Don't Rush Me (Nora Jacobs #1)(42)

Oliver follows my gaze and snorts. “Nice ride.”

“You should see the tool who drives it. Come on. Be my lookout while I do my thing. When I get sucked into visions, I can’t pull myself out.”

Oliver gets twitchy as we near the car. He’s looking at the large pale yellow house. “Are you sure we should—”

“It’s the only way to find Shandra.” I glance at the house. “Look at the place. All’s quiet. Either the majority of them are in class, or sleeping, or out kidnapping more underworlders. I doubt we’ll have a better opportunity. Just keep an eye out, and if someone comes…drag me away. If I let go, it will break the vision. Then we can run.”

Oliver doesn’t reply to this other than to take a deep breath and stare at the house again. When we reach the car, and the edge of the property, my skin prickles and all the hair on my arms stands up. Oliver gasps, and I let out a long, low whistle. “That’s a lot of magic,” I say. The tingling sensation is stronger than I felt at Terrance’s house. “It feels different, though. It’s not normal, is it?”

When I get no reply, I glance at Oliver. He’s white as a ghost, and his eyes look like softballs. His jaw is hanging open.

“What is it?”

Oliver snaps out of his shock with a shiver and swallows hard. “It’s dark magic,” he whispers. “It’s banned in the underworld because it’s gained through sacrifice and it’s really dangerous. It doesn’t always do what you want it to. It sort of has a will of its own and will twist the mind of the person using it.”

“Let me guess. It turns people evil?”

Oliver frowns at my sarcasm. “Yes, it does.” He tugs on my arm. “We need to get out of here.”

“What?” I pull away from Oliver’s grip. “We can’t leave yet.”

I reach out for the handle on the driver’s side door of the car, but I get nothing. There is no imprint on the handle. Lucky for me, the old, obnoxious car is unlocked. Guess the owner thinks his reputation will keep people from breaking in. Or maybe he just forgot to lock it. I mean, why would he need to? This is only Detroit. It’s only one of the top ten crime capitals of the country. Mr. Muscles did seem rather stupid, though.

I hold my breath as I open the car door. I’m pretty sure all the magic I feel is coming from the house, but there’s a slight possibility the car is warded, too, and I just can’t tell. When I pull the door open and nothing happens, I let all the air out of my lungs. So Muscle Guy is just stupid after all. Awesome for me.

As I slide in behind the wheel, I glance over my shoulder at my lookout. Oliver has called someone and is murmuring anxiously into the phone, glancing at the house over and over. Whatever. He can have his freak-out. I need to scope out this car.

As soon as I place my hands on the wheel, I’m pulled into an intense vision. It’s night, and the guy from the bar is gone, but the driver of the car who picked him up sits gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. I’m sitting in the backseat of the car—Shandra is gone. It’s nighttime, and the house in front of us is hosting a raging kegger.

Muscle Head sees a guy in the crowd and nods for him to come get in the car. The new guy is a redhead. He’s tall and lean, but his shoulders bulge under his T-shirt and his arms show definition. Unlike Muscle Head, the new guy looks intelligent. He slips into the passenger seat with an irritated look on his face. “You were supposed to check in an hour ago. Why didn’t you call?”

Muscle Head twists his hands over the steering wheel again, shooting his companion a dark look. “I didn’t think we should have this conversation over the phone. You’re not going to believe what went down tonight.”

Red only cocks an eyebrow and waits for an explanation. Muscle Head sighs. “We have to take Noah.”

“Noah?” Red whines. “I hate that idiot. Why would you want him?”

“That idiot bagged us a troll tonight.”

Red flinches, his mouth falling wide open. “No shit. A troll? Is he crazy?”

“YES!” Muscle Head shouts. “He snagged her right from under the noses of two other trolls. I had to use up all the last of my powder to cover our tracks.”

Red breathes out a small sigh of relief. “You spelled the cameras, then?”

“The cameras, the alley. I cloaked the car. I drove around randomly for over an hour before I helped him take the ugly bitch to the sanctuary. Been looking over my shoulder for angry trolls ever since. I think the bastard got lucky. I think we got away with it.”

Red’s eyes gleam with excitement. “A troll. We’ve never had that kind of strength before.”

“Yeah, because trying to harness that kind of power is suicide.”

Red glares at Muscle Head. “Have I ever lost control? Ever?”

Muscle Head’s glare turns to a pout. “No, but it’s getting close, and you’re starting to lose your power.”

“You don’t think I’ve planned for that? The culling will take place before our life forces run out, and hell, I’m a damn mid-level sorcerer. We’ll be fine. We’ll have to let Noah in. He’s the only other option, and he scored a damn troll. Now if Xavier would just hurry his ass up, we’ll be all set.”

“Xavier! Didn’t you hear? That pussy didn’t pan out.”