Julius opened his mouth only to close it again. When he’d gone to sleep, Justin had been upstairs. He hadn’t even thought about him in the confusion, but now that Chelsie was asking, Julius couldn’t believe his brother would stay quietly in his room through all this chaos. They’d been making tons of noise for at least fifteen minutes now, but the house above them was quiet. Too quiet, almost as though it was…empty.
Chelsie’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You don’t know where he is, do you?”
“He was here just a few minutes ago,” Julius said, following her as she turned and charged up the stairs. “I only lay down for a moment!”
“A moment’s all he needs,” she said, throwing open the door of Julius’s obviously empty bedroom. The far window had been left open, as was the hidden panel where he’d kept Tyrfing.
“He’s gone,” Julius said, shoulders slumping. “And he has my sword.”
Chelsie turned without saying a word, taking the stairs two at a time.
“I’m sorry,” Julius said, running after her. “I didn’t—”
“Save it,” she snapped, drawing her sword. “I’ll be back to deal with you later.Do not movefrom this house until I return.”
She swung her blade as she spoke, cutting a hole in the air. Where to, though, Julius never got to see. By the time he caught up, she was already gone, vanished through her portal without a trace.
***
He was still staring at where she’d been when Bob’s hand landed on his shoulder.
“Standing up to Bethesda’s Shade,” the seer said. “Who are you, and what have you done with Julius?”
“Quit it, Bob,” Julius whispered, shrugging out of his grip. “This is serious.” He could hardly imagine a worse situation than Justin running off alone and angry into the DFZ. “Will she reach him in time?”
“Hard to say,” Bob replied. “But Chelsie’s the best at what she does. If Justin can be saved, she’ll do it. She might kill him herself when it’s over, but she won’t let him die to outsiders.”
Julius was having a hard time finding that comforting. “This is all my fault.”
“I guess it could be if you wanted to take it that way,” Bob said. “But guilt is such a waste of time. I’d have thought you’d be more interested in working on keeping yourself and your human alive.”
His head shot up. “Is that possible?”
“Possible, yes,” Bob said. “Probable?” He shrugged.
Julius grit his teeth. Normally, Bob’s jovial nature just rolled off him. Now, though, it was hard not to be offended. Lives were at stake, and Bob was still acting like this was all a big joke. “This isn’t a game, you know.”
“Of course it’s a game,” the seer said, walking back over to the couch where Marci was standing over Amelia. “Everything’s a game, Julius. It has to be. Life is whimsical, random, and cruel, but a game is something you canwin.”
“Not if your opponent is cheating,” Marci said. “I saw Estella. She certainly didn’t look like she was playing fair. It was like she knew everything that was going to happen. She even gave me this to give to you.”
She pulled an envelope out of her bag, and the smile slipped off Bob’s face.
“I don’t know if it’s a bomb or a threat or what,” she said, holding it out for him. “I was going to show it to Chelsie, but she was kind of preoccupied. Still, I thought if Estella’s cocky enough to send you messages, maybe she messed up and left a clue?”
Bob took the envelope without a word. He ripped the top off and turned it over, sliding something white and small into his open palm. It didn’t smell magical to Julius, but his brother was staring at it like he’d seen a ghost.
“What is it?”
The seer cleared his throat. “It’s a comb,” he said, holding it up so they could see the four delicately carved bone tines.
“Why would she send you a comb?” Marci asked.
“Because it’s mine,” Bob said. “I gave it to her a long time ago as a courtship gift.”
“Wait,” Julius said, because he’d obviously heard that wrong. “You gave Estella acourtshipgift?” When his brother nodded, he cried, “Why?”
The moment the question was out, Julius regretted it. For the first time he could remember, Bob looked…sad.
