Ori closed her laptop. “We could call the police. I mean, I know how you feel about real-world law enforcement, but they abducted someone using military-style tactics.”
“And how exactly would we explain Ranth to them? No, I have to do this myself.” I scrubbed my face. Was I up to this?
“You aren’t alone. We’re with you,” Ori said, laying her hand on mine.
“And I have friends they won’t want to meet twice,” Rose said, smoothing her left hair bun.
“How long do you think it will take you to assemble backup?” I asked Rose.
“An hour if I call in favors.”
“I can’t wait. If they’re planning on taking Ranth out of the country, they’ll do it fast. If they’re smart, they’ll move him within a day.”
Rose leaned. “I mean, I know he’s in trouble now, so we’d help anyway, but this is rapidly getting into peril territory. Remind me why we’d go to such a level of trouble for a virtual stranger?”
I stuck my arm out. “Remember? If he dies, I die. The curse split, and now I’m bound to him and him to me. If either of us dies, then that’s it. It’s game over.” That settled into my bones as I said it. I was all cavalier about Fabra taking Ranth, but if something happened to him, it would happen to me too. At least I knew he was still alive.
Rose rubbed my arm. “Sorrel, don’t go there. We’re going to get him back. You aren’t dying any time soon, not while I’m around.” She gave my arm a light squeeze. “Look, I already got a ping back. There’s a takeout place up the street from the address. I’ll get my people to meet us there, so we’re an easy call away. You’re doing Muni, right? If I catch a ride, we’ll probably get there about the same time.”
“I’ll go straight there. Text me when you’re set,” I said, draining my chai, then getting up. The weight of the last twenty-four hours smacked me.
“I’m going with Sorrel,” Ori replied, her chair scraping back as she tucked her laptop in her messenger.
“No chance. You go with Rose.” I slung my messenger over my shoulder.
Ori glared at me. “Uh, how about, no. Freddie’s on his way, and he can watch my back. He’s bringing some muscle too. Or so he says. Let’s hope we don’t need any of it. I texted him about the meet. He’ll get there before we do.”
The little wrinkle between her eyebrows stated firmly there was no way she was letting me go alone. Somehow, I’d have to keep her safe when I got there.
Rose zipped up her jacket. “Anything special you need? I can run past the shop on the way.”
“Good thought. I have eyebright for the vision link, and bay and euphorbia for purification, but if you can pick up periwinkle for restoring memory and some vanilla beans for energy and mind clearing, that would be great. Actually, if you have some areca, it would work as a stimulant—in case we have to wake him up.”
“You’re pretty sure you’re bringing him home,” Rose replied with curved-lip respect. She studied me, as if sizing up whether I could live up to my commitment. I was wondering the same thing.
“I’m going in with a positive attitude. Like my mom used to say, ‘You reflect what you emit.’”
This had to go as positively as I hoped because there wasn’t another option I could face. Walking into a questionable lair and demanding stuff wasn’t that far off from fighting demons, but humans with guns was a different kind of dangerous.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Ori and I took a rideshare to the address at the Hunter’s edge of Bayview, saving us at least twenty minutes of Muni purgatory.
We split up, and Ori took the back. I snapped photos of the front and then blew them up on my phone to study them. They looked pretty much the same as Ori’s satellite mapping and street view. The store front was very Bayview-like, a warehouse-style building with a roll-up door and a parking lot on one side. The symbol I’d seen around Fabra’s neck was spray painted on the corner of a mesh-covered window.
My phone buzzed and pics of the back of the building popped up. An iron-barred gate covered the back door, and there was asign in a language I couldn’t read. A second later, Ori sent the translation.Members Only.
I smothered a chuckle and continued down the street to the restaurant. Time ticked while I waited. How would I even know if something happened to Ranth? If they killed him, would I drop dead? Or disappear? Thinking about it was driving me wild, and that wasn’t going to help with my focus to get inside.
Rose crossed the street and walked over to me. We hung out in a space between two buildings across from the restaurant.
She leaned in close and shoved something into my denim jacket pocket. “I got my people to meet. But only one would show their face to me. Not that it probably matters. One is going into the clubhouse, so he’ll be your inside person. He’ll be wearing a red bandana like the one I put in your pocket. Anyone with one of those is a friend and will help you out. There’s a gun issue, but my man says the club isn’t likely to have many people in it tonight. I pulled a focus and dropped it outside the back door.”
“Thanks.” I tucked the piece of black tourmaline she handed me into my jacket along with the bandana. Rose’s focus point tied to the door would be really useful if there were magical elements inside the club, and I’d be able to find it in the planar space. “Awesome. Guess that’s it, then. Wish me luck.”
“Hang on, you’ll need these too. Sorry about the plastic. I know how you hate it, but time was tight.” Rose palmed me two baggies. “The vanilla bean and the vinca I powdered together, and the other bag has the sliced areca with a kick of some stuff I’d rather not admit I have.”
“I bet I can guess, but that’s super pricey. Thank you. Hopefully, we won’t need it.”
