A Perfect Blood

I found three witches in the tower with the skill to set one and the ability to work together.” Her eyes came to me. “Witches are a funny lot, picky about whom they share their minds with. If anyone tries to jump out using a line, they’ll find themselves in a cell.”
    I stifled a shiver, and feeling it, Nina said, “How are you doing, Ms. Morgan? I’ll admit I’m surprised to see you after your capture and injury.”
    Jenks snickered from the rearview mirror, and Glenn shoved the folded map into his jacket pocket. “I’m not,” the detective said sarcastically.
    Jenks flew into the backseat. “You thought she’d stay home and watch my kids?”
    Nina ignored the pixy yo-yoing up and down, instead looking at me with a worrisome intentness. “I understood you were shot at close range,” she said, her gaze flicking to the patch job on my pants and back again.
    I shrugged, wishing she wasn’t sitting so close. “It was a small rifle,” I said, trying to downplay it. “Algaliarept ran a healing charm. I’m better than before.” My lips pressed, and I didn’t care if my anger pushed her buttons. “Don’t you think it’s odd, how HAPA always seems to get away?”
    Nina glanced sidelong at Glenn. “Yes, I do, actually. But very well,” she said as if she had a say in the matter. “If you say you’re a hundred percent, you’re a hundred percent. What concerns me the most is your reputation, Detective Glenn.”
    Ivy stiffened, and I wondered if I should ask the driver to crack the window. It was starting to smell really good in here. Which wasn’t good at all. What was Felix playing at? There was no reason he needed to be in Nina right now. He was making matters worse.
    “There’s nothing wrong with Glenn’s reputation,” Jenks said for the rest of us as he came to land on the headrest of the empty front-passenger seat.
    Nina shifted the hem of her dress coat and smiled, showing no teeth. “I’m starting to wonder if HAPA is even there,” she said, and Jenks made a rude sound, his wings folding, and turning his back on the vampire. “My amulet has failed to ping, and we’re right on top of them. There’s no line to interfere. From all appearances, we are descending upon an empty bunker.”
    I felt a stab of worry. I looked at Ivy, who was looking at Glenn. Glenn wasn’t looking at anyone, his jaw set and his focus distant. Crap on toast. Were we out here when my amulets hadn’t worked?
    “They are there,” the FIB detective said defensively as the car eased to a halt at a light and I braced myself. “We didn’t find HAPA with Rachel’s magic. We found them through careful detective work.” Glenn finally met my gaze, and my heart seemed to skip a beat in worry. “Not to say your amulets weren’t helpful, but if HAPA chose their last base knowing they’d have to circumvent magic, their next would be the same. Kalamack told us his intel pointed at the city center. I sent a few people that way in the archives.”
    “He told me that, too,” I said, glad now that I had his charms with me.
    “I simply matched up city-owned buildings with abandoned medical sites. It wasn’t until I threw in military posts developed during the Turn that I found the lower levels to the library.”
    Jenks strutted across the headrest, walking right off it with his wings going full tilt. “You don’t think Glenn would get us out here unless he checked it out first, do you?”
    The knot of worry in me eased, and I leaned back into the seat. “I didn’t know anything like that even existed.”
    Glenn nodded, reaching out when the van took a corner tight. “You don’t build a library that spans two blocks for no reason. It was set to hide a military base, right in downtown Cincinnati.” His attention going to Nina, he added, “I’m surprised you don’t know of it. It was built under your nose. It’s perfect for HAPA’s needs.”
    HAPA’s needs, I thought, frowning. Their need to hold people against their will. A place with electricity and solitude, one with quick access to people and escape.
    “The bunker is too deep for magic to easily penetrate,” Glenn was saying, “but your amulet will light up as soon as we get deep enough. We sent a team in this morning. Someone from HAPA is down there. I guarantee it.”
    My eyes narrowed, and my gaze shot past Glenn and out through the front window as the van’s brakes squeaked. “Approaching the drop-off zone, sir,” the driver said, and my