The name was enough for a search, and I should do that on the way to CJ’s, but there was one more thing. “Where are the dogs?”

  Nash pushed Lacy back into her slot, moved to the bottom row, and pulled out a tray with all the animals I’d collected from the drained area.

  If I had a chance, I’d ask Vale if she killed the dogs. It was the type of thing a sorceress would do for power. But in a way, it didn’t matter. Those two dogs hadn’t deserved their end. “Can I raise the dogs? Take them with me?”

  “Why?” Nash’s gaze didn’t leave my face. “Why do you need them?”

  “I don’t. Rather, I don’t know that I do.” I took a breath. “Did you see the pictures of the site?”

  Nash shook his head.

  “The trees, last year’s leaves, and even the earth were drained. The very life pulled out of them, leaving gray ashen dust where life had been. I can’t figure out what caused it, but it’s the type of thing a sorceress would do. If I raise those dogs, there’s hardly anything left to burn. I doubt she can put a compulsion on them, and they get a chance to have some semblance of a life.”

  “If you raise them, you can’t use them to kill the sorceress and then lay them to rest again. They get a chance to be a pet. You will take care of them, give them the life they lost. Deal?” Nash held out a hand.

  “Deal.” I shook on it.

  Nash signed the chain of custody over to me. With that taken care of, he helped me slide them out of the bags and onto a table. He closed up the compartment still holding the other animals.

  They weren’t in the best shape. Flecks of dust drifted off of them, though the bones looked sound enough. I raised each of them.

  The dogs came to their feet and shook, sending a cloud of dust throughout the room. When they finish shaking, the dust and remaining skin had fallen off of them, leaving nothing but bone. One of them sat and the other cocked it’s head at me. Both stared at me with necromancy-blue eyes.

  “Sorry about the mess.”

  Nash shrugged. “It’s why we have vacuums.”

  The dog standing with its head tilted had a jagged line across its skull and was slightly smaller.

  “How do you like the name Ari?”

  Its tail wagged.

  “Ari it is.” I studied the larger dog. Its skull was undamaged, though it was missing a toe on its left hind leg. “And would you care to be Roman?”

  The very tip of Roman’s tail twitched.

  I patted both of them on the head. “Ari and Roman. You make a good pair.”

  “How are you going to hide them on the way out?” Nash asked. “The other cameras are working fine.”

  “Down.” They hopped off the table and came to my side. “I’m not. Everyone is going to see them. I’ll say they are a construct. Some crazy hedge-witch in Georgia managed to construct a T. rex. These two are far more believable.”

  Nash offered his hand to the dogs. “I’d believe that story if I hadn’t seen you raise them.”

  They sniffed politely. Roman titled his head for a scratch.

  “Exactly.” I checked my watch and winced. “I need to go. Harris hasn’t called, so I doubt the sorceress has arrived, and I want to beat her there.”

  Nash jerked his head up. “Wayne is there?”

  “Yup.” I patted my leg, and the dogs sat in line with my left leg.

  Nash strode to the door. “Let’s get you on your way.”

  I followed him out, dogs at my side. The haste was nice, but I wasn’t sure why Nash had suddenly decided time was of the essence.

  “Is he there alone?”

  “Shouldn’t be. Smith and Nashville Police are supposed to have the place surrounded, but I need to get there to deal with the magic.” I eyed Nash.

  He ducked his head as he unlocked the door. “Make sure he gets out of it safely. We have a date tonight, and I don’t want it to be in a hospital room.”

  “Harris should be fine. He’s the sniper tonight.”

  Nash nodded. “But keep him safe. He’ll risk himself to save a comrade.”

  “I’ll do what I can. Thank you.” With that, I ushered the dogs to the car and loaded them in the back seat. They lay down, which was as stable as they were going to get for the ride.

  I slid behind the wheel and popped open the computer. It only took a moment to set up the search. While the computer scanned for records, I waved to Nash and drove away.

  As soon as I got on the highway, I pushed the gas pedal to the floor and raced through town. The numbers on the clock kept changing faster than I thought possible.

  My phone rang.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I answered without checking the number. “Agent Pine.”

  “Kelsey, you told me this report would have all the information I requested, and it does not,” Olivia snapped.

  Unbelievable. The woman could not have worse timing. “Minister, I am busy with work. Could I call you back later?”

  “No,” She said sharply. “I let you get away with sending me these papers because you said they would have the information I wanted. The reports on the fires are completely inadequate. It’s like you didn’t bother to write anything.”

  “It’s six in the morning and I am on a case. I cannot talk to you right now.” I took an exit and flipped off my sirens and lights. I had to get her off the phone quickly so I could coordinate with Wayne.

  “You think you can continue to defy me? You will learn you are still a member of this clan, and with—”

  “Minister, with respect, I am actively in the midst of a case that developed overnight and must go.” Even though I knew it would cause problems later, I hung up on her.

  Before she could call me back, I dialed Wayne’s number.

  “Harris.”

  “Did we get the warrant? Are you in position? Is she there? Can I still get in position?” My phone started to ring. I ignored the call. If Olivia went too crazy, I’d get law enforcement other than myself involved or send a complaint to Premier Ethel. From what I’d heard, Ethel wasn’t fond of ministers who were unkind to their clans.

  “Death or arrest. I’m in position,” Harris whispered. “I only have a view of the office and the area in front of it. The sorceress has not yet arrived. You should be able to get in the building.”

  “Do you have your radio handy?” I parked in front of an auto repair shop two blocks from CJ’s building.

  “Yes.”

  “The sorceress is Vale Perry.”

  I turned the computer. It had found Vale Perry, all right. Thirty-six, but she looked younger. For the past year, she’d been the prime suspect in a string of small fires that had abruptly stopped three months ago. I relayed the rest of the information.

  “I’ll pass it out.”

  “Thanks.” I glanced back at Ari and Roman. “Let everyone know I have two constructs with me. They look like skeletons of bull terriers.” I let the dogs out of the car.

  “Will do. Harris out.”

  After turning my TBI jacket inside out, I shoved the phone in one zippered pocket. The radio receiver clipped to my belt. I wiggled the earpiece into place and clipped the microphone onto my collar. I pushed the button. “Testing.”

  “We hear you,” Smith said.

  “Gearing up and heading to the shop.” I checked my wand and gun. Truthfully, the gun could be the better weapon against the sorceress, but ideally, we were setting it up for Wayne to take the shot while I took the brunt of the magic.

  I called the dogs to my side and started walking. An hour ago, this had seemed like a great plan. Now I was less sure. We didn’t know she was coming here, and we didn’t know that she hadn’t already gotten in, spelled the part, and left. It wasn’t like she would leave the door open if she wanted the particle accelerator to believe they could still use the what-ever-it-was-called.

  The thought of a sorcerer having that much power frightened me more than my necromancy ever could. What scared me even more was her plan failing and the particle accelerator exploding.

  A more likely and more deadly scenario.

  I cut through an alley, dogs beside me, stopping just short of exiting. From here, I could see the back of CJ’s shop. The metal-clad warehouse was nearly identical to its neighbors, with a flat roof and aged siding. From past experience, I knew the front had a small parking lot and a double entry. The back had a single door next to a dumpster.

  I pushed the talk button. “Clear for entry?”

  “Clear.”

  Doing my best casual walk, as though one could casually stroll up to a building with two undead dogs, I went to the back door, and touched the lock. “Haglaz.”

  The lock clicked and I opened the door. “In.”

  The dogs obediently trotted inside.

  I closed and locked the door. It wouldn’t do for our sorceress to think we were expecting her.

  “Office is still clear,” Wayne said.

  “On my way to the office.” I kept moving down the wide center aisle. Last time I was here, the machines had provided background noise with their humming. Now they were silent.

  The aisle opened up to a space between the first machines and a windowed office. There weren’t many places to hide in the office, but I didn’t need to hide. All I had to do was get the sorceress into position so Wayne could kill her.

  I claimed one of the rolling chairs, positioning myself to have a view of the door and a large chunk of the building. The dogs settled under the desk, and we waited.

  For the first few minutes, I kept a tight grip on my wand. My hand started to ache, so I swapped the wand to my left hand.

  Ari sighed.

  No lungs, no nose, just an animated bone, and she had huffed out an exasperated dog sigh.

  I sighed.

  Roman was too dignified to sigh.

  Through the windows, the sky lightened. Before long, it would be daylight. I’d have bet Vale would show before sunup, but I was wrong.

  After an hour of waiting, I asked the dogs to guard while I made use of the bathroom. The entire time I was in there, I expected to step out and find Vale.

  Wand in hand, I slowly pushed open the door. Ari and Roman were still on watch. Vale wasn’t in the building.

  I exhaled. Smith would be willing to trust me for a while, but that could be one hour or five. At some point, he would want to regroup, reevaluate my information, and know the source. That last bit was the one that worried me. I’d been betting I could dodge most of the questions if we had the sorceress.

  With the morning light, the office looked rather like a fishbowl. The corner of the building, where the blocks supporting the office window met the wall, gave me nearly as good of a view as I’d had before, and if I had to run, there was a convenient space between machines. I called the dogs to me and got cozy.

  My radio chirped twice.

  I wiggled around until I was kneeling with my wand in my hand. Any moment the sorceress would come through the back door.

  Metal groaned and creaked.

  Vale must not know how to unlock a door.

  The metal squeaked and popped.

  Vale had been selling charms. Other than the spells in the fires, she might not know many spells. Everything she’d done to CJ had been accomplished by directly channeling the magic into the desired effect. It was the most flexible casting method, but it took a tons of energy.

  I quickly cast two shields around myself. The first blocking physical attacks and the second directing the energy of any magical attack into the ground. They weren’t easy spells or low power, but they would do the job.

  The dogs sat next to me, and if they’d had ears they would’ve been perked. Ari cocked her head to the side and Roman stared at the far wall.

  It would be great if they could talk. My ears weren’t picking up anything useful. Odd, because there weren’t that many ways though the building. Maybe she was moving slowly, but I had expected to hear her along the way even if I didn’t see her.

  A soft clank was followed by a mumble.

  My head tilted as I strained to hear Vale. That had sounded far away and muffled.

  Seconds ticked by.

  My hand started to sweat. I quickly rubbed it and my wand on my pants before getting back in position.

  Vale eased herself around a machine, her back against the other wall. She was in the same knee length coat, with her baby pink and blue hair braids. The black shirt didn’t show any tears or blood, though I’d thought CJ had inflicted a few wounds on her. Vale stayed against the wall, her eyes locking onto the office.

  “I do not have a visual of the target or Agent Pine,” Wayne whispered.

  Well, that could complicate matters. I didn’t know exactly where he was, and I had to stay clear of his shot.

  Vale stepped away from the wall.

  She still hadn’t seen me or the dogs, but that couldn’t last. I readied a stun spell and came to my feet. “Stop.”

  Vale froze, her face carefully blank.

  “I’m Agent Pine with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. We have a warrant for your arrest or death.”

  Vale laughed. “For breaking into a building? My, this is a lot of police effort dedicated to a vacant building.”

  I had a feeling this was about to go poorly, but I had to try one more time. “Vale Perry, sorceress. You purchased Bee’s Gifts, where you were selling illegal charms. You recently burned down your store, a car, and a house, and set fire to a hospital. All of those fires had fatalities. You can be brought in alive or dead.” My preference was dead, but I couldn’t say that.

  “You think you can stop me? One puny wit—”

  “Mannaz!” The stun spell flew directly toward her chest.

  It fizzled as it hit a shield.

  Vale grinned. “You can’t match my power.” She motioned toward me.

  A wave of power hit my shields, flowing harmlessly into the earth. I could try another spell, but what I really needed to know was if she had any physical defenses. “Attack.”

  Roman and Ari leapt forward.

  Vale tossed a charm on the floor and darted behind a machine.

  Roman and Ari crashed into an invisible barrier, falling to the floor.

  I wasn’t going to let Vale get out of this building alive. Picturing a thick, impenetrable wall halfway down the building, I pointed my wand and fed the magic into it. The wall went from the floor to the ceiling, stretching from one side of the building to the other. Crawling through the machines wouldn’t do her any good either; the barrier flowed around and through them.

  A loud curse brought a slight smile to my face. I’d cast it in time.

  “Where is she?” Harris asked. “I can see you but not her.”

  “Trying to get around one of my spells. I’ll get her in position.” A quick sizzle of magic burned out the charm that had blocked the dogs. Ari and Roman came back to my side. “She has a magical shield. Unsure about others.”

  Raw power blasted the wall I’d created. It held, but only just.

  Vale screamed.

  Frankly, I didn’t know why. The wall couldn’t do anything to her.

  “Do you like fire?” Vale called out.

  I didn’t answer.

  “I love fire. So beautiful, so useful.”

  Bright orange flames crept around a machine. She wasn’t using much power, so the fire had to be more physical than magical.

  I pointed my wand in her general direction. “Gebo. Gebo!”

  Water poured out of the air, drenching half of the shop.

  Vale screeched, and wet footsteps echoed through the building.

  I glanced around for something to throw. If the dogs couldn’t get to her, I had to find another way to determine if she had a physical shield.

  Magic hit my shields.

  My head jerked up, and I reflexively cast. “Algiz.”

  The bindings tried to wrap around Vale but melted off her shield.

  Vale walked toward me, focusing the power.

  “Move! You’re in my shot.” Wayne’s voice boomed in my ear.

  The brute force of the magic broke my shield and tossed me back. I flew through the air.

  “Orzu!” The floor softened. Which would’ve been ideal if I’d hit the floor, but instead, I crashed into the metal sheeting. I flopped to the ground, and something in my leg scraped against something else in my leg. The world started to spin.

  “You can’t match my power.” Vale didn’t let up on the magic. “And what’s with the dogs?”

  I had to do something about her blasting me, especially if I wanted to get off the floor. Then I needed something to throw at her.

  “What was that?” Vale peered down at me, smiling again.

  I must’ve been talking out loud. At least she hadn’t understood the plan. Behind her, Roman darted under a machine.

  “Kelsey, you have to move!”

  “Can’t.”

  “I’m repositioning,” Harris said.

  Either I was laying on the press to talk, or he’d taken my silence as a call for help.

  The magic. I had to deal with the magic. It wasn’t all that different from the fires, and I’d figured that out. Every time my eyes opened, I saw double, so I did the spell by feel. A little nudge there, some shaping to direct her power away from me. Another twist to channel the energy into the earth.

  The pressure eased. Now she could hurl as much magic at me as she wanted. It wouldn’t hurt me.

  I had to keep her distracted until Harris got a clear shot. “Thought you’d recognize the dogs.”

  “Why would I have anything to do with skeletons? Charms and fires. Those are fun.” Her eyes traced something moving behind me. “My maker said he’s found another. One who thrives in the shadows.”

  I believed her. She hadn’t been shy about claiming her crimes.

  Vale shook her head and focused on me. “How best to kill you? A fire would be lovely, but it’s much easier if you’re dead first.” With her off-hand, she reached down and pushed back her coat. A hunting knife hung from her belt.

  A bone nose nuzzled my arm.

  I opened my hand and felt something cold and metal. My fingers curled around the end of what felt like a wrench. Perfect.