Page 95 of Kiss the Dawn
“Yes. I consider that odd.”
“It is. Indeed. That coupled with the anomalous power spike the consortium has detected in Dracul territory gives me pause.”
I feel sick. “You think it might be related to Orina.”
“I don’t know. But you must find her.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Crescent, I will.”
“Please ask her to call me as soon as she’s back with you.”
He hangs up, and I stare at the now unlocked phone. There’s an unread voice message. I tap on the icon, and a woman’s voice fills the room.
“Orina, we have a strong lead on the missing persons case. The symbol is on a boarded-up building in Brimswood somewhere near a Williams and Johns and a laundromat. We’ll investigate it and get back to you. Hope you’re healing well.”
Did Orina hear this and go there? I can’t be sure ifthe fact the icon was still flashing means it wasn’t listened to or not.
Either way, my gut tells me that this is where I need to?—
The phone rings again.
Lorenzo once more. “Ezekiel. I have coordinates for the anomaly.” He rattles off numbers that mean nothing, and irritation flares in my chest.
“Give me a location, dammit, not numbers.”
There’s a beat, then, “Brimswood, southern quarter is all we’re getting. It’s growing stronger.”
“It’s not Loviator. The curse is broken. She’s locked away.”
“Yes, I know, but it’s…something.”
Yes, something is coming. I felt it when I woke. “I’ll find her.”
“I’ll be with you by dawn.”
I want to tell him that he doesn’t need to come, but instead I say, “We’ll be expecting you.”
The call ends again, and I pocket the phone.
I need to find this Williams and Johns place because I’m sure it will lead me to Orina.
Chapter 35
ORINA
Where was the spark of blessed power? Where was the darkness? They’d abandoned me when I needed them the most, leaving me weak and helpless in the hands of the enemy.
I reached deep into myself, searching for my connection to the power that had always been there and felt nothing. Ordell…he’d feel this. He’d know, right? But the thread that bound us was also absent.
It was this contraption. This machine that I was bound to stripping me of my defenses. It must be.
“The seventh daughter of a seventh daughter,” Micah said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Your blood has power. Poweryoumight not be able to use,but that others can draw on if they know how. It took patience and effort to manipulate your mother into trusting me with your life. A life, that when extinguished, will save so many more.”
Micah meant to kill me. The man who’d been my rock, my confidant all my time in the Order, the man who’d trained me, meant to kill me. “Is this what you promised my mother when you took me from her?”
His eyes flinched. “I’m not proud of the lies that I’ve spun. Not proud of the actions I’ve taken and am about to take.”
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Padma cried. “You blocked my request for more operatives.”
