I hit the ground, rolled to my feet, and twisted around, frantically looking for the pair of them.
But both Tao and the creatures had disappeared.
Chapter Thirteen
I JUMPED INTO THE JEEP AND THREW THE GEARS into drive, slamming my foot on the accelerator.
"What are you doing?" Ilianna said, fear in her voice. "Tao is out there—"
"He's gone," I said grimly, not looking at her as I concentrated on getting us on the right side of the road. "I don't actually know where he is, but it's not out there."
"They went after him," Stane said. "Not you, not me, but him."
"Yes." I swerved around a too-slow motorist and gunned the Jeep through an amber light. "Which suggests the consortium is behind this attack, not the Aedh."
"But why take him when they simply killed the others to get the signatures they needed?"
"I don't know." But I knew that killing was still an option. Knew that maybe they'd just taken him elsewhere to do the deed.
I swung onto Lansdowne Street then right into Treasury Place. The repository was situated in the white, four-story building that had once been a part of the Old Treasury complex. The minute we neared the building, I felt the veil of its power—a tingling caress of energy that seemed to burn.
I stopped and flung open the door. Stane and Ilianna were right behind me, Ilianna taking the lead as we ran—or in my case, limped—for the main entrance.
They were waiting for us. Three witches, their hands clasped in front of their tunic-clad bodies and their faces serene.
"You cannot enter here," the oldest of the three said. An almost unearthly halo of blue seemed to shimmer around her—meaning she was a teacher, a nurturer, a caretaker.
So why was she turning us away?
"Kiandra," Ilianna said, her face emotionless as she stopped and bowed slightly. "We are in dire need of your help. One of our party has been taken, and—"