Wild Knight (Midnight Empire: The Tower #1)(47)

Stevie closed her eyes and concentrated on the water molecules. In less than a minute she was dry as a bone.

“I bet you don’t even keep towels in your bathroom,” Ione accused.

Stevie smiled. “Not gonna lie. It’s a money saver.”

We almost made it to the restaurant. Almost.

A woman dashed past us, gasping for breath. “Run,” she panted, and kept going.

I spun around to see more people headed in our direction.

“Monsters,” a man shouted. He nearly collided with me in his effort to escape.

Ione and I reached for our weapons at the same time. Stevie glanced longingly at the restaurant.

“I’m so hungry.”

“Five minutes,” I said.

Metal creaked and groaned like the bones of an aging giant.

Ione stood on the tips of her boots and craned her neck. “I don’t see anything.”

A flash of movement on a nearby rooftop caught my eye and I squinted at the stretch of gray.

“Heads up, knights,” Stevie said.

I turned to see her pointing at the building across the street. Horror crept across my skin as the building started to sag.

I sprinted to the group gathered at the front of the building and shouted for them to move back.

“Is anyone inside?” I yelled.

A bald man in a tweed jacket stepped backward, looking dazed. “Someone called in an explosive threat. We thought it was a hoax but we followed protocol and evacuated.”

“And you’re certain everyone’s out? Nobody hiding in the restroom who was too lazy to take the stairs?”

He shook his head, still in a stupor.

A heavyset woman elbowed him aside. “I’m the fire marshal. Every floor was clear.”

Thank the gods. This was no hoax. The building was going down one way or another.

Stevie and Ione grasped the situation and herded the onlookers across the street and out of harm’s way. The sides of the building began to drip like liquid silver. The creaking and groaning suddenly stopped.

Ione stared. “What’s happening?”

“It’s going down, that’s what,” Stevie said in awe.

“Do you feel that?” I whispered.

The two of them looked at me.

“Magic?” Ione asked.

I nodded.

People screamed as the building continued to melt, leaving only a shiny puddle of molten gray.

The entire building melted.

The crowd dispersed as the puddle spread to cover a larger area. Vampires in white uniforms began to arrive at the scene. Someone had called it in to emergency services.

I glanced at the rooftop where I’d seen movement. It was worth a look.

“Come with me,” I said.

We crossed the street and entered the building. No sign of security. They’d either evacuated too or there was none to begin with.

We took the elevator to the top floor and then a staircase to the rooftop. I called to Barnaby. It wouldn’t hurt to have a bird’s-eye view of the area. If there had been someone up here, maybe the raven could find him. I walked along the perimeter of the roof hunting for clues. A gum wrapper. A cigarette. Anything.

Barnaby landed on the ledge and cawed. I updated him on the situation and asked him to sweep the area from above.

I leaned my forearms against the ledge and observed the silver pool below. I didn’t want to engage with emergency services. Too many vampires and their very red tape.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Stevie said, joining me.

I smiled. “Cheapskate.”

“I don’t see anything up here.” Ione peered at the scene below. “If anyone was here, he’s long gone.”

“We should find out which companies worked out of the building,” Stevie said.

“I’m not sure it matters. I don’t think the businesses themselves were a target.”

They both looked at me.

“You know something,” Stevie said.

“Know is a bit of a stretch at this point.”

“But you have a theory,” Ione pressed.

“Call it a hunch.”

Stevie turned to lean her low back against the ledge. “The job for House Lewis?”

I nodded.

“How so?” Stevie asked.

“That part’s confidential.”

Ione cried out and plucked a small object from the air.

“What is it?” I asked.

She opened the palm of her hand to reveal a single petal. It was dark purple in color and narrow and oblong in shape.

Stevie inched closer to examine it. “Wow. A real flower in the wild. Not something you see every day.”

“It wasn’t up here growing naturally, I can guarantee that,” I said.

Ione kept her thumb on the petal to prevent it from blowing away. “What kind is it?”

I blew out a breath. “No idea.”

“Feels silky.” Ione pinched the petal between two fingers and offered it to me. “Your case. Your petal.”

“Thanks.” I slipped it into my pocket.

“Why did you take the job?” Ione asked.

I shot her a quizzical look. “Why do any of us take jobs? Money.”

“You’re working for vampires.” She paused. “No. Not just vampires. The vampires. The worst of the worst.”