Midnight Marked (Chicagoland Vampires, #12)(64)

“You think there’s any enchiladas? Maybe I could grab one to eat on the trip back? Catcher’s on a kale and quinoa kick. It’s horrible.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, and I’m not sure. But we can ask.”

Arm in arm, we walked into the sensual embrace of Tex-Mex night.

? ? ?

This time, Lindsey let me into the Ops Room. The fact that I’d brought guacamole probably hadn’t hurt, since the guards fell on it like wolves.

Double-dipping wolves, as it turned out.

“About damn time you made it down here,” Luc said.

“Sorry,” I said, and tried to remembered what I’d been planning to report before I was interrupted by a sorcerer and banned by a fellow guard. “Mallory had a personal crisis. Needed to get it resolved so we could all get back to work.”

I offered my phone, showed him the pictures we’d taken at Mount Rider. “Catcher took pictures, too. He’s going to ask Jeff to work them into that algorithm. And Ethan wants to meet at dusk.”

“I don’t think Ethan’s in a position to make any demands right now,” Luc grouched, spearing a chip into the bowl.

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to be the one to tell him that. But you go right ahead.”

Luc made a dubious grunt. “You told Catcher about the dusk meeting?”

“And Mallory.”

Luc nodded. “I’ll tell Paige and the Librarian.”

“I was going to go to the library,” I said, but when I checked the clock, I realized dawn was approaching. “But the night has wasted away again.”

“I talked to Paige while you were gone, made your apologies.” He ran a hand through his tousled curls. “Frankly, Sentinel, I don’t think your being there would have made much of a difference. She’s stuck, too. Said the equations still aren’t making sense. At least you got a new location tonight. Not that that helps with the scope of our problem. Just increases it.”

“I’ve asked Catcher to spread the word among the sups, have them alert us if someone finds more alchemy.”

Luc nodded. “That’s something, but Chicago’s an enormous city.”

“We need to tell the Houses.”

“They’ve got the basics,” he said. “Wouldn’t have been fair to keep the information about the alchemy from them. But requesting they jump in? Yeah. I mean, they aren’t Cadogan House—more Hufflepuff to our Gryffindor—but we could use the extra bodies.”

I just stared at him. “Harry Potter? Really?”

“Those books are quality, Sentinel. You should read them.”

He said it like he was the first person to discover the books, to realize they were good. I decided not to mention my first editions.

“I’ll make a note of it,” I said. “Oh, and Annabelle saw the sorcerer.” I passed along the minimal details she’d been able to see, my curiosity about the man at La Douleur.

“Lots of vampires wear suits.”

“I know. Ethan said the same thing.” Suddenly exhausted, I rose. “I’m going upstairs.”

“Get Ethan on the right track,” Luc said. “You’ll both feel a lot better.”

“Bang his brains out,” Lindsey offered helpfully from the other side of the room.

Luc shook his head. “Apologies, Sentinel. My girlfriend is crude.”

“And you love it,” she said.

From his wide smile, I guessed she was right.

“Good luck, Sentinel,” Luc said. “Our wands are up for you.”

I didn’t think that quite sounded the way he’d meant it to.

? ? ?

When I walked into our apartments, Ethan stood at his bureau. If circumstances had been different, I’d have teased him about Mallory, the fact that she now knew about the maybe-baby. That would raise the specter of baby showers, cribs, and godparents, which would have flustered him to my amusement.

But that’s not where we were. Not right then.

I took off my clothes, washed my face, and slid into pajamas. He did the same, sat down on his side of the bed just as I’d sat down on mine. The wall was invisible, but it was there. “They know of the meeting at dusk?”

“They do,” I said, turning off the bedside light and slipping my feet under cool sheets.

“Good. Perhaps we can make progress. Perhaps we’ll all feel better if we make progress.”

I wasn’t sure if he meant himself or me or both of us. Either way, the sun rose before I could ask the question.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN




DRY ERASE MAGIC


Our dusk meeting would actually begin an hour after dusk to give everyone time to get to Cadogan House. Preparations were well under way when I headed downstairs. Luc was updating the whiteboard while Margot set out bottles of water and a tray of snacks. Ethan talked with Malik near the bookshelves on the left-hand side of the room, away from the flurry of activity.

I joined them, dressed in leathers and black boots.

“Sentinel,” Ethan said, a question in his eyes—Are we still fighting? Since we hadn’t reached an accord, and he hadn’t even lingered in the apartments long enough to say good evening, I couldn’t see how the answer was anything but yes. But I wasn’t going to drag everyone into it.