Page 47 of Grimoire Omens

“Let’s just say it’s not a pleasant fate for them. If the perils of my world don’t kill them, my people tend to capture and keep them for sport.”

“In other words, don’t visit.”

He whirled on me so fast I almost slammed into his chest. “If you were by some ill luck to find yourself in Infernal, you must do your utmost to leave at once.”

“One, I’m not planning to go. Doesn’t sound like a great place to vacation. And two, if I did find myself there, damned straight I’d be fighting to get back to Earth. A place with no internet, no cars, and no prepackaged bags of salty chips sounds like Hell.”

For some reason, my declaration had him dropping a hard kiss on my lips and a murmured, “Let’s ensure such a thing never occurs in the first place.”

Seeing as how I was the only witch he knew that could open that damned door, pretty sure I could prevent it from happening.

“So where are we going?” I asked.

“I was hoping you could help with that. We need to get to high ground.”

I snorted. “This is Ottawa, dude. There are no mountains to stand on.”

“But you do have some very tall buildings. Direct us to the one with the most height.”

“Why do you want to be up high?”

“Because standing atop a rooftop means there will be nothing to impede my magic. On the ground, there are parked vehicles, civilians, and your electrical poles, which could disrupt my spells, not to mention structures Gryvak and his demons can use as shields or places of ambush. A rooftop that projects above the city provides me unfettered space to work with. So, where is the tallest building?”

I could think of one. “There’s the Claridge Icon?—“

Before I’d even finished speaking, he interrupted. “Take us there.”

“The Icon won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Because there are people living in those condos. You can’t simply waltz in and confiscate the penthouse. Not to mention, you’re talking about bringing Gryvak and his demons there, which will put anyone in the vicinity in danger.”

“Can we not fabricate a reason for evacuation?”

“We could pull the fire alarm, but that will just spill people onto the sidewalk, and then the firemen will show up to check out what’s going on.” My brow scrunched as I sought another solution. “Does it have to be the highest ground? Because there is a building that, while not the tallest, goes pretty high and towers over everything in its vicinity. It also just so happens to be vacant because the company that was funding it ceased construction when they went tits up.”

Seeing Ulseere’s confused brow, I murmured, “They went bankrupt, meaning no one will be inside, and it happens to be in an area with little development.”

“Which would minimize civilian interference.”

I was thinking more along the lines of innocent casualties, but at least he seemed interested. “From what I recall, there are walls and windows, but the inside is unfinished. No running water, electricity, or working elevators.”

“There are stairs to reach the roof?”

I shrugged. “Probably?”

“Doesn’t matter. I have ways of elevating us if needed. Take us to it.”

It occurred to me only now, blocks away from the hotel, that I didn’t have my car. Nor could we return for it because Flo had the valet tag. With few options left, I introduced Ulseere to our transit system—once he mesmerized two people into giving us their passes. While the buses did get us across the city, Ulseere did not seemed impressed. It might have been the unbathed dude who stood during part our ride screaming about the coming apocalypse—wouldn’t people shit if he turned out to be right? Ulseere’s deeper-than-usual scowl could have been due to the fact he sat on something sticky.

Once we disembarked, he grimaced and muttered, “Next time, we will find different transportation.”

I couldn’t disagree since it reminded me why I spent too much of my paycheck to maintain my car.

As we walked toward the unfinished building, I asked, “What makes you think Gryvak will find us here, because I’m pretty sure we haven’t been followed.” Choosing to sit in the back row of the bus, I’d spent much of the ride half turned, watching traffic to see if anyone appeared to be trailing.

“He’ll know where we are because you are going to cast a spell that will draw him to you.”