Then there was the knowledge that we were pretty well handicapped inside.
“Maybe we ought to take off the roof,” I said absently.
A chuckle came from the headset, and I smiled ruefully. Arat took my hand, smiling. “While that’s not a bad idea, I don’t think we have time to work that out right now, baby. You okay?”
I nodded. “Just letting all the things that could go wrong run through my mind. Nothing big.”
He pulled me to his side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Kissing my cheek, he nuzzled his nose to me. “Relax, Bronte,” he murmured. “Everything will be okay. We’re together. We’ve got each other’s backs. And we will win this battle.”
I took note that he didn’t say we’d come out unharmed. Just that we’d come out victorious. I nodded, choosing to keep that negative part inside. I was convinced that we’d come home. All of us. Just not in what condition that would be in.
“No outside activity,” Saar said. “Ready to move forward?”
My fingers brushed the wreath of thorns around my head from Coen, lending me the strength of an ogre. I also had a pocketful of kitsune fur from Lev. He said I’d know when to use it, though since he didn’t elaborate, I had no idea what that meant. And from my human friend Jex, I got a blushing kiss on my cheek. Remembering the way he flushed like a lobster, I grinned.
Knowing my wife and husbands had gifts just like mine from their friends, I took a breath and nodded with everyone else. There was no water around here. No ocean or even an underground aquifer. My strength was going to have to be supporting my lovers with energy and using the array of weapons I had strapped to my person.
We walked as naturally as possible while Saar and Kohara talked business. Fake business, but business in the sense that it wouldn’t look suspicious as we moved toward the building. The door was unlocked, which I found a little suspicious. Weren’t stairwell doors usually secure?
But then, who was stupid enough to attack a group of unapologetic murderers that were single-handedly and unobstructedly bringing the supernatural world to heel?
Twelve storms with a chip on their shoulders. That’s who.
We filed into the wide stairwell and closed the door behind us. For a minute, we listened. Waiting to see if we heard anyone in the stairwell. No doors opened and closed. No noise within the cement column of stairs.
Kohara nodded. Taranis hacked away at the metal protective cover to the wires that ran along the wall before Notus secured the box of earth magic to them. He glanced back at us, waiting for our readiness.
Saar nodded, and Notus flicked the switch.
“We’re inside and attached,” Saar whispered.
A confirmation on the other side of the radio let us know that they copied. We watched the box. The green light was solid and bright. Waiting for our friends on the other side to tap into the feed and shut it down.
Above us, the red light on the alarm flickered before going out completely. The emergency exit sign dimmed. A charge hummed in the air as they wrestled with the magic in the walls.
I glanced at the door as I heard it bolt shut. Not a single bolt, but several, securing it in place. I imagined that all around the building, similar sounds were happening.
Holding my breath, I waited to hear the alarm sound. Even knowing that it had been disabled. Still, raised voices would alert that something was amiss. The doors were locked. They were trapped. They couldn’t get out.
When several minutes went by and we heard nothing, I first wondered if anyone was inside. Did we just trap ourselves inside an empty building? The idea that we just walked into a snare made an ugly pit form in my stomach. I swallowed through it.
I jumped when I heard a door open above. We all looked up in one motion, listening to the footsteps on the stairs echo in the cold, empty room. Another door opened and closed. Silence followed.
We exchanged looks. Relief washed over me that there were people in the building.
“Proceed with caution,” someone said on the other end of our speaker.
“Fourth floor,” Saar murmured. I nodded and followed with my husbands and wife. We moved as quietly as possible, trying not to let our boots make too much noise as we swiftly took the stairs to the top floor.
We paused, catching our breaths. Hadley put her hand on the wall, right over a light switch. The lights overhead buzzed as lightning flashed in her eyes. Static made her hair stand on end as she gathered what was there for her to take without dimming the lights and swallowing the electricity completely.
“Where are we going, Bronte?” Saar asked.
I swallowed. We’d been debating for days which offices to hit first. Primarily because I couldn’t make up my mind. This wasn’t surprising, since I hated making decisions. I hated taking charge. I didn’t do this in any part of my life. Ever.
Saar took my hand and squeezed it while he cupped my face with the other. “I know,” he murmured. “This is a lot of pressure. But I know you can make this decision, doll. Gut instinct. That’s all we need.”
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and walked through the hologram of the building again. Ending in the unremarkable office. I nodded. “Take a right out the door. Four offices down on the right. But really, I think we need to take them all out.”
