“It doesn’t matter, but believe me, it’s important.” Her freedom was at stake here. Excitement built inside her. She had another chance. The sigil on her arm itched as though aware its time was nearly up. Ryan still appeared doubtful, and she spoke quickly. “Jessica will be fine; just give me my five minutes or I swear, I will never help you again. I will disappear, and next time you’ll be on your own.”
He studied her for a moment, his eyes narrowed. “Okay. Five minutes.”
She closed her eyes and concentrated. It wasn’t in this room, and she strode quickly across the floor and out into the narrow stairwell. The other room. That was where the vampire had slept. The door had bolts and a brand new padlock on the inside as though he’d locked himself in.
Standing in the center of the room, she turned slowly—and found it. The Key was calling to her. Stretching out her inner senses, she felt for its hiding place. Without conscious thought, she allowed her feet to move.
Although she was drained from using her healing powers, she still broke through the spell with ease.
“Easy-peasy,” she muttered.
Her fingers felt along the edge of the bare bricks. One was loose and she tugged at it, broke a nail, and swore. Then the brick was free. Reaching into the gap, her fingers wrapped around a small package. Magic pulsed through her hand, along her arm, down her spine. Magic stronger and older than anything she had ever sensed in her life before.
She pulled the package out. Small enough to lie in the palm of her hand, and wrapped in dark red velvet. Slowly, she peeled back the material and revealed… a key.
Well, what had she expected?
“What did you find?” Ryan’s words made her jump and she wrapped her fist around the Key. “Nothing.”
“Yeah, right, of course it’s nothing. If you’re withholding evidence that would help us find this guy…”
“I’m not, and it won’t.” She turned to face him.
“I’m breaking about a thousand rules here—”
“Come on, Ryan, you broke them when you asked me to help, when you gave me that file. Don’t start following the fucking rules when you no longer need me. Because you know what—it will piss me off.”
A smile flickered across his face. “You’re right. And the truth is that without you we wouldn’t have found her. Not alive, anyway—we had nothing. So…” He shrugged. “Hell, I have no clue how you found her. I have even less clue what went on in there just now—but you saved her life.” He ran his fingers through his already mussed hair, suddenly looking exhausted. “You done? Can I please call in my team now?” But as he spoke, his radio buzzed, and he picked it up and listened for a moment. “You sure it’s him?” He listened for a moment longer then lowered the radio. “They’ve spotted the suspect,” he said. “He’s five minutes away and he’s apparently already got a couple of tails—and they’re not ours.”
“Crap,” Roz muttered. At a guess, that was Piers or someone else from the Order following him. She had to get out of there. She couldn’t let the Order see her here. “What are you going to do?”
“We’re getting the girl out. She’s strong enough to travel in the van. We don’t want her here if things go bad. I suggest you go with her. I don’t like this. We have no clue who else is out there, and I’d prefer you to be under police protection.”
“Sweet offer, but no thanks. I’m allergic to the police, and I can protect myself.” But could she? This time she wasn’t so sure. This was the dreaded Order of the Shadow Accords she was up against. Still, she was certain the police wouldn’t be able to do a better job. She glanced down at the small velvet bundle clasped in her hand—the Key to her freedom.
There was a good chance Piers was in the vicinity, no doubt with back up. He could even be watching the place right now if he’d traced where Jack was staying. If he saw her here and out of her nun’s outfit, he’d never believe it was a coincidence. He’d take her in to the Order, and she’d lose her prize so fast. She bit her lip. She’d prefer to keep hold of the Key, but until she got it to Asmodai, the deal wasn’t completed. There was no way to contact Asmodai directly; she had to go through Shera, and that could take time.
It would be too dangerous to hide the Key here—the house would doubtless be searched, and not only by the police. And she couldn’t take it outside in case she was caught.
What to do?
She glanced at Ryan, and he raised an eyebrow in query.
While she was reluctant to involve him, she reckoned there was zero chance of anyone dragging Ryan back to the Order for a full body search. The Key would be safe with him for a short while, and he would be safe with the Key. “Will you do me a favor?” she asked.
“Maybe.”
She almost smiled at the wariness in his tone. “It won’t hurt—promise.” She held out the small package. “Will you keep this safe for me? It will probably—hopefully—only be for a few hours. Then I’ll come and get it.”
“What is it?”
“Just a key.”
“A key to what?”