Page 31 of Cast in Shadow
“How close can you pinpoint her location?”
“Within about fifty yards, I think.”
“You think?”
Dennis exhaled hard. “The system isn’t built to be used this way. It’s a recreational device.”
I sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly. He was doing the best he could. I knew that. “It’s okay, Dennis. Close is better than nothing. Give me what you’ve got.”
Broken white lines flashed by in a blur as I pushed the Jeep to the limit of its ability, and somehow it still felt like I was crawling. Dennis relayed directions, using my phone to direct me to the area where Shay’s smartwatch was still transmitting.
Another groan came over the line, and my stomach dropped. “What happened?”
“I don’t know what the hell they’re doing to her, but her heartbeat cut out.”
My own heart screeched to a halt in my chest. “Is she…?” I couldn’t even bring myself to say the words.
“No,” he said quickly. “It’s back now. Too fast, but still there.” He let out a shaky sigh. “It might have just been a tech glitch.”
I gripped the steering wheel so hard half my knuckles popped, and I was sure the imprint of my fingers would be forever pressed into the leather. It wasn’t a glitch. Whoever had her had just figured out what she could do.
I jammed my foot harder against the gas pedal, not that it had anywhere else to go. If I could have used my magic to make the fucking thing move faster, I would have drained myself dry getting to her.
“Easy, Senna.” Dennis’s voice pulled me back from the darkness threatening to engulf me. “You’re close. Pull over, shut off your lights.”
I nearly snapped at him for telling me how to execute a rescue mission, but the truth was, I needed the help. My judgment was obviously compromised. Having him walk me through the very basic steps might prove helpful. Something to keep me anchored in what I needed to do and not what I was feeling.
“Keep talking to me. What’s next?”
He hesitated for a beat. “Do you have anything you can use as a weapon?”
He meant aside from my magic. Smart kid. There was no need to show my hand too early. I took my phone off speaker and slipped into the back seat of the Jeep. Hauling the duffel bag out of the back compartment, I dropped it on the cushion next to me.
Every Lexa vehicle was equipped with a drop bag, complete with a few staples that could be used to get agents out of a jam. Sitting right on the top was a SIG P226 pistol. “I have a SIG,” I said quietly, taking it out of the bag.
“Holster?” Even Dennis was keeping his voice low.
I shook my head and checked that the magazine was full. “That’ll take too much time.”
The slide moved easily as I pulled it back and eased it forward to chamber a round. It would have been great to get a better idea of my surroundings from inside the Jeep, but the limo tint on the side windows made that an impossibility at night. I could only see out the windshield and what the side view mirrors showed me, which wasn’t much.
Dennis had tracked the signal on Shay’s watch to the middle of the city. It wasn’t ideal, with glass and metal and brick rising all around me. With a fifty-yard radius, therewere three buildings she could be in from where I’d pulled over.
Normally, I loved my city. There was something invigorating about the skyscrapers and the cars and the constant hustle and bustle. Tonight, though, it felt like the buildings were closing in on me.
Anywhere this populated was a risky place to take hostages, even at night. It also made tracking magic almost impossible. Too many fading trails of it crisscrossed over each other, mixing as they slowly dissipated. It was a mess, and I couldn’t pick out anything that looked or felt like Shay.
“Can you get me any closer?” I asked.
He said something in response, but a familiar feeling trickled into my system, stealing my focus. I closed my eyes and sent a silent prayer of thanks to the gods. The ribbon was coming back. It might be an hour or just a few minutes before it crossed through our part of the world again, but either way, the closer it got, the more power I could draw from it.
I tested it, opening myself to it. A tiny stream of energy spilled into my blood, running through me, amplifying everything I was. It wasn’t much, but when I slipped out of the Jeep and shut the door quietly behind me, it was enough to reveal a pulse of magic that was like a curse and beacon for my soul all at once.
Emerson.
His was an energy I would recognize anywhere, and I didn’t know whether to be thrilled, terrified, or furious.
“I’ll have to call you back,” I said to Dennis. Then I hung up the phone and slipped it in my jacket pocket as I turned in a slow circle. There was still no sign of Shay or Nguyen, so I zeroed in on Emerson’s ruby pulse and crept through the night.
