Page 70 of The Shade of Things
I scrunched up my face like a little kid admitting to breaking a window with a baseball. “I can animate my shadow.”
Okeyo didn’t ask any follow-up questions.
I think I was relieved?
Laurent and Emmett joined us. Emmett had a Coke and did not look happy about it.
“It’s imperative that we stay sharp until we get to the playground,” I said, raising my voice over the music to direct the comment to everyone. “There’s a staff exit that unlocks when the game ends. They won’t expect us to know that and use it. It’ll subvert any last surprises they have up their sleeve.” I checked my watch. “We have ten hours left.”
I wasn’t about to share the name of the Ohrist involved with the gambling side or anything about the Ascendant, but this information was relevant to everyone.
“How do you know this?” Okeyo said, suspicion writ large on his face.
“A vampire told me.”
He coughed in surprise, then finished his drink.
Isla shook her head. “Impossible. Laurent is the only one with any chance at taking a vampire on and he was with me.”
“You didn’t see her magic.” Okeyo poured himself another drink.
“You have magic?” Isla set her wineglass down. “You should have mentioned that.”
“I knew,” Teresa said.
“Didn’t you trust the rest of us?” Isla snapped, her eyes flashing.
“Was I supposed to put on a show before naptime?” I said tightly. “While we’re asking questions, how did you hot-wire the van?”
“Rahm did it before he died,” she said.
“Really? He chose to leave the safety of the van to go back out into that nightmare just to kill Eli, Teresa, and Daw?”
“That doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Emmett agreed.
“How am I supposed to know why he left? I found the van with the motor running,” Isla flicked her hand at me. “Stop deflecting the important questions.”
“Lay off,” Eli growled. “We’ve risked our necks to save you. We didn’t have to come in here.”
“True. You went above and beyond,” Isla said sarcastically. “Not many would. Are you truly that altruistic? Or just another mind fuck to give us hope and snatch it away?” She grabbed a bowl of pretzels and her wine and moved to another table.
Teresa toyed with the tab on her soda can, her eyes bouncing between Eli and Isla. Ducking her head, she scrambled off her stool and limped over to Isla’s table.
Daw and Okeyo decamped as well, taking more pretzels with them.
“Thanks so much for backing us up,” I said to Laurent.
“Nothing I could say would have changed their minds,” he said. “I assume the same form as shifters trying to kill them, Emmett is a golem, you have magic, and Eli is clearly aligned with us. Plus, Isla is correct. Who in their right mind would willingly come into this game?”
I planted my hands on my hips. “Excuse me?”
“This place is deadly, and you put yourself into peril for some strangers? It was foolish beyond belief.”
“You did the same for us,” Eli said. “It’s hardly like you and I are friends.”
Laurent smiled blandly. “I did it for a sizable paycheck.”
“Thanks,” I muttered.
