“You heard me,” she says.
“Uhh… We have tickets so…” I try to pivot, walk around her again.
She grabs my arm, jerking me to a stop. “Hold up. You got to have pure intent to enter one of our shows. We check every guest. But I can’t read you… You been here before? Where do I know you from?”
Demetri gives her the kind of smile that usually makes girls want to believe his lies. “Don’t we look like good people?”
“You look like one of those pretty boys who tells lies.”
Demetri’s grin widens.
“Too bad that won’t get you in here.”
My brother’s smile fades. He glances at her name tag. “You’re funny, Jayla.”
She smirks. “You can’t go inside.” She sighs again. “We got a lot of fans waiting, so bye.”
“Can we just see the show? Please!” I ask. My belly clenches. The worries rupture inside me, and I feel like everyone can see me shaking. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Mom and Papa—and worse, Grandmère—are going to kill us… if we don’t get killed here first.
“It could all be so simple,” Jayla mutters.
“We didn’t come to make it hard… or to start trouble,” Demetri replies.
She looks at us, her head tilted and her lips puckered with impatience. “Nah. Get out of here.”
Oh, God. I have to say something, do something! “We were invited by Malcolm… Malcolm Davenport.” I throw out the one Davenport name I remember hearing Demetri say.
“My brother invited you?” She leans against the mural on the door behind her. “Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”
“I, uh…” I glance at Demetri for support, only to find his mouth gaping open with shock and horror at the lie I’ve told. “Malcolm invited me to hear him play guitar.”
Her eyes scan my body from head to foot. “I bet he did.” She laughs. “He said someone might stop by. All right. I’ll let you in.” She grins at my brother. “But only because he’s kind of cute.”
“Thanks,” Demetri replies, giving her that hypnotic smile again.
Jayla steps aside and motions for us to enter the building.
Finally.
She smirks. “Enjoy the show! The Davenport Revue is legendary. Music you’ll never forget, sets out of this world. Don’t be afraid, for it’s all an illusion. Just remember that.”
The echo of those words rings in my ears. We’re swallowed by darkness as we move through a long hall. The floor drops, or maybe my stomach does. The corridor narrows as we move. An oil-black sky twinkles overhead, blinking stars lighting the path forward.
Realizing I don’t feel my jeans, I look down. My clothes have morphed just like the sky, and I’m wearing a halter dress that looks like melted rubies. It drips over my curves and has a thigh-high split. My wig is gone. Glitter sparkles in my now straightened hair, and gold heels shimmer on my feet. I pat my dress, feeling for my dagger.
It’s gone.
Panicked, I reach for my neck. Nothing but flesh.
My knife is gone. My necklace from Grace, too.
Did Jayla recognize us after all? Fear grips my throat, chokes me. If they can disarm me that fast, can they kill me just as quick?
I look at Demetri. I want to tell him to check for his dagger, but I’m terrified of being overheard. His jeans have darkened into sleek black pants, his blue T-shirt morphed into a suit with a crimson jacket with a long tail. A top hat crowns his head. He checks his shiny black shoes, probably looking for the blade he hid in his boot. He looks at me and shakes his head. His dagger has vanished too. He checks his pocket, and his eyes widen.
His pocket watch must be gone too.
Our disguises erased. We’re sitting ducks. I look around, shaking. A drop of sweat runs down my back. My heart starts to hammer so loud I can hear it. We are trapped behind enemy lines. There’s no visible way out. No way to go but forward.
