Darkness Unmasked (Dark Angels 5)

“Not unless it had something to do with the keys, which this does.”

“Only peripherally. I have no justification for interfering in either the life or the death of those within that building.”

“What about Genevieve Sands? She might be connected to both the dark sorcerer and the keys, so why can’t you at least go in there to see if she survived?”

“Look at the building, Risa. Do you really think it possible she could be alive?”

I twisted around and my gaze widened. Flames leapt high from either end, but it was the middle of the building—in the area that had held Lauren Macintyre’s storage unit—that had taken the brunt of the explosion. It was completely destroyed. There was nothing left but the charred remnants of brick walls and the twisted remains of metal. There is no way in hell anyone in that area could have survived.

“There’s no guarantee she was actually in there at the time of the explosion. She might have set it all up and then used the stones to escape.” That was what I would have done if I’d been in her somewhat ugly shoes. “We need to go check the Razans’ place and see if she’s there.”

Azriel’s expression went back to being noncommittal. “You cannot go in Aedh form, as they will sense you.”

I met his gaze. “You could go.”

He hesitated. “I prefer not to leave you—”

“Who’s going to attack me here? The Raziq are waiting for my father’s appearance, Hunter still has use for me, and anyone else I can cope with.”

“Given you do have the unfortunate habit of attracting danger, that is no comfort.”

I smiled. “It’s going to take you a couple of minutes, if that, to check. What trouble could I get into in that amount of time?”

“Plenty, I suspect.” He rose, his movements fluid and graceful, and offered me a hand. “Do not go into that building.”

“I won’t.” Not in human form, anyway.

“Risa—”

“Stop being such a worrywart and go before she escapes us again.”

He did. I brushed the dirt and grit from my hands and clothes as I studied the blackened, broken building. There was little sound coming from the building now—little in the way of human sound, anyway—but the flames were intense, a caress of heat that would burn my skin if I got any closer. But I had to get closer, no matter what Azriel said. Though the approaching wail of the emergency vehicles was barely audible over the fierce burn of the fire, they were little more than a couple of minutes away. If I wanted to check if anything in that locker had survived the blast, I’d better do it now, before officialdom descended and perhaps destroyed whatever evidence still survived.

My gaze went to the front of the building. Fire licked along the roof, but much of the front office still seemed to be standing. Which meant that Maggie, the cheerful receptionist who’d been working there yesterday, might still be alive.

And I couldn’t escape the sudden notion that I needed to check—not only to save her life if that were possible, but for the sake of our mission.

My clairvoyance sure picked the oddest times to kick in.

A good-sized crowd had gathered across the other side of the road, but few of them were looking in my direction. I called to the Aedh and she rushed through me, changing my form in an instant.

Heat and dust whispered through my particles as I moved closer to the building, an unpleasant combination that made me want to scratch even though I had no flesh. I slipped through the ugly hole blown in the side of the building and made my way above the debris that had once been a corridor. The storage units on either side were little more than skeletal remnants, with boxes and god knows what else hanging out of them like the innards of a gutted body.

But the wall between the storage section and the office area was still basically intact, and though it was barely visible through the smoke and flames, hope rose.

The door into the office area hung limply from one hinge, tilted inward by the force of the explosion. Flames licked the doorframe and slipped fiery tentacles along the inside ceiling. I went through, mentally wincing as the flames danced through my energy form. It felt like red-hot fingers were being shoved inside me.

The office itself hadn’t escaped damage, despite the buffer of the standing wall. Furniture was strewn everywhere, paper and glass littered the floor, and the front windows were smashed and were held in place only by the thick mesh grills covering them. The air was a morass of dust, smoke, and heat.

I spun around, searching for any sign of life, but couldn’t immediately see anything. The desk where the receptionist had been sitting had tipped over sideways and was now covered by part of the ceiling. There was no sign of life. But, by the same token, there was no evidence of blood or broken body parts.

Then what sounded like a groan came from under the debris of the desk. I swore mentally and shifted back to flesh. The air was so damn hot that it felt like I’d fallen into an oven set on high, and the thick, heavy smoke swirled around me, stinging my eyes and catching in my throat, making me cough.

“Maggie?” I had to shout to be heard above all the noise. “Where are you?”

No answer came, but after a moment, I heard another groan. It was definitely coming from underneath the desk area.

I began grabbing bits of plaster and rubbish from the pile covering the desk and tossed them to one side. Another explosion ripped through the building, and the walls around me shuddered. I ducked instinctively, scraping my thigh along a jagged piece of wood as dust and bricks fell around me. The remnants of plaster still clinging to the ceiling began to crack alarmingly; it wouldn’t take much to bring the rest of it down.