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The DEA was under attack. They hadn’t broken through the angelic shields yet, but their nightmarish spell kept anyone inside from interfering. A deep chill gripped my bones despite the sheen of sweat coating my forehead.
If the whole building was under this spell, then no one knew besides me.
I raced back to the conference room and ducked under Thane’s arm to push open the door.
“Adam! You have to snap out of it.” I ran to the archangel and shook him, to no avail. I even tried slapping him, knowing he’d forgive me. His cheek turned red, but his gaze stared sightlessly at a map displayed on the wall screen.
I racked my brain. I needed Kit and her unbelievably strong magic, even bound as it was, but that wasn’t an option until I freed Thane or Ivan. She was too far away.
Succumbing to the need to pace, I thought through the issue. When the spell went off, I found myself living in a nightmare. My worst nightmare, the one that actually haunted my sleep at night, then it repeated itself when I failed to make a choice.
But seriously, no one could make that choice.
Eyeing Thane, I chewed my lip.
Except…
The spell broke when I did something unexpected. Instead of making an impossible choice, I gave myself to Xavier and let him drain me. I sacrificed myself.
That had to be it. Snapping my fingers, I stopped pacing. My sacrifice must have ended the spell.
I stepped in front of Thane again and took his stiff face in my hands. “Whatever you’re seeing, it isn’t real.” I urged my words to reach deep inside his core through our soul link, hoping to push through the nightmare. “Don’t fight it. Just let go.”
The building trembled again as another massive spell blasted against the outside, and debris rained down from the ceiling tiles. I covered my head with my arms, grimacing as the others got hit.
I had no idea how long the DEA’s defenses would last against their magic, but I needed to get help—now.
But who else besides Adam or Kit could end this spell?
My gaze wandered over Thane’s face. Maybe I didn’t need to end the spell entirely. He hadn’t heard me as far as I could tell, which meant I needed to get into his mind.
I needed Tony.
4
SUNDAY MORNING
Wasting no time, I shifted into falcon form and swooped over the cubicles, racing for the open window. I zipped through it as another spell slammed against the office building. Several windows shattered from the force, sprinkling glass across the sidewalks.
Humans avoided the immediate area thanks to the DEA’s repellant spells, but if the building fell, so would the repellant. They’d be in for quite the surprise when a ruined building popped up out of nowhere. Not to mention witnessing real magic and fae.
I had no way of knowing whether the mages wanted to tear it down or just get in, but collapsing it could be collateral damage.
As I soared through the sky at breakneck speed, colors and shapes ran together. I aimed for the piano shop where Tony worked as both salesman and Gatekeeper for el Mercado Sombra—the Shadow Market—and prayed he was there.
After landing in an alley, I shifted back to human form and ran to the shop. The bell above the piano shop door rang angrily as I rushed in, out of breath and panting.
“Well, well. Look what the gods dragged in.” Tony’s rich, baritone voice reached me before he appeared from behind the curtain blocking the back room.
When I last saw the shop owner before his extended vacation, he was still healing from Xavier’s near-fatal attack. The physical effects of the Master Vampire’s bite were long gone thanks to Community healers. However, emotionally, the wound had still been raw.
I shuddered, remembering the nightmarish spell I’d just endured of Xavier at Maddox’s neck.
Today, Tony looked exactly like his old self again. His bald, black head shone as it reflected the shop’s lighting. He smiled, forming crinkles all over his rich, coffee bean-colored face, and his darker brown eyes twinkled behind thin wire spectacles.
A geometric print button-down shirt covered his round belly, and the fabric provided a pop of color to the otherwise black and white store. Few people ordered pink or yellow pianos, which was a damn shame if you asked me.
He opened his big arms for a hug, and I rushed into them, wishing this was an actual reunion.
