Page 19 of Stubborn as a Shadow

The cloaked man froze.

Shit. He’d heard me. I ducked into an alcove as he spun around to search for the source of the noise.

“Hold on, I’m going to just…” the man mumbled.

What was he doing? I glanced down the hallway in time to see the wannabe stage magician open an unmarked door and slip inside a darkened room. Good. I could confront him there. Without an audience.

I glanced around to ensure I was alone, then let my shadow form wash over me. I jumped between the few shadows under the hallway tables until I came to the dark gap under the door. I dove for it. Just as I slid under, the sound of heavy footsteps pounding on concrete rumbled out of the stairwell at the end of the hall.

Strangely, the cloaked man hadn’t turned on the light in what appeared to be a supply closet. That worked out well for me, but it raised another set of questions. Had he seen me too? Did he know I was an ally? Had Venus told him about me?

Who was this Rudy Tada guy that Venus thought he’d need two bodyguards?

This whole situation was feeling shadier by the moment.

I should have suspected something was wrong when Venus wouldn’t tell me anything more about Rudy. I’d dismissed my misgivings about her lack of information, more focused onanother opportunity to search for Morgan than what she had asked me to do.

But what had I gotten myself into?

From the gap under the door, I watched as guards spilled into the hallway.

“You better hope we don’t find anything up here,” the guard in front said. “You didn’t respond when the air mage said they caught part of a sketchy conversation. You should have. It isn’t like we can check the cameras.” Huh. That was the same young wolf who’d given the crystal to the vendor earlier. It sounded like she was part of the security detail.

“But these rooms aren’t open yet. Just the staff are here,” her underling said. “Besides, why would it matter? We only have a skeleton staff. I was told to protect the assets, not chase down something a mage might or might not have heard.”

“And that’s why you aren’t in charge.”

The good news: The cameras really were off. The bad news: The security guards were moments away from discovering Venus’ other agent. As irritated as I was with Venus, I felt compelled to protect the mission and the other operative.

Footsteps in the hallway grew louder as I flowed into the room itself. The place reeked of cleaning chemicals, which should help us hide our scents from the guards, even the wolf shifter. I solidified my hand enough to turn the lock and secure the door. That should slow the guards down. Hopefully it’d give me enough time to get this newbie under control too.

“Uh… V…” the man whispered as the lock clicked into place. “Something is going on… Shit. I hear people running. I gotta go…”

“Be quiet and do as I say,” I whispered as his own words tapered off.

The man squeaked in surprise as my shadow form surged up his body, wrapping around him. I solidified just enough to guide him into a gap between the end of the shelving unit and the wall.

The man was smaller than I’d first thought, so he fit where I put him. Unfortunately, he also smelled of makeup. I hoped the security guys wouldn’t notice the smell, or at least not associate it with anything worthy of investigating.

I plucked the earbud from his ear and powered off the device. The last thing we needed was to give the air mages another conversation to listen to.

“Who are you?” The man’s voice was barely audible.

I doubted I would have heard it if I hadn’t been up close and personal with him, but I also wasn’t a wolf shifter. Even that barely there whisper could jeopardize us both.

“Shh… Not now,” I said right against his ear as I covered his mouth with my shadow. He wouldn’t feel more than a featherlight touch, but hopefully it’d be enough to remind him to keep his mouth shut. He shivered, but thankfully he didn’t argue.

When I was sure he was obeying me, I assessed our options.

One of the great things about my shadow form was that it wasn’t defined by gravity. I could go anywhere a shadow could. And right now, the whole closet was dark, so I could do anything.

I swept up to the ceiling and solidified my form just enough to unscrew the lightbulb. The slippery bulb fell through my shadowy hand. I fumbled. I solidified more of my body and caught it before it smashed to the floor.

Fuck. That was close.

I set the bulb gently on a shelf, then returned to my cloaked colleague.

As soon as he felt me against him, he squeezed his eyes shut and held his body rigidly still. His pulse thundered under my touch. He was just scared of getting caught, right? He wouldn’tfear me, because Venus must have told him about me. She wouldn’t keep secrets from both of us, would she?