Page 22 of Blood of Night (The Thorne Hill)

“Hey.” He motions to the coffee. “You still like your coffee black, right?”

“As black as my heart,” I reply and slide the coffee over. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He opens his laptop and turns it around. “This is the warehouse. It’s not too far. It’s between Douglas Park and Marshall Square,” he starts. “And I was able to find out that most of the confiscated objects are in fact in there, but things of high value or things with bragging rights, for lack of a better term, are kept in the main building.”

“Okay, so we’ll start with the warehouse and if it’s not there, we’ll bust into HQ.”

“It won’t be that easy, Callie. The Order is fucking nuts but they’re well trained and have a lot of high-tech surveillance.”

“And I have magic,” I counter, wishing I could call Alona and have her fly me in and out. She’d want to know what I was after, and once she found out that I was trying to bust a Horsemanoutof Hell, well, I don’t think she’d be too willing to help anymore.

“Can you teleport?”

“Stop reading my mind.”

He cocks an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing.” I shake my head. “I can, however, astral project in and have a look around with little risk to me.”

“That’s a good idea, actually.”

“Thanks. I can’t physically pick anything up, though.” Binx meows and rubs against my legs. “But Binx can.”

“Your cat?”

“My familiar. He’s here, by the way. I’ve cloaked him.” I switch the map to satellite view, trying to get a better sense of the surroundings. I’ll need a safe place to lay down and astral project, out of sight so it doesn’t look like Easton is trying to sacrifice me or something.

I zoom in, unfamiliar with this area. The warehouse is an older brick building and is under the ruse of being a storage facility for an independent clothing store. I switch to a street view and see that the windows are blacked out, preventing anyone from looking inside.

“I dove by this evening,” Easton says. “I couldn’t tell if anyone was inside acting as guard, but it’s locked tight and has a security system and cameras.”

“Can you disarm it?”

“Easily. But again, we’re dealing with other hunters. I’m sure they have a backup system in place.”

“Right.” I bite my lip, looking at the building. Astral projecting in is the smartest way to give us an idea of what we’re dealing with. If there is anyone inside, they might think I’m a ghost, flicking in and out of sight. I’m going into a building full of haunted or cursed objects, after all.

“If I don’t find what I’m looking for in the warehouse, what are the chances we can pretend we want to join the Order and ask for a tour?” I look up at Easton.

“Hah. We have a better chance of winning the lottery.”

“Darn. That would have been easy.”

“Too easy.”

“You’ve got to elaborate on what you’re looking for and why,” he says. “You said this has to do with the Horsemen?”

“Yeah. It does. I, um—” I cut off when my phone vibrates with a text from Eliza. I quickly open it, knowing if something was urgent she would call me. I smile when I see a photo of Juliet all dressed up in a little pink outfit, nestled in Eliza’s arms. “Sorry,” I tell Easton and put the phone down. “This is the first time I’ve been away from Juliet. Eliza is a good babysitter. I shouldn’t worry.”

“Eliza is babysitting?” Easton leans back in his chair. “Lucas isn’t capable of watching his daughter?”

My face falls. Right Easton has no idea. “Lucas is…is…” I close my eyes and reach down, running my fingers over Binx’s fur. “Lucas is currently trapped in the Underworld and that’s why I need the oracle from the Order, so I can go get him.”

“Trapped?” Easton repeats. “Trapped how?”

“Julian made a deal with Osiris,” I start, saying each word slowly because it hurts to hear it spoken out loud. “To take the Horsemen to the Underworld. I…I don’t know the terms of the deal, but it was for all four. Lucas and I…we…we killed Famine but then the others showed up and we were outmatched. So Lucas sacrificed himself to become the new Famine and Osiris took them all to his hell.”

“Fuck,” Easton mumbles, staring at me for a few seconds before shaking his head. “The Horsemen are gone?”

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