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.”
Chapter 3
“Sara, are you sure these directions are right?” Roland twisted the wheel to the left and the headlights bounced over the cactus growing along the edge of the twisting desert road. Not a road actually, more like a track that wound through the uneven terrain with occasional markers to let you know you were still on it. We had been following it for forty minutes, and so far there was no sign of buildings or any kind of life.
“David said it was a bit out of the way.”
“Out of the way or out of the state?” he retorted. “If this road gets any worse, we’re probably going to lose the exhaust... or worse.”
“We should almost be there.” The car crested a rise, and I pointed to a small cluster of lights less than a quarter of a mile away. “There it is.”
Jordan leaned forward in her seat. “Where? I don’t see anything.”
“Right there, those lights.”
She shook her head. “I don’t see any lights.”
“Me either,” Roland said.
“Ha-ha, you guys. Very funny.”
By now we were close enough to make out a large, two-story adobe structure with lights shining from some of the downstairs windows. Outside lights illuminated the front of the building where half a dozen cars were parked.
Roland maneuvered the car across a small wooden bridge. “I don’t know what you’re talking –” He hit the brakes. “Whoa! Where did that come from?”
“What the hell?” Jordan yelled close to my ear. “That was not there a minute ago.”
One look at their shocked expressions told me they were not kidding me. “You really didn’t see it before?”
Roland shook his head, still gawking at the building.
I studied the structure, which appeared pretty normal to me – well, as normal as any building in the middle of the desert. “It must be some kind of spell to hide the place until you get close to it. He’s a warlock, so he could probably do something like that.”
“But you saw through it,” Peter said.
I chewed my lip, just as mystified as they were. “Maybe my power makes me immune to it. I don’t know.”
Roland parked the car in front of the building. He rested his hands on the steering wheel and looked at me. “Are you sure you want to go in there?”
“No, but I think I have to,” I replied. “You guys can stay in the car if you want.”
He reached for his door. “No way am I letting you go in there alone.”
The four of us got out of the car and walked to the entrance. I stopped in front of the arched wooden door and read the sign affixed to it. NO WEAPONS. NO BLOODSHED. NO CREDIT. “Nice.”
“No weapons?” Jordan blustered. “That’s ridiculous.”
I removed my dagger from the inner pocket of my coat and motioned for Roland to unlock the car. “It makes sense if you think about it. He does business with everyone, so he must get clients who hate each other. It would be bad for business if they killed each other at his place.”
Jordan didn’t remove the knives I knew she was carrying, and I waved a hand at the door. “I bet he has a ward in place to detect weapons.”
She glared at me for a long moment then stalked to the car. “Fine, but I’m going on record as saying this is a bad idea.”
“We’re not completely unarmed. We still have Roland and Peter.”
She made a sound that told me she’d rather have her knives.
Roland opened the door, and we filed inside. I was at the rear and had to move up between him and Peter to get a look at the room we were in. For some reason, I’d expected the inside of a warlock’s house to be dark and creepy with candles and wands and spell books all over the place. This room resembled nothing from my imaginings. It was warm and inviting with pale stucco walls, red ceramic tile floor, and a high beamed ceiling. Several pieces of what looked like local art adorned the walls. Brown leather couches, small tables bearing pretty stained glass lamps, and several large potted plants completed the décor.
The occupants of the room were another story.
Seated on one couch was a diminutive man with a ruddy complexion and small pointed ears who looked suspiciously like a dwarf. Across from him, two old crones in identical gray dresses bickered quietly over something. A burly man with shaggy yellow hair held a magazine in his clawed hands. He appeared to be some kind of werecat on the verge of shifting. Next to him, a slightly balding man in a dark suit was playing with the silver-tipped cane that lay across his knees. Everyone looked up when we entered and watched us curiously for a moment before going back to whatever they were doing. There was no sign of Madeline.
To the left of the door, a pretty young Hispanic woman sat behind a desk. She smiled and beckoned us over. “Welcome to Casa Orias. Do you have an appointment?”
“I don’t have an appointment, but I have an important matter to discuss with Orias,” I told her.
She flashed her dimples. “Orias is a very busy man, and as you can see he is booked tonight. If you’ll leave me your name and phone number, I’ll add you to his schedule.” She glanced at her computer. “How about tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.?”
Jordan tapped her fingernails impatiently on the desk. “This can’t wait until tomorrow.”
The receptionist’s smile never faltered. “I understand, but everyone’s business with Orias is important. It wouldn’t be fair to the clients with appointments.”
Something told me sweet talk wasn’t going to work on this woman. I unzipped the small front pocket of my coat and pulled out a rolled-up tissue. Discreetly, I opened the tissue and let a perfect, fat diamond bounce across the polished wooden desk. The diamond had to be four or five carats, and it sparkled under the small desk lamp. Beside me, Jordan let out a small gasp while the receptionist’s mouth made a perfect O.
The phone on the desk rang and the receptionist answered it. “Yes, sir. Canceled? I do have a walk-in I could schedule instead. I’ll do that.” She hung up and smiled again. “Wonderful news. One of our clients just canceled and we have an opening tonight. Mr. Orias will see you right now.”