Page 55 of The Shade of Things
“Good.” Eli sat down next to Teresa. “With his intel we’ll have a better sense of what to expect out there.”
Laurent returned, running his hand through his shaggy chocolate curls, and introduced himself to Teresa. She replied politely enough, but after ascertaining that it was Omar who’d been killed, she shrank closer to Eli, as if Laurent was somehow complicit.
Eli was a great dad, and he’d act as one for Teresa until we got her home to her family, but it hurt to watch Laurent see the young woman’s aversion to him just because he was a shifter.
“This downtown core is only about five blocks by five,” Laurent said.
Eli looked up from repacking his supplies. “Let me guess. You can’t see past it because of fog or darkness or something.”
“Actually no. There’s a single road out. Flat, empty land on either side. Can’t see anything in the distance.”
“Why is there so much darkness and empty terrain?” I said.
“Filling in details takes more magic,” Laurent said.
“I get that, but the game that Ian played took place in a city. A graveyard, a suburban residential neighborhood, and then a small downtown core. It’s a stretch to describe what we’ve seen so far as a city. I wonder if they changed the layout for some reason?”
“I just hope the playground isn’t too far away,” Teresa said.
“Did you see anyone or anything else?” Eli unholstered his gun to thoroughly check it over.
“Yes. A cadre of bloodsuckers and shifters patrolling outside of the center towers. There are a bunch of Sapiens holed up inside.”
“Sapiens?” Teresa looked to Eli for an explanation.
“Humans without magic, like you and me,” Eli said. “We need to hook up with them. Mir?”
I heaved a sigh. “You want me to cloak all of you.”
Emmett laughed. “Now you know how I feel.”
I toyed with Sadie’s amethyst earring. “That’s a lot of people. I’ve never attempted it, especially not when I’m this exhausted.”
“You have to,” Eli said matter-of-factly. “It’s our only way past the bad guys. I’ll give you a couple of hours to eat and rest, but then we move out.” His expression softened. “If I could take this on, I would, but we’re under fire and you’re the only one who can get through the trenches.”
He was right, and it was part of why I was here at all, but in my fatigue, I wanted to snipe at him. Mom decision: a time-out was in order.
“I need some alone time.” I strode to the elevator without waiting for a reply and stabbed the button, grateful that the car was still on this floor.
Laurent slid in right before the door closed.
“Did you hear the alone part?” I hit the top button. “I’m not up to you starting in on me.”
“I didn’t even see you here. I just came for the elevator ride.”
I snorted and crossed my arms like that could protect me from six feet two inches of alpha male. I inhaled his cedar scent, my shoulders slowly unhunching. I could do this. If this section was only five blocks long, I had at most three to get to this other tower. I could hold the cloaking for that long over all of us. Especially if I had a bit of time to recharge.
“We’re working on the hypothesis that the immortality prize is a psychological gambit to motivate the players to keep going,” I said. “That the game is a terror campaign to produce some kind of result in its players. Any thoughts as to why?”
“Not yet.”
When the car opened on the eighteenth floor, I didn’t get out.
Laurent didn’t say anything, riding back down with me in silence.
I made lists of all the things I’d do when I got home. Hug Sadie. Sleep. Take a hot bath. Hug her again. Eat my weight in cookies. Oh, and steak. Drink the Moscato in my fridge.
“I recognize that look,” Laurent said with fond resignation. “You are making a list, oui? What’s on it?”
