of the Fire God [Scions of the Ankh 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Toni L. Meilleur

another word, Ralabos had already transformed into a hawk and burst through the glass in the window, sending a million pieces flying.

Chapter 7
     
    “Look, I have been here several times looking for the body of Franklin Summit, no one can tell me anything, and the last time I was here, the person I was supposed to speak to canceled on me after having me wait here for several hours.
    “Now I will not leave here until I know something!” Rene bellowed loudly.
    She was irritated as all hell. First the crap with Ralabos, now these people were trying to give her the runaround again.
    It ends now, she thought.
    The small, mousy woman began clasping her hands tightly in front of her, clearly distressed by Rene’s attitude. “Miss Selkis, we are doing—”
    “Who is ‘we’? There’s no one here but you and I. There’s always been just you and I, and while I’m sure you’re pleasant enough company, I came halfway around the world to claim the body of Franklin Summit and bury him respectfully, not sit and chitchat.”
    “May I be of some assistance?”
    Rene turned to see a rather tall, dark, and dare she say, good-looking man, dressed in all black and staring intently at her with the blackest eyes she had ever seen.
    He approached her slowly, and the weight of his aura began to weigh on Rene. Power. That was the one word that came to mind. Not nearly as intense as the feeling of unleashed power from Ralabos, but it was undeniably there. He seemed deadly, and his concentrated stare made her skin crawl.
    “Who might you be?” Rene kept her voice steady, though the closer he got to her, the more the feeling of something dark seemed to envelop her. Not only that, she could swear she’d seen him before, but she couldn’t remember where.
    “I am Torian A. Nubis. I own this facility. How may I be of assistance?” he asked again with an accent similar to that of Ralabos.
    Rene breathed a sigh of relief; at last she was making headway. Rene gave him the quick and ugly version of her complications from trying to obtain the body of Franklin.
    “Please accompany me to my office. Business such as this calls for privacy. Thank you, Gale. Please hold any interruptions.”
    The mousy woman breathed a sigh of relief as he took control of the situation, though the look of adoration in Gale’s eyes as she looked at Mr. Nubis did not escape Rene’s notice.
    As they walked farther into the cavity of the building, Rene couldn’t stop the niggling feeling that he seemed so very familiar to her. He was certainly gorgeous enough to be a model, but she sensed that that held no interest for him. No, Mr. Nubis was anything but a boy toy. He was far too sophisticated and intense for that sort of life.
    What was it about the men she'd been meeting lately that were abnormally gorgeous? They seemed a species unto themselves.
    His office, of course, was dark as well. Everything was in male shades of gray to black, and oddly, the office smelled new, like it was hardly occupied.
    “I understand you are having trouble obtaining a body, Miss ...?” he asked as rounded the large desk and settled comfortably into his black, shiny, leather chair, indicating that she should be seated as well.
    “Yes, that of Franklin Summit. He’s been dead several days now, and I was flown out here specifically to obtain his body. Is there a chance he’s already been buried or that the body has been mis-tagged?”
    “I assure you the body of Franklin Summit is not in the ground.” Nubis smirked, then caught himself. “There has just been a communication oversight.”
    “On whose part, Mr. Nubis?” Rene clipped, not liking the man’s attitude. “I have acted on the information given to me.” Was he implying that she was the one who was backwards?
    “Are you staying in a nearby hotel, Miss ...?” he asked again, this time clearly indicating she should interject an answer.
    “Doctor Rene Selkis,” she offered, “and no, I’m staying with a friend of