Solatium (Emanations, an urban fantasy series Book 2) by Becca Mills Page B

gift matured. Serious offense.
    “Okay,” Duncan said, “you two are good to go. You’re supposed to report to Mr. Yellin ASAP.”
    Andy and I shared a look. Figured.
    We took the tunnel to the house and went our separate ways to clean up.
    Twenty minutes later, we were seated in Yellin’s office. I got things off to the worst possible start by telling him I needed a new phone. For some reason, unexpected expenses really ticked the guy off. I was pretty sure Cordus had enough money that him buying a cell phone was like me buying a gumball, but Yellin didn’t seem to see it that way.
    After a great deal of sighing and frowning, Yellin produced a new phone for me. I took it and set my old one down on his desk. It made a beige wet spot on the pristine paper blotter. That was good for one more very deep frown.
    After disposing of the offending phone, along with the hanky he used to pick it up, Yellin asked for a detailed account of our experience. He listened without comment while Andy described what had happened. When he finished, Yellin just sat there, staring down at his clasped hands.
    His knuckles were white.
    That didn’t strike me as a good sign.
    I could tell Andy noticed it too. He had an absolutely-must-not-glance-at-Beth kind of posture going on.
    After about a minute, the silence became too uncomfortable. I had to fill it.
    “Mr. Yellin,” I said, “was that thing what killed the boy in Brooklyn?”
    Yellin didn’t look up. He didn’t acknowledge my question in any way. He simply said, “I will assemble a team for action as soon as Zion is functional. That is all.”
    “Mr. Yellin,” Andy said, “Zion won’t be back to battery for days. Isn’t there another tracker we could bring in? How about Deborah Rosen from Atlanta? She could be here tonight.”
    “Miss Rosen’s range is inadequate.”
    “She can do twenty-five miles. That would cover the city itself.”
    “And what makes you assume, Mr. Duff, that the entity remains in the city?”
    “I’m not assuming, sir, but it’s a place to start. Miss Rosen could start here, maybe rule out the immediate area. Then Zion could take over in a few days, when she’s well.”
    Yellin shifted uncomfortably.
    I couldn’t understand why he wanted to delay. Heck, I didn’t want to see that thing again, and I sure didn’t want my friends to have to deal with it, but this is what people like us were for. It was the whole reason Cordus and the other powers had gathered Nolanders into organizations: weird shit couldn’t be allowed to happen because it could lead to the discovery of the Second Emanation, and that would be Very, Very Bad — from the Seconds’ point of view, at least.
    In the end, Yellin capitulated. “You make a valid point, Mr. Duff. I will look into Miss Rosen’s availability. That is all.”
    Andy and I stood up to leave.
    I had a feeling Yellin wouldn’t be “looking into” Deborah Rosen’s availability all that hard.

    “We need to talk to Theo and Gwen about this,” Andy said, pulling out his phone to text them.
    I’d followed him back to his suite and settled on a couch. Yellin’s weird reaction clearly required discussion — it’s not smart to let anomalies go unaddressed when you’re the one taking all the risks.
    “Okay, Theo’s on his way,” Andy said.
    “Damn. Gwen can’t come,” he added a few seconds later. “She’s in Pennsylvania dealing with some baddie or other. You want a beer while we’re waiting for T.?”
    “What’s the baddie? And no, I want some lunch. Aren’t you hungry?”
    “Yeah, I am. Hold on.” He spent another minute texting. “It’s a green man.”
    I gasped. “She’s hunting a green man? Alone?”
    “She says it’s not nearly as strong as the one you dealt with in the spring. And she’s got Williams with her. It’ll be okay.”
    I sat back on the couch, still worried. Green men were the S-Em’s best assassins and bounty-hunters. One had been after Justine in April. It had