Michelle nodded. “Of course.”
I slid my hand into my utility belt and pulled out a pain charm. Michelle’s eyes lit up as I offered it to her.
“Jeez, they’re so expensive. Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Hopefully it’ll give you a few hours of rest.”
She blinked back tears. “You’re an angel. Thank you.”
Kyla was waiting for me at the end of the hall. “No one on this floor had anything good to say, but they didn’t give me anything important. Guy sounds like an–”
“Asshole. Yeah. He also sounds like a dumbass. We’re heading down to the basement.”
She frowned. “You really think he’d be that stupid?”
“I think no one in this building visits the basement except maintenance, and let’s be real… no maintenance is going on here.”
We took the stairs down to the first level, crossed the hall to the west side of the building, and surveyed the door markedBasement.
Kyla froze. “Her scent is here too.”
I tried the door. Locked. “Nowyou get to kick it in.”
The door flew off its hinges as Kyla aimed for the spot right next to the doorhandle.
The ward glowed a muddy brown. I’d seen a ward like this before. Black witches could try to hide their affiliation as much as they liked, but their wards always gave them away.
I used a throwing knife to cut the back of my forearm, took a deep breath, and slammed my hand into the ward.
“Holy shit, this witch is powerful,” I ground out. I pushed more power into it, straining until my head spun.
It popped, and I stumbled weakly. Kyla grabbed my elbow, hauling me back before I fell down the stairs.
“Thanks.”
Below us, someone whimpered.
Our feet thudded against the stairs as we ran down them. At the bottom, I took a few steps, peering through the lilac ward.
A woman was tucked into a ball, the handcuffs around her wrists connected to a long chain, which was attached to a steel pipe. A few feet away, another pipe dripped water.
“Riona?”
She slowly pulled her hands away from her face.
“I need you to drop your ward.”
Terror flashed across her face and she shook her head.
Kyla crouched down, inches from the ward. “Your mom and sister sent us. We’ve been looking for you for days. Siobhan was worried when you missed her engagement party.”
Suspicion warred with hope in her dark eyes. I needed a different tactic.
“I talked to Jerry. What the hell did you see in him, anyway? Guy’s a coward.”
Riona’s eyes widened. “He is,” she croaked out. She dropped the ward, and her eyes rolled back in her head.
* * *
