“It is not. My house is not far. We will walk.”
Like that wasn’t going to draw even more attention. “I don’t think it’s going to be a good idea to see two yous strolling down the streets.”
“Then perhaps you would give them a strand of your hair,” Than suggested.
“What?” I said a little too loudly. “Are you kidding? You want Tish to be me now?”
The wicked glint in Than’s eyes said he wasn’t kidding. Also, he was enjoying this. Payback time.
“Artishall, will you don a Delaney skin?” Than asked.
“May I?”
“May he?” Than asked. “Unless you have another letter of the alphabet you would like to use as a plan?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. It didn’t bother him in the least.
Because, no. I didn’t have another plan.
I could call for back up, but every minute I dithered, was another minute wherein Ryder and Vivian could see us, or Tish might run.
“Dammit,” I said. “No, I don’t have a better plan.” I plucked a hair out of my ponytail, wincing at the tiny sting. “Is this enough?” I held it out for the ghoul.
Tish, who was still sitting on the ground, took the hair from me, and nodded. They stuffed the hair into their mouth, swallowed, and literally between one blink and the next, I was now looking at myself sitting in the grass.
It was uncanny and set off my fight or flight instincts. An awful lot of my brain was agreeing I should be fighting. Fighting the heck outta that Delaney. Or fleeing. Fleeing before Delaney-ghoul caught me and ate me whole.
I inhaled through my nose, exhaled through my mouth, making space for reason. Settling myself with being around this being’s nature, this kind of magic.
It wasn’t the first time I’d seen someone do something I thought was unsettling, but that was completely normal for them. I’d get used to it if they stayed here. Just the first time seeing myself, a whole living, breathing me right there in the grass was weird as hell.
“Excellent,” Than said. “Shall we?” He offered his hand to me, well, to Tish, and I stepped back, nodding and nodding.
“Are you going to give Than any trouble?” I asked.
Tish shook my head, and I wondered if my hair was always that color—more streaks of blonde now that the sun was out, little glints of red. “I don’t want to die?”
“He won’t kill you.”
Than grunted like that was still to be decided. Xtelle snorted like she didn’t believe a word coming out of my mouth.
“He won’t,” I said, glaring at Than, “kill you. He will put handcuffs on you if you try to get away. And as we both just saw, he can outrun you. Even if you’re me.”
“I am to be tortured?”
That voice coming out of my mouth made my throat close up for a minute. It was the uncanny valley turned up to the max.
“No torture,” I assured them. “Just talk. Go with Than. We’ll figure this all out. Why you’re here, how we can help, what part of the god weapons deliveries you’re involved with.”
My eyes, well, Tish’s eyes went wide. I hoped that was not what surprise looked like on my real face.
“Let me go distract Ryder and Vivian,” I said. “Give me about two minutes, then you can head off.”
“I’ll come with you,” Xtelle said.
“No.”
“You need back up. Every police show says so.”
