“I’ll go inside.”

“Alone?” Warwick was raising an eyebrow.

Mike laughed. “Warwick, she’s a hunter. She’s better equipped than we are.”

I thought I would dispute that where Mike was concerned, but was inclined to agree about the rather more unknown quantity of his partner. In any case, I slid out of the car on the driver’s side, ducked around it and went in.

“You look awful,” the receptionist said.

“Yeah. That’s what happens when somebody burns your house down and you have to couch surf.” I was annoyed at her shallow comment, and honestly a little gratified when she looked horrified.

“Somebody…”

“Police think so, anyway. Hopefully they’re wrong and it was just the wiring. Can I talk to Mr. Sams?”

“Hold on.” She picked up the phone to contact him.

I looked around, feeling a sense of relaxation start to come over me. The magazines, the colors. This world that I was worried I might have lost forever. It meant something to me. Thruor managed, though.

But Thruor, I suspected, would just go to another city and become Thea something else, build her reputation again. She had a patience I did not, a patience I had not yet built. And did not build ties to ordinary people.

To mortals. I shuddered a bit.

“He’ll see you. He was worried about you.”

I stepped into the office in back, brushing back my hair.

“Good. You’re alive and unburned.”

“You heard what happened, then.” I let out a breath. “We’re not sure what started it. Electrics, probably.”

“Do you have a place to stay?”

“For now…” Was I making enough to rent a room for me and Kanesha? Could I risk letting…no. They’d split us up.

“Social services should find you something.”

I didn’t tell him that that was what I was afraid of. Then two things happened at once.

The first was a strong sense of menace.

The second was his phone ringing.