Mark of the Harbinger (Book 1)

29 - A Bite and a Bookstore

In just another minute, we had the addresses divided between us and left my apartment.

Havik was given the most suspicious sites, an aged clinic and a large butcher's shop. Telavar took two private residences, and Sibbie and I were given the least likely places, an office building and a bookstore. Whoever found her was to call Aurel immediately and to take her away from the site.

Aurel and Telavar didn't follow Sibbie and me toward the parking lot. Instead, they vanished into the night without a sound or backward glance, and I shivered while Sibbie muttered "creepy" under her breath. Creepy indeed.

We got into the car and hurried toward our first destination, an office building currently without a leaser. I imagined it didn't stand out among the many similar buildings in Roccia Nera's east bank, making it the perfect cover for whatever illegal action Ishcer saw fit to perform in its vicinity, but it was unlikely he'd want to stash a captive vampire there. Too insecure.

The sky was brighter from the clouds of debris and smoke in the air reflecting the city's unwavering lights. The continual wail of sirens didn't abate as the night unwound in frayed strands, a constant reminder that any place we searched tonight could suddenly go up like the others. 

Sibbie pulled alongside the curb outside the office building, but I was so anxious I'd already sent my soul ahead, tasting and testing all the essence contained within the space. I recognized Ishcer jaded signature, but nothing else stood out to me. Theda had never been here. 

I eased my soul back into my body and sucked in a noisome breath when I came back to myself. Groaning, I leaned off my broken arm. "Nothing," I told Sibbie as I wiped sweat from my brow with Havik's sleeve.

What if I was wrong? What if Theda wasn't in any of these buildings? Where could she be then?

"Grae, can I ask something?" Sibbie peered sidelong at me as she pulled away from the curb and we drove without headlights in the traffic-less night. It was dangerous, but we both worried my car might be recognized by any of Ishcer's mercenaries still lurking somewhere on the east bank.

"Yeah?" I responded, watching the passing street as I chewed at my thumb. 

"Are you and Aurel seeing each other?"

I choked. "What—why would you even think to ask that?!"

She shrugged and adjusted her hands on the steering wheel. "You two seem to have a weird dynamic. He spoke so well of you while he drove me to your place and was actually really pleasant, but in your apartment, he seemed to ignore you—and then there was that strange dominance play just before we left. What was that about?"

I seethed and gnashed my teeth. "Are you sure he's pleasant? He is a vampire. Maybe he clouded your mind." 

"Honestly, I don't think he cares enough about me or my opinion to cloud my mind. He just kept asking about you." She glanced in my direction, lips quirked. "I take by your fierce rejection that you aren't seeing him?" 

"No!" 

"Okay, geez."

We drove through an empty intersection, the traffic light flickering. On the next street, we were greeted with a line of barricades and police cruisers, the mounted car lights alternately bathing the ugly road in tones of amber and red. The main attraction of the blockade was a large, black pit in the middle of the street and the water line gushing in a fountain above the line of cars.

"Shit," I breathed as I glanced behind us to see that a few other cars stalled behind my bumper, trapping us. "The tremors must have caved in the road."