Rogue

Chapter 2-3

“I don’t think that is how he intended for you to use it.” Tristan was stalling now, trying to keep me talking. Kelvan’s software was obviously working as he’d promised, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

“Tell Seamus and Niall I’m sorry.” My hand hovered over the keyboard. “I have to hang up now. I love you both and I’ll talk to you again soon.”

“Sara, wait –” Tristan said, but I ended the call before he could finish. I swallowed hard and closed the laptop with a shaky hand.

Roland leaned against the car. “Rough call?”

“It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.” I picked up my cup and drained the last of my coffee. “Do you want to use the laptop to call your mom? She must be worried.”

“I called her from the Boise airport and told her we were staying a few more days with you. She wasn’t happy, but she said she’d let the school know.” He made a face. “She’s going to flip when I tell her it’s going to be more than a few days.”

“Who knows? It might be only a couple of days if we find Madeline,” I said hopefully. “And if not, you can always go back.”

“Stop trying to get me to go home. We’re in this together, and that’s it.”

I smiled and gave him a quick hug. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

Jordan walked up to us, jiggling the car keys. “We ready to get this show on the road?”

“Yes.” A thrill went through me. Today we would reach Albuquerque, and I might finally get some of the answers I was looking for.

Peter joined us, carrying his and Roland’s packs. “What if we find Madeline and she won’t talk?” he asked, dampening my excitement.

“She’ll talk.” Madeline owed me that much, and she was going to help me whether she wanted to or not.

We were leaving town when I spotted a sign for a thrift store. It didn’t take us long to find two small backpacks, coats, and a few needed toiletries. I moved my stuff from Roland’s pack to my own, smiling when the laptop fit easily inside. Tucked in with my clothes was a silver necklace, and I fastened it around my neck, letting the plain silver cross settle on my chest. It had been my grandmother’s and a gift from Nate on my sixteenth birthday. Wearing it made me feel like he and my dad were with me in a small way.

Eight hours and two pit stops later, we reached the Albuquerque city limits. I wasn’t the only one who released a happy sigh. Jordan and Roland had switched places at the last stop, and he glanced over at me as we drove into the city. “Where to?”

“Let’s get something to eat before we do anything else.”

“Really? I mean, I thought you’d want to go after Madeline as soon as we got here.”

“I need to check in with David first, and we’re all hungry.” We’d only been on the run for a day, but they all looked worn out and in need of a break. Spending so many hours in a car is tough for anyone, and it didn’t help that we were all a bit on edge. “Just make sure it’s someplace we can afford.”

I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Roland found a little mom-and-pop burger joint. When it came to burgers, he and Peter had built-in radar. We filled a booth and the waitress took our orders. While we waited for our food, I stepped outside to call David, using one of the prepaid phones.

“You made good time,” he said when I told him where we were. “I didn’t expect you to get there until tomorrow.”

“We were motivated to move quickly.” There were things David didn’t know about me, so I was vague on the details of our near run-in with Nikolas.

“This is good actually. We’ve been keeping a close eye on Madeline’s movements, and she’s still in Albuquerque, but for how long I don’t know. Since we’ve been tracking her, she hasn’t stayed in a place longer than a week.”

My pulse quickened. “So she’s here now, for sure?”

“Yes. Do you have your laptop with you? I’m sending you something.”

I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder and opened the laptop. It powered up in seconds, and I opened the browser and logged into the new email account David had set up for me. Before I’d left home, I’d wiped the computer in my room as he’d instructed, but I had no idea what Tristan’s security guys were capable of.

There was a message from David in my inbox, and I opened it to find a black and white security photo of a dark-haired woman leaving what looked like a hotel lobby. She had either dyed her hair or was wearing a wig, but there was no mistaking Madeline’s beautiful features. I studied her for a long moment, expecting to experience anger, pain, something for the woman who had abandoned me, but all I felt was cool detachment.

“When was this taken?”

“This morning at Hotel Andaluz. She was checked in under the name Teresa King. It’s the first actual picture of her we’ve been able to get. She’s good at hiding from cameras. Is it her?”

“Yes.” My breath caught, and I immediately began to Google the hotel name for directions.

“She’s no longer there,” David said. “She stays only one night at a hotel before she gets a new one. She hasn’t checked into another one yet.”

My heart sank. “Then she might have left town already.”

“We have reason to believe she is still there. Kelvan has friends in the demon community in Albuquerque, and he found out through them that Madeline has gone to see a local warlock named Orias for the last two nights. His friends tell him she is expected back tonight.”

There’s a demon community? “Why would demons help us?” I asked when I’d gotten over my shock.

“They wouldn’t, but they’d help Kelvan. You must have made quite an impression on him.”

I closed the laptop so I could hold the phone again. “What do you mean?”

“Kelvan is a nice guy, but he doesn’t do well with strangers, especially hunters. That’s why I didn’t tell him what you are. After you left, he told me that if you ever needed anything, to let him know. He took it upon himself to reach out to his friends in Albuquerque.”

“I think his cat really liked me.”

David let out a laugh. “Lulu likes people even less than Kelvan does.”

I grinned. “I have a way with animals. It’s all part of my charm.”

“Okay, I get it. You’re going to be mysterious about it.” I could tell by his voice that he was still smiling. “I hope your charm works on warlocks, too.”

“I’ve never met a warlock. I’ve heard they can be into some heavy stuff.” Like capturing baby griffins and using their blood to raise demons. I shuddered. I had no desire to meet someone who practiced that kind of magic. Everything I knew about warlocks had come from Remy. Warlocks were born with magic, but they needed demon essence to make them strong. They raised higher demons and kept them captive so they could draw from the demon’s power. The stronger the demon, the stronger the warlock.

“Orias is a powerful warlock. He offers his services to anyone for the right price. He doesn’t care if you are demon, human, or something else as long as you can pay and don’t cause him any trouble. He doesn’t have a problem with Mohiri, like many of his clientele do, but he never gives anything away for free either, and that includes information.”

“Great,” I muttered. If we were lucky, we’d find Madeline at the warlock’s place and I wouldn’t have to deal with him at all. I sighed. Since when had I ever been that lucky?

“I’m sending you directions to Orias’s place now. It’s a little tricky to find if you don’t know exactly where you’re going. I think that is by design.”

Someone tapped on the window behind me, and I turned to see Roland waving for me to come in.

“Thanks, David. Listen, I have to go but I’ll let you know how it goes. And tell Kelvan thanks for me.”

“Will do. Stay safe.”

I hung up and joined the others in the booth where a burger and fries waited for me. Looking over at Jordan’s plate, I shook my head at the two monstrous cheeseburgers. “You aren’t actually going to eat all of that, are you?”

“Duh.” She smirked and took a huge bite from one.

I picked up my own and took a much smaller bite. It was homemade and so delicious after twenty-four hours of gas station food. I gave a contented sigh that drew smiles from my friends.

“What’s the plan?” Jordan asked in a lowered voice after she finished off her first burger. “Do we know where Madeline is?”

“She’s here in town, but she moves around a lot.” I told them about the picture David had sent me, and they all started talking at once.

“So we wait for her to check into another hotel?” Peter asked.

I took a sip of my soda. “We don’t know if she will get another hotel. But I have the name of a person she has been going to see, and there is a very good chance she’ll be there tonight. David is sending me the address.”

“Great.” Roland grinned at me. “So who are we going to see?”

I smiled at their expectant faces. “We’re off to see the wizard.”