Black Wings, Gray Skies (Black Hat Bureau 4)

“Colby.”I jackknifed off the couch, kneeing the side of his head in the process. “Where is she?”

Panic shot me to my feet, and I sprinted for her room before he could confirm she was there.

“In here,” Clay called after identifying the stampeding elephant as me. “She’s with me.”

Pivoting too fast, I smacked into a wall, bounced off, then reversed direction.

“What’s wrong?” I yelled as I burst into the room. “What happened?”

I rushed to where she lay, cat-sized, on a pillow with a blanket up around her shoulders.

Ablanket.

Not her blanket.

Fresh panic glazed my spine as I hit my knees beside the bed and stroked her downy fuzz.

“She was working on whatever project you gave her, and she conked out. She missed a guild meeting, so one of her friends shot me an in-game message to ask if everything was okay. I didn’t see that until after you passed out in Asa’s lap and mentioned Shorty.”

“How long has she been asleep?”

“Same as you.” He flashed me his screen to show the time. “About sixteen hours.”

“Has she stirred at all?”

“After she got her eight hours in, I started waking her at the top of every hour to force sugar water down her. That seems to help, but she falls back asleep after.”

“That’s why I passed out.” I turned it over in my head. “She was so exhausted, she wiped me out too.”

The familiar bond ran both ways, but there were precautions in place on my end, as the anchor.

For her need to have been so great that she short-circuited those protections, her energy stores must have dipped to dangerous levels. A terrifying thought when she was a pure soul, pure energy.

“This isn’t a natural ailment.” Asa leaned in the doorway. “It can’t be.”

Hearing our voices, Colby fussed in her sleep, reaching for and then discarding the comforter.

“She keeps asking for her blanket,” Clay said, tucking her back in, “but we haven’t found it yet.”

“She brought it on the trip.” I saw her with it a few times. “She had it when we left the hotel.”

“Did she leave it in the SUV?” Clay sat up on his side of the bed. “I didn’t want to leave her to check.”

“It was here.” I was sure of it. “In this rental.”

“Someone has been in our rooms.” Asa drew the only logical conclusion. “How did they get past the wards?”

“Good question.” I leaned over to kiss Colby’s forehead then stood. “We need to figure that out, but first, we’re going to break whatever hold this has over her before it digs in any deeper.” I singled out Clay. “Give me five minutes, then bring Colby to the kitchen.”

Thoughts spinning, I didn’t notice Asa following me until I bumped into him while retrieving my kit.

“How can I help?” He steadied me. “Tell me what to do.”

His concern for her touched me, and I was grateful he was holding on to his skin. The daemon must be freaking out right about now. He and Colby were growing closer, and the daemon loved his people hard.

“Run to the store.” I shoved him toward the door. “Buy as much salt as you can find.”

Without hesitation, he palmed the keys and left, giving me just enough time to draw a simple circle using what salt remained in the shaker from the kitchen. From my kit, I pulled rosemary, thyme, oregano, and rue.