Sin & Spirit (Demigod of San Francisco #4)(70)

Kieran slipped his hands into his pockets and turned to the window, looking at the glittering blue waves. They weren’t doing much for his turbulent mood, emotions that matched Alexis’s feelings at present. She wasn’t liking whatever she was finding.

“Sounds like a third party,” Zorn said. “They grabbed the kid, but they didn’t get to do whatever they were planning. They had to pivot when the woman confronted them. So they switched bodies and made use of the woman’s getaway car. Any idiot would’ve found the car—the woman was moving from that direction. Her plans were probably in the car, on her phone, whatever. A Possessor this skilled in working under the radar would’ve had all he needed to pull this off.”

Henry and Kieran nodded. But one thing still didn’t add up.

Until Zorn completed the puzzle.

“Kill the kid, blame the woman from Aaron’s staff, create a distraction as we figure out how to deal with a call to war…all of this is to open a door to this person’s true purpose.”

“Maybe the third party plans to use Daisy as a lure and is getting everything in order,” Henry said.

“Any third party operating under the radar doesn’t use a lure,” Zorn replied, his tone gruff. “The person pulling these strings is sly. Savvy. He might not even be after Alexis. Or be of Hades lineage. He might just want to see how Kieran reacts when someone gets personal. Without knowing who is behind this, we have no idea what their end game might be.”

Kieran had to agree with Zorn. Daisy was collateral damage. “Henry, if you can figure out who the Possessor is, get his ID. We can run him through the facial tracker in the city and see if anything comes up. He has to be on scene. I don’t know how far away a Possessor can be, but I know it isn’t across oceans. He’s here, somewhere. If we can grab his body, we own his magic.”

A swirl of emotion ran through his middle. He paused for a moment to catch his breath. Zorn’s phone rang.

Time to go.





27





Alexis





“I can’t use my fucking hands!” Jack tried to slam his fist against the laptop on the kitchen table. His hand went straight through both the computer and the table. “What the hell use am I if I can’t use my hands?”

Bria slid into the chair he was lurking in, then jumped back out. “That was cold. Jack, move. I can feel your soul.”

“This is a nightmare.” Jack turned away, dodging around the cat that once again housed Harding’s spirit. I’d put the spirit trapper/repellent back up, mostly to keep Frank out, but also as a little protection in case one of the Demigods sent spirits to spy. “How the hell am I going to find the place without going online?” The cat jumped up onto the island, and Jack bent over it. “Can’t you figure out some sort of spirit information infrastructure?”

“They can always put you in a body,” the cat said, eyeing a hairbrush Aubri had left out on her last visit. “You know, in case you still have the stupids and didn’t think about a Necromancer using her craft on you.”

I motioned Bria back into the seat. “He said it’s in Berkeley.”

“Berkeley is a big place. Care to narrow it down?” Her phone vibrated and she glanced at it. “The guys are all en route except for Henry. He’s going to stay and look for more intel. Zorn is asking how Mordecai is.” She resumed looking at the laptop, preparing to type.

“Good. Just checked on him,” Jack said. “I can at least look and report. That’s about all I’m good—”

“Enough.” I slashed my hand through the air and accidentally put a little magic behind it. Jack jerked back, and the cat jumped and twisted at the same time, yowling. It landed on its feet and zipped away, Harding clearly not in control of that one. “Jack, I know this is traumatic for you, but Daisy is still alive. Right now, she is still alive, but we only have fifty minutes if we are lucky to get to her—”

“We’re lucky,” Bria said, nodding. “We’re lucky. We’ll get her.”

“So I need you to cut it out with the self-pity and get on board,” I continued. “Where is she being held?”

He took a deep breath and nodded before positioning himself to see over Bria’s shoulder. I saw goosebumps rise on her flesh, but she didn’t comment.

As I felt Kieran drawing closer, I relayed Jack’s instructions for a Google search. After five minutes of futzing around on street maps, we had an address in the non-magical zone, which I scrawled down on a sheet of paper.

It would take us over an hour to get there without traffic. The Bay Area, magical or otherwise, always had traffic.

“Move Mordecai into the panic room,” I told Bria, my hands shaking, tears threatening. Panic clouded my mind. “Think, think.” I took a deep breath. “If we get a police escort, there won’t be traffic. We could make it. Except it would take time to arrange all that.”

“Use the helicopter,” Jack said, watching my face.

I widened my eyes. “What helicopter?”

“Valens’s helicopter that is now Kieran’s. It’s…not close to here. We aren’t exactly central.”

I tapped my fingers against the kitchen island. “The ocean! I can’t swim that fast, but Kieran can. Maybe he could—”