Hi,

Thank you for all your comments on last week's chapter! Ok, so I think this round definitely goes to Team Alexander. Some of you surprised me by expressing their support for Team Anna! Well, I'm gonna go with you on this one. Team Anna it is! No matter if she ends up with someone (or who that someone will be), this is about Anna.    :-)

Lara

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Chapter 24

Andy was right. It was an apartment building. Judging from the blank door plates and the chipping wall paint, it wasn't what you would call a hot occasion on the market. We climbed the stairs to the third floor, right up to the disturbed pattern in the aerial planes. Like many other doors, this one was unlocked, gaping open like a loose tooth protruding out of a mouth.

"Why hasn't anybody returned?" I said.

"They're scared the Raven will be back," Andy said. "I heard that some folks want to leave the city, the situation being as it is. Besides, it looks like half of these apartments were untenanted anyway."

Andy stopped and stared at the floor, frowning. "The TF3 was here."

I stepped closer. "Do they have someone else who can read magical traces? Maybe they know more. "

He shook his head. "Not that I know of."

I took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's do this."

I pushed the door open with my foot. The room was a mess, in all planes of existence. The faded yellow and orange curtains looked like a sad memento of the sixties, but they were nothing against the green monster of a couch sitting across from the door. No TV. Books were strewn all over the place. Among them spell books.

I held my breath. This was not a human habitation. Whoever lived here was a witch, a good one, if the books were anything to go by. These were not books a charlatan or half-witch would go for. Coincidence or not?

The gaping hole of the portal someone opened in the apartment was like a blinking neon sign. I stared at it in second sight for a long moment.

Andy walked to the window and peered out through the curtain. "It's a strategically good point. You've got the building in view. They could target opponents from here, or watch the vicinity."

Only that it didn't fit with the Raven's MO. He preferred to stay on the surrounding rooftops, watching from bird's eye view – sometimes even literally. I moved into the room, circling the rift in the planes. We were not on a rooftop. Why would someone open up a portal here?

I stared at the living room, opening my senses to all magical planes, moved slowly around, coming to a halt in front of a small corridor. I stilled.

There. There in the back.

Apart from the white static color of the portal, the whole apartment was saturated with dark magic. Or so I thought. I was wrong. Somewhere in the back, down that corridor the traces of dark magic stopped. Completely. They should have simply faded, blurring at the edges.

What was going on? Why-

A clatter tore through the night, the sound of motion jerking me straight like a string attached to my limbs. Andy grabbed my arm, pushed me back to the wall, finger on my lips. I lost my grip on the planes of magic, blinded by the interplay of colors as reality slammed back into me.

My breathing quickened. Someone was coming. And if he or she was magical, they would detect us in a heartbeat. Hell, if he or she was anything above strictly human they'd sense us with ease in this wasteland. Maybe they already had.

I stared at Andy, alarmed. He shook his head, jaw set tightly.

"Human," he said softly. "Maybe the human police. We should-"

I held up a hand, stopped him from offering something he shouldn't offer. I was a wanted criminal. It was bad enough that he was willing to risk his career for my sake. I was not going to let him become a criminal too.

"I can open a portal and get us both out of here," I said.

Sounds echoed through the building like the tapping of a big fist.

"No, Anna. Maybe someone sensed something. I'm still part of the Force. I can talk my way out of this. You can't." He took my hand and squeezed it.

I stared into his eyes. It was still there. That understanding I felt I had with him. And-

I shook my head. "Andy, I think the rogues were here for a magical artifact. You've got to be careful."

He nodded.

"Go. Is there some place safe you can go to?" He said, stepping away from me.

"I'll be fine. I have a few secret hiding places of my own," I said.

They were not my own yet, but I was going to make them.

* * *

If I was right Medici managed to get his hands on another powerful magical object in that building Andy and I searched. Maybe null bombs, maybe something else.

A complication, but not my biggest problem.

I still felt groggy after my last unhappy use of illegal magic. Letting that null bomb detonate might have saved me from the clutches of witches that were more powerful than half of the Force, but I was lucky it didn't kill me. Lucky that Andy was there. It made me wonder if it was just a coincidence or if he was shadowing me, though I had no idea how he could.

Maybe those witches did belong to the Circle after all. Fact: They got a lock on me. It shouldn't have surprised me that the Circle would be watching even the black market. Still, the threat of being discovered had moved from a distant, plastic one, to a concrete and immediate danger. That complicated the hell out of my situation.

Or maybe not. It simply meant there was one more bullet to dodge and one more problem to deal with. I had to secure allies. And that included the head vampire. I had to find out if Medici murdered Alexander's vamps and why. Then stop him.

This time I portalled closer to Marrok's fortress. Not close enough to get pounced on by one of the guards beside the gate, but close enough to get there within less than a minute. The pockets of my leather coat were still heavy when I entered Marrok's territory. For a change I welcomed the gravitational weight, the soft bump against my thighs when I moved. It made me feel safe.

The junkyard came to life the moment I was within sight. The soft scratching of paws and the prominent scent of musk hit me like an intoxicating scent. Gleaming eyes appeared behind metal skeletons and litter.

Radulf stepped out in front of the gate, barefoot.

"Follow me." He turned without checking if I did. Not that he needed to.

Walking behind Radulf, I stared ahead. We were headed to the run-down building in the center of the living junk-yard of metal, where Marrok had set up his residence. It was the focal point in a jungle within the city, a zero space he carved out for himself and turned into a sovereign territory he 'ruled'. No matter if we had a deal or not, I had to be careful. In this jungle, Marrok was king.

I was going to need whatever weapons I could get my hands on. Power was power. In this world, my new reality, it was all that counted. He who had greater power was most likely to be the one to survive.

The alpha of the Fade pack had his back turned to me when I entered the room, a posture that showed just how much of a threat he thought I posed. At this point in time I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"You're early," Marrok said, turning.

The muscles under his white shirt bunched with the motion, a smooth and sleek dance of limbs gliding into place. His dark brown hair was tied in a knot at the back of his neck, giving the illusion of it being tamed. His gaze was sharp.

It was a fact. Marrok meant business.

I shrugged. "We've got things to sort out. I had time on my hands. The early bird catches the worm – take your pick."

I grimaced. It sounded lame even to me. No way in hell was I going to let him know that I wanted to get out of this part of town and back to my hiding place before nightfall. It was 5.45pm. If I was lucky, I could slip away before the vamps rose from their graves. If I got really lucky I would waltz out of Marrok's territory without the alpha even making a fuss.

I walked over to the shabby excuse of a couch and plopped down, crossing my arms behind my back. I was putting on a show and I was pretty sure Marrok was aware of it. Not that I cared. We both knew why I was here.

"I suppose you found something?" I said.

Marrok nodded. "We were at the last three locations the Inri Brotherhood occupied. It was as you said. If we can get more intel on where he stayed, we got a chance to catch him."

I smiled. "Good. What about your end of the deal?"

Just a second, a moment and the tension in the room surged. Three men, among them Radulf, stepped in, occupying space in a way only power can. There was no sound of footsteps, no knock on the door that might have announced their presence.

The room was flooded with the scent of musk and the damp odor of forest, pockets of air crammed with masculine power. Just like Marrok they were big men, heavy-muscled and tough-faced. Like him they had the attitude and muscle-power to back up the threat they posed.

I watched them settle in the room, familiar with its set up and totally at ease even in the presence of their alpha. They took their place behind the couch facing the spot I was sitting at. Radulf joined them, leaned back on the wall and crossed his arms in front of him.

Motion from the side made me look up. Marrok was approaching the couch facing mine – stealthy, slow steps I failed to notice before. He sat down, a king claiming a throne of rags. He never took his eyes off me.

"Radulf," he finally said.

"Yeah, we found something," Radulf said. "Multiple somethings, actually." He jerked his head towards the two wolves beside him. "Abe and Cal are part of the Circle doing security and border control. They did a little poking around. And it looks like the Circle's been withholding things."

The musk-scented air was drugging, made me want to gulp down a whole bottle of water to ease the heat in and around my skin.

I leaned forward. It was all I could do to keep my elbows on my bent knees – a casual stance that belied the true state of my mind.

"Like what?"

"We got the info that Alexander has been hosting a high ranking vamp."

I jerked. A high ranking vamp?

"Who?"

Marrok shook his head. "No idea. Someone from outside. Apparently someone sanctioned and approved of by the Circle. Unless he's the one going on a rampage, I don't care who the fuck Alexander invites for drink-sharing. What I care about is who's stirring up trouble in this city and why."

I stared at them. I didn't need to see the hills of white bones peeking out to know my knuckles were tight. Was I wrong, about everything? Had Alexander invited whatever had brought death on his doorstep? That didn't make any sense.

"What else do you know?" I said evenly.

Marrok laughed. "You think it's that easy? This is high security stuff. We need more time."

"Bullshit. You're trying to-"

"Quid pro quo, Anna. You think I'm going to give you all I have without getting a peek of what you have to offer? Time to share a little of what you know. I wanna know where the Raven's most likely to show up first and you're going to tell us. How about right now?"