CHAPTER TWENTY

 

CLAY TRUSTS HIM. You probably should too. The sunbird’s quiet reassurance sounded within me for the first time in an age. She’d been quiet the whole time I’d been in Sweden with Clay, but had obviously decided I needed the extra boost.

“Yeah, yeah.”

For a brief second, I thought I saw someone on the opposite side of the elevator. The sight filled me with a sense of dread. It had only been the quickest glimpse of black and then it was gone, but it was enough to cause me to hyperventilate. Memories of the shadow and everything he’d put me—us—through rushed back through me.

He can’t be here now.

Trying, and failing, to convince myself that I was simply seeing things, I debated changing my mind and going back to the hotel room to wait. I couldn’t walk into the enemy’s lair with another threat right at my back.

But I wouldn’t be any safer sitting alone in a hotel room.

Closing my eyes, the truth became clear. If the shadow really was in the elevator with me, and if he actually wanted me dead this time, we were currently alone and he had the perfect opportunity. As the feeling of menace spiked again, I waited for the plunge of the knife. When it didn’t happen, I dragged in a breath. As I exhaled, I prepared for what I might find when the elevator doors opened.

Even if he was there, he wasn’t the biggest threat to me.

With Clay and Ethan otherwise engaged, I was going to have to complete the cleansing part of our plan by myself—laying the counters to all of the anti-fae protections along the hallways and in the doorways of the Rain headquarters. I double-checked that the cell phone I had was on silent—ensuring that even the vibration mode was off because I needed complete stealth.

When the elevator doors slid open, my knees almost buckled at the surge of fear that raced through me.

Why did I agree to this again?

The previous night when we’d been running through plans, Ethan had said that the last time he’d been at Bayview there was less monitoring on these floors because they didn’t want any recordings accidentally leaked to the press—especially given the nature of the activities that occurred in the headquarters.

I had a good reason to be hopeful that the corridors here weren’t highly monitored. If they were, I would be in trouble. It wasn’t only the fact that they would instantly know I was a stranger that worried me. The fear that was building in my chest caused my skin to heat rapidly, and there was no way I would go undetected by an infrared heat sensor if any existed in the halls.

With the knowledge of how sinister some of the deeds done by the Rain could be, I half expected the hallways to be darkened and menacing. In reality, the walls were mostly white, broken only by artwork and the occasional relief set in plaster. Unique burgundy tiles, with what appeared to be a haphazard design printed on them, covered the floor. In a number of places, the random patterns formed one of the symbols Ethan had described in his demonstration the night before, a circle with three lines forming a hatchet-like shape in the middle.

I glanced around quickly, ignoring the sensation in my chest warning me that I shouldn’t be there, because it was right. I really shouldn’t be, but it was too late to change my mind. I was already committed and far too invested to back out. My hopes that finding Mackenzie would be a relatively easy task fell as I considered the sheer quantity of doors lining the corridor. There was also a whole other floor above that we would need to search through as well.

Pushing my worries over how impossible actually finding Mackenzie would be out of my mind, I concentrated instead on the relatively simple task of searching for the markers that indicated anti-fae protection.

During his brief outline the day before, Ethan had warned that the symbols would be on the floors, walls, and ceiling in intermittent locations throughout the building. I had to be certain that I broke the lines of every symbol I could and placed counter protections at every single one. Aiden had made it clear to Ethan that even one set of protections remaining in place would be enough to send any fae that dared to wander near it to their knees in blinding agony. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t know if I’d missed one until that exact thing happened.

Heading to the left as I exited the elevator, I stalked quietly along the hallway. I listened intently for any sound. I scanned the immediate area for any protections and, as I found them, broke their lines and then hid the appropriate counter-charm nearby.

The only thing I wouldn’t necessarily be able to see was the iron. Ethan had said that the designers had incorporated the metal into these very walls, so I did what I could to leave a few obsidian and amethyst crystals from my necklaces, together with a few drops of vanilla essence, at regular intervals along the corridor. All I could do was hope it would be enough overall power to counteract the effect of the iron.

I didn’t risk entering any of the rooms as I moved along the hall—partly because I was worried about any occupants, but also because I was concerned about their contents. I had no idea what horrid secrets those closed doors hid, and I wanted to keep it that way.

When I reached the end of the corridor, I saw that it formed an “L” shape as it led into another hallway. Along the length of the next section, a series of windows and glass doors stretched from floor to ceiling. It heightened the risk for me exponentially. Anyone in those rooms would easily see me walk past.

With my heart lodged tightly in my throat, I edged toward the first two glass doors, which faced one another only a few yards after the corner. One had blinds drawn. Artificial light, and the murmur of voices, spilled out from behind the glass. Risking a quick glance at the other, I saw the window was open but the room behind was dark and appeared empty.

I started to believe that, if my luck held, I could actually clear the way. Dropping as low as I could to stay out of the potential line of sight of any occupants in the room, I crept past the windows and the door. Continuing down the hall, I moved with caution past each opening, overly aware of how exposed I might be if anyone stole even the slightest glance into the corridor.

After going as far as I could in one direction, I spun around to head toward the elevator. As I neared it, a bell sounded and the light above the elevators lit up indicating the car was heading down. My previous confidence fled as the moment of potential discovery grew closer. The occupants of the elevator would easily spot me if I wasn’t careful.

Running back to the corner, I reached it right when the elevator doors slid open. I hid behind the wall, barely out of sight, and tried desperately to come up with a plan in case whoever arrived on the floor came my way.

The darkened, seemingly empty room stood a few feet behind me; I figured it was my best chance. I could only hope it was as empty as it appeared. It was as solid an escape plan as I could develop with the limited time and resources I had. It also occurred to me that maybe some hidden camera had detected me and the occupants of the car were going to enter the hallway actively searching for me. In which case, it wouldn’t matter where I hid; I’d be hunted down in no time.

I pressed myself against the wall and silently said a thousand and one different prayers. Listening intently, I heard what sounded like a large group spill out of the elevator. They spoke loudly among themselves, and I was instantly able to pick out Ethan’s and Clay’s voices. I breathed a little easier. At least if the group of five caught me, one would definitely fight with me, and another hopefully would too.

It sounded like they were heading the other way along the main corridor, and I risked a quick glance out from my hiding space to confirm it. Once I glimpsed their retreating backs, I slumped against the wall and tipped my head back to breathe a small sigh of relief.

Even though it was unlikely, there was the possibility that if they were discussing Mackenzie I might have been able to find out some valuable information if I was close enough to hear it. I risked following them at a distance. Although there were no shadows, I tried to press myself against the wall and move as silently as I could as I crept behind them.

They’d barely covered half of the hallway before Clay’s voice rang out in a gut-wrenching cry of pain. The sound was so loud that it seemed to echo off all of the walls, and rushed straight into my heart like a bullet shot from a gun. The instant Clay’s cry had echoed through the hall, the group stopped and a confused commotion broke out around them.

The shadow!

My first thought was that maybe he hadn’t wanted to kill me after all.

A whimper of agony slipped from me as I pictured Zarita’s death again, only now it was Clay who was slumped on the floor with cold, unseeing eyes. He was the one with bloodstained clothes, lying on the ground down the hall, lifeless and still.

“No,” I whispered, unable to infuse my voice with any volume or force myself to move. Fear stole my breath from my lungs, replacing it with a useless panting that provided less than half of the oxygen I needed. “This isn’t happening.”

Even though I couldn’t see what was happening, I knew that I had to find a way to help him. I needed to know what was wrong; I needed to see the extent of his wounds. Despite how desperate I was to race to him, my legs refused to move. It was as though they’d been cemented to the floor by some unknown force. I wondered whether the shadow was pinning me in place to listen to Clay’s death while being unable to help.

My stomach roiled.

I need to get to him!

Along the corridor in front of me, a handful of doors swung open. My stomach sank to my feet when I heard a door behind me open as well. It was enough of a shock to get my legs to move. Resigning myself to the fact that it was too late to hide even if I wanted to—whatever happened next, someone was certain to spot me—I raced to Clay’s assistance. I had no idea what could be causing him so much distress, but if I was going down anyway, I wanted to make sure that he was okay first.