“You thought it would be a cemetery?” Gunnar quips, which makes Calix chuckle.
“Where are we meeting him?” I look around, expecting Grim to step out of the shadows.
“Text him and let him know we’re here,” Calix suggests. I do just that, and before I get a reply, Grim does indeed step out of the shadows of the building. We all climb out of the car and head to the alleyway.
“Where’s the witch?” I look around.
“I left him on the roof.” When we’re close enough to touch, Grim takes my hand.
“The roof?” Gunnar leans back and looks up at the impressive building. It must be close to twenty stories high. “Did you used to come here and look down on the lowly humans and brood?”
“I’ve never brooded,” Grim deadpans.
Calix snickers. “You don’t do anything but brood.”
I squeeze Grim’s hand in mine. I’m happy that they’re all so much more comfortable with each other, but we need to get to the witch. “Please tell me this place has an elevator?”
“I can blink you there,” Grim offers, even though he knows how I feel about supernatural travel right now.
“Yeah, that’s a no for me. Let’s hope they let us in this joint.” All four of us make our way around to the front of the building and into the entrance. There’s a man waiting to hold the door open, and he dips his head at us as we pass through the glass and gold door.
Gunnar walks right past the front desk and to a bank of elevators off to the side like he’s completely familiar with the place. No one stops us, but I don’t think getting to the roof is going to be this easy though.
Sometimes I hate being right. The elevators need a special key to get to the top two floors. We debate going back down and renting a suite, but we just don’t want to waste that kind of time, so Calix ends up breaking the lock on the door blocking the stairway. That was easy enough for him, but walking up the two flights of stairs nearly kills me. My stomach is even tightening a little. It’s been too long since I’ve done anything that could be considered a workout. Unless you count vigorous sex, then I do that daily, but let’s be real, even then the guys do most of the work. I’m a lucky girl.
We find the witch perched on the ledge of the building, his back to the wide expanse of darkness behind him. “That took considerably longer than I expected,” he remarks conversationally.
“Most things do. How are you, Gregory?” I make sure my voice is even, that I’m not panting from being out of breath before I speak.
“Surprised to find myself in Washington.” His brows are high on his head.
“You did say you would be willing to help,” I remind him.
He nods. “Why am I here?” he questions, cutting right to the chase.
I fist the leather cord in my pocket. “If you have an object that belongs to someone, can you trace where it came from? Who it came from?”
“A homing spell?” His brows dip low. “It depends on what the item is and how important it is to the person it belonged to.”
I drag the string from my pocket and open my palm, exposing it to him. “This held a spell.” I purposely don’t look over at Gunnar. He’s already explained that there is nothing Gregory could do to get rid of the spell, not even cutting off his hand would take away the binding.
“Where’s the spell?” Gregory gives me a dubious look, as if I’m somehow trying to trap him. “What kind of spell was it?”
“Does that information help you track the person who cast the spell?” I counter, folding the cord back in my fingers.
“Not likely. I just like to know what I’m getting in to.” Gregory is proving he’s smarter than most of the witches I’ve met.
“Antonio gave this to a girl, a human girl, and it didn’t affect her, but it put a binding spell on a Charmed one.” Gregory’s eyes dart around our group. I’m sure he’s wondering which of us has been muzzled.
“I already know where the girl is. I want to know where the witch is. Can you use this to track him to where he is now? Or at least where he was?”
Gregory’s eyes come back to me. He swallows and lifts his hand, showing me his palm. “I can try, but I’m not making any promises. The human may have complicated things if she contaminated it with her essence.”
I fist the rope for a second longer before dropping it into his palm. This is our best hope at getting a step ahead of Antonio, and I’m not ready to let go of that hope yet.
I stand back and wait for something to happen once it’s in his hand, but Gregory just examines it for a moment and looks back at me. I hold my breath, waiting for his response. “I can’t do it here,” he blurts when we all just stare at him. My shoulders fall a little. “I need a circle and my scrying mirror for the best results,” he mutters defensively.
“Calix and I will take Damiana home. Death will make sure you have what you need.” Gunnar steps up to my side and takes my hand after his statement.
