don’t see any connections or patterns, but that address—the office building—is right in the middle of all the vampire activity.”
“I noticed that as well.” She thumped back against her chair, almost tipping it over. “Next step is investigating the building—and probably an extermination. If there’s someone masterminding all this, I’d bet my next bounty check they’re in there.”
That’s what I was thinking too, and it made me very nervous.
“Based on this activity, we could be facing a large nest. I’m already assembling a team.” She grimaced. “I wish Aaron, Kai, and Ezra were in town. They’re our strongest combat team outside of guild leadership. We could use their help.”
My mind jumped to the profile of Ezra I’d found in Claude’s apartment, but Zora continued before I could bring it up.
“I want to put a rush on this in case the vampires decide to switch locations. Who knows if they’ll realize we’re on to them. I’m aiming to hit them tomorrow morning.”
“That’s fast,” I stammered.
“No time to waste, right?”
An awkward moment pulsed between us. Even though I suspected I knew her answer, I asked anyway. “Can I come for the … mission?”
“I’m sorry, Robin,” she said kindly. “I’m sure you could contribute, but I need experienced combat mythics who know the drill. It’ll be too dangerous for a newbie.”
Hiding my wince, I mumbled, “I understand.”
“I’ll keep you posted on what we find.”
“Okay.”
Another uncomfortable silence. Words bubbled in my throat and I fought them back, not wanting to further embarrass myself, but they built and built until they burst from my lips.
“How can I be strong too?”
Zora blinked.
Ugh. Wow. I couldn’t have phrased that in a cringier way if I’d tried. “I mean … I feel so useless. I’m the smallest and weakest person of anyone I know, but you’re so tough and capable, even though you’re … you’re … petite,” I finished lamely.
“Robin, you killed an unbound demon.”
“No, my demon killed it. I didn’t do anything but stand there—and control him,” I added hastily. “But without him, I’m just pathetic.”
Planting her hands on the table, Zora sat forward, a stern gleam in her stare. “You survived the storm drains, which were crawling with vampires. That’s freakin’ badass, girl. You’re tougher than you think.”
My mouth opened but I didn’t know what to say.
Zora relaxed into her chair. “If you want combat training, tell a guild officer and they’ll arrange it. The harder you train, the faster you’ll learn.” She scanned me up and down. “To start, you could use some basic tools.”
“Like what?”
“Proper gear, for starters. A weapon requires training, but self-defense artifacts wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
I liked the sound of that. “What sort of self-defense artifacts?”
“Personally, I prefer something from the impello set for newbies. Simple but effective.”
“A push spell? I’ve used the cantrip, but …” But it wasn’t very powerful.
“I was thinking something with more oomph than that. An advanced artifact.”
My nose wrinkled. Thanks to the bounty from killing Tahēsh, my bank account looked pretty good right now, but seeing as I didn’t have a job, I needed to make the money last. “I’m not sure I can afford an artifact like that.”
“Ramsey could get you a good deal. Or one of our sorcerers could make one for you. Lim, Jia, and Weldon are all skilled artifact engineers.”
Make one? Why had it never occurred to me that I could make an artifact—something better than a simple cantrip—to protect myself?
“Does the guild have any resources for Arcana engineering?” I asked eagerly.
Zora laughed. “Someone skipped giving you a tour.” She folded up her map and pushed away from the table. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
I hurried after her toward the stairs that led to the upper floors. Waving at Rose, who tried again to summon me over, I trotted to the second floor—a room as large as the pub below but filled with worktables, computer kiosks, whiteboards, and an intriguing row of bookshelves at the back.
Zora kept going to the third level—the domain of the guild officers. Instead of entering the three-desk office, she turned down a short hall. A sign hung on the door at the end, white with no text, and a container holding several fat markers was attached to the wall beside the jamb.
When Zora plucked a marker from the container, I expected her to write on the sign. Instead, she pressed the thick felt tip right to the door and drew a swift rune across it in vivid pink.
“Recludo,” she declared.
A shimmer rippled over the wood, followed