Page 72 of The Shade of Things
“He probably just wants some air. Stop being so suspicious. Tatiana sent him here to help us.”
“Where he happened to find a long-lost friend? Stop being so blind, toots. Much as I love Tatiana, she’s always playing a second game we have no idea about, and he’s no different.” Emmett popped the tab on the can and took a long swig before settling in to build a structure using the lone bowl of pretzels.
I rubbed my temples, exhausted by Emmett’s accusations, yet unable to fully shake them off either. I tried to catch Eli’s attention, wanting him to go speak with the golem, but my ex stared straight ahead with a grim expression, listening to Isla.
She jabbed a finger in the air, punctuating whatever she was saying, and they both stared directly at me, before Eli’s gaze darted away, his head bent close to hers.
Emmett’s small tower collapsed and he smashed it to dust.
The golem was sowing discord, Eli was blindly trusting a shifty woman, and Laurent was acting cagier than usual.
Was I being blind to their true agendas? Giving them a free pass because of our relationships?
I touched the spot where Felix had stabbed me. A player had attempted to literally bury a knife in my back. Were there more knives in the dark waiting for me, wielded by people I thought I could trust?
Magic tingled my fingertips as I studied the other table.
Why hadn’t Eli asked Nav to work this case with him? The Carpe Demon operative was way more experienced than I was, and his involvement wouldn’t have put both of Sadie’s parents in harm’s way on this dangerous mission.
Unless that’s exactly what Eli wanted.
I clenched my fists. He resented me for breaking his perception filter and forcing him to see that magic is real. This was payback.
“Yo! Chu!” I strode across the club, Eli meeting me halfway. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” Shadows swirled around my legs.
My ex unholstered his gun, fanning wisps of fog away. “Sapiens are expendable, aren’t we? Isla was right. It’s how all of you with magic think. Well, I’ve got news for you, babe, I’m not going easily.”
Loud voices came from the players’ table, the Sapiens now arguing among themselves.
Emmett arrived at my side. “What’s wrong with you guys?” He took two steps toward Eli, his hand held out. “Give me the gun.”
The shadows solidified, Delilah standing shoulder to shoulder with me, her fists up.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I shook my head. “You said it yourself. Tatiana always has a second game running. How do I know you’re not part of it?”
“Pull your heads out of your asses,” Emmett said. “It’s drugs.”
“I didn’t have anything to drink,” I snarled. “And how come you aren’t affected?”
The golem threw his hands up. “I don’t know! Good metabolism?”
“A likely story.” Eli motioned for me to get closer to Emmett, training the gun on us both. “Are the two of you secretly in league with each other?” Eli cocked his head. “Or maybe it was all three of you against the pathetic human?”
“Get over yourself with your little pity party act,” I said. “You’ve tried to take Sadie away from me ever since you found out about my magic, so don’t pretend you’re helpless.”
A table clattered to the ground; glass shattered.
The Sapiens were in their own showdown. Okeyo had his hand on his gun, Daw had her switchblade out, and Isla gripped a jagged broken wine bottle. Teresa held a chair like a shield, the four of them yelling.
The music, the fog, the screaming, it was getting too much. I swayed, woozy.
Two gunshots went off, startling us into silence.
Eli stared in shock at his hands because he no longer had his weapon.
Emmett did, and he’d blown holes through the two fog machines. He blinked, his head jerking back, then chuckled softly and blew on the barrel like it was smoking before spinning it around his finger, at which point he fumbled and almost dropped it. Recovering, he puffed his chest out, swaggering toward us. “If it wasn’t the drinks, then there was something in the fog making you all act this way. Everyone outside.” When we didn’t move, he fired into the ceiling. “Now!”
We trooped outside, too dazed to disobey, but all still arguing.
