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Once on solid ground, I pick up speed, heading into Clearhelm. Despite the hour, few cars share the streets with me. When I flick on the radio, the weather forecaster predicts flooding in some areas.
Great, just what we need. At least it’s keeping sane people inside.
Turning off the main road, I drive toward the Woo Woo Squad. I’ll collect Flint from the Ward before pinning down Sharpe to find out why he’s not answering his phone if he’s already out of his meeting.
When I hit a red light, I tap my fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, the sound a counterpoint to the frantic swish of the windshield wipers.
No cars come from either direction, and after a minute, my patience wears thin, and I speed through the light.
Soon, the buildings of Clearhelm give way to trees on either side of the road. Halfway down the road, something draws my gaze to the right, a sense of someone there, but I can’t spot a pedestrian in this rain, and a deep puddle on the road reminds me to focus.
The trees quickly give way to New Clearhelm, and I drive past the businesses that line the street until I reach the Joint Task Force of Paranormal Investigations.
From the outside, it looks like a one-story building, but that’s only because most of it is underground.
I pull into a spot in the empty upper parking lot and step out into the rain-soaked air. Instantly, water plasters my clothes to my body, but I ignore it as I stride to the main entrance.
Once under the overhang, I shake off the water outside the doors and send a burst of heat through my body, drying me in an instant.
Stepping inside, I pull my wallet out to pass to the guard at the front desk. “Hey, Tonya, I’m just here to collect Flint from the Ward.”
“Hey, Marc.” She scans my badge and passes it back before typing away on her computer. “Looks like he came in through the garage.” She raises a brow at me before glancing toward the windows. “Like anysaneperson would do in this weather.”
I tuck my badge away. “What can I say? I like to step out of my element every so often.”
I scribble my name onto the sign-in sheet and hand it back to her, my eyes lingering on the bustling activity within the squad room. An unusual buzz fills the air, and I spot several unfamiliar faces.
My curiosity gets the better of me, and I lean against the counter. “Quite a crowd today.”
Tonya glances toward the squad room and drops her voice, a conspiratorial twinkle in her eyes. “Sharpe went on a recruitment spree. Rumor says he nabbed a dozen new officers out from under Bailey.”
I whistle softly. Sharpe's been short-staffed since they opened doors five years ago. How did he find so many magic-resistant people in one day?
“Better barricade the door before Bailey finds out.” Bailey and Sharpe’s relationship is antagonistic at best, and this won’t make things easier between their departments.
She chuckles without an ounce of concern. “We can take him.”
I hope she’s right. With a nod, I stride for the security door into the squad room.
Not spotting any officers I’m on speaking terms with, I head straight for the elevator that will take me down to the Ward.
It takes a swipe of my badge to make the button work, and another to get the doors open again after the stomach-rising descent into the bowels of the Woo Woo Squad.
When the doors open, I step out into the white hallway, my steps quick.
The men at the guard desk don't look surprised to see me. This isn't the first time I've had to come to collect Flint when he stayed too long with the zombies. The man gets lost in his search, and time vanishes.
I sign in and receive a temporary key card to the cell Flint is in before heading through the thickly warded door to search out the cell.
I find Flint seated in a plastic chair, his arms loose at his sides and his chin against his chest, his black hair hanging forward to cover the unnatural beauty of his face.
An orange corgi with aService Animalvest paces restlessly beside him. When I step into the room, she lets out a very non-corgi bark, and her tail starts wagging as she races over.
I drop a hand to the top of her head, feeling long, fox fur despite what my eyes tell me. If Flint can still keep up the illusion on himself and his familiar, then he isn’t too far gone, despite the hours he’s spent here.
I scratch Anny’s ears. “How about we wake Flint up, huh? We have bigger problems than the zombies right now.”
As if she’d only been waiting for the excuse, Anny races back to Flint’s side and shoves her head against his limp hand.
