Night Rune (Prof Croft Book 8) Brad Magnarella (the red fox clan TXT) 📖

to find Vega stooped beside her office file cabinets, midnight hair shifting across the back of her jacket. It wasn’t until she turned slightly that I saw the broom and long-handled dustpan. She had a habit of cleaning when her mind was preoccupied, and this was clearly one of those moments.

As she emptied the dustpan into the trash, my gaze fell to her stomach. She wouldn’t start showing for at least another six weeks, but I thought about what Arnaud had said. Was I endangering my family by keeping the demon-vampire alive?

“How’d it go?”

I looked up to find her facing me, eyes dark and expectant. I closed the door, kissed her warm forehead, and relieved her of the broom and dustpan. “Interestingly,” I said, leaning the cleaning implements against a filing cabinet. “He claims the Upholders are still in the time catch.”

“Dammit. Is he telling the truth?”

“I think so.” Though Arnaud had made light of my offer of clemency from his master in exchange for info, he’d accepted it, sliding in the response to my question subtly, without fanfare. “Didn’t give me much more, though.”

“Did he tell you why the Upholders were still there?”

“He made some insinuations about the fae, but I don’t know. Felt more like a mind game.”

I sat on the corner of her desk. Vega came over and leaned beside me, arms crossed, eyes narrowing toward the opposite wall where several framed certificates hung. “What about the senior members of your Order? Any insights into how he could possibly free them?”

“Not yet. You sound skeptical.”

I thought we were going to get into another back and forth over whether Arianna’s visit had been just a dream. We’d had that discussion a couple times now. But instead, she said, “I just don’t like that he’s still alive.”

“Well, me neither.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“As far as learning how he might be key to the Order’s release?” I blew out my breath. “We wait for Arianna to contact me again.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“Then he’ll eventually die.”

“How long is eventually?” she asked, continuing to study the far wall.

“Days. He’s completely cut off from the infernal realm. He’s already looking thinner, weaker.”

“You’re not planning to extend his time here, are you?” When she looked over at me, a cloud gathered across her face. Arnaud was right. I hadn’t told her my plan to use the threat of Arnaud’s master reclaiming him as leverage.

“No.”

“Are you sure about that?”

The challenge in her voice took me back to our conversation the night before, when she’d told me about Tony’s father, Ramon. After an incident where Ramon imperiled her son, Vega had him arrested and prosecuted for child endangerment. For an instant, I could see the same protective instincts firing hot behind her eyes. But then she grasped my arm and leaned her head against my shoulder.

“I just want this to be over.”

“Me too.” I placed my hand over hers.

“What’s the next step?”

“Recovering my teammates from the time catch.”

“I was afraid you’d say that.”

I thought about Malachi, Seay, Gorgantha, and Jordan. “I made a promise.”

“How are you getting there?”

“I’m going to check with Claudius first,” I said, “see if he’s had any luck reaching the senior members of the Order. Then I’ll try the fae again.”

I considered Arnaud’s claim about him being my sole key to the time catch, but I decided not to share. Vega was dealing with a lot right now, including morning sickness. Even if he could access the time catch, I had other options.

“Think there’s anything to Arnaud’s insinuations about the fae?” she asked.

“No,” I replied, but without the conviction I needed to feel. I consulted my magic again. It remained in the same neutral state it had been in all morning, no hard confirmations or rebuttals. “I can’t see the fae making a deal with a demon.”

“Still, it’s strange they’re ghosting you.”

“Well, they’re strange, period. I’ll get answers.” I gave Vega’s hand a final squeeze. “I should get going.”

“Keep me posted.”

“I will.” She joined me as I stood from the desk, and we kissed.

My hand was on the door when Vega spoke again. “Is it safe for you to go back into the time catch?”

When I turned, she was holding the broom to her chest. The honest answer was that it depended on whether the time catch was as unstable as Arnaud suggested. Or was he just seeding more doubt?

“I’ll be better prepared this time.”

She brought her fingers to her lips and waved. I was barely through the doorway when I heard her cleaning again.

Outside 1 Police Plaza I ducked into a parking lot to call Claudius. As the line rang, I paced the asphalt, aware that every minute here was twenty or thirty in 1776 New York. Meaning the Upholders had been there for the equivalent of weeks. Throw in Arnaud’s suggestion about the time catch’s instability—

Stop it, I cut in. He wants you to rush this. He wants you to screw up.

I took a steadying breath, but as I exhaled, a prickling wave burned through me. My magic was talking. I spun and searched the parking lot, then the buildings across the street. The fight-or-flight response faded, but the message was all too familiar: someone had been watching me.

“Ah, yes, hello?”

I reoriented myself to the phone but continued to monitor my surroundings. “Claudius, it’s Everson,” I said. “Any luck reaching the Order?”

“The Order…” His voice trailed off. “Wh-who is this again?”

“Everson Croft,” I said sternly. “I talked to you yesterday. I was about to enter a time catch, remember? And you were supposed to be working on reaching the senior members of the Order, the ones trapped in the Harkless Rift?”

I imagined him blinking in puzzlement. “Oh, right, yes, yes,” he said at last. “How can I help you?”

God, his confusion was getting worse every day.

“Did you or did you not reach the Order?” I asked as patiently as I could.

“I’m afraid I hit a snag.”

“A snag?”

“Yes, well, I… Let’s see…” I could hear another phone ringing in the