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“YOU KNOW ABOUT DEMONS?” Mekhi asked in shock. He’d thought he would be dropping a bombshell on me, but he was the one who’d ended up getting surprised.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve always known about the supernatural community in the city. I’m surprised you know about them, though.”
He uttered a harsh laugh that didn’t last long. “I’ve been hiding this from everyone my whole damn life and you’ve known about them all along,” he said incredulously.
“Did they say who their boss is?” I asked.
“His name is Valac. My dad used to talk about him when I was a kid when he didn’t know I was listening. My dad was a scary guy, but he was terrified of Valac.”
“Where did they take her?” I asked as I frantically tried to come up with a plan.
“I have no idea,” Mekhi replied. “But you can’t go after her alone, Saige,” he warned me. “I know you used to be a bounty hunter, but demons aren’t like the humans you chased down. They’re strong, fast and vicious.”
“I guess it’s time I came clean,” I said. “I wasn’t a normal bounty hunter. I worked for Lord Gilden.”
He knew who I was talking about and gaped at me. “You’re not human, are you?” he finally figured out. “Neither is Pearl. That’s why she looks the same age as you.”
“We’re monsters,” I confirmed. “We come from a long line of hunters. It’s our job to take down the supernatural bad guys.”
“Why did you quit?” he asked. “If this is what you’re meant to do, why top being a bounty hunter?”
“It’s complicated,” I hedged and checked my watch. “I need to go. Call me if the demons get in contact with you. Stall them for as long as you can.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked when I stood up.
“First, I’m going to find out where Angela is. Then I’m going to kill every single demon who stands in my way and rescue my best friend.” My tone was filled with grim purpose.
Mekhi stood as well and pulled me in for a tight hug. “Angela is special,” he said. “She doesn’t deserve to be tortured by those creatures because of me.” He was close to tears of guilt.
“This isn’t your fault,” I said firmly when he pulled back. “You escaped from that life and you made something of yourself. She won’t blame you for this.” He didn’t look convinced, but I didn’t have time to stick around and chat.
My kill-bag clinked as some of my knives clashed together when I looped it over my shoulder. I usually packed it so it didn’t make a lot of noise.
“I’ve always wondered what you keep inside your handbag,” Mekhi said. I opened it so he could peer inside. His eyes widened at the collection of knives, stakes, mini crossbow and silver-tipped bolts. “You’re the real deal, Saige Sterling,” he said. “Bring Angela back safely,” he ordered me.
“I will,” I vowed, then grabbed Aurora’s purse and let myself out through the back door.
The demons had chosen the perfect night to kidnap my friend. Most people were partying and few employees would be working the night shift. I assumed Drake’s staff would be the same, but someone had to be sober enough to do their job. If not, I’d have to find an alternative way to find Aurora.
I zoomed home long enough to grab hair from Aurora’s hairbrush, then sped to the silver tower that stood at the heart of the city. The door to the underground parking garage took forever to open. I glared at the camera that was watching me, willing the security guards to make the door move faster.
Ruen’s black sedan was in its usual spot. I was surprised to see a familiar silver Mercedes, black jeep and dark silver pickup as well. The whole team was here. “They’re probably having a party in Drake’s office,” I muttered as I hurried over to the dragon’s personal elevator.
The door opened when I pushed the call button and I stepped inside. I pushed the button for level ten, but nothing happened. Looking at the camera just above the door, I held my fist up threateningly and scowled horribly. The silent threat worked, because the door closed and the elevator began to move. Security guards were keeping watch to make sure no one infiltrated Lord Gilden’s office without his approval. I wasn’t heading to the nineteenth floor and had no intention of doing so.
Shifting impatiently from foot to foot, it felt like it took a thousand years for the elevator to reach its destination. Music and the sounds of revelry hit me when I stepped into the hallway. I could sense a bunch of magic users clustered together. My radar led me to a breakroom where a New Year’s Eve party was in full swing. Most of the staff were drunk. Some of them were kissing and groping each other.
I zeroed in on my target and pushed my way through the crowd.
“Hey!” a witch said drunkenly when she saw me. “You don’t work here anymore! You’re trespassing!”
“Sue me,” I said flatly, then grabbed hold of the man I’d come to see.
Nelson Osmond squeaked in surprise and fear when I spun him around. He’d been flirting with a cute girl who barely came up to my shoulder. “Saige!” he stammered, sounding only slightly drunk. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m calling security,” the belligerent witch who’d confronted me threatened. She had black hair and thick black eyebrows, but was otherwise unremarkable.
“They already know I’m here,” I retorted. “I need your help,” I said to Nelson.
“I’m not actually on the clock right now,” he said apologetically. “My shift doesn’t start until tomorrow afternoon.”
“Let me put it another way,” I said menacingly. “You’re going to help me. Right now.”
He gulped, but shook his head when his colleagues started to gather around us. “It’s fine,” he said bravely. “I’m sure Ms. Sterling doesn’t mean me any harm.”
They didn’t look convinced, but no one tried to stop us as I pushed him ahead of me. He led me through the hallways to his office and flicked the light on.
“Sorry to pull you out of the party,” I said, closing the door and locking it so no one could barge in and interrupt us. “But this is urgent.”
“Can you tell me what’s going on?” Nelson asked. His red hair was disheveled, as if he’d been running his hands through it. Or maybe someone else had been, since he had a lipstick stain on the corner of his mouth.
“A friend of mine is missing and I need you to find her for me,” I said.
“Do you have something I can use for a focus?” he asked.
I took the clump of hair out of my kill-bag and handed it to him. He did a doubletake at the mixture of blue and green strands, then crossed to the table that sat beneath the map of Nexus. Taking a wooden bowl down from a shelf, he mixed ingredients together, then added a couple of strands of hair to the bowl. He placed his finger on the map, then mumbled his spell. His finger didn’t budge and dread sank into me again.
“What went wrong?” I asked in trepidation.
“Nothing,” Nelson assured me. “Your friend isn’t in Nexus. I’ll need to use a larger map.” He crossed to another wall where a map of the United States hung. He repeated his spell, but his finger still didn’t move. “Hmm, she’s no longer in the country,” he figured. I would be screwed if she’d been taken to the underworld. There was no way he would be able to track her down there.
He moved to a map of the world, then tried for a third time. His finger jerked towards Europe and came to a stop. I leaned in to see it was pointing at somewhere in Germany.
“Can you narrow down where she is?” I asked.
“I’ll need to use my laptop,” Nelson replied. All traces of his tipsiness were gone and he was as sober as I was now.
He opened the laptop on his desk and searched the internet for a map of Germany. For the fourth time, he cast the spell and his finger came to a stop on a remote area. “She’s there,” he said in satisfaction. I couldn’t pronounce the name of the town that was nearby, but marked it in my mind.
“Thanks for your help,” I said in profound gratitude. “I’ll let you get back to the party now.” He saluted me and I worked my way back to the elevator. I pushed the button for the parking level and the door whooshed shut. It took me a second to realize the elevator was going up instead of down. “No!” I whispered in horror, frantically pushing the parking level button again. “No, no, no!” I chanted in dread.
I’d had no intention of showing my face in Drake’s office ever again, but it seemed I wasn’t going to be given a choice about it. The elevator was carrying me to the very group of people I’d been desperate to avoid. Worst of all, I could sense the dragon waiting for me. His power was shielded, yet it tugged at me as if he was willing me to come to him just like he had in my dreams.
