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Stane snorted. “Even you wouldn’t get past some of the latest motion sensors, my friend. Besides, as you said, you haven’t got enough time left to be fucking around.”
“But if you cannot contract that list any further, then we have no other choice.” Azriel’s voice was grim. “There is always the hope that we will find the key in the first half rather than the last.”
I snorted. “I think we had our one and only bit of luck when that gun blew up in the vamp’s hand.”
“What?” Stane said, confusion evident. “Since when did vampires need guns? They have speed and teeth on their side—why would they need anything else?”
“Maybe they thought a bullet would be a faster and more secure method of killing someone who could disappear into smoke.” I shrugged. “What about Michael Judd? What did he do once he’d made his reappearance?”
Stane grimaced. “Nothing out of the ordinary. He went back to university but switched courses, doing a master’s in finance with a major in accounting.”
“What was he doing previously?”
Stane smiled. “An arts degree in media and communication.”
“And no one commented on the rather sudden change of plans? I mean, that’s kinda a big jump.”
“Well, no one in the media commented. By that point, he was old news. We’ll never know what his old man might have said, given he died ten years ago.”
“Killed?”
“No, it was a regular old heart attack. Nothing suspicious. His estate, though, was left in its entirety to Michael rather than being spread between his wife and other three children. They contested, but it was settled out of court.”
No surprise there, given he wouldn’t have wanted the matter raising too much of a fuss in the press. I glanced at Azriel. “Why don’t we go check out that Altona North place? That gives Stane a little more time to whittle down the list.”
“If you wish.” He stood and held out a hand. “But after this, we must at least start searching the buildings that are on that list.”
“Deal.” I placed my hand in Azriel’s, then glanced back at Stane. “While your computers are running that list, I’d be connecting the security system up to the generators. Just in case.”
“Consider it done.” His voice was grim. “I have no intention of going back into that panic room unless absolutely necessary.”
“Good.” The words were barely out of my mouth when Azriel’s magic swirled around me, zipping us across to Altona North. We reappeared in the middle of a road. I blinked and looked around. On the left there was an open field, although in the distance I could see the lights of what looked to be some sort of chemical plant. To the right there were several large warehouses. There were a few cars in the parking lot, which was a surprise given that it was after ten at night. The one we wanted was slightly farther down the road and had a blue two-story office block running across the front of the larger warehouse building. There were lights on in several of the offices, although I couldn’t actually see anyone moving about.
“You may not see them,” Azriel commented, studying the warehouse intently, “but they are nevertheless there.”
“How many? And is one of them our sorceress?”
“Five, and no.” He paused, his gaze narrowing. “There is an odd sense of energy toward the rear of the building, however.”
I studied that section of the warehouse. I couldn’t see anything that appeared out of place, and I certainly wasn’t feeling anything that hinted at the presence of magic. “Shall we go investigate?”
“That is what we came here for, is it not?” He drew Valdis, then added, “Follow me.”
“You keep saying that,” I said, as I fell in step beside him. “I would have thought that by now, you’d have come to accept the impossibility of it ever happening.”
“Oh, I accept it.” He glanced at me, amusement touching his lips. “But I keep saying it in the hope that one day, you will actually do the sensible thing.”
“I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting.”
“Perhaps not,” he said. “Though it would not matter if I did, because as an energy being, I do not actually have to breathe.”
I nudged him lightly with my shoulder. “You’d get bored if I actually was sensible.”
“That is something unlikely to happen, as I can think of many, many things we could do to relieve the onset of boredom.”
I grinned. “So can I. And I bet mine would be a whole lot more imaginative than yours.”
“That is a bet I would not take if I were you.” His gaze went to the office portion of the warehouse. “Two people are about to leave for the night.”
