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The corridor led to a series of other rooms containing beds, some of them occupied, some of them not. I frowned, confusion growing, and moved on. I came to a lobby, saw a directory on the wall above the call button, and felt like swearing.
I was at the Directorate.
Which made sense, I guess. It was the safest place to conduct such journeys, given it would take an army to break into this building.
I wasn’t an army, but break in I would have to. I imagined myself back in my body and shuddered, gasping in pain, as the force of my return hit like a club.
I took several gulps of coffee, which hit my stomach and threatened to come right back up again, then swung around to face Azriel.
That area of the Directorate is unlikely to be shielded against astral travelers given that is its purpose, he said, so it is unlikely they would be guarded against your Aedh form.
It’s unlikely they’d be warded against Aedh anyway. Before all this crap started, no one was even really aware such protection was necessary.
Yes, but the Directorate are now aware, and no doubt will be working to solve the problem. How do you wish to play this?
I glanced at the time, thinking fast. Dawn would soon be upon us, and with it came the countdown to Hunter’s deadline. But there was another deadline approaching, one we could use to our advantage. “You need to go report to Aunt Riley. The last thing I need is for her to come out of hiding and present the perfect target to Hunter.”
“Your aunt is cannier than that.”
“I know, but I still don’t want to take the risk.”
“And you? What will you do while I am gone?”
I hesitated. “I might go to Stane’s and see if there’s any way he can hack into the security of the remaining properties. If we can use their camera systems to look around, it might stop us wasting so much time.”
“If that were possible, I think he would have done it.”
I shrugged. “It’s still worth a shot. Shall I meet you there?”
“Do.” Silently, he added, Not. If you are unable to subdue Myer, then we have a brief window of opportunity in which to grab the key and take it to safety.
Then where will we meet? The first place she’ll look is back here.
He hesitated. It will take you too long to travel in Aedh form to the key’s location, so meet me at the Aedh’s apartment building and we shall go from there.
I raised my eyebrows. Why there?
Because it is close, and also a place they will not immediately think of. Aloud, he added, “Be safe.”
I nodded, finished my coffee, then called to the Aedh. In particle form, I sped from the café and arrowed not toward the Directorate but to a hardware store, where I bought rope and duct tape. Only then did I continue on toward the Directorate. And every bit of me was crossed that we’d guessed right, that the Directorate hadn’t yet had the time to form any sort of defense against energy beings.
The green glass building came into sight. I slipped down to the pavement level but didn’t immediately enter, waiting impatiently for someone else to do so. As they walked through the bristling array of scanners, I went in with them.
No alarms went off.
Relief slithered through me, but it was tempered by the fact that I hadn’t reached my destination just yet. I continued on to the stairwell, slipping in under the door, then swirling down the stairs until I reached the floor that held the astral traveling room. I retraced my steps, flowed over the guard, and entered the room where Myer slept. It was still otherwise empty.
I moved across to where she lay, then imagined Amaya in one hand, the tape and the rope in the other, and called to the Aedh.
The minute my feet hit the floor, alarms went off.
Chapter 14
There were fucking sensors in the floor.
The moment I’d regained flesh, I set the damn things off. And as soon as they went off, Myer began to wake. I flipped Amaya and swung her as hard as I could. Even half-groggy and still suffering the aftereffects of her swift return to her body, Myer was fast. She threw herself sideways, and the blow that should have smacked her across the jaw and knocked her out hit her temple instead. She came up fast, murder in her gray eyes.
Amaya, flame and contain, I yelped, even as I reached for the Aedh magic.
