Whatever the fire and smoke hadn’t consumed had been pummeled by water, the broken remains of the old, retrofitted high school was a smashed and beaten pile of soaked rubble. Lazily strung tape cordoned off the section of road outside downtown Milton, creating a loose-fitting protective barrier.
The air was stale, but didn’t smell particularly of smoke, just a lingering, acrid tang, neither fresh nor foul. Both Indigo and I stood near the collapsed front of the building, the exterior brick crumbled into a stack of drenched debris. To my relief, there didn’t seem to be any current oversight, no law enforcement or fire department and no black SUVs or government-issue passenger vans.
The day had slipped by after my awakening in the military facility that morning, and the sun crept low to the horizon. The approaching evening gave Indigo enough protection that all she wore was a baseball hat and a pair of sunglasses over her eyes to protect her face. A long-sleeve flannel shirt covered every inch of skin from the waist up and gloves were pulled tight over her hands. She stood out, looking like she was bundled for a chilly fall day, but at least was able to help a little bit while there was the smallest bit of light left in the sky.
“This is a mess.” Indigo stepped under the crime scene tape, pushing it up so she could fit beneath it. I followed her lead, moving slowly as the bending over and rising again put strain upon my aching ribs. I stepped through a pile of broken brick and collapsed sheet rock, the chunks of fallen building shifting beneath my step.
I paused for a moment, and felt the air around me, trying to detect any telltale traces of supernatural energy. There was no sulfur smell in the air, no underlying static charge, just the pungent stink of water and soaked plaster. The residual smoke of a long-extinguished bonfire used to burn old furniture.
The framework of the building’s interior leaned heavily inward, sheet rock peeling away from the underlying frame, part of the ceiling collapsed into the front corridor. I ducked under the sagging tile and pushed aside the semi-translucent panel covering light fixtures. The hallway was partially intact, a leaning rectangular tunnel, clinging together by desperate fingernails. My shoes squelched into soaked carpet and crunched over soggy chunks of broken sheet rock.
I recognized the skeleton of the hallway ahead, the burned out corpse of the building I’d seen a few days prior. As we ventured deeper inside, I saw the hole punched in the sheet rock to my right, chunks of gray interior peppered the wet carpet. It was definitely the hole that Daniel had made as he’d burst through, hammering into the corridor, desperately trying to escape the bounty hunter close on his tail.
“Here,” I said, holding up a hand to stop Indigo’s progress. “Daniel came through that wall. I tried to talk him down for a minute, then Androse was there.” I walked to the hole and crouched, looking at the floor on both sides of the broken wall. I saw no sign of either knife. Still crouched, my aching knees bent, I looked along the soaked carpet, scanning the hallway further down, as I recalled where I’d dropped the second knife. That section of floor was just as empty. I sighed, using the jagged edge of the hole in the wall to help me stand, my ribs and thighs protesting.
“If they were here,” I said quietly, “they’re gone now.”
“As is everything else.” The voice came from ahead and I looked down the hall, watching as a figure approached. She pressed her own hand to the wall at her left, helping her navigate the challenging debris field strewn over the carpet. As she stepped closer, I recognized her in the dim light of dusk.
“Bonnie!” Indigo pushed past me and closed the distance, taking the woman’s hand. “We weren’t sure you were still here.”
“I almost wasn’t. I made sure to slip out before those thugs in bulletproof vests showed up.” She eyed me curiously. “One of them seemed particularly interested in your unconscious body.”
“That would be Agent Fenric. We go back a long ways.”
“You’re friendly with a human federal agent? One who hunts down our kind?”
“Friendly isn’t the right term. We go back— that doesn’t mean we’re friends.”
Bonnie nodded and seemed reassured, at least until she took in the wreckage around us. A breath caught in her chest and she looked as though she might break out in tears.
“Twenty years of my life spent putting this together. Gone in a single evening.” She leaned back, pressing her shoulders into the wall at her back.
“I’m sorry. I feel like I should have done more.” I crouched and picked up a chunk of sheet rock, then tossed it aside.
“What more could you have done? From what little I saw, it seems like you tried.” Her eyes closed as she studied me. “I can feel the regret washing over you, Gus. Try to push those feelings down if you can. They won’t help.”
I didn’t fully understand Bonnie’s empathic abilities— all I knew is that she could understand and impact the emotional state of people. It was part of the reason why she’d been able to help Daniel, because she could help keep him calm and emotionally regulated.
“I think the guy who did this— he was after Daniel.”
Bonnie nodded. “The bounty hunter? The one you warned me about?”
I nodded.
“Did he— get him?”
“I think he did.”
Bonnie lowered her chin and sighed, then glanced up at me. “Do you know if they caught anyone else? There was a family of fae— and Pelastos.”
“Pelastos?”
“He was— he is a centaur.” Bonnie said the word quietly, as if just speaking it brought her great pain. “He has a fascination with humanity, but during his last trip through the veil, he got injured. I was keeping him here— helping him recover until he could return to his realm. I haven’t seen him since last night.”
“I saw him,” I replied, “as we arrived. He was running off down the street, away from the approaching vehicles. I didn’t see him at the military facility when I was there earlier today, so I’m hoping he escaped. Do you have a way to get in touch with him?”
“I will— keep trying.” She stepped away from the wall and looked up and down the hallway, silently measuring the damage. “I think I can fix it. The insurance money will take care of the damage, I just need to find enough volunteers—”
Indigo placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “Whatever you need, you can count on us.”
“What are the two of you doing here, anyway?”
“I misplaced two of my enchanted knives— lost them at some point during the scuffle. I was hoping maybe they were still here.”
“They’re not?”
“No. They’re not.” My mind raced with the various different outcomes. Perhaps Androse had taken them— perhaps a curious firefighter or police officer. I had no way of knowing where they might be and no way to track them down. Using a location spell was something you could try for a living, breathing being, it didn’t help you find your missing car keys or something.
“What are you going to do about Daniel? If this man did truly take him, you know what he’ll do, right?”
I didn’t need Bonnie to remind me just how quickly we were running out of time. The container ship was still berthed at the Conley Terminal, but it wouldn’t be for long.
“I know very well what he’ll do, yes. I know we’re about the only ones who can stop it.” What I didn’t say is that Lucas Androse could very well have Loren in his crosshairs as well. “Thank you for your help,” I said to Bonnie. “Not just for us, but for everything you’ve done for people like Daniel and Pelastos. We’ll do what we can to help you rebuild.”
Bonnie nodded, then stepped forward and gently touched my cheek with her hand. Her skin was cool on mine, a strange flicker of light passed through her eyes.
“You mustn’t blame yourself, Gus. You wear it like you wear that cheap coat. It’s big and heavy on your shoulders.”
“Did you call my coat cheap?”
“You use humor to deflect, but there are deeper issues at play here. It’s not just about Daniel either, it goes back a very long way.”
My eyes darted toward Indigo, who was paying more attention to this little exchange than I was comfortable with.
“I— appreciate the insight.” Like hell I did. I stepped away and tried to force a smile, then Indigo and I made our way back out of the ruined hallway.