“You’ll get no nonsense from me, ma’am,” I said quickly. “I am a nonsense-free person.”
She glanced at me again, as if she were privy to my thoughts. Maybe she was. It was anyone’s guess. After all, I knew little about vampires. “I won’t suck your blood.”
“I wasn’t thinking that.” I totally was.
She met my gaze knowingly.
We left the main room and walked down a hall. At the first door on the right, she stopped. She opened it, flicked on the light, and gestured for me to go in.
When I entered, she shut the door behind me. It was a little strange for her to do so, since I would not be in there long. I expected her to wait outside the room, but I heard her heels click down the hall and then fade out of hearing.
The supply closet was just like any other in an office building. It had a copy machine and gray metal shelves that were impossible to move by human standards. Nothing about it would surprise anyone. Everything about the Bureau, including the closet, seemed normal. On the up-and-up. Until you met a demon. Or the god of death in all his perfection. Then you understood that something was off.
The labels on the shelves seemed unnecessary. I could tell what a notebook was just by looking at it. The same went for the box of highlighters. Still, they made things easy to find, so I wasn’t complaining.
I had just opened the box of highlighters and grabbed a bright yellow one when the lights flickered. Then they went out entirely.
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
Chapter Thirteen
Ossy
Waiting for Cael in the lobby meant sitting on a couch with my head in my hands. Every second that ticked by made me antsy. The urgency to find Phin ate at me.
The surprising thing was that Donn wasn’t making a move toward me. He knew I was there and why. Maybe sitting in the lobby was confusing him.
Cael appeared suddenly, teleporting three feet in front of me. It was stupid because now Donn would know Cael was there, too. Cael was more fearless than the rest of us.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “How the fuck can you help more than Grym can?”
“It’s nice to see you, too, Ossy.” I hadn’t seen him since we all gathered in Hollowbrook.
“I’ve got seven million problems and no solutions. First problem: I know where Phin is, but it’s impossible to reach him.”
Cael forced a smile. “Nothing is impossible.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s on Donn’s floor, man.”
Cael lost his smirk. “That is a problem. It seems Donn is keeping Phin close. Smart boy.” He muttered the last part tohimself. I didn’t miss the term he’d used to describe Donn, but my focus was on getting to Phin. I made a mental note to ask Cael about it later.
“What should we do?”
Cael shrugged. “Take the elevator to the top floor. I’ll distract Donn while you get Phin.”
It sounded like a solid plan, except that Donn was the god of death and could send us to Tech Duinn at any moment. That he hadn’t done so yet was a blessing in disguise. And a little suspect, all at once.
So that was exactly what we did. The elevator ride was the longest of my life. Also, I’d been inside the thing more in the last hour than I had on any single day while I worked for the Bureau.
As soon as we stepped onto the top floor, the light flickered and then went out entirely. I grabbed my phone and turned on the flashlight. The heat in the room rose.
Donn was angry.
Cael led the way, his long strides eating up the distance from one end of the hallway to the other. His jaw muscles twitched, and he mumbled something under his breath. It sounded like he said, “Impossible little god.”
The shadows grew closer, closing in on us. It wouldn’t be long before Donn appeared. When he did, what would Cael call him then? Little god or boy?
