September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(46)

I handed the mike back to the wolf, gave her a shaky smile, and exited the stage. My legs felt like jelly. I had just issued a challenge to the vampires of the city. I hoped they made the right decision.

“That was ballsy,” Willow commented when I reached him. He nodded approvingly. “Simple but to the point. I liked it.”

“It felt necessary. I’m done with vampire bullshit, and I want them to know.”

Willow’s lips quirked in a silly, tequila-fueled grin. “Yes, but do your vampires know that?”

I leaned against the bar with arms crossed. Thinking about both Arys and Kale as my vampires felt weird. And I kind of liked it. “Good question. I sure hope you’re not including Jenner in that.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

I rolled my eyes at the liquored up angel and checked my phone. There were text messages from Shaz letting me know he was having no luck and from Jez whining about me appointing Kale as her babysitter.

While Willow drank and the vampires prowled, I stood there lost in thought. Racking my brain for answers, I dug deep, knowing there must be something we were all missing.

The scroll was tied to Lilah’s abandoned throne. She couldn’t be the only one who knew its whereabouts. Or did she even know at all?

Something struck me then. A memory of the night I found her searching Veryl’s office. I’d been cleaning out my office, done with the building we had used to hold meetings, discuss hunts with Veryl, and take private kill clients. Lilah had come in and asked me if I’d taken anything from Veryl’s office.

“Willow.” I grabbed his arm, startling him and causing him to spill. “I think I know where to look. Or maybe I don’t, but we have to try. Come on.”

I didn’t wait for him to finish his drinks before making a beeline for the door. This was probably just another misleading step in this wild goose chase, but it was a lead worth following.

For the first time since my last face off with Lilah, I was starting to feel like I might have a chance. It had been quite some time since I’d visited the old office building Veryl had leased. Once the lease ran out, we wouldn’t have access to it. I had to do this now.

As we drove through the city, I chattered nonstop to Willow, telling him about the night I saw Lilah there. “I asked her if something was missing. She said that it wasn’t missing but hidden. I’m starting to think that Veryl knew something about the scroll, maybe he even had it. What else would she be looking for?”

“This thing had better be worth finding. Considering how many people are looking for it. Maybe the joke is on all of us, and there’s nothing to find at all.” Willow stared out the window, watching the street fly by.

“No way.” I shook my head vehemently. “I’ve dealt with too much crap to have it be some elusive unholy grail. It’s out there, and we are finding it first.”

The building was dark when we arrived. I wondered when anyone had last been there. The door swung open with an ominous groan. I flicked on a light, not because I needed it but because it gave me a sense of false comfort. Everything looked as we’d left it.

The kitchen was missing the aroma of fresh coffee and Chinese takeout. I half expected to find Lena in there making a cup of tea. A pang of guilt and regret stabbed me, and my breath caught.

“This was where you worked with Kale and Jez? The residual energy here is strong. It’s very complex. Joyful but violent too. Even a bit melancholy.” Willow surveyed the kitchen before returning to the foyer.

“I killed Veryl here,” I said, leading the way down the long hall of individual offices. “I also caught Lilah and Falon screwing here.” And almost did some screwing of my own, I thought but didn’t dare speak it.

“Sounds like there was never a boring moment.”

I chuckled. “Have you seen my life?”

I walked down the hall, shoving office doors open. I paused in the doorway to the one that had been mine. My cheeks grew hot at the memory of Kale’s bite. That had been a hell of a night. Only Jez’s impeccable timing had kept us from doing something we could never undo. But that had happened anyway, in its own time.

We continued on to the end of the hall. The door to Veryl’s office was closed. Anxiety twisted my stomach. Veryl’s office was a place of many memories, most of them not so good. I grabbed the doorknob and pushed. It was stuck. The sound of splintering wood was loud in the stillness. Backing up a few steps, I braced myself and kicked the door, aiming for the spot beside the doorknob. The door flew open with a screech.

Even before I flicked the light on I saw the disarray inside. The overhead light illuminated the mess. I stared at what was left of his office, aghast. Someone had totally ransacked the place.

“Oh, f*ck me,” I murmured, taking in everything from the trashed remains of the old antique desk to the holes gouged out of the walls. Papers and computer parts littered the floor.

“Looks like someone beat us to it.” Willow pushed past me and knelt to examine some of the paperwork strewn about. “Doesn’t look like anything of great value here. Seems to be pretty basic case write-ups. Rogue vampire reports, that kind of thing. I assume he had something else worth finding judging by the looks of this place.”

I took tentative steps, picking my way through the debris. I was too late. It had taken me this long to remember the clue Lilah had given me, and it didn’t even matter. Someone else had gotten to it first.