Page 61 of Soulmates
I dim my phone’s light, in case there is anyone out there, and debate my next steps. If I open the door and set off an alarm, I’ll bring the street cops running. If there’s a lock and chain on the outside of the door, I won’t be able to open it. If Trajan’s duking it out with the Invisible Woman, I won’t be much help to him anyway.
All those options suggest it would be smartest for me to wait until Dante’s backup crew arrives. Waiting?No.That might be my best option, but no way.
I head back the way I came to see if there’s something I missed. Two doors down the hall, I find an office with a window. Piles of paper cover the desk. I shine my light on it and scan the few closest to me. Bill of sale. Invoice for services rendered. Draft of Spring catalog. I give that one a closer look.
Crystals. Amethyst. Lavender. Rue. Huh. The business’s name is Frank’s Magic Warehouse. For a warehouse, the place sure has a lot of offices. The were’s storage space would be better suited. The were’s storage space, which someone appears to be robbing.
Chills crawl up the back of my neck. A theft of magical materials might not be related to the case I’d been working on, but my inner resonance tells me I need to pay attention. The missing fae princess shouldn’t be linked to a theft of this kind, unless…
I snap a photo of one of the invoices so I’ll have the business’s contact information, then turn my attention to the window.
Goddess knows what shape Trajan’s in, while I’ve been faffing about with invoices. The desk butts up to the window, and I crawl across the top, holding my breath that I don’t leave things too obviously awry.
The window latch is easy to open. There’s a screen, but with a sharp smack in each of the corners, I pop it out. I scoot through, close the window, and take off running for the fire escape.
Deciding everyone must have gone off without me, I scan the area with light from my cell phone. Traces of Trajan’s aura, along with some spindly silver streaks, presumably left behind by Invisible Woman. I stoop to look closer when a loud crack jerks my attention back to the alley. The troll hops out of a drunkenly swinging door, and before I can respond, he’s on me.
He slams me back against the building, knocking my head hard against the brick. I’ve got
my gun out, but he’s too close and moving too fast. He winds his big fist up for a punch. I duck at the last second, taking most of it with my left shoulder. I manage to get a shot off, or at least the gun’s report is echoed by a monstrous bellow. I get one step away, then a second, but my foot
lands awkwardly in a patch of broken cement. He grabs me by the hips and pulls, wrenching my knee. I go down, firing blindly over my shoulder.
Ádh mór balbh. He lands on me, but in a stroke of dumb luck, instead of a wrestling move designed to take me out, he pins me with deadweight. Blood trickles from a wound above his right eye. His heft has forced my knee into an angle it wasn’t meant to assume, and the pain is increasing with every beat of my heart.
I wriggle around until I can get my good knee underneath me, then hoist the big body off. The troll flops onto the road, and I’m faced with a new problem. My phone squirted out of my grip when I went down, but there’s a pile of debris against the wall that’s glowing with a familiar white light. I crawl across the alley to retrieve it, and text Dante again.
Also send a cleanup crew.
Because Goddess only knows what the local authorities would make of the body of a troll. The local cops probably saw a picture once while they were at the academy, but the real thing is hard to prepare for.
I need to find Trajan, but walking is hard. My bad knee won’t take any weight, so I hop toward the street, grabbing the wall or the remains of the fire escape as I go.
Fortunately, I don’t find the Invisible Woman, but unfortunately, I don’t find Trajan either. Also in the fortunately column, the tracer returns. The thing is designed to drop a sensor the size of a pea when it reaches its target. That sensor will give me a limited visual of the location, along with a microphone, so if nothing else, I can tell David we’re coming.
The tracer is still carrying the sensor, so David is still MIA.
The street is dark and silent. From my position in the shadows, I have a decent look at the storage facility. The side door is shut, and both the truck and the Mini are gone. I’m debating whether I can hop all the way to our rental car when something crashes behind me. I pivot, biting back a cry when I land on my bad leg.
A figure moves down the alley. If it’s Invisible Woman made visible, I’m probably going to die. I manage to prop myself up and get a hand on my gun. I should be afraid, but it’s as if mortality has stiffened my spine. I raise my arm, sighting down the barrel. “Stop.”
The figure slows but does not stop. The only thing between us is the body of the troll.
“I mean it. Stop.”One step closer and I’ll shoot.
“Connor.”
Relief sends me sagging against the wall of the building. “Traj?”
“It’s me.” He continues, moving deliberately as if he’s in pain. When he’s close enough, I try to read his expression. He’s not giving anything away.
“Dig this, man.” With a flip of his hand, the onyx handle of a dagger appears between his fingers. “Small but mighty.”
“Dig this?” I crack a grin.
“Shut up.” He shakes his head, dark hair flopping into his face, but the ghost of a smile flits over his lips. “That piece-of-junk fire escape dumped me almost on top of her.” He glances over his shoulder at the troll. “Had to chase her down, but…”
His words peter off. “What was she?” I prompt.
