There was a loud boom as something struck the Page 66 corrugated metal roof of the warehouse. I stopped and looked up just as a huge section of the roof was peeled back as easily as a piece of aluminum foil. A brilliant light suddenly illuminated the warehouse, shining down through the hole. Blinded for only an instant, thanks to good genetics, I could make out a shape in the center of the glow.

And what a shape it was.

Scarlett floated toward the floor, her wings trailing behind her, more a manifestation of her power than a physical set. She looked every bit the avenging angel as she descended, Everto Trucido clutched in her hand. The only thing that could have made the moment more majestic was if she had been wearing a skirt. Suddenly, I remembered what I was doing before my libido kicked into overdrive and looked again for McConnell. The room bright with angelic aura, I saw him just as he reached the warehouse office. He flung the door open and hurried inside.

With no idea why Scarlett was there, but grateful for her presence, I shouted for her to follow as I ran for the office. As I neared it, a green light exploded inside the tiny building, seeping out through the door and broken windows before it faded. Unsure of what happened, I held my gun out before me and whipped the door open.

The room was empty.

“Damn it!” I shouted as I ran around the back of Page 67 the office, looking to see if McConnell had slipped out that way. He hadn’t.

“He’s gone,” Scarlett said, sheathing her sword. I wondered if Captain Obvious needed her cape.

“Where the hell did he go?”

Scarlett walked up behind me, glancing into the office. She shrugged. “He used the circle to transport himself away. He could be anywhere.”

I growled, having not realized the ritual circle could be used as a makeshift gate.