“That rogue sorceress has already beaten us twice . . .” I stopped and swore. If it was Myer rather than Markel who was currently on watch duty, then I’d just made a
very major goof. I mentally crossed my fingers and added silently,
I’d rather make sure she can’t get to the final key before we do.
With Lucian gone, she has no direct line to your activities.
That we know of. I’d still rather ensure she isn’t around when we find the next one.
“Weeding down that list of possible locations,” Stane said, obviously not noticing the fact I’d cut my sentence off midstream, “is an exasperating experience. The list is now just over fifty possible sites—which may not mean much to someone who can transport instantly, but it’s still going to take time to inspect each one, and some of them have pretty fierce security systems installed.”
“I can get us past security,” Azriel said.
Stane snorted. “Even you wouldn’t get past some of the latest motion sensors, my friend. Besides, as you said, you haven’t got enough time left to be fucking around.”
“But if you cannot contract that list any further, then we have no other choice.” Azriel’s voice was grim. “There is always the hope that we will find the key in the first half rather than the last.”
I snorted. “I think we had our one and only bit of luck when that gun blew up in the vamp’s hand.”
“What?” Stane said, confusion evident. “Since when did vampires need guns? They have speed and teeth on their side—why would they need anything else?”
“Maybe they thought a bullet would be a faster and more secure method of killing someone who could disappear into smoke.” I shrugged. “What about Michael Judd? What did he do once he’d made his reappearance?”
Stane grimaced. “Nothing out of the ordinary. He went back to university but switched courses, doing a master’s in finance with a major in accounting.”
“What was he doing previously?”
Stane smiled. “An arts degree in media and communication.”
“And no one commented on the rather sudden change of plans? I mean, that’s kinda a big jump.”
“Well, no one in the media commented. By that point, he was old news. We’ll never know what his old man might have said, given he died ten years ago.”
“Killed?”
“No, it was a regular old heart attack. Nothing suspicious. His estate, though, was left in its entirety to Michael rather than being spread between his wife and other three children. They contested, but it was settled out of court.”
No surprise there, given he wouldn’t have wanted the matter raising too much of a fuss in the press. I glanced at Azriel. “Why don’t we go check out that Altona North place? That gives Stane a little more time to whittle down the list.”
“If you wish.” He stood and held out a hand. “But after this, we must at least start searching the buildings that are on that list.”
“Deal.” I placed my hand in Azriel’s, then glanced back at Stane. “While your computers are running that list, I’d be connecting the security system up to the generators. Just in case.”
“Consider it done.” His voice was grim. “I have no intention of going back into that panic room unless absolutely necessary.”
“Good.” The words were barely out of my mouth when Azriel’s magic swirled around me, zipping us across to Altona North. We reappeared in the middle of a road. I blinked and looked around. On the left there was an open field, although in the distance I could see the lights of what looked to be some sort of chemical plant. To the right there were several large warehouses. There were a few cars in the parking lot, which was a surprise given
that it was after ten at night. The one we wanted was slightly farther down the road and had a blue two-story office block running across the front of the larger warehouse building. There were lights on in several of the offices, although I couldn’t actually see anyone moving about.
“You may not see them,” Azriel commented, studying the warehouse intently, “but they are nevertheless there.”
“How many? And is one of them our sorceress?”
“Five, and no.” He paused, his gaze narrowing. “There is an odd sense of energy toward the rear of the building, however.”
I studied that section of the warehouse. I couldn’t see anything that appeared out of place, and I certainly wasn’t feeling anything that hinted at the presence of magic. “Shall we go investigate?”
“That is what we came here for, is it not?” He drew Valdis, then added, “Follow me.”
“You keep saying that,” I said, as I fell in step beside him. “I would have thought that by now, you’d have come to accept the impossibility of it ever happening.”
“Oh, I accept it.” He glanced at me, amusement touching his lips. “But I keep saying it in the hope that
one
day, you
will
actually do the sensible thing.”
“I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting.”
“Perhaps not,” he said. “Though it would not matter if I did, because as an energy being, I do not actually have to breathe.”
I nudged him lightly with my shoulder. “You’d get bored if I actually
was
sensible.”
“
That
is something unlikely to happen, as I can think of many, many things we could do to relieve the onset of boredom.”
I grinned. “So can I. And I bet mine would be a whole lot more imaginative than yours.”
“That is a bet I would
not
take if I were you.” His gaze
went to the office portion of the warehouse. “Two people are about to leave for the night.”
I glanced ahead. There were no cars parked along this side of the warehouse, so we were safe from discovery. “And the other three?”
“Working.”
“So there’s no one in the warehouse at the moment?”
“
That
I’m not so certain of.” He touched my elbow, lightly guiding me forward again. “The strange energy is very definitely present at the rear of the building, and I cannot see past it.”
I frowned. “So is it magic, or something else?”
He hesitated. “I think it is magic, but it feels fouler—more corrupted—than anything we’ve come across so far.”
Considering we’d come across some pretty foul magic, that was saying something. We cautiously made our way down the driveway. There were two large loading bays down this side of the building, but both roller doors were down and locked. There was also a regular door at the far end of the building, with a wooden bench sitting under a nearby tree and a bin filled with rubbish and cigarette butts to one side of it. Obviously, a retreat for the smokers.
We walked across to the door and Azriel tested the handle. It turned. He glanced at me, one eyebrow raised in surprise, then carefully opened the door and slipped inside. I followed.
There were no lights on in this section of the warehouse and the air felt cool. There was also a feeling of vastness to the darkness; it almost felt as if it were one big, empty space. And yet there were shelves nearby, most of which held stock, if the odd-shaped shadows were anything to go by.
I’m not feeling anyone close by,
I said.
And I still can’t feel the magic. Where is it?
Ahead and down.
His fingers clasped mine; then he tugged me forward. Though our steps were whisper quiet, they nevertheless seemed to echo. Or maybe it just seemed that way because of the tension that was beginning to build within me.
Down? Meaning we’re dealing with yet another basement?
It would appear our sorceress has a penchant for them.
Well, let’s hope this one doesn’t contain any nasty surprises.
He glanced over his shoulder, his blue eyes bright in the cover of night.
That is another thing I would not bet on.
I certainly wasn’t. She’d been one step ahead of us all along, so it would be stupid to think that she’d be unprepared when it came to her remaining bolt-holes. She
had
to be aware by now that we’d already destroyed—or otherwise made unusable—at least three of her ceremony and storage sites.
We continued across the vast space. As my eyes got used to the deeper darkness of this place, I realized that most of the shelves held a mix of tableware, home décor, and glassware, from all over the world. Some of the names stamped on the crates I recognized, and they were definitely upmarket. If Margaret Kendrick
was
another identity of Lauren’s—or Mike’s, given that we had no idea which form or sex our shape-shifter actually preferred—then she was obviously doing rather well. There was a fortune’s worth of stock sitting in this warehouse alone.
About three-quarters of the way across the warehouse, Azriel made a sharp turn left. The laden shelving towered above us and made it seem like we were walking through a canyon. Ahead a green exit sign glowed brightly at the top of a single doorway.
I frowned.
That’s the rear wall of the warehouse—are we heading back out again?
I doubt it, given the energy I feel is below, not aboveground.
He stopped at the doorway and lightly pressed his fingertips against the sturdy metal door. Nothing happened.
Be wary. Whatever it is I feel, it lies beyond this door.
I nodded and drew Amaya. Her hiss was a sound of displeasure.
Draw sooner,
she muttered.
Safer.
Not when there’s nothing attacking,
I replied.
Don’t tell me you’re bored back there, Amaya.
Not,
she replied, somewhat huffily.
Concerned am.
I grinned and stepped back a little as Azriel raised Valdis and shoved her point into the door’s deadlock. With very little fuss, her flames melted both the lock and the bolt, and the door swung silently open.
It looked altogether too much like an invitation for my liking.
The door didn’t open to the outside world, but, as Azriel had suspected, into a basement area. The stairs leading down into deeper darkness were concrete, and the air smelled reasonably fresh. But it was too black to be ordinary darkness, even if there was no immediate sense of danger. I certainly couldn’t smell anything that represented any sort of threat.
And I can’t sense anything because of that foul energy.
His expression was grim when his gaze met mine.
This time, you
will
stay behind me.
I nodded. While I might not be able to feel any threat, the fact that he couldn’t was enough to have warning bells ringing.
Be careful. The dark sorceress is aware of what you are, and she’s had the time—and no doubt the coaching from Lucian—to work out some way of nullifying your presence.
I am aware of that. Watch the first step—it is deeper than it looks.
I gripped the cold metal handrail and stepped down into the stairwell. The shadows seemed deeper for some reason, and tension rolled through me. While I wished
we could use the swords to light our way, that would only be a warning to whoever—whatever—might lay below that we were coming.
Azriel headed down cautiously. I followed, keeping close to his back, Amaya’s mutterings a sharp accompaniment to the gathering sense of expectation.
Azriel reached the final step and paused. I peered over his shoulder. Ahead in the distance light glowed, but it was a strange blue-black color that flickered and danced.
Candlelight.
Yes. And the energy comes from the room at the end of this hall, as well.
And you still can’t sense anything?
No.
He glanced at me.
But if there is candlelight, then someone has lit it.
Maybe.
And maybe not. After all, we were dealing with someone who had the capability of making transport stones. Just because she
had
been here didn’t mean she still was.
We crept on. The long corridor was narrow, meaning even if I
had
wanted to walk beside him, I couldn’t. My grip tightened on Amaya and her background noise ratcheted up. The odd violet-black light continued to dance and flicker, and my skin crawled. I might not be able to sense the energy or magic that Azriel was, but something still felt very wrong.
We reached the open doorway. Azriel stopped, forcing me to do the same. Flames flickered briefly down Valdis’s blade, but they were very similar in color to the light that crawled from the room beyond, and almost unnoticeable.
Anything?
I asked.
Only the candles.
He glanced at me.
Which only makes me suspect something is, indeed, here. Watch our backs.
I licked my lips and nodded. He stepped into the room, then paused, body tense. Nothing happened. I
pressed my back against the wall and followed him in. The room was largish but unlike the other underground chambers we’d discovered, as there was no shelving here, either hewn into the walls or freestanding. There was a table, and markings on the floor I suspected were incantations of some kind, but no pentagram and certainly no altar.
There were, however, two cuneiform stones. They were smaller, darker, than their kin, and had once stood in a square windowless room within a property that had been inhabited by several—now dead—Razan.
At least we now knew where the damn things had gone. But did that mean this space was a recently created one? The etchings on the floor didn’t look new, but that didn’t mean all that much.
Light flickered in the middle of the room, brighter and fiercer than the candlelight. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, but it sent my pulse rate into overdrive. Something was very definitely about to happen, and I really wasn’t sure either of us should be here when it did.
Then perhaps you should follow instinct and leave,
Azriel said.
We’ll never find our sorceress if I give in to the urge to run,
I replied, perhaps more tartly than I should have.
Besides, whatever is waiting here, I’m sure it would be better faced with two swords rather than one.