Up? Why would they go up?
Sebastian glanced around. To one side of us was a stack of crates, and when he strode into the shadows on the far side, he called to us.
“Here.”
We followed him to see an old metal ladder running up the side of the building. It was missing some rungs, and the remaining ones were rather rusty, but Matt’s head bent to them.
“Yes, that’s it.”
Sebastian was already climbing, moving smoothly up the ragged ladder like a lanky, gray-haired squirrel. Matt glanced at me.
“Go ahead,” I said. If the kidnappers were up there, there wasn’t much I could do with a knife. Not compared to Sebastian’s horn and Matt’s teeth and claws.
The hands that emerged to grip the ladder had already sprouted their three-inch, wicked curves. Matt didn’t have any more trouble with the ladder than Sebastian.
I was, however, another matter. My human form may have had apes in its ancestry—a hotly debated topic, I realized—but it was of no help to me now. I did my best to clamber up despite the missing rungs and the way the metal shifted beneath me, the bolts holding it to the stone building creaking ominously. But if it held up beneath Sebastian and Matt, it should hold me.
At least, so I hoped.
Nevertheless, it seemed like an eternity from the time Matt had vanished onto the roof until I finally neared the edge. Which was when my theory fractured along with the rung beneath me, and my hand slipped on the rusty metal. I thrashed around to find another grip...
A long arm reached down, grabbed my hand, and lifted me like I weighed nothing at all, depositing me on my feet.
“Thank you,” I said. The roof was mostly flat, with a series of what looked like storage sheds lined up on it, each with a door and a lock.
“No problem, Angel.” But Matt wouldn’t even look at me. He’d pushed his hood back, and the moonlight showed me that his face was once more fully human.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, my heart twisting. “Have they been up here?”
“Someone has.” Matt turned as Sebastian emerged from behind a shed.
“They’ve gone,” the Bellati snarled.
“Gone?” I looked around. “Gone where?”
“They came up here to meet someone,” Matt said.
Who would they be meeting on a roof? Something inside me knew, but I wouldn’t let the thoughts coalesce.
“Who?” I whispered. “Who did they meet?”
Sebastian’s eyes gleamed silver. “Matt smells Dragons. The scent is strong. They weren’t worried about hiding it.”
“Dragons?” I swallowed. “Anyone you recognize?”
“Can’t tell. Too many, and mixed,” Matt said, and his lips twisted. “I’m sorry, Angel, but these are underworld Dragons. What are the chances Talakai’s not in this up to his scaly ass?”
No.I couldn’t believe it. My heart told me my Dragon wouldn’t do this. Wouldn’t take the twins. Wouldn’t be involved in Aaron trying to drug me.
But my brain argued that he really wasn’t my Dragon. And if he had done this, then he wasn’t who I’d thought he was.
Then we would have to find him.
And take him down.
2
Matt
