The Sleeper's Harp (The Arcane Artifacts, #1)

Chapter 9 - Shocking Surprise

I sat silently in the passenger seat of Bastian's truck as the city rose around us. Seeing Professor Miller's house had been difficult. I needed a hot shower, fresh clothes, and my bed. I blew out a breath, which earned a glance from Bastian. At least I had the night off. Now I was almost relieved that we'd canceled girls night—

Oh, shit! My throat tightened. My hand wrapped around it, massaging. "Bastian," I croaked, "I need my phone back. Where is it?"

I'd forgotten all about it in the aftermath of what had happened. Had Vivi tried to contact me? If she couldn't get through, she'd be worried. I needed to make sure she was safe, too. The voice last night sounded too much like hers.

Bastian sighed. My phone appeared in his hand, and he dropped it in my lap. I tapped the screen. Nothing happened. "You've got to be kidding me!" I looked up at him, jaw clenched. "You couldn't keep it charged when you put it, wherever? It's dead."

He lifted a shoulder. "Not my problem."

I scoffed. "Ridiculous. Whatever. Please, tell me you have a charger in here."

He reached into the center console, keeping his eyes on the road. A cord materialized. The same kind of charger I used. Exhaling, exasperated, I plugged my phone in, waiting for enough juice to turn it on.

Another phone rang. I glanced up. The dash screen illuminated with an incoming call and a name. Christian Morris. Beneath it, in parenthesis was Walton Bureau of Investigation. Shit. Bastian grabbed his phone from the dock and answered, switching it off bluetooth. "Bastian speaking..."

I could just make out the voice on the other end, but not the words. Bastian stiffened, going rigid. His eyes darted towards me, there and gone.

"Shit," he whispered into the phone. "Right...right. Okay. All right. Yeah, she's with me. We're on our way. ETA puts me at ten. Yep...okay. Hang tight." He hung up and set the phone back on its mount.

On the outside he looked calm—too calm.

A sour taste filled my mouth. "Who was that?" I squeaked.

Silence stretched out between us. I glanced over. His jaw tightened. "Walton PD just called in WBI. New homicide reported in Lower East. Glanneg Building."

Glanneg Buil—

"What?!" I hissed. My stomach roiled. "But that's..." My fingers turned to ice. I clenched them together and buried them in my lap, phone forgotten, and stared out the windshield, eyes blurring. Around us, the world slid by, but inside my head, every thought slid out except one. Something had happened in my apartment building.

Bastian's exhale was drawn out. "Let's just get there and see what's going on," he said, voice calm.

"What did they say?" I demanded, rounding on him, half afraid to hear it.

"You sure you want to know?"

I snapped my mouth closed. No, of course I wasn't. But we were going there now anyway, so I was about to find out regardless. "I'd like to be mentally prepared for the shitstorm we're about to walk into."

He nodded. "Your apartment was broken into. Trashed, by the sound of it. They only found it because one of your neighbors didn't show up for work this morning."

"What?!" I gasped. He'd said homicide. Oh, fuck. "Who?" I whispered.

"Peter Gains? You know him?"

A cold ball of sick dropped into my stomach. I clutched it. "Oh, my God," I whispered, then started repeating it over and over.