“I can entertain myself,” I assured him. “I brought a book to read. I might go soak for a while and lose myself in a small town where only a postal worker and her dog can unravel the mystery of who is killing the people on her route.”
His eyes sparkled. “Sounds riveting.”
“Don’t mock me,” I said primly. “I’m expanding my intellectual horizons.”
“You’ll have to loan it to me when you finish. Perhaps I’ll pick up some sleuthing tips.”
The reminder of his job curdled my stomach, but I tamped down the roiling so as not to wound him.
“I’ll do that.” I did a cursory check of the loft and found it empty. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Name it.”
Sucker. “Can you keep Meiko busy for a few hours so I can enjoy some peace and quiet?”
“I’ll bring her to Strophalos with me.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can set up temporary wards to prevent her from escaping my office. Her magic nullifies mine, so I can’t promise how long it will last.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask what good a familiar that nullified rather than amplified magic was to him, but every second the door stood open was an opportunity for her to snake between his legs and ruin my relaxation time. “Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated.”
“Cletus will remain in the area, and I’ll check in before I return home in case you need anything.”
“That sounds perfect.” I cheered up on the spot. “Be thinking about food.” I rubbed my hands together, stomach growling. “I vote you pick up takeout on your way back, and we binge on cartoons until dawn.”
And pretend today never happened.
“We can do that.” He ducked his head, but it failed to hide the curve of his cheek. “Enjoy your evening.”
“You too.” I waved him off then got down to the business of bumming around. The one thing missing from my stash was bubble bath, but shampoo would do in a pinch, and I had no doubt his was top-drawer. “Relaxation, here I come.”
While the tub filled, I gathered pajamas and toiletries. Stripping out of Meiko’s selections made me feel lighter. It wasn’t, I assured myself, because of what Linus had confessed. With a hiss, I sank into the hot, fragrant water and allowed its warmth to lull me. Aches and pains deep in my muscles, reminders of the accident, had flared up during the scuffle with the guy on campus, and the heat felt delicious.
I closed my eyes long enough to gather my willpower to not think about what Boaz was doing that was so much more important than calling me, but when I opened them, darkness shrouded the room.
“Meiko,” I growled. “This isn’t funny. Turn the light back on.”
Aggravating cat must have given Linus the slip and sneaked back up to the loft to torment me.
“Meiko?”
A rattling noise curved my hands around the edges of the tub. Thanks to my keen night vision, I could tell the doorknob rattling wasn’t the one in here, but that meant…
Someone wanted in the apartment.
Meiko had a keycard. I’d seen her brandishing it earlier. Otherwise, she couldn’t come and go as she pleased while under residential protection. And if she hadn’t answered the door, that meant she wasn’t here.
There was no love lost between us. I had no doubt she would swing it wide open if a vampire horde descended upon the Faraday in search of me. Her absence erased any hope the lights might be a trick. The power had either been cut to the apartment or to the entire building. Not good.
Quick as I dared, I stood and toweled off, yanking on my pajamas and twisting my wet hair into a soggy bun I secured at my nape. I sucked in a deep breath and cracked open the door, exhaling when no one jumped out to grab me.
On tiptoe, I crept up into the loft where I kept my bags and pulled out the travel kit I used to bring Eileen, ink, brushes, and the modified pen and its parts with me. I shoved them into my purse, swung it over my shoulder, then climbed back down to hide in the maze of clothing racks Meiko had yet to return.
The rattle escalated to a fist pounding on the door in a steady beat that set my pulse hammering.
The same wards that kept sound from escaping must not work in reverse since I heard it all so well.
Whoever—whatever—was coming, I had to get out of here.
The front door was the only way in or out of this apartment that I had seen, but that couldn’t be all. Linus was too paranoid for that. But first, I yanked on the pair of flats I’d discarded earlier and picked a knee-length jacket to shrug on over my pajamas. There was no time to change. I had to move. At least this would keep me modest if I lucked up and managed to hit the street.
“Cletus,” I hissed. “Where are you?”
Viscous darkness whirled on my periphery as he took form on the other side of the window.
Fiddlesticks.
I had forgotten he was banned from the building.
Hand pressed to the glass, I peered down at the sheer drop to the alley below. “How do I get out of here?”
The wraith indicated the latches and made a flipping motion.
“I…don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Wood groaned and splintered behind me. “Okay, so maybe I’ll give it a try.”
Once I wedged open the window, Cletus drifted closer, beckoning me to join him with a curl of his fingers.
“I can’t fly.” I gulped as the warm breeze whipped stray hairs in my eyes. “You get that, right?”
A moan sounding suspiciously like a sigh moved through him as he pointed down.
“Yeah, I don’t want to go down.” I sank my nails into the windowsill. “Down bad.”
Quicker than I could escape his chilly grasp, Cletus circled his bony fingers around my wrists and yanked me out the window.
Fourteen
I screamed bloody murder for a solid thirty seconds, even after my knees slammed against a metal grate. An invisible metal grate. Linus must have applied obfuscation sigils to disguise his fire escape. Even knowing it was there, feeling it under my palms, I had trouble seeing past my panic well enough to bring it into focus.
Wasting precious time, I took out my pen and drew amplification sigils across my forehead.
A beat passed as they battered against the illusion and then shredded it to ribbons. I could see the metal landing where I sprawled as well as stairs zigzagging down, down, down. After pushing to my feet, I hit the first step, gripped the rails in both hands, and ran as fast as I dared.
Cletus drifted in front of me, forcing me to acknowledge him, then pointed up at the window.
“You’re going to hold them off?”
The wraith nodded as he began to rise.
“Be careful.”
There was no point in calling Linus. The connection he shared with Cletus meant he had been notified the second the wraith grasped the situation. Linus could perceive through their bond, which meant he ought to have an idea of where I was headed. It also gave him an opportunity to catch a glimpse of my would-be attacker.
Panting hard, I started tasting blood in the back of my throat but didn’t slow. I didn’t dare. I kept up my downward momentum, leaping over stairs, using my death grip to keep me on my feet when I stumbled on impact.
An eternity later, I jumped from the last platform, hit the pavement hard enough to jar my bones, and rolled my ankle.
Allowing myself a second to catch my breath, I drew an obfuscation sigil across the back of my left hand to make it difficult for others to see me then scribbled a healing sigil on my ankle while I was at it.
Just as I straightened, ready to bolt for the busy street ahead, a furious roar belted out the window above me, and a massive body hit the fire escape with enough force to buckle the metal.
Ankle barking with each step, I ran up the alley. The end was in sight when a hulking shadow crossed my path, tipping its nose skyward.
Hood.
A bone-rattling growl reached out to tickle my hindbrain, and it was all I could do not to scream when he rushed me.
With no weapons and nowhere to hide, I flung myself to the side, smashing my shoulder against the brick wall as he barreled past. Expecting him to slide into a spin and come at me again, I was stunned when he hit the fire escape and started climbing.
Cletus brushed my cheek with cool fingers, shocking me back to myself, and I sprinted for the sidewalk and the cover of sweet, sweet pedestrians.
Dialing Tony was out of the question. I didn’t have time to wait for a pickup, and I didn’t want to embroil another human in our world. Figuring the next best thing was a good old yellow taxi, I flagged one down as it passed.
I was belted in and headed for Strophalos within minutes, leaving the chaos at the Faraday in my wake. The one thing I hadn’t considered was the fact humans can’t see the campus, let alone enter it. And, I remembered after paying my fare, neither could I without a staff member to get me inside the wards.
Fingers shaking, I dialed Linus and waited for him to answer.
He didn’t.
“Cletus.” I ended the call and started dialing again. “Fetch Linus.”
The wraith rippled in the air, ignoring the order to leave my side as my second call connected.
“Grier?”
“Boaz.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “I don’t suppose you have any friends in Atlanta? Or friends at Strophalos?”
“Yes to both.”
“Friends who might be persuaded to let me in and hide me for a bit?”
“What the hell is going on?”
“Someone tried to break into Linus’s apartment while I was there. I escaped, but I wasn’t thinking, and I came to Strophalos, but I can’t get through the wards without a faculty member.” I was rambling, my tongue tripping over every other word. “I called Linus, but he’s not answering his phone, and I don’t know what to do.”
“He left you alone?” Boaz growled. “I thought he was smart.”
“It’s not his fault. I should have been safe at the Faraday.”
“The Faraday?” A moment of stunned silence followed. “Of course that’s where he lives.”