“Why not?”
“Because it’s work business.”
I grinned. “Fortunately for you, I’m part of the Network.”
She snorted. “Temporarily.”
Zoe stared ahead and drove, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel along to the catchy pop song. After several seconds, she glanced over. “How much do you know about the situation with Nova and Gianna and what they’ve encountered?”
“Meaning demons?” I arched my brows.
“Yes.”
“Considering I live with many of the parties involved, I’ve crawled out from under a rock to get up to speed.”
She laughed, breaking her serious expression. “True. You might know more than me. I guess there’s no point in being evasive.”
“None,” I agreed.
Her leg twitched. “It’s this case that’s been getting to me, specifically with demons.” She chewed her bottom lip. “It’s like they’re toying with us, mocking us.” Her shoulders sagged. “I have to admit, it’s wearing me down.”
Something moved in my chest as I felt for her. What could I do to ease her distress? “Aside from the situation with Tony, you’re talking about the warning about the portal?”
“Yes.” At the red light, she glanced over at me with wide eyes. “That could lead to catastrophic trouble.”
“Or not,” I countered. “We don’t know for sure that it will happen. From what I heard, the demons play on fear.”
She raised an index finger. “But it was Gianna’s mother who mentioned that.”
“Would you believe anything that monster said?”
Zoe chewed her bottom lip. “No. But if it’s the truth, we must be prepared. We’ve been searching for where this portal might be and when it could open, but so far, no solid indicators.”
The light turned green, and she zoomed forward.
“I don’t see the sense of worrying extensively about something that may or may not happen. You can prepare, yes. If it happens, you deal with it then.”
She grunted. “How nice it must be to live a life so carefree.”
When we arrivedat the club, Zoe headed out back. She trekked over the snow-covered alley behind the building, which bordered another brick building that was vacant. Beyond the buildings was a walkway along the beach. It was a rocky one with only a small strip of sand, so it didn’t appeal to humans seeking a day at the beach.
“What are you doing?”
“Searching for any indicators.”
“Of what?”
“Dark magic, for instance.”
“I don’t know how to find that,” I admitted. “Nova was able to do so.”
“Right,” Zoe agreed. “Her ability to detect dark magic was one of the indicators that I knew she’d be an asset to the Network.”
“She sensed it at the house, while the rest of us could not,” I explained. “Even though we all have supernatural senses.”
After another minute or so, Zoe glanced at me. “I sense dark magic, but it’s faint.” She pulled out a gray device the size of a remote control with a gauge on it and scanned the ground. “Yup.”
“What is that?”
