We’re finally getting somewhere!
Orrin fumbled with his radio—rushing to respond to Sarge before Tetiana did. “Understood, Sir,” he said. “Team Blood will report in after we finish this route.” He hooked his radio back on his belt and eyed me. “Do you want to run it?”
“Run it?” Tetiana repeated the phrase, her accent briefly thickening.
“Jog the route so we can finish it faster,” Orrin said, “and return to the Cloisters faster.”
Knowing how much Orrin disliked running, I knew it was a sacrifice for him to even offer it. My heart warmed as all my instincts roared at me to get moving, but I shook my head.
“No, Sarge told us to finish our routes. We must take this patrol seriously,” I said. “Especially because of Tutu’s.”
Tetiana made an amused noise in the back of her throat. “That’s our Blood—ever the professional. But we can at least make sure we walk faster than usual—let’s go.”
We booked it down Goldstein, passing by human owned businesses that were closed for the night.
There were no signs of anything unusual.
When we were about a block up from Tutu’s, however, something registered in my instincts as ‘off.’
“Slow down.” I did another scan of the street—which was empty even of cars. “Something’s not right.”
“Can you sense any magic?” Tetiana asked.
I shook my head. “No. But something feels off.”
Tetiana tapped her radio. “It can’t be Tutu’s—the moon cycle doesn’t begin until tomorrow night, so Gisila wouldn’t be trying anything just yet.”
“Yeah…” I glanced over at Orrin, watching as he actively flattened his lips, pressing them together with so much force it made the muscles of his face shake.
We scuttled across the crosswalk like law abiding citizens, putting us on the same block as Tutu’s. “I’m not sure how accurate our assumption is,” I started. “Based on Orrin’s expression…”
I trailed off when I stepped in front of Tutu’s, and realized I didn’t walk into the spicy sensation dragon magic produced in my brain.
Tutu sealed her buildings up tight. Ialwaysencountered dragon shifter magic whenever shuffling past/around/through Tutu’s Crypta & Custodia.
I shoved my hand under my overcoat and yanked my handgun free from my shoulder holster. “Tutu’s magic is down.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Jade
Tetiana made a strangled noise and pointed to the brick building’s front doors.
They were ajar—not visibly obvious unless you were standing on the front stoop like we were.
“The alarm isn’t going off,” Orrin said.
“I’m not feeling any fae magic, either.” Pointing my firearm at the ground, I flicked off the safety and racked the handgun, loading a bullet into the chamber. “Someone punched through the spells and seals, opened the doors without breaking them, and disarmed the alarm system.”
Tetiana muttered something in Ukrainian as she pulled her radio off her belt again. “It seems the dragon decided to spring her trap early. It hasn’t been a full lunar cycle yet.”
I slunk around the building, making sure I stood in front of the brick segments between the windows I previously thought were picturesque but was now regarding as a liability as anyone inside could look through them. “She must have done somethingto the camera systems the Curia Cloisters placed in the area, too.” I motioned for Tetiana and Orrin to get out of sight.
Tetiana ducked and then crab walked to the opposite side of the entrance from where I was located, while Orrin sandwiched himself next to me.
“What do we do?” Tetiana pressed her face to the crack between the ajar doors, trying to peer inside. “I don’t see her in there, but there are more lights on farther in. I think she’s already in the vault system.”
