After blinking rapidly to clear the starbursts from my vision, I stared at what hung in the middle of the damn walk-in. “Oh shit!” I breathed then rushed inside as I shoved my gun back in its holster so I could use both of my hands. “Evan!”
“Stop!”
At his guttural command, I jerked to halt. “What the hell happened?” Panic made my voice squeak.
“Tripped a fuckin’ trap,” he gritted out.
“Anyone else here?” Magic thrummed through the tight space and beat against my skull, but my concern about Evan pushed it aside.
“Did you run into anyone on your way in?” His voice was tight with pain.
“No.”
“Then I’m guessing no.”
Sarcasm meant he would be fine, right? Hoping he was right about our lack of company, I gave up stealth and got out my phone, activating the flashlight app to chase away the shadows. Whatever held him was more than a simple security ward. “Talk to me. What am I looking for?”
“I don’t know.” His answer was short. “I was trying to find a way inside when I got hit. Not sure how long I was out, but I woke up here.”
My phone’s light hit Evan, and I sucked in a sharp breath as I got my first clear look at him.
He jerked his head to the side, his eyes narrowing to slits to avoid the light, his breath escaping on a pained hiss. “Watch it, Rory.”
“Sorry.” I shifted the light away from his face but aimed it so I could see the rest of him.
He hung in midair like a living version of Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. His face was etched with white lines of pain, and the cords of his neck were starkly evident. Blood stained the collar of his T-shirt, and his glasses were missing. “How long have you been awake?”
“Not long,” he said. “Maybe ten minutes or so.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“No, and no Lena, either.”
Details on whatever had brought him here would have to wait, but since he hadn’t answered my call when I left Sabella’s, I figured whoever had strung him up had gotten him shortly after he arrived. I could hear him panting as I swept my light over the interior, looking for a way to get him out of this. “How bad is it?”
“Head’s pounding like a bitch, but I’ll live.” His body twitched, and he grimaced. “Can’t struggle, or this damn spell will pull me apart.”
That explained why he was just hanging there. “But so long as you stay still…”
“It leaves me alone,” he finished.
That didn’t make me feel better. “So it’s probably meant to hold you until they get back.”
“That would be my guess, but it’s getting worse, so it’s a safe bet whoever’s behind this doesn’t care what condition I’m in when they return.”
That meant we were probably racing against an unseen clock. “Then we should probably get your ass out of here.”
“I’m down with that.”
Finished with my visual inspection of the walk-in, I met his pissed-off gaze. “I’m not seeing anything that would act as a focus.” Spelled traps came in various flavors. One of the most common used an inanimate object as a focal point, hence my search of the space. But other than dust, it was frustratingly empty of anything obvious. The second type involved channeling a spell through an Arcane circle, a combination of sigils and runes. I crouched and aimed my light at the floor as the magical pressure kicked against my skull. Taking that sign as evidence that I was missing something, I did my best to ignore the increasing ache and studied the grimy floor.
Above me, Evan gritted out, “No foci means they used a circle.”
“That’s what I’m thinking, but other than drag marks, which I assume are from you, there’s nothing’s here.” That struck me as wrong. There should be something more, like, say, footprints from whoever had strung him up.
“Then they’re using sub rosa runes.” His voice was grim.
If that was the case, we were in deep shit. Not being able to identify which runes were used in the spell made breaking it a crapshoot. One wrong move, and Evan might end up a gory mess. I couldn't even risk using my ability, because while my magic might keep my ass intact, I couldn’t promise the same for Evan. “We need a way to see the circle.”
“I’m all out of fairy dust,” Evan’s response was dry.
Fairy dust? His words sparked an idea, albeit a crazy one, but it was better than nothing. “Have you tried accessing your magic?”
“In the middle of a metal box?” He sounded incredulous. “Do you know what happens when electricity meets metal? I guarantee it’s not pretty.”
The ticking of the invisible clock got louder, and I snapped, “Just answer the damn question, Evan.”
“No, I haven’t.” His response was less than nice. “Why? What are you thinking?”
I studied the strange, mostly undisturbed layer of grime on the floor then straightened slowly. “A trap like this requires a complex set of runes, right?”
“To trap and torture your prey instead of outright killing it?” he mused. “Yeah.”
I wasn’t sure my ambiguous idea would work, and it must have shown, because he called my name. I looked up.
Whatever he saw on my face turned his voice hard. “Share.”
I swallowed, praying I wasn’t about to make a lethal mistake. “I think the dust layer is magically generated. It’s too even, too clean. And if magic is a form of energy, like electricity, what happens if we reverse the direction of that energy?”
He studied the ground with narrowed eyes. “Like creating a magical magnet?”
The fact he could follow my half-formed idea made me hope it wasn’t as crazy as I thought. “Can you do it?”
“Won’t know until we try.” He followed that dour statement with “Step back and get clear of the metal. Whatever you do, don’t touch the door.”
Nodding, I inched backward, keeping the light aimed at the floor, until I stood on the other side of the door.
Once I was clear, he warned, “Here goes nothing.”
I held my breath as a faint luminescence burst into life, outlining his distended form. The bluish light of his magic fired along the previously invisible lines of power wrapped around his neck, legs, and arms like phantom chains. Air stalled in my lungs as a mix of dread and excitement rose. His magic brightened, and the metallic stench of ozone filled my nose. Invisible pressure slammed fists against my skull. Then his magic appeared to stall, and I struggled to find a way to speak around my clenched teeth. With a vicious slap, the aching pressure in my head broke. Reeling back, I reached behind me blindly, trying to avoid falling on my ass. Instead, I stumbled against the island and fought to breathe through the ricocheting pain. When my head stopped whirling and I was fairly sure I wouldn’t hurl, I was able to force open eyes I didn’t realize I had closed.
“Oh shit!” I staggered forward on unsteady legs and dropped to my knees at the walk-in’s threshold. My phone tumbled out of my hand to land somewhere nearby, the flashlight flickering off. Not that it mattered, because the bluish glow of Evan’s magic filled the walk-in. In the unearthly light, I could see Evan. His spine was bent in a painful arch, his face a mask of agony, and his body frozen in a crucified pose. “Evan!”
“Hurry.” The one word was barely discernible.
I didn’t need any further urging. I looked down and almost sobbed in relief when the dizzying dips and curls of a complex set of runes burned across the floor. My brain got busy translating them even as I inched closer. Sure enough, the spell’s primary purpose appeared to be containment, but there was a punitive layer to it, as well. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure about the secondary set of symbols, nor did we have time to Google the shit. But there was an hourglass rune that really worried me.
Evan’s agonized groan served as a brutal reminder that we were running out of time. I shoved my panic aside, pushed to my feet, and snarled, “Fuck it.”
Sinking into my magic, I deepened the protective layer until it was a heavy weight against my skin. An imperceptible hum filled my ears, and the fine hairs along my skin stood on end. Before I could think about it too much, I lunged forward, rushing the handful of feet from the door to Evan. Painful bolts seared through my shoes and up my legs, leaving a creeping numbness in their wake. I stumbled but miraculously stayed upright, even as the agonizing ache reverberated in my teeth. I hurt, but knowing the stakes, I forced my legs forward. Involuntary tears escaped, turning everything blurry and leaving me half blind. I reached out, and when I crashed into Evan, I wrapped my arms around his waist. With strangling intent, the trap’s magic coiled around us, and our screams blended into one as I fought my way through the pain. Praying it would work, I visualized my Prism armor expanding and stretching to include Evan. My muscles quivered, and my vision gained tiny red dots.
With my arms locked around Evan, I twisted and yanked back at the same time. As we fell back, the magical web tore from its anchors. I landed on my ass with Evan’s weight all but smothering me against the metal floor. The impact ensured I would carry a bruise in the shape of my gun at the base of my spine, but that was the least of my worries. Nerve-shredding shocks pierced my magic, whipping along my spine, through my shoulders, and down my legs, causing involuntary muscle spasms. My heart thundered, and there was a metallic taste in my mouth. Desperate to escape the electrified surface, I managed to shove Evan off and get into a wobbly crouch as my head spun sickeningly. Everything fucking hurt, but I got my arms under Evan’s and dragged him out of the walk-in. It felt like forever but was more likely less than a minute before I cleared the metal threshold. The stinging electroshocks eased and began to fade as I lay on the gritty floor, staring up into the dark shadows, tears slipping down from the corners of my eyes to disappear into my hair. Next to me, I could hear Evan’s panting breaths. Finally, I managed to croak, “You alive?”
He coughed. “I think so.”
“Good.” I kept my eyes closed and concentrated on breathing through the receding waves of pain. I could hear ominous noises as the echoes of broken magical waves washed through the structure. “We need to get out of here.”
“Yeah.” But he didn’t move.
I considered staying where I was, but those noises combined with that relentless dread had me rolling to my side. I couldn’t quite stifle my whimper as my body protested, but I managed to get up on all fours. “Get up, Evan.”
“Not sure I can.” But he rolled over, swearing a blue streak the entire time.
I looked around and saw my phone off to the side where I’d dropped it. I locked my muscles and hoped my balance would hold as I reached out and snagged it. With it gripped tightly in hand, I faced a new dilemma. Realizing I would need both hands to get up, I clumsily shoved the phone in my pocket. Then I used the edge of the island to haul myself up. My body swayed, and my head spun. I drew in a couple of deep breaths until everything steadied.
Off to the side, deep in the shadows, something heavy fell to the floor with a loud bang. “Hurry,” I hissed to Evan and reached down to help drag him up.
He got to his feet and stumbled into me, almost sending us both back to the floor. I kept him upright by bracing my shoulder against his chest. “Dammit, Evan.”
“Sorry.” His voice slurred.
I was close enough that I didn’t need light to see his pale face above me. “Please tell me you can make it out.” There was no way I could lug him out on my own.
“Yeah,” he grunted. “Give me a minute.”
“Not sure we’re going to get that.” But I inched back, slowly letting him go when I was sure he wouldn’t collapse. His head hung down as he white-knuckled the edge of the island. I dug out my phone, and it took a couple of swipes across my cracked screen to activate the flashlight. I aimed it at the walk-in. The interior was shadowed, but from the corner of my eye, I caught the sheen of lingering magic coating walls that now appeared to be buckling. On the edges, flickering light danced with shadows, like magical floating ash. The phone’s light didn’t reach far, but it was enough to make out a mix of scorch marks and jagged tears marring the floor. I debated getting closer but decided against it. Whatever spell had been laid was well and truly gone, thanks to my hammer-like approach. I turned to Evan. “Ready?”
Instead of answering, he grunted and pushed off the island with a lurch.
Worried he was about to faceplant, I lunged forward and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Careful.”
He slung his arm over my shoulders, his added weight threatening to drop me to my knees. Forgetting the phone in my hand, I reached for his wrist, dangling in front of my shoulder, and fumbled. “Here, hold this.”
I held my phone out, the light dancing over his face and making him squint.
He managed to grab it and hold it in his free hand. “Got it,” he mumbled.
“All right then.” Considering his dazed state, I was grateful he could at least hold my phone. It would have been better if he were steady enough to handle my gun, in case we ran into trouble, but I didn’t trust him with something that could leave lethal holes in its wake. I gripped his wrist and locked it against my shoulder, then I used my arm around his waist for counterbalance. Together, we did a drunken stumble through the kitchen, careening off counters and doorjambs like a pair of human pinballs. Behind us, disconcerting moans and groans of the collapsing metal unit chased us out of the kitchen. We hit the open space, both of us breathing hard. I peered into the gloom, praying we wouldn’t run into whoever set the trap. The feeling of impending doom nipped at our heels until finally, we were in front of where I’d entered. “I’ve got to let you go.”
Evan shifted, widening his stance as he slowly let me go. The light from the phone steadied and fell over the plywood sheet. “I’m good.”
Taking him at his word, I didn’t waste time dragging the plywood back. I couldn’t do shit about the noise it made. All I could do was pray no one was around to hear it. As soon as I had enough room for us to squeeze through, I turned to Evan, taking in the mask of dust and blood streaking his drawn face. “Can you tell if there’s any active security out there?”
“Give me a second.” He handed me back my phone. As soon as I took it, his magic flared.
I winced as it reawakened irritated nerve endings. I turned off my phone’s light and shoved it back in my pocket. By the time I was done, so was Evan.
“They’re down. We’re clear.”
Taking him at his word, I slipped through the narrow opening and moved aside so he could follow. I scanned our surroundings even as the night’s light breeze left a chill on my overheated skin. Everything stayed still and quiet. As soon as Evan was out, I waited until he was steady, then I backtracked to the gap in the fence. The sense of urgency grew claws, and I was all but dancing in place as I waited for Evan to crawl through. Worried, I kept an eye on the street at the end of the narrow alley. This late, the street should stay quiet, but hearing a car approaching, I hissed at Evan, “Move it!”
A car zipped by, and I caught the impression of a dark sedan. Evan bumped into me as he cleared the opening, and I reached out a hand to steady him. The sound of the car’s engine downshifting had me all but dragging Evan down the narrow space. Just before it opened to the sidewalk, I motioned for him to stop then peeked around the corner. Half a block up, the passing car was in the left turn lane, waiting for the light. It was the only car on the road, but the distance made it impossible to make out the license plate. I waited for it to complete its left turn before I grabbed Evan’s wrist, did a quick check to make sure there was no other traffic approaching, and pulled him with me as I dashed across the street. “Come on.”
We made it to the other side just in time. Headlights flashed from the north as we hustled down the walkway arrowing through the apartment complex. I gave silent thanks that the apartment’s parking lot was tucked behind a wall of tall oleander bushes. As soon as I knew we couldn’t be seen from the street, I told Evan, “Let the cameras go.”
The scrape of magic faded, and I shuddered at the relief. Evan dug into his pocket as he stumbled along at my side. When I heard the faint chime of keys, I grabbed his arm, bringing him to a stop. “Uh-uh, you’re not getting behind a wheel.”
“I’m fine,” he said.
Instead of wasting time we didn’t have arguing, I let his arm go and shoved my palm against his chest.
Predictably, he stumbled back as if I had sucker punched him. Only luck kept him from landing on his ass. Once he regained his balance, he glared at me as he rubbed his chest.
I held out one hand, palm up, and curled my fingers. “Hand them over.”
He grumbled under his breath but shuffled forward and slapped his keys into my palm.
“Thank you.” As my point had been successfully made, there was no reason for both of us to be pissy. “Your ride should be fine here until morning.”
He didn’t answer but muttered something I refused to acknowledge. We made it to our cars, and I directed Evan toward the illusionary ward that hid the familiar lines of the BMW. As we approached, we split—me to the driver’s side and Evan to the passenger’s side. I warned, “Don’t open the door until I say so.”
As I moved to the front wheel well, the warm edge of the ward recognized me. My hand hovered over the warding stone, and I whispered, “Knickknack paddywhack, give a dog a bone, this old man came rolling home.” The ward dropped, revealing the BMW. I grabbed the stone, straightened, and told Evan, “You’re good.”
“Nice ride.” Evan opened his door and got in.
I took one last look around before I joined him and got us the hell out of there.
Evan sat in the passenger seat, his head back, eyes closed as I got us clear of the apartment complex. I let him have his moment of peace and quiet while I stayed vigilant, constantly monitoring my mirrors and the road. The itchy sense of dread began to fade as things stayed quiet, but it wasn’t until we approached the freeway exit that I relaxed enough to ask, “Do you want to go to the office or home?”
We both knew a hospital was out of the question, but if he needed medical help, our chances of finding someone was higher at the Guild, even at—I snuck a look at the dash clock—just after midnight.
Without bothering to lift his head, he simply rolled it until I could feel him looking at me. “Home.”
“Address?”
He lifted his hand, his fingertips brushing the dash, and the GPS’s electronic voice said, “Starting route to 2384 East Camelback.”
“Nifty trick.”
His response was a grunt.
As the GPS corrected our course and began routing through surface streets, I made a series of lefts and put the freeway in my rearview mirror. “You up to telling me what the hell happened?” Evan stayed quiet long enough to make me uneasy, and I snapped, “What?”
He blew out a noisy breath. “Did you know Lena’s related to the Clarke Family?”
“Bullshit.” It was a knee-jerk response.
“Nope, not bullshit.”
The certainty in his voice cut through me like a knife. My grip tightened on the wheel, and I refused to look at him. Focusing on the road, I shot back, “I’ve known Lena for years. There’s no way she’s tied to an Arcane Family.”
“Why?” he asked. “Because she didn’t tell you?”
Yes. No. Gah, I didn’t know. Not that I had any right to feel betrayed, but the bitter taste lingered. So what if she kept this from me? How was it different from me keeping my Prism ability from her? We all had secrets, right? Instead of sharing the mess in my head, I grasped at fragile straws. “No, because if a Family could claim someone with her level of talent and skill, they would. There’s no way they’d let her work for the Guild without serious pushback.”
In contrast to my heated tone, Evan’s was eerily calm. “They would if the Family in question refuted her existence.”
“Did they?”
“Yeah, they did.” There was a hint of pity in his voice. If he ever spoke to Lena like that, she would kick his ass. Oblivious to my thoughts, he kept talking. “When the Guild vetted Lena’s initial application, they sent an official query to the Clarkes.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I hacked Lena’s personnel files.”
That had me glancing at him. “You could lose your job.”
He looked away. “Rather lose my job than lose Lena.”
The depth of emotion in his statement resonated since I felt the same. “Let’s make sure we don’t do either, okay?”
“That’s the plan.” After an awkward moment, he said, “She’s going to be pissed we found out.”
“Probably,” I agreed without correcting him on the “we” part of his statement. It wasn’t like I was going to open that can of worms with Lena. Not unless there was a damn good reason to do so. Like, maybe it had something to do with Lena’s current situation? I was tired enough that it took a second for that question to click. “Wait. Do you think the Clarke Family had something to do with her disappearance?”
“I don’t know.” His frustration came through loud and clear.
“Then why bring it up?”
“Because to find her, we need to know everything.” He turned to look out the passenger window. “Even things she doesn’t want us to know.”
Hearing his mix of hurt and frustration, I slid him a glance. “If Lena didn’t want to share, that’s her right.”
“I know.”
I hoped he did, because I was willing to bet anything there were damn good reasons for Lena not to share. As curious as I was about those reasons, right now, we needed to focus on solid leads to her whereabouts. “What did you find on the information I sent you?”
“Jack and shit.” He ran his hands through his hair. “The phone numbers were dead ends, either past clients or known contacts. The address was a private residence with no ties to anyone of significance. And don’t get me started on those names. Do you know how hard it is to link a first name with any usable information?”
I was starting to remember why working with Evan left me pulling out my hair. “Then how did you end up hanging in an abandoned freezer?”
“Because Lena’s phone came back online and started pinging from this area.”
I jerked the wheel at his unexpected answer, then quickly corrected. He really needed to warn me before dropping bombs like that. “What? I thought the signal was blocked by magic.”
“It was.” He shifted in his seat. “And probably still is.”
I frowned. “I’m not following.”
“I think someone knows we’re poking around,” he explained. “And they decided to spoof her signal.”
If he was right, that meant… “They deliberately drew you in.”
“Maybe not me specifically.” He fisted his hand on his bouncing knee. “But whoever was trying to find her.”
“And you weren’t able to tell they were tracking you?” I glanced at him, eyebrows raised. “How did that happen?”
“If I was to guess, one of my searches hit a cloaked trip wire.” His disgruntled tone made it clear he took that very personally.
Maybe I should be a better person, but… Nah, I was going to push it. “Aren’t you the equivalent of a cyber ninja? Able to get into anything without being noticed?” I caught his one-finger response and snorted. “All right, then. Whose interest did you catch?”
“That’s the bitch of it,” he said. “I don’t know. I had searches going on both sides—the Thatchers and the Clarkes.”
“What about the Cordovas?” I asked.
“They were up next,” he mumbled.
Since his night had been far from a barrel of monkeys, I let that go. The GPS interrupted and led us into an older neighborhood. “Could there be a connection between the two?” When he blinked at me, I clarified, “The Thatchers and the Clarkes?”
“Haven’t had time to find out,” he admitted with an embarrassed shrug. “I’d just broken through on the background info when I was notified about her signal. I need to dig a hell of a lot deeper and start some serious cross checks before I can confirm or deny.” He shifted in his seat, touched the dash to silence the GPS, then pointed. “Make a right at the stop sign.”
I did as directed. “Considering who all is on the board, you know someone has to connect somewhere. All those Arcane Families do in one way or the other.” I paused, the worry from earlier creeping back in. “You need to be careful.”
“I’ve been at this awhile, Rory. I know that better than you.”
I’m sure he did, but the deeper we went, the messier things got.
“Third house on the right,” he said.
I turned in to a short drive in front of a mid-century cinderblock home. I put the car in park and shut it down, including the lights. For a moment, we sat there in the dark interior, quiet. When my thoughts kept spinning like a hamster on a wheel, I rubbed my burning eyes. “We need to find her.”
“We will.” His words carried the weight of a vow. “Once I get in, I’ll call the Guild, see if I can’t get a Hound back over there to track who set that spell.”
“You think they’ll get anything?” I asked. “The walk-in was all but crumbling into rubble when we left.”
He shrugged then winced. “Don’t know, but if it gets us any closer to Lena, it’s worth following through.”
Can’t argue that. The amorphous suspicion that had been lurking in my brain since Nat’s casual comment—Was that only this morning?—about Lena’s mystery man solidified, and I nudged, “Have you looked into the rumors flying around the Guild?”
Evan stiffened. “Which rumors?”
“The ones that claim Lena had a mystery man.” When he didn’t so much as blink, I asked, “Is it you?”
“Does it matter?”
Hmm, that wasn’t a denial. “It does if it’s not you.”
He looked away, obviously considering his response. Then, in a low voice, he said, “Yeah, it’s me.”
I wasn’t upset. In fact, I was happy, because that was one less thread to tug on. “Good.”
A rough laugh escaped, and he shook his head. “You’re so weird.”
“Yep,” I agreed.
He reached for the handle then stopped. “Will you be okay getting home?”
I nodded. “I’m good. I’ll head back to the Guild and drop this off.”
“Good idea.” He stared out over the dash. “I think I caught all the cameras, but you never know. And this ride, as sweet as it is, is memorable.”
“That she is,” I said as he opened the door.
“Get some rest, Rory.” He got out and moved to shut the door.
“I will,” I promised. “You do the same.”
He managed a weak smile. “I’ll get on that.”
Neither one of us sounded convincing. We exchanged good nights, despite the fact it was technically morning. Then I watched as he let himself into his house. Only when he was locked inside did I put the car in reverse and head to the Guild.