“I don’t know.” Jo thought aloud. “Perhaps she couldn’t?”
“Or perhaps she didn’t know what it was,” Samson suggested. “You saw the protection slide off the arrow when Takako touched it. Which, why . . .”
“Because Takako is of the Champion’s lineage,” Jo whispered. “Thatwas the magic that lingered within her through the ages.” After the visions had seeped into her mind as if they’d been her own memories, it was impossible not to sense the similarities in magic between the original Champion and the young woman before her.
“So now what?” Samson asked. “If this is what takes down Pan, then what next?”
“We need a bow,” Jo offered, and Takako nodded her own agreement.
“Samson, can you make one?”
On cue, the crafter lifted his head. “I can, but first I’ll need something.”
“What?”
“Not what,” Samson corrected. “Who.”
Chapter 7
On The Run
Jo didn’t waste time knocking on Wayne’s door, and instead barged in without warning, much to the man’s startled and flailing dismay.
“D-Dollface?” Wayne blinked as much of the sleep from his eyes as he could, though he was clearly disoriented. “Is everything jake? Are we under attack?”
“Sorry to bust in like this,” Jo apologized sincerely, even as she made a quick route to the nightstand to turn on a light. His room instantly filled with a painful brightness. At first, Wayne just continued to blink, letting his eyes adjust, but eventually, he noticed that Jo wasn’t the only one in his room. His face contorted first in confusion and then concern.
He forced his gaze back to Jo. “If we need to hightail it for a bit, I have a bunker.”
“Might not be a bad idea,” Takako muttered.
“Why?” Wayne asked before Jo could get a word in.
“Jo was attacked.”
“I’m fine.” She tried to stop the concern from sprouting before it could take root. “More importantly, we have a plan.”
“A plan?” Wayne quirked an eyebrow at her and on reflex, she glanced over her shoulder towards Takako. The golden arrow, the best clue they had to defeating Pan, was still nestled in the palms of her hands, as if the Japanese woman were cradling it like a child. Wayne looked from Jo to the arrow and back before taking in and letting out a deep, weary breath. “I think you have a lot more to explain than just this plan. But maybe first, you could let me put on some clothes?”
Before Jo could agree that was the best course, the phone at Wayne’s bedside table rang.
“Who . . . no one ever calls that line,” he muttered, reaching for it. Jo’s heart began to race as he ran a finger over the obsidian backing.
A voice appeared to emit from thin air. “Mister Davis, there are some of the King’s Guardians here.”
“King’s Guardians?” Wayne glanced back to them. Jo had no idea what “King’s Guardians” were but she could guess it wasn’t going to be anything good.
“Yes, they want to ask your guests a few questions.”
“Go ahead and send them up.”
“Wayne, no—” Takako hissed, stopping short when he held up a hand.
“Yes, sir.”
“Give me a minute or two, however. I need to dress.”
“Understood.” The obsidian disk went dark and the sensation that filled the air along with the voice vanished.
