“Normally, yes. You’re different.”
Huh. I was a weirdo even here, in the magical world. “Is that why the Council of Guilds was so hard on me?”
“It’s probably why the ceremony couldn’t place you in a guild, yes. It didn’t recognize what you were.”
“What I am? I read objects.”
“Which possibly makes you a seer. Or not. It’s a strange talent, not a normal seer gift.”
“Crap.” I needed to get to the bottom of that, but we had more important matters to deal with. “My vision showed a tomb. A crypt or mausoleum, I’m not sure. And there was a symbol on it. A spiral with points.”
He reached for the bedside table and picked up the paper and pen that was ubiquitous in such places, apparently even in magical hotels. He passed them to me.
I took them and set about drawing the symbol. When it was as good as I could get it, I showed it to him.
He frowned and took it, studying it intently. “I don’t recognize it.”
“Neither do I.” I looked toward the table on the other side of the room, where I’d put my mobile when I’d undressed. The gown had contained a special pocket for it. Hopefully, the battery would still have a charge. “I’m going to text a picture to Mac. Maybe she can figure it out.”
He retrieved the phone and handed it to me. Quickly, I snapped a pic of the symbol and sent it to Mac. The Devil took the paper and did the same, then he pressed a finger to the comms charm on his wrist and spoke into it, telling Miranda to get started on research.
“You use a phone and a comms charm?” I asked.
He nodded. “The comms charm is easier for certain people, but only a couple are hooked up to this one. And there’s no easy magical way to send a picture unless you’re a sorcerer or a mage. Humans have got that one on us.”
I nodded, searching my mind for memories of the vision. “I think that symbol is meant to play a role in the explosion. When I was seeking information about what the intruder was after, it showed me that. I think he may have been part of the team that was sent there, until he was rerouted here, to attack us.”
“Do you know where the symbol is located?”
“Not precisely, no. But I did get the sense that it was in or near Guild City.”
He nodded. “That will make it easier for Miranda to find it. You said it was a crypt? Could it be inside a church?”
“Maybe. Or a mausoleum or other burial chamber. I don’t know what you supernaturals do with your dead.” I winced as soon as the word came out of my mouth, reminded of the necromancer.
“You’re one of us now.”
“Right.” I was grateful for the distraction. “But I still don’t know what happens to dead people in Guild City. Are there a lot of crypts?”
“There are some. Graveyards, too. Churches. It’s not terribly dissimilar from what humans do.”
“All right.” I climbed out of bed. “We need to find that crypt.”
My phone dinged, and I looked down to find a message from Mac.
Will get right on it. Text me when you’re back.
I responded that I would, then looked at the Devil. “I’m going to get a quick shower, then let’s head back to Guild city. We only have two nights left to stop this.”
He nodded. I left him, managing not to look over my shoulder.
I made quick work of the shower, thought I desperately wanted to linger. I’d never been in such a nice one—the one in my old London flat had been terrible, and the one in my new place was fine, but tiny and fitted into an ancient building.
This was pure luxury, and I had to race through it.
By the time I returned to my room, I found a set of clothes laid out on the bed. They looked like my norm
al clothes, but they weren’t. I frowned at them and shouted toward the Devil’s room, “These aren’t my clothes!”