Page 44 of The Shade of Things
Eli shouldered his pack. “If Laurent was sent to protect us, then why wasn’t he waiting for us here? This place is a beacon that we’d be drawn to.”
“I don’t know,” I said tightly, “but I’m sure he has his reasons. Maybe he’s undercover. You just don’t like him because he insulted your precious hockey when you two first met.”
Eli opened his mouth, then shut it, and shook his head. “Let’s just find somewhere to rest.”
I was too tired to fight. With all the new weight, my pack was bulging, adding further strain to my back, and I was minutes away from collapsing.
We let Emmett play one potato, two potato with the houses on the street to choose our destination. His final selection landed on the white house on the corner.
Thank goodness. There were two things on my to-do list: use the first aid kit and sleep. Yawning so loudly my jaw cracked, I followed Eli to the front door.
He depressed the handle, which stuck, though there was a click. The same thing happened on the second try. Frowning, Eli jiggled it. “Third time’s the—” The latch clicked. “Chaaarrrr—”
Emmett bowled us over, sending us flying toward the carport.
The house exploded, the blast wave flinging us onto the next lawn.
A black cloud shot up from the decimated home as debris rained down.
My ears were ringing and my eyes stung, but somehow, I got to my feet and ran after Eli and Emmett.
We fled the cul-de-sac onto a straight road that seemed to traverse the complex.
The ground rumbled and my pulse spiked. I braced myself for another explosion, but the road shifted, reforming into a new cul-de-sac, its dead end directly in front of us.
I threw down my pack and bent over with my hands on my thighs. This new dead end had sapped my momentary adrenaline rush and every ounce of energy. I’d faced death a few times since I’d reclaimed my magic but not repeatedly in a short period of time. “I don’t care if I die. I need to sleep.”
There was no longer a road leading out of here, and we couldn’t untangle this maze unless we mentally and physically restored our bodies so we could keep going.
Emmett pulled a nail from the back of his shoulder with a curse. “Seconding the sleep.”
Eli wiped soot from his eyes. “We’ve got to keep moving. I agree we need to rest, but…” He sighed at our pleading looks. “Let’s case the homes here as best we can for a safe one.”
I shuffled along behind him.
Eli walked the perimeter of a yellow home, then jogged up the stairs, examined the handle, and felt along the door frame. “How did you know the house back there was rigged?”
“Haven’t you ever watched an action movie, dude?” Emmett said. “If the car doesn’t start right away, if it clicks? Leave it and get the hell out.”
“I can’t decide if I’m more upset that your action movie trivia saved us or that I didn’t think of it myself.” He lay a hand against the door as if reading it for bad intentions.
“Totally the second,” the golem said, swaggering. “So much for your wolf hero, toots.”
“Don’t be a dick.” I tugged him along with me over to the next lawn. “He saved us once.”
“No.” Eli jumped down the stairs, having decided against the yellow house. “He acted in a way that happened to align with our best interests. That doesn’t make him trustworthy. Even if he is undercover, which I don’t buy, that doesn’t mean he’s here on our behalf.”
I trudged up the front walk. “Then trust me enough to believe that I’m not an idiot. He’s always had my back. He’s one of the good guys.”
There was a cheery honk behind us. I turned, blinking at the incongruous sight of Laurent driving an old golf cart with room for four.
Eli was as delighted with this reveal as when his dentist had come back with X-rays showing he needed two root canals, but I waved, my smile smug. “Told you he was here to help us.”
Eli and Emmett shared a skeptical look.
Laurent pulled up alongside us and glanced over his shoulder at the smoldering remains of the home. “Could you make more noise? There’s a demon two dimensions over who didn’t hear you.”
How much of our conversation had he been privy to with his wolf hearing? His expression gave away nothing.
