A Specter Raps on My Windowpane: A Noir Urban Fantasy Novel (Alexander Southerland, P.I. Book 7) by Lumsden Douglas

Author:Lumsden, Douglas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

I wanted to continue down the corridor to the lab, but it felt good to relax against the tree, or whatever it really was, and I found myself in no hurry to get up. The gently moving air washed over me, cool and refreshing, and I gazed with half-closed eyes at the grate above the door. Something brushed against my awareness. Frowning, I put some sigils together in my mind, and the world of winds came into clear focus. Directly in front of the grate, unmoving, was an air elemental the size of a drop of water. It could have been any of the millions of tiny spirits that drifted through the air, but the sight of this one caused my pulse to pound and something cold to form in my gut. I sat up straight and stared at the elemental.

Several months earlier, I’d seen an elemental just like this one inside Walks in Cloud’s shop. It had fled when it knew I’d become aware of it: odd behavior for an elemental. When I’d spotted the air elemental in her office, my first assumption was that it had been planted there in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of the RAA formula, or perhaps something else equally sensitive. But Walks had suggested that the object of the elemental’s surveillance had been me, rather than her, and I had reason to believe that she’d been right.

Could this be the same elemental? Something in the back of my brain told me it was. I still didn’t understand the full capabilities of the enhanced awareness the elf had given me, but I’d learned to give credence to certain insights and intuitions I couldn’t explain, or even articulate. I sent out a wordless call to the elemental, seeking a connection and trying not to scare it off.

My call, gentle as it was, rolled off the tiny spirit as if it were surrounded by a steel shell casing. Before I could try again, the elemental zipped through the grate and disappeared.

I got to my feet and stepped through the door into the corridor. I’d wanted to follow the corridor to the lab, but I hurried back to the entrance instead.

Kintay was crouching next to the half-open doorway when I emerged from the corridor. “We need to leave,” I said when I saw him. “Someone’s been watching us.”

Kintay’s eyes widened. “How?”

“An air elemental. It took off after I spotted it.” I shut the door, and the two of us headed for the car.

“You’re sure about this?” Kintay asked.

“Not entirely,” I admitted. “But it’s a strong possibility. And I don’t know how long it’s been watching.”

Kintay stopped in his tracks. “Long enough,” he said.

I followed his gaze and spotted a blue minivan speeding around the corner and hurtling down the street in our direction. I didn’t know who was in the minivan, but I didn’t want to find out while unarmed and in the open. Kintay ran in the direction of the radio station, and, with no better ideas, I hurried after him.

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