“You really shouldn’t go alone—”
“There is no other choice,” I cut in gently. “Kiandra’s right. This is my fight. You’ve all done what you can to help me, but in the end, I’m the only one who has any chance against them.”
And I had to hope that the Brindle’s barrier had kept my Cazador watcher out of earshot. Because if it was Myer rather than Markel, then I’d just outed myself to Hunter.
Ilianna stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me, her hug fierce, almost desperate. “Just be careful. Please. I couldn’t bear to lose you as well as Tao—”
I pulled away slightly. “Tao’s doing fine. He and the fire elemental have come to an agreement. He has to spend his nights up at Macedon, but he’ll have the days free.”
“Oh, thank god,” she breathed. “When did you see him?”
“A couple of hours ago. He was just heading back to the sacred site so the elemental can take over.”
“That’s a good sign, then.” She gave me a twisted half smile. “Now I just need you safe, and all will be good in the world again.”
“Believe me, I have no plans to become a dark angel just yet.” I hugged her again but kept it brief, then pulled away. “You’d better go back inside and get some rest. You look like crap.”
She laughed. “There’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black, if I ever heard one.”
“True. Go. Amaya and I have to prepare ourselves for our meeting with the sorceress.”
Her laughter faded, but she didn’t say anything, just turned and ran for the Brindle. I had a suspicion she didn’t want me to see her fear. Or her tears.
I waited until she’d disappeared inside and the Brindle’s grand old doors had closed once more against the night, then drew Amaya. Lilac flames rippled down the sides of her shadowed blade, and her expectant, excited hum began to roll across the outer edges of my mind.
“Let’s get this party started,” I said, voice grim. “Amaya, become one with me.”
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the lilac fire exploded, becoming a minifireball as power surged across the night, the steel, and me with equal ferocity. It was a storm that tore my core apart, then pieced me back together, all within a heartbeat.
Only it was no longer just me in this body, but we.
Amaya was once again within me, sharing my flesh and my thoughts, even as we shared powers and abilities. It was a strange, unsettling sensation, but one I was more than happy to put up with if it saved both my butt and Azriel’s.
I called to the Aedh. The magic’s response was both swifter and more powerful than ever before, and I couldn’t help wondering whether the union with a demon spirit had amplified its power. In particle form, we turned and headed for the warehouse as fast as possible. The night blurred around us, and the headlights of the cars and trucks on the streets below were little more than bright streaks of light.
It didn’t take us long to reach the old defense site in Maribyrnong, where the second of Lauren’s warehouses was located. There were several other similarly old warehouses located along the same section of road, all of them little more than large concrete boxes. There were no cars in this immediate area, and there didn’t seem to be anyone moving about.
Which didn’t mean there wasn’t anyone here.
Azriel was, for starters. Ilianna’s finding spells were never wrong, and I seriously doubted Lauren would have been able to move him in the brief time it had taken me to get here. Besides, it took almost as much time and effort to dismantle spells as it did to create them. She’d hardly have set this place up as a trap, then flee the minute I didn’t step into it precisely how she’d planned.
We did a quick circle around the building. It was a two-story structure, with small, evenly spaced windows lining both levels. The bottom ones were protected by metal bars, but not the top. I couldn’t see anything unusual or out of place, nor could I feel any sort of magic. But I had no doubt that it was here.
We arrowed closer. Tension rolled through us—mine more fear based, Amaya’s filled with the need to rent and tear and consume. She really was a bloodthirsty little demon.
Is, she said, her voice echoing weirdly through the mass that was the two of us, what demons meant to do.
I guessed it was—and it wasn’t like I could complain given that very bloodthirstiness had saved my backside more than once.
As we drew close enough to look through some of the windows, energy began to flicker across my particles. Its touch was unclean but powerful, and warning enough that magic was active here. But what, exactly, it was set to do was undoubtedly the question we would soon find an answer to.
I spun around and headed for the rear of the building. When Jak and I had come here, we’d gotten into the warehouse through a window left partially open at the back of the building. We’d left it as we’d found it, so unless Lauren had discovered it was open, it might still be possible to get in that way. If the magic didn’t stop us, that was.
The window was still open. I hesitated, then cursed myself for doing so and slipped in through the small gap. Energy crawled across me, pinpricks of power that nipped and stung my particles, but they didn’t impede our entry in any way.
But maybe that wasn’t the intent behind the magic. Maybe it was nothing more than an early warning system. If it was, then Lauren would now undoubtedly be aware of my presence, and that meant I had to be more cautious.
I looked around. This room hadn’t changed any since the last time I was here. Metal shelving lined the walls, but there was little else except dust. I scooted under the small gap between the door and the concrete floor, then checked out the various rooms on this upper level—all of which were still empty—before making my way downstairs.