When April pulled onto Goldstein Street, the road was empty. No one walked the sidewalks thanks to the late hour, and there wasn’t a single car parked on the side of the road. Everything was absolutely still.
Maybe I was off base, and I’ve dragged us out here for nothing…
I waited until April parked the car before I got out, turning in a circle to inspect the street.
It was extra windy tonight, and the icy wind smashed my mask against my face, but at least the sky was clear.
Brody and Tetiana piled out of the car as April shut it off.
Tetiana rested her hands on her hips as she peered at Tutu’s quaint brick storefront. “Tutu’s looks undisturbed, so that’s a promising start.”
“The day shift set up surveillance equipment on Tutu’s, didn’t they?” April climbed out of the car and bumped the door with her hip, shutting it. “Maybe we should check on it.”
April and Tetiana started to cross the street, heading towards a large bush planted on a curb where I knew at least one camera was secured.
I studied the skyline, looking for any intruders on the rooftops. “Brody.”
Brody had been scratching the back of his neck and staring up at Tutu’s, his eyebrows bunching together, but he turned around when I called his name. “Yeah?”
I felt the hot then cold sensation of wizard magic in my mind, but it was just April—she’d created a blue-flamed fireball to cast light on the bush she and Tetiana were rustling around in. I watched for a moment before resuming scanning the rooftops. “Can you scent anything out—any particularly fresh trails?”
“Oh, right!” Brody snapped his fingers, then hopped the curb so he stood on the sidewalk in front of Tutu’s. “There’s a lot here, but most of it I can tell is from a few hours ago. As for fresh scents…” He walked back and forth in front of the storefront, his nostrils flaring.
“Bad news—the camera is gone,” April called from across the street. I couldn’t see her through the bush, but I saw the blue light her flames cast.
“Maybe the day shift decided the threat was gone, and they picked it up?” Brody asked.
“Not likely,” April said. “The mount is still in here.”
Tetiana circled the bush, stopping abruptly and squatting in front of it. “I think I see it—or what’s left of it. It’s been shattered into pieces.”
April emerged from the bush. “It must have happened recently. Is its memory card in the wreckage?”
Brody released a bark of laughter. “Don’t bother asking Tetiana—she’d never be able to recognize it!”
“Do you think someone was already here, and left?” I asked April, keeping my voice as low as possible.
April summoned another ball of flames, so she held one in each hand. Her wizard tattoo was a stark mark on her face as the blue light of the flames lit up her facial features. “I don’t know. Maybe Brody should take a sniff—”
“Werewolves,” Brody growled. He stood on the edge of the sidewalk, sniffing the wind. “There’s been a Pack in the area—within the past fifteen minutes.”
“April, Tetiana,” I snapped.
The duo hurried back across the street while April juggled her fireballs so she could grapple with her radio, pulling it from her belt. “This is Team Blood,” she said into her radio. “We’ve got—”
There was a bang, and April’s radio exploded into shrapnel.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Jade
April thrust her hand over her head and her flames transformed into a blue, transparent, convex shield.
“We’re under attack!” Tetiana grabbed April’s shoulders and steered her around the car, trying to put it between us and whoever was shooting.
I did the same with Brody while I scanned the sky—trying to see the shooter. “Get in the car!” I shouted. “Brody—you drive. April needs to shield us.”
“We’re leaving?” Tetiana asked.
“It’s more important that we survive and warn headquarters,” I said.
April still held both her arms up over her head, keeping the shield active overhead. It didn’t seem like the bullet that had destroyed her radio had gotten her hand, but the shrapnel had shredded her glove and my teeth ached so she must have gotten a few scratches. “Keys are in my front right pocket.”
Tetiana fished in April’s pocket, then handed the keys to Brody as he wrenched the front passenger door open.