Kevin walked over to the doorway and pressed a button. Even without using magic to enhance my senses, I felt him draw on the deep, rich core of magic over which the condo had been built and he deftly set a Deflection spell. There was nothing in this world I was aware of that could break a Deflection spell of that magnitude and expertise. Respect for Kevin’s worth just jumped about a million points in my book. A plain-looking, unassuming, deadly guy who cast magic like the highest-level user was a hard position to fill, but it looked like my dad, and Violet, had hit the jackpot when they found Kevin.
Violet untucked her leg from beneath her and rested both of her elbows on her knees, the glass of wine held in both hands.
‘‘Your father and I met when he became interested in a line of study I was following at a very private institution. At first we argued. He was an intelligent man and had strong ideas about how magic should be made available to the public. I had other ideas. I thought a system with more freedom would alleviate some of the criminal elements of magic use. If we are all equally able to use magic, perhaps we would be less likely to hurt one another with it or for it.’’
She took a swig of wine, draining her glass. ‘‘He agreed to invest some money so I could pursue the application of certain technologies to magic. We were not romantically involved then. That didn’t happen for several months, and it was a mutual decision, though I had to talk sense into him when he wanted to end the relationship. You may not believe this, but he was a kind man, if you could get through the business tycoon exterior.’’
Okay, that just creeped me out. I looked over at Zayvion, but he was looking at Violet.
‘‘In any case, we developed some astounding devices. Disks about the size of your palm that carry enough magic to cast a single spell.’’
‘‘Portable magic. Even off the grid,’’ I said. ‘‘Even in a dead zone.’’
‘‘Yes. And since the magic is in the disk, and can be more easily accessed by the user, there is very little price to pay.’’
‘‘So there is no Offload, and no need for Proxies?’’
‘‘That’s right.’’
Holy shit.
‘‘Do you realize how much this will change how magic is used?’’
‘‘Yes. And apparently, so do other people.’’ She glanced over at the bar where Kevin stood, and I heard the clink of glass on glass, then the sound of wine pouring.
‘‘How do you charge the disk with magic in the first place?’’ I asked.
She shook her head. ‘‘That I won’t tell you. Patents are pending. The entire process will change how magic can be accessed and distributed. We both thought, with enough regulation, the disks would do more good than harm. But we were not going to release them for public use until we had laws in place. We had just begun working on the legal side of matters when he was killed.’’
‘‘Him dying didn’t do you much good at all, did it?’’
She laughed, one hard, broken sob. ‘‘No. Not at all.’’
I glanced over at Zayvion, who looked his thoughtful, Zen self.
‘‘Do you know a woman named Bonnie Sherman who Hounds for a living?’’ I asked Violet.
She shook her head. ‘‘I don’t think I know anyone named Bonnie.’’
‘‘How about a man named Cody Hand?’’
She frowned, thinking. Kevin came over with two full wineglasses and another beer for Zayvion.
‘‘Wasn’t there something in the news a long time ago about a man named Cody the Hand who was sent to jail for corporate forgeries?’’
‘‘It might be him,’’ I said.
‘‘I know of him. Why?’’
‘‘I think he forged my signature on the hit on Dad. I also think he knows who really killed him.’’
Violet became very still. But it was the sort of distracted nonmotion that looked like she had left her body on neutral while her brain burned through an amazing amount of calculations.
Finally, ‘‘Where is he?’’
‘‘We think Bonnie has him.’’
She curled back up in the chair, looked over at Zayvion.
‘‘We were off the grid,’’ Zayvion said. ‘‘Out in the country. We had Cody with us. He’s been damaged mentally, whether at birth or later in life’’—he shrugged—‘‘but he can comprehend simple concepts, and he is aware of magic.’’
‘‘He was in a field ahead of us,’’ I said, ‘‘and a bolt of lightning . . .’’ I paused. Actually, it hadn’t looked like a bolt of lightning striking from sky to ground. Now that I thought back on it, I realized it looked like a shot of copper lightning had come up out of the ground. ‘‘Uh, a bolt of some sort of energy shot up out of the ground. It was a copper-colored flash. Then Bonnie was suddenly standing there in the middle of the field in front of him. We were a world away from nowhere, and so far off the grid, electric lights could pass for magic.’’
If Violet had looked ashen before, she looked like she was going to faint now.
‘‘What happened?’’ she whispered.
‘‘She put her arms around Cody, intoned a spell, and held one hand up. Then they disappeared.’’
‘‘Impossible,’’ she said. But her eyes were too wide, and she had a white-knuckle grip on her wineglass. She looked at Zayvion.
‘‘Impossible,’’ he agreed. ‘‘But it happened. There was residue left behind in a perfect circle on the ground. Black ash.’’
‘‘Feathers,’’ I cut in. Halfway through my second glass I was starting to feel the wine. I wanted to stretch out and lie back on the love seat. If someone had offered me a nice lap quilt and a pillow, I’d probably stay right where I was. But I wanted to leave this condo as quickly as was practical. There were too many memories ghosting me here.
I placed the glass on the table next to me so I wouldn’t be tempted to swig down the rest of it. I noticed Zayvion had not started on his second beer yet, either. Good. Maybe I’d be able to talk him into driving me home, or loaning me his car for the night.
‘‘It felt more like feathers than ash,’’ I said. ‘‘And it melted at the slightest touch.’’
‘‘You touched it?’’ Violet asked.
‘‘She tried to taste it,’’ Zay muttered.
‘‘Oh, God, what were you thinking? Don’t ever do something like that! That is an untested, and possibly deadly, matter.’’
‘‘Hey,’’ I said with a smile, ‘‘get off my case. You’re not my mom.’’
‘‘Technically?’’ At that moment, I realized she and I could maybe be friends one day.
She took a deep breath. ‘‘Okay. At least we now know that the disks have been stolen, not destroyed.’’
‘‘What?’’ I said. ‘‘You knew there might be some of these disks out there?’’
Violet nodded. ‘‘We had a fire a few months ago at one of the production labs. We thought everything had been destroyed, but there was some doubt. And other . . . things that hinted of a break-in. But the . . . investigation we implemented left us with very little to go on.’’
‘‘What did you have to go on?’’
‘‘A very slight indication that the person, or persons, who broke into the lab may have gone toward North Portland.’’
‘‘Shit,’’ I said. I didn’t like where this was heading. North Portland had more than its share of shady people. You could close your eyes and point anywhere along any of its streets and find a felon.
‘‘Do you have any idea who would do this? There can’t be that many people who knew about the project or where the lab was.’’
‘‘We have ideas, but ideas are not proof,’’ she said, in a reasonable impersonation of my dad.
‘‘So do you have some good reason why we shouldn’t go to the police with this?’’ I asked.
‘‘I already have,’’ Violet said. ‘‘They hadn’t had much luck tracking the stolen items. It was one of the reasons we were hoping the disks had been destroyed in the fire.’’
I rubbe
d at my eyes. I was tired and my head was starting to hurt. There had to be an easy way to figure out who had access to the technology. And to draw some sort of connection between that person or persons, Cody, Bonnie, and Snake man, if Snake man was real and not just some kind of imaginary friend—or worse, a pet—of Cody’s, and of course me, and maybe even the hit on Boy that pointed back to my dad and his death. What were we missing?
Nothing besides a suspect, a motive, and some hard proof.
Hells.
I needed to find Bonnie and wring her thick neck. No, I needed to get the information out of her about who she was working for and how she pulled her smoke and mirrors act. Then wring her thick neck. Which meant I needed to Hound her. But not tonight. Tonight I wanted sleep. Tomorrow I’d take on the world.
I also did not want Violet to set a bodyguard on me, or try to force me into staying safely trapped here until things sorted out. It would be easy to Influence her, to break my promise not to use people like my father had. I had used it on his secretary, so I’d already fallen off the wagon. Just one more time wouldn’t kill me.
‘‘So it’s agreed,’’ I said, pouring Influence behind my words. ‘‘I’ll Hound around the city for Cody tomorrow.’’
‘‘Uh, no, it is not agreed,’’ Violet said. ‘‘First of all, I cannot be Influenced, so you can stop wasting your time. Second of all, we weren’t even talking about finding Cody. And even if we were, I am sure I have far more resources at my disposal than you do. The police are looking for you, Allie. If you draw on magic to so much as light a candle, they’ll know where you are and will haul you in for questioning.’’
Well, hells. There was an angle I hadn’t thought of. This secret technology was probably still a secret from the law around these parts. I had not only become a new friend to Violet, I’d also become a new liability if I were caught and indiscreetly questioned.
Still, she could send her men and women off to find the kid, all she wanted. And if they found him and either brought him back here or turned him in to the police, I figured he’d be in pretty good hands until I got done wringing the truth out of Bonnie.
‘‘Sorry,’’ I said. ‘‘You’re right.’’
Zayvion turned and looked at me, probably surprised at my apology. I gave him an innocent glance. He wasn’t buying it, but covered his scowl by taking a swig of beer.
‘‘Good,’’ Violet said. ‘‘Why don’t you stay here tonight? There is still a bed in your old room. Or the guest suite is available if you’d rather.’’
Oh, hells, no.
I said good riddance to this place years ago. I had never come running home when things had gotten tough in the last seven years. I was not going to come running home now.
‘‘Thanks, but I have somewhere else to be.’’
‘‘Where?’’ She took a drink of wine. She didn’t look like she believed me.
‘‘I don’t think I’ll say. That way if you’re asked you won’t have to lie when you say you don’t know.’’
‘‘I don’t like you going off alone, Allie. You do understand you’re being hunted, don’t you?’’
‘‘Oh, yeah. I have the bruises to show for it.’’ I stood. ‘‘Thanks for worrying, but I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine.’’
Zayvion stood too.
‘‘Where are you going?’’ I asked.
‘‘Thought I’d see you to the door.’’ He put his beer on the table. ‘‘Good night, Mrs. Beckstrom.’’
‘‘Take care, Zayvion. Be careful, Allie. And if you change your mind, the door is always open.’’
‘‘Thanks,’’ I said. And I meant it.
Kevin walked to the doorway and released the spell with a flick of his fingers, the sort of subtle motion that looked like he was adjusting the ring on his middle finger with his thumb. Oh, this guy was good. Very good.
Kevin allowed us through the door, then followed us to the elevator. He used the remote to open the doors, and I felt my shoulders crawl up to my ears at the small, mirrored space.
‘‘Take it easy, Zay,’’ he said.
‘‘You too,’’ Zayvion said. ‘‘And next time the drinks are on me.’’
They shook hands, and I stood there and broke into a cold sweat. How had the elevator gotten smaller? I’d just been in there. With two men. There had to be enough room for me to step in. But try as I might, and I mighted my best, I could not force my foot to lift and take me one step closer to that mirrored coffin.
Kevin turned and walked back down the wide, spacious, marble hall, toward the spacious great room.
‘‘Allie?’’ Zay said.
‘‘What?’’
He didn’t answer, so I looked over at him. He put one hand on the unmarked, left side of my sweaty face and kissed me. Hard.
Oh. The prickly spikes of panic in my chest melted and a whole bunch of other pleasant feelings took their place. Oh. Yes.
I kissed him back just as hard.
‘‘Elevators can be fun,’’ he murmured against my lips.
I bit at his bottom lip and pulled away. ‘‘Over my dead body,’’ I said.
But that kiss had broken my panic and put me in another mood entirely.
I strode into the elevator and punched the button. Zayvion stepped in too, then stood directly behind me. The door closed. In the mirror I watched his hands wrap around my waist, saw the slight smile as he pressed his body against my back, then pressed his mouth against the side of my neck.
It was too small here for this. Too small for him to be so close. And I was going crazy for him to be closer.
His hand slipped down the front of my hip, my thigh, then rubbed up beneath the heavy coat I still wore, up the side of my hip, and pressed flat against my stomach. The heat from his palm pooled at my navel and dripped lower. He bit gently at my neck.
Tingles of pleasure poured out from where he touched me. I closed my eyes, and all I felt were his fingers brushing the curve of my breast, his lips on my skin, and his body, hard and hot, pressed against me.
A soft chime rang out and I opened my eyes. Zayvion was smiling, his gaze on the camera I knew was hidden in the corner of the ceiling. Cameras. I had totally forgotten.
Great. Wouldn’t Kevin and Violet get a kick out of watching that?
The elevator door slid open, revealing the concrete parking garage.
‘‘This is our floor,’’ Zayvion said.
‘‘Uh-huh.’’
He held me a moment more and neither of us moved even though we both knew the cameras were watching us. Then the idea of the doors closing on me again, closing me in, got me moving.
I pulled away from the warmth and comfort of his arms, and strode out into the cold garage. The marks up my arm and neck began to tingle, then itch, like thousands of millipedes were crawling from my temple to my fingers. I rubbed my palm up and down my arm, trying to make the itch stop. I heard Zay’s footsteps behind me, and noticed it because he was usually silent as a cat walking on marshmallows.
‘‘So where are you going to stay tonight, and how are you going to get there?’’ he asked.