“That’s me.”
She didn’t cross the ward line. She had power, but I didn’t sense any malice. “Then this is for you.” She waved her hand between us.
“Why aren’t you crossing the line?” Rebecca asked.
The girl frowned. “It’s impolite to cross another elemental’s wards without permission.”
“Tell that to the rest of the creepies that enjoy invading my personal space,” I grumbled. She was right though, but formalities had gone to hell lately. It was nice to have a little respect.
I reached for the paper.
“Careful,” Rebecca warned.
I opened the note, my eyes scanning the elegant handwriting. My jaw flexed as I crumpled it in my palm. “Where?” I demanded.
“Most recently? New York.”
“What’s in New York?” Rebecca asked.
The one-word answer to everything these days. Death.
“You need to see,” the woman said. “And when you have, know we are with you. We felt your severance, and it confirmed your loyalty.”
“My loyalties are to the people I love.”
She shook her head and stuck her hands in her jeans pockets before taking a step back. “If you believed that, you’d have abandoned the fight months ago and gone into hiding.”
“Who are you?”
“Rachel. I was an enforcer for Eloise until I realized what was happening.” She glanced at the blue sky. “If she wins, thewar will be brutal. For all that humanity lacks in magical finesse, they have us beat in numbers and technology. The bloodshed will be catastrophic.”
With that final ominous yet accurate prediction, Rachel turned, strode toward a silver SUV, and climbed in the passenger side. When the car peeled past us, the male driver seemed vaguely familiar.
“Do you think she’s authentic?” Rebecca asked. “Or is it another Eloise tactic?”
I shrugged as we strode back to the house. “It’s not like I didn’t know there weren’t unhappy people in The Order.”
“Being a disgruntled employee and a complete defector are two very different things.”
“Agreed, which is why I’m taking backup with me to investigate.” I pushed the front door open and came face to face with my mate. He folded his arms and narrowed his eyes.
“Where are we going?”
I waved the paper in his face. “New York.”
“What’s in New York?” Dave asked from the sofa. Ghosts surrounded him, and they were all enraptured by a nature program about penguins narrated by the British dude with the lovely voice. It was a change from the constant aliens, so I wasn’t complaining. Hmm. Were penguin shifters a thing?
“Weirdos, grime, congestion, and sin,” Rebecca mused. “At least, that was my impression the last time I was there.”
I didn’t realize she’d been anywhere but White Castle in the US.
Hudson lifted his gaze from the note. “What does this mean?” Dave rose and abandoned his fan club to join us.
“A so-called defector from The Order delivered it. They want me to visit the locations where these pockets of death are happening because there’s something more to the story,something that changes what we know. Maybe it’ll give us an insight into Eloise, or maybe it’s a trap.”
“Always work on the basis that it’s a trap,” Dave growled.
I sighed. “Regardless, we need to see this for ourselves.”
