The fire I couldn’t really feel ran across the top of that huge mound of brick, metal, and god knows what else. If we wanted to progress into the fire zone, we’d have to climb up it . . . The thought stalled as my gaze went to the building that ran the length of the street on the opposite side of all the rubble. It was a three-story brick building that had obviously once been a warehouse of some kind. Though the far end of it disappeared into the fire zone, the bricks nearest the barrier weren’t holding any heat, and neither the wall nor the roof showed any signs of recent damage, suggesting there was a chance the section we couldn’t see was also whole. There were two roller-door entrances in the visible portion that were blocked by bricks and metal, and all the windows were protected by heavy-duty mesh. While we had neither the time nor the manpower to remove the debris, the mesh had little chance of standing up to the heat of a phoenix.

Rinaldo might want us to take the obvious entrance, but maybe it’d be better to take a different route. Neither he nor his witch wanted to go into this place, and that suggested there was something wrong here—something they had no control over.

“According to the witches we consulted,” Sam said, “there’s a break in the fire at the highest point of the building rubble. They believe it’s an entrance of some kind.”

“And, naturally, it’s an invisible entrance.” Jackson’s tone was a mix of amusement and frustration. “Because almost nothing in this goddamn investigation has gone according to plan or been easy.”

Sam snorted. “And you’ve only been investigating it for a couple of weeks. Imagine how we feel.”

“I’m thinking ‘pissed off’ would be putting it mildly.”

“Yeah.” Sam’s gaze came to me. “Can you sense the break?”

“No.” I hesitated and waved a hand toward the warehouse. “What did the witches say about that building?”

He frowned. “Nothing that I’m aware of—why?”

“Because we’re very obviously meant to climb that pile of shit ahead, and I’m thinking we should do the exact opposite.”

Jackson frowned. “I doubt they’d leave such an obvious means of entry unprotected.”

“True, but it’s still a better option than climbing a debris mound that may or may not be stable.” Sam motioned toward the nearest window. “Care to flex a flame muscle or two, Em?”

A smile touched my lips. “It would be my pleasure.”

I did, and all too quickly the mesh was little more than molten gray liquid oozing down the grimy bricks. Sam unclipped the small flashlight from his belt and walked over. The powerful beam parted the shadows that dominated the building’s interior, revealing the broken remnants of walls and a sea of hanging wiring and lights.