Chapter 40 Resolved.

Chapter 40: 40 Resolved.

Digging through the trashcan, I managed to find a glass jug that had once been filled with cider, still sitting around from Easter. Once again, I was grateful that I hardly ever threw anything away.

You never really knew when something might come in handy. One of the perks of being a hoarder.

Using magnetism to manipulate a dust pan, I gathered William’s oozing remains and dumped them into the waiting container.

Then I added a little crunched up cereal.

I’d dealt with slimers before, and I knew he’d have a hell of a time getting out of this state as he was.

He’d need time to rebuild his strength. Time I had no intention of giving him, which meant I couldn’t afford to waste any myself.

His mention of the ’Our Lady’ wasn’t exactly reassuring. I checked my phone again. Still nothing from Glacia. That was bad. Very bad.

Picking up the jug, I collected the few things from the apartment that I actually wanted to take with me. There wasn’t much.

A few clothes, my phone, my laptop, and the toaster would be enough until I managed to find somewhere else. It was a little depressing. I had liked that apartment, but by now I’d gotten accustomed to moving from place to place, so I didn’t allow myself to get attached.

As I stepped outside, several of my neighbours cracked open their doors to peek out, only to disappear back inside when they saw me, accompanied by the alarming chorus of locks and bolts clicking into place.

Well, I couldn’t really blame them. Everyone knew what happened to civilians caught between heroes and villains, and I didn’t have the time to stop and reassure them.

I hurried out of the building and into my waiting car, tossing everything I’d salvaged into the back before placing William’s sloshing jug on the passenger seat beside me.

I tore out of the parking lot with a squeal of rubber and sped onto the highway.

No more fucking around. I needed to find Glacia.

About halfway there, William began to stir. I could tell from the way his ooze inside the keg shifted against the glass, probing the sides as he tested his surroundings.

Fine. Let him try. He wasn’t escaping.

With so little room to spread himself out, and the cereal impossible to distinguish from his own body, he didn’t stand a chance of breaking free. I’d dealt with this sort of thing before. While he experimented with the container, I tried Glacia’s phone again.

"Come on. Come on! Pick up..." I muttered as it rang.

Still nothing. I ended the call as I reached her building and parked directly on the sidewalk out front, drawing alarmed looks from more than a few pedestrians. But I didn’t have time to care.

I flung the door open, climbed out, and headed straight for the entrance. The doorman spotted me approaching and immediately straightened, extending an arm to stop me.

"Excuse me, sir? I’m afraid only residents may enter."

I didn’t even look at him, my attention already sweeping over the building. There. The penthouse. That had to be hers.

"Sir?" the doorman said, reaching for me. "I—"

I pulled my armour magnetically from the sewer pipes beneath the street, launching myself into the air and leaving the doorman stumbling backward in shock.

Ignoring him, I floated upward toward the top floor and the suite above. I landed on the balcony outside.

Fucking hell it was cold!

The dryness in the air was enough to make my skin tighten. Steam leaked from the doorway, spreading across the frost-covered railing, but the ice itself wasn’t what sent my heart hammering with fear. It was the fact that it was beginning to melt.

I tried peering through the windows, but they were completely covered in frost.

I seized the handles, but they wouldn’t budge. Screw that! I thrust my arm forward, blasting the doors from their hinges with magnetic force.

With a sharp crack, the ice shattered away, brittle as the remnants of winter during spring’s thaw. I flung the door aside and entered Glacia’s home.

Ice covered every surface. A shimmering sheet of mirrored frost stretched across tables, counters, and walls. It felt like stepping into a glacier sculpted into a palace.

I moved cautiously, the ice beneath my feet already developing thin puddles of melted water across its surface.

I checked every room, but the strangest part was how incredibly... bland everything was.

There were no paintings decorating the walls. No furniture beyond the bare essentials. No photographs. No little knickknacks relatives had given her that she couldn’t bring herself to throw away in case they visited.

There wasn’t even anything stuck to the fridge. Without the layer of ice covering everything, there would have been absolutely no indication that Glacia had ever lived there.

Lacey’s words came rushing back to me. Had she known something about this? Was this actually why Glacia had been cut loose from Razer’s business? I didn’t like where this was going. Not one bit. I simply didn’t have enough information.

But I knew someone who did.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. It was answered before the second ring had even finished.

"Helloooooo handsome!" Patty sang. "How’s it going?"

"Could be better," I said as I stepped back onto the balcony, lifting off before slowly floating toward the ground. "Listen, are any of the paint mixers in the factory still working?"

"Sure! Getting ready to paint the town red, Miles?"

"Something like that. And I’ll be bringing a guest if that’s alright."

"A guest? Oh you naughty boy! But I’m willing to experiment if you are."

"Not like that. I’ll be along in a bit. Talk to you soon."

"See ya soon, handsome!"

I ended the call and dialed another number, listening to it ring as I touched down.

The doorman had managed to get back onto his feet and was staring nervously in my direction. "H-hey!" he shouted, pointing at me and displaying an almost Darwinian disregard for his own survival. "You’re the—"

Without even thinking, I yanked his feet out from underneath him, sending him sprawling onto the pavement with a groan.

"Hope our issues are finally resolved, sir." I said, already heading back toward my car.