I wound through the blocks until I hit a larger thoroughfare and followed Mordecai’s directions to a bluff overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.

“Nice view,” Mordecai said as I parked as close to it as I could. I only wished I could live in a place with this view. Of course, the houses that looked out on the bridge were astronomically expensive in any of the zones, magical or otherwise.

“I bet Kieran has a great view,” I murmured wistfully. “That might be worth trading a night for.”

“Did you fall off the logic truck and hit your head on stupid?” Mordecai asked as he opened his door.

“I wouldn’t really do it,” I grumbled, though I half wished I was a person who would. He probably had a sweet house, and a giant, fluffy, comfy bed.

He certainly had that body. And those eyes…

Mordecai shook his head, looking around the half-filled parking lot. Unlike government buildings in the non-magical areas, the buildings here rarely had lengthy lines, long wait times, and heavy foot traffic. Valens wanted everything in his city to run smoothly and efficiently, something other magical leaders worked on emulating.

“Okay. Just keep your head down, get in, and get out,” I said, grabbing Mordecai’s lean bicep and directing him to an artful stone path leading toward the high, arching marble front entrance. Valens also liked grandness.

“Are you giving yourself that advice, or me?” he asked. It had probably been meant as a joke, but it came out sounding nervous.

“It’s going to be fine. All they want to do is check you out.”

The columns along the sides of the building reminded me of those in Ancient Greece or Rome, but the shimmering decal of thousands of inlaid tiles cast a modern appearance that made a person think of the moving ocean.

“Say what you want about Valens, he has a real eye for beauty,” I said in hushed tones, marveling as we descended a set of stone steps that matched the walkway.

“Just ask his wife,” Mordecai replied.

His body tensed as we entered the door and turned left for the information desk. A chipper woman with blueish skin and bright blue hair beamed at us as we approached. I had no idea what kind of a magical person she was, or if she had any idea a forlorn-looking granny stood behind her, staring down at her. I imagined that only the severely closed-off wouldn’t notice the tingle of constantly being watched, even if the watcher was no longer in a visible body.

“Good afternoon—” She cut off the greeting when I shoved the crinkled letter across the high desk. “Ah.” She looked up with a smile. “And you are Alexis?”

“Me.” I tapped my chest, not intending to be quite so caveman-like. What could I say—official places made me nervous. I was usually only in them when I was in trouble.

Her smile lifted her cheeks. “Fantastic. You are right on time. You’ll just head down the corridor on the left here, to the very end, and knock on room one-oh-seven.”

“Super.”

“Annnd… Mordecai.” Her unnaturally green eyes flicked toward Mordecai. “Yes?”

He nodded.

“Fantastic. You’ll just head upstairs and to the right. Room two-oh-one. They’ll look after you there. Let me just check you in.” She tapped a keyboard off to the side with long purple nails. The click-click-click made me grind my teeth. “And it looks like transportation has been arranged for your return home, Mordecai. So they’ll—”

“No.” I leaned across the desk to get a look at the computer screen. “I’ll be taking him home. He doesn’t need your transportation.”

Her disarming smile didn’t do anything for the tightness in my chest. “It’s standard procedure, Miss Price. Sometimes the various tests can take a lot out of patients. We like to make sure they get home safe.”

“Yeah? Well if he goes missing, what happens then?”

Her smile faltered. “I assure you, he will be quite safe.”

“I know he will. Because I’ll be taking him home.” I gestured toward the computer. “Type that in. He declines the transportation service.”

Now her smile said she was ready to talk down a hysterical woman. “Supplying transportation is—”

“Type it in, cupcake. That’s the end of it.” Cripes. I was starting to sound like my mother.

“We don’t—”

I gestured at the computer again before turning Mordecai away from the desk. “Let’s get you where you’re supposed to go. At any time, if you feel you need to, and can, run like hell. There’s no shame in taking flight. There’re no heroes among patients.”

Mordecai nodded stiffly.

Up the wide marble staircase and to the right, we walked into room two-oh-one. Two people sitting sat on the plush cushions of the wooden chairs pushed against the artfully decorated wall. A leafy green plant adorned the corner beside the check-in window.

“A doctor’s office in a government building. What could possibly go wrong?” I asked quietly, my hand still on Mordecai’s arm. I didn’t want him to take off running prematurely.

The man at the desk, as plain as they came, with brown hair and an average face, glanced up when we stopped in front of him. Before greeting us, he checked his computer screen. “Mordecai?” he said.

“Yes,” I answered, leaning against the desk.

“Fantastic. Just have a seat and we’ll be with you shortly.”

I nodded and ushered Mordecai over to the line of chairs, perching on the seat next to his. “You’re going to be fine. Everything is going to be cool. They’re going to poke you, and take blood, and hook you up to computers. I’ll be here to pick you up when they’re done. Okay?”

“What about you?”

“I have to go to that room downstairs somewhere.”

“I mean…” He swallowed. “What are they going to do to you?”

It occurred to me that his nervousness hadn’t been for himself. It had been for me.

I smiled and put my hand on his shoulder. “They’re going to hook me up to a machine and attempt to read my power level. When that goes wonky, they’ll try another. Then one more. They’ll draw blood, curse the machines, and probably scratch their heads. I’ve done this a time or two. It’s nothing.”

“The more powerful Demigods can sense the power in magical people. If Kieran is calling you in again, he won’t let you bamboozle them this time.”

My stomach rolled. I wasn’t a huge fan of unpredictable authority figures. I shrugged it away. “Whatever comes, I’ll deal with it. I’ve been hustling for a long time. I can handle whatever they throw at me.”

28

Alexis

“Ah. Alexis Price, correct?” an elderly woman with thick glasses and curled white hair said as she looked up from an appointment book. A younger woman roamed in the back of the square office attached to the sterile waiting room, sticking papers into a row of boxes.

No plants, flowers, or racks of magazines adorned the beige walls of the waiting room. No rugs jazzed up the cream linoleum floor. Simple wooden chairs with no cushions dotted the left wall, ample space between them.

“You guys really went above and beyond for this department, huh? A real eye for decorating, this.” I gave her a thumbs-up. “Very welcoming. Nailed it.”

“I’ll be with you in a moment,” the younger woman with smooth bronzed skin said as she worked through her stack.

“You’re here for an assessment, is that correct?” the older woman asked, looking through those thick glasses at me.

“It’s got to be damn annoying that no one ever answers you, huh?” I asked, cocking a hip and leaning it against the lip of the desk.

Her cloudy gray eyes took in my face for a long moment as the pretty younger woman turned with a furrowed brow.

“I don’t appreciate that tone, young woman,” the older woman said. She made a note in her appointment book.

“What happens when the other employee needs that chair?” I asked.

The younger woman distributed her last paper and bustled toward me, her skirt-suit formfitting and her manner professional. She wasn’t doing a bang-up job of hiding her wariness and confusion, however. She probably thought I was one of those magical nutcases who couldn’t handle her powers, had said goodbye to reality, and opted to live in her own world with imaginary people.