While Alice looked mildly perturbed, Cassidy leaned over and latched a hand on my sleeve like she was a frightened child. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, I get it – you have new mysterious powers, and you must be strong enough to have gained Vali’s trust, but seriously, Lilly, this building looks like a death trap. Surely we can start somewhere else?”

  Rather than snap at Cassidy to grow a spine, Alice turned over her shoulder and shot me a pointed look. It was the kind of look that told me I was in charge of this one. Which was a neat feeling. I’d always looked up to Alice, always appreciated her natural power.

  I tilted my head all the way back and considered the building before shrugging. “Sorry, Cassidy – but I want to start here.” I paused. “I have a feeling,” I added in a much quieter tone that could barely be heard over the charging wind.

  Cassidy made a face. “Great. Should I call the office and ask for backup?”

  I tugged my head down and grinned at her. “We’ll be fine. I’ve got this.”

  Alice shot me a look as I strode past her. It was the kind of look that told me I’d changed. A fact everyone kept telling me. Though I did feel a heck of a lot braver and more capable than I ever had in my life, I was still the same on the inside. Still awkward and klutzy, albeit with the added advantage of a powerful Drift sword. What I was trying to get at was I didn’t feel special. Okay, technically, somehow, I was half a goddess and I was descended from some of the most powerful beings in any of the realms, but I wasn’t going to let it get to my head.

  Fortunately, it wasn’t that hard to sneak into the building. Owing to the winds or something else, all construction at the site had been stopped for today. Apart from a few signs, construction tape telling us to keep out, and some locked doors, we were free to enter the building.

  The second Alice magically undid the main lock, pushed through the gates, and made it to the front door, was the second my back tensed. It was an odd sensation, one I couldn’t quite describe. It felt as if someone had replaced my vertebrae with screws, and with every step I took into the building, they tightened the screws one-by-one until I stood so rigidly, I could have shattered my back.

  Usually, I was the only one who had these peculiar reactions upon entering into some ominous building. This time, I wasn’t on my own.

  As I turned my head to the side, I saw Cassidy recede into the collar of her jacket, her expression halfway between fearful and determined. As for Alice, she frowned so hard it looked as if she would swallow her lips.

  Though I’d been certain Cassidy would have taken the opportunity to question me ceaselessly about my adventures with Vali, she didn’t say a word. As I glanced over at her and saw her lips, it looked as if they’d been surgically sewn shut.

  It was a truly eerie experience walking through that corridor in complete silence, our only companion our footfall as it drummed over the half-cracked concrete.

  Honestly, I had no idea what they were doing with this building. It looked like someone was destroying it slowly, one brick at a time.

  As I turned my head to the side and narrowed my gaze, I honestly couldn’t detect any signs of actual modifications being made.

  That would be when my gut clenched. The move was so hard, I almost doubled forward.

  Veering off to the side as we headed toward a set of fire stairs, I shoved a hand hard against the wall.

  Instantly, Alice was beside me. “What is it?” she demanded. She twisted her attention around and locked it on the wall.

  There were three perfect claw marks gouged across the otherwise unmarked, polished concrete. They couldn’t be anything else from the exact placement, the width, and the fact they tapered on both sides. This wasn’t some random construction accident with a tool.

  Nope. Something seriously powerful, seriously large, and seriously pissed off had done this.

  “We have no idea what caused that,” Alice said, but her statement was weak. Her voice trailed off, and I watched her clench her jaw uneasily as she returned her attention to the wall.

  “What the hell did that?” Cassidy asked in a voice so high it almost sounded like a dog whistle.

  Rather than answer – as I had no goddamn clue – I pulled my hand off the wall, clenched my teeth, and shrugged forward.

  Though this building had a bank of expensive lifts with chrome-plated doors, there was no way I was going to take them. Not when it looked as if the Devil himself had been dancing in the lobby.

  We continued toward the fire stairs again.

  I had mixed feelings about my intuition. Not because it was wrong, but because it was always so frigging right. While the cold prickle along the back of my neck or the frozen dance in my veins could reliably predict trouble, it could never tell me when it was coming, what direction it was coming from, and just how much trouble it would be.

  I balled up one hand and placed it firmly against the center of my chest. When that didn’t work, I clenched my hands into fists and reminded myself that, with a whispered word, my sword was at hand.

  We reached the fire stairs. There was no door leading to them. There probably had been once – as I could still see hinges. Now those hinges were warped, bent as if somebody or something had wrenched the door from the very wall.

  I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

  Alice walked up beside me, and I heard her take a breath through her clenched teeth. “What the hell did that?”

  Alice was usually the voice of reason, the one who suspended her judgment until she had hard facts. Not anymore.

  She tilted her head back, and I watched her neck muscles squeeze like bulldog clips. “There’s definitely something in here,” she hissed in a low breath that barely traveled. “Or it was here. Point is, it has to be something magical to do that. So stay on your guard.”

  I offered a curt nod and unwound one of my hands from the tight fists I’d been clenching.

  I spread my fingers wide, pulsing them back and forth as I got them ready.

  At the back of my head, I answered a question. One I’d been dancing with since I’d admitted a little of the truth to Cassidy and Alice. Could I show them my Drift sword? Though I doubted either of them knew too much about the Drift, they would be able to see from the sheer power of the blade that it wasn’t an ordinary weapon, and that, by extension, I wasn’t an ordinary practitioner anymore.

  As I crept past them, I answered my question.

  Yeah, I’d show them my sword if I had to. I would do anything to protect them and this city.

  We made our slow way up the fire escape stairs. It was slow for two reasons. Not only was this building a tall one, but we stopped at each new flight to get our bearings and to detect any magical influences.

  Now I was in touch with my true power, I was much, much better at feeling out magic, and as I jammed my tongue against the roof of my mouth, I settled my attention and waited to pick up even the faintest charge.

  It didn’t take long until I tasted something on the tip of my tongue. It zipped through my mouth, charged across my skin, and felt as if I’d licked a battery.

  Alice must have felt it at the same time, because she drew to a sudden stop, the rubber soles of her shoes squeaking over the concrete.

  “We should be careful. I’m definitely picking up something,” Alice confirmed.

  I managed a tight nod and continued forward.

  The higher we ascended, the more I felt that latent charge of magic in the air. It was strong, yet at the same time deceptively weak, giving the impression it was barely there. But as I concentrated and narrowed my mind as I’d been teaching myself to do, its force was undeniable. It felt as if the storm outside was just for show. The real power was in here, building between the cracked walls, marching across the broken concrete, and gathering, gathering, gathering.

  When we reached the roof, the intensity of the accumulating energy became unbearable – it felt as if my hair wouldn’t just stand on end but my teeth would chatter out of my very skull.

  The roof should have been windswept. Considering the gale, being up this high on such a tall building should have been the equivalent of frigging free-falling from a plane.

  I could barely feel the wind. Hear it – yeah. It whistled and shrieked, roaring past the building, chasing leaves and branches below and generally being a damn nuisance. Yet it didn’t rustle a hair on my head, flutter through the construction tape, or even touch my cheeks.

  I tilted my head to the side and caught a glance of Alice. I’d never seen her paler.

  I had zero idea what we were dealing with, other than the fact this place could be a gate. I still had no idea what a gate would technically entail. Would more gods be out there? More like Loki? Fake divine beings I’d have to fight with my Drift sword?

  Though I hadn’t been able to get much out of Vali, it did seem that opening the gates all at once was key to the gods’ invasion. Yet other gods must be able to push through to Earth without the gates, otherwise Vali wouldn’t be here and Loki would never have caused so much trouble.

  Cassidy, though she was usually the chattiest person alive, didn’t say a single word as we methodically checked the rooftop.

  The further along I walked, the eerier the stillness became. It felt so wrong to be able to hear the wind but to be unable to feel it.

  “There’s definitely some kind of magical force field in place around this building,” Alice revealed.

  My stomach knotted with tight, tingling fear. Though I’d come a heck of a long way as a magical practitioner, there was still so much further to go.

  As that promise rattled around in my mind, I heard something above the wind – the creak of a pole. On any other day, it would have sounded innocuous and wouldn’t have drawn my attention. Today, it wrapped its hands around my face and yanked my head to the left.

  Twisting my way around a massive pile of rubble and concrete columns lying abandoned on the rooftop, I discerned what was making that rattling noise.

  A flagpole.

  Tall buildings like this rarely ever have flagpoles. Not unless they wanted to attract lightning.

  If they do have flags, they come off the side of the building, not the top. Otherwise people from the street below wouldn’t be able to see them.

  The flagpole reached high into the sky, and the flag whipping on top was discharging pure energy.

  All three of us abruptly came to a halt as we stood there, angled our heads upwards, and stared in total silence.

  Cass was the first to speak. “What the hell is that? That thing is made out of pure magic.”

  “It’s a flag,” Alice answered.

  “I know that. I can see that,” Cassidy snapped. “What… what the hell is it doing here? And who on earth can produce that much magic?”

  I didn’t say a word. I pressed my lips together in a grim frown and tilted my head from one side to the other, surveying the top of the building with quick sweeps.

  While the girls might have been flummoxed, I wasn’t.

  I kept waiting for something to happen. For the gods to push through, for the freaking world to end. But as I stood there, neck craned all the way back, throat muscles straining as I stared at that flickering magical flag, the end of the world didn’t come.

  Alice and Cassidy drew to a halt beside me, Alice with her hands on her hips, her fingers hovering near the holster of her magical gun.

  Cassidy rested her fingers uneasily against her legs, tap, tap, tapping them as she stared at the magical flag.

  I was the first to make a move. I swallowed hard, shifted back, tugged my head down, and plunged a hand into my pocket.

  While the end of the world wasn’t coming, I was damn sure this was a gate. I had no idea whether it was open, but that didn’t matter – it was time to call Vali.

  “I have to make a phone call,” I muttered as I took several steps away from them, turning my back on them to muffle my conversation.

  “Tell him to send backup,” Alice said, even though I hadn’t told her who I was going to call.

  I nodded at her as she kept a watchful eye on the flag.

  As I cast my gaze back to her and stared at her, I saw how determined she was. How poised, too.

  I gulped. It was the kind of swallow that pushes hard against your throat and makes it snag against your collar.

  Quickly, I called Vali.

  The wind still roared around the building, sounding like a pack of wild animals. I pressed the phone as hard as I could against my mouth, taking a sharp breath as he answered.

  I could hear the note of stress in his voice. “Yes?”

  “I think I’ve found one,” I said, ensuring my voice dropped low and couldn’t carry. Though the wind roared, I couldn’t put it past Cass to sneak up to find out what was going on. Her curiosity was all-consuming.

  Vali fell into silence for several seconds. “Where?”

  I roughly described where we were. Then I told him about the flag.

  The exact silence that filtered between us was so terrifying, it felt as if my back would shake itself free from the rest of my body.

  “Just wait – just wait there.”

  “Are you going to send backup?”

  “No, I’m going to come myself. I just have to finish up here.”

  I remembered exactly where he’d gone – to investigate a theft at one of his storehouses.

  I jammed a thumb into my mouth and started to chew on the nail. Sure, I was an accomplished Drift witch these days, but I wasn’t beyond worry. Things were happening too fast, and that note of pure tension in Vali’s voice was shaking through me like a mortar fired at close range.

  “It’s worse than I thought. They stole more than I accounted for,” he said, measuring each word.

  Though I wanted to snap at him to tell me exactly what was going on, I appreciated he probably couldn’t. I doubted he was alone at the storeroom – his people would be with him. Though Vali now trusted me, I knew that trust couldn’t extend beyond me.

  I let out a tense breath, my shoulders loosening but only slightly. “Hurry.” I let my eyes lock on the flag. “That being said, I don’t think anything will happen here anytime soon. Though there’s a lot of energy on this roof, in my estimation, there’s not enough magic to open a gate.”

  Bam, I’d just said it. Don’t ask me where the certainty came from, but it welled up from within my heart.

  Vali paused, obviously assessing me. “Are you sure?” He gave me a chance to back down.

  I narrowed my eyes, still staring at the flag, watching the exact way it flickered left and right in the nonexistent wind.

  I took a deep breath. “I’m sure. I think the magic still has to build – still has to come in on the storm. I say we have half an hour, if not more.”

  Don’t ask me where it came from, but as the words left my mouth, I was certain of them.

  It appeared Vali was certain of them too, because he let out a far more relieved breath. “I’ll be there. Watch your back.”

  I smiled and hung up.

  I jammed the phone into my pocket, brought my hands together, rubbed the thumbs and palms to chase away the cold, and strode forward.

  Cassidy, unusually, wasn’t babbling. She kept her head tilted back as she watched that flag warily.

  As for Alice, her hand hovered over her gun.

  As I approached, Alice turned her head to me, her eyes narrowing. “Is he coming?”

  I hadn’t mentioned Vali, but obviously Alice appreciated he was the only person I would call.

  I crossed my arms and nodded. “He’ll be here soon.”

  “Soon? How about now. We have no idea what we’re dealing with here,” Cassidy choked over her words.

  “Cassidy, go and check the rest of the roof,” Alice commanded. The exact note of authority in her voice couldn’t be ignored.

  Cassidy sighed, shrugged, and turned around. “Scream if you get torn to shreds by Hell demons.”

  Alice let out a small snort. “Will do. Don’t fall off the roof.”

  “Will do,” Cassidy managed as she strode off.

  I watched her until she was out of sight.

  Then I felt Alice’s undeniable attention lock on me. Slowly, I swiveled my eyes over to her. “He’ll be here as soon as he can.”

  “I’m sure he will,” Alice said. Then she stopped speaking. Which was kind of weird, because from the look in her eyes, I could tell she wanted to interrogate me. Considering she was an ex-cop, she’d be pretty good at it.

  Despite the fact there was a gate to another dimension behind us, I felt awkward. I crammed my hands into my pockets and drummed my fingers against my thighs. I moved my jaw from left-to-right.

  I waited for Alice to make the first move.

  Her eyebrows descended low. “I know you can’t tell me what’s going on here, but promise me that if this comes to a fight, you’ve got our backs.”

  I had never been particularly good at strong, reassuring moves. Hello, I was the ex-waitress who bumbled her way through life. Now? I nodded low in a regal, stiff move you might expect from a king promising his forces to protect you. “I’ve got your back, Alice. We’ll get through this. All we have to do is wait.”

  She didn’t react. Then her phone buzzed with a message.

  I wasn’t expecting the sudden sound and had to suppress a jump.

  Alice shoved her hand into her pocket, drew out the phone, and stared at it with a frown. She never moved her other hand. It always hovered just above her magical gun.

  Though I hadn’t been hanging out with Alice for the last two weeks, I still knew exactly what that frown pressing across her face meant.

  I took a step closer. “What is it? You’re on a case, aren’t you? An important one.”

  She darted her gaze over to me and arched an eyebrow. “When did you get so good at this?”

  “Sorry?”

  “Being a detective. Sniffing out crime. Have you taken a private course or something?”

  “Or something,” I answered tonelessly. I nodded back at the phone. “What’s going on?”