"It's worth a shot." There were tears in Mirri's dark eyes. "You don't think something bad has happened to her, do you?"
"No." I gave her a reassuring smile and hoped it didn't look as forced as it felt. "I'm sure it's just something dumb—like her phone running out of charge and her car breaking down."
A tremulous half smile touched her lips. "She does have a habit of letting her phone run out of charge."
"Yeah, she does." But rarely to complete emptiness. "We'll find her, Mirri. I promise you."
"Let me know the minute you hear or find anything."
"I will."
She hung up. I pocketed my phone, then glanced at Azriel. "I don't suppose you could do a sweep and see if you could find her."
"I'll try." He studied me for a moment. "What do you plan to do?"
"Go to the Brindle, as I said. I vaguely remember Ilianna saying her mom was on night shift this week, so I can kill two birds with one stone." My stomach tightened as the words left my mouth. Damn it, she wasn't dead. I'd know. Surely to god I'd know. I hesitated, then added, voice a little hoarse, "If she were dead, would you know?"
"No." He hesitated. "But I could find out if you wish."
"That would be good. Thanks."
He nodded and disappeared. I took another of those calming breaths that did jack all to calm, then called to the Aedh and got the hell out of there. I left the Ducati where she was—right then, I didn't particularly care if Rhoan saw it or not. All that mattered was getting to the Brindle and talking to Ilianna's mom. If anything had happened to her, surely she'd be the one person who would know.
I zoomed through the night with all the speed I could muster, reaching the Brindle in record time. I shifted shape, splatted with my usual inelegance onto the carefully manicured lawn in front of the building, then thrust to my feet and pulled the remnants of my clothes into some semblance of order as I ran for the front steps.
The Brindle was a white, four-story building that had once been a part of the Old Treasury complex. It had been built in the Victorian era and was both beautiful and grand in design. It wasn't until you neared the steps and felt a tingling caress of energy against your skin that you realized this place was very different from its brethren. It was the home of all witch knowledge, and it was protected by a veil of power so strong that it snatched away the breath of those who were sensitive to these things. I'd never considered myself overly sensitive to magic, but I'd always been aware of it. This time, though, the feeling was weirdly different. It wasn't just awareness—it felt like the power of this place was alive. Fingers of energy crawled across my skin, its touch sharp, electric. It made my flesh itch—crawl—and almost felt as if it were testing me. The Brindle didn't suffer evil to enter, but it had never troubled me in any way before.
So why the change? Did it have anything to do with the key quest or what the Raziq had done to me?