Page 60 of Stalk the Dark
He sighed, the sound a whisper in my ear. “What can I do to help you, Orina?”
I smiled into the phone, appreciating how he’d put us back on track. “I need someone with a little mystical mojo. There are some cold cases, missing persons, well, supernaturals really, and I need help solving the cases. The forensic trails are contaminated…gone…” I sighed. “I need magic.”
“I see. You want me to cut through some red tape and get somebody approved for temporary residence?”
“Yeah, or you could come help us yourself…” Why had I said that?
He chuckled softly, the sound smooth like melted butter. “Believe me, Orina, if I could get away, I’d be on your doorstep before dawn.”
I caught Merry’s eyebrow wiggle in the rearview mirror. Maybe I should have waited till we got back to the chapter house to make this call because we were totally flirting, and there was a familiar fizz of attraction even over the damn phone.
I cleared my throat, putting my professional hat back on. “Any faeblood, half-blood, or mageri with tracking ability will do. We have a half-blood fae on staff here, but her ability is for healing.”
“I’ll make some calls and get back to you, now that I have your number.”
“Before you go, have you heard from Nyx? Is everything okay?” He hesitated, and dread gripped my nape. “Lorenzo?”
“There was an incident, and we’ve been forced to put up wards between Morningstar and the mainland.”
I sat up straighter. “Shit. What happened?”
The road ahead was choked with traffic, and Edwin cursed softly before taking a side street.
“That’s classified for now,” Lorenzo said, “but have no doubt, if there is something to report about Nyx, then I will be in touch. For now, no news is good news.”
“Have you spoken to Quinn?”
“Yes, she’s aware. Now all we can do is wait.”
Nyx could handle herself. She’d be fine. She had to be. “Thanks, Lorenzo. Really.”
“Anytime. I’ll be in touch soon. Stay safe.”
I ended the call to silence that lasted about ten seconds before Merry broke it. “Did you two date?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Merry asked.
She wasn’t ordained. She didn’t know the rules, but the others did, and we couldn’t tell her.
“The timing was off.”
We took a left onto a road with a river on one side and warehouses on the other. “Shit,” Edwin said. “I think this is a dead end.”
“Should have stayed on the main road,” Padma chided.
“Did you see the traffic?”
“Just turn around up ahead,” Padma instructed. “You can…”
“What is that?” Merry scooted forward in her seat, hands gripping the back of mine as she leaned forward to look through the windshield.
Mist billowed up off the ground ahead, spreading outward and upward.
Padma made a soft sound of distress.
“It’s okay.” Edwin put the van into reverse, peeling rubber away from the mist as it surged toward us.
