A collective gasp rises from the brave—or stupid, if you ask me—guests who dared to come back once the solarium exploded. There are dirty, fancily dressed fools crowded in the hall behind us and whispers flutter like leaves in a storm.
I don’t think I ever realized how absolutely moronic the ultra wealthy are until now.
“If he’s not part of this, then it’s worse than we thought,” I say, meeting Revelin’s gaze. Whoever brought that fucking beast to the fights may not be the one who called it, nor the one who controlled it, or even the one who paid for it. These dimwits in Arrowwood may simply make money off it.
“We’ll sort this out,” Revelin assures us, determination steeling his features. “Count on it.”
Tiernan wipes his brow on his decimated suit sleeve and looks at us. “We’re leaving. This douchebag can clean up his own mess. We saved their asses, so we’re not hanging around to face the crowds.”
I give him a grin that could light up Disneyworld. Pissy Kitty is my favorite. “Hasta la pasta, Knobgobbler. We’re out of here.”
The infuriated gasps behind make my night as the guys and I tromp through the rubble to the lawn and walk away.
Talk about a fun exit line… I really should trademark this shit.
We stagger back tothe magical bus, the night’s earlier chill now a balm to our overheated bodies. I prop Khol against a seat, his side bleeding where the creature’s claws found flesh. Dezi moves with quiet efficiency, rummaging through a first aid kit, his vampiric speed a blur of motion as he tends to our wounds.
“Thanks,” I breathe out, trying to keep my voice steady despite my fury and worry. I nod at each of them, my eyes lingering with gratitude on Revelin, who has just finished wrapping a bandage around his own arm. “If all of us hadn’t gone after that thing…”
“We’ve got each other’s backs, Fi. Always,” Tier assures me as he catches my eyes. There’s a fierceness there, a fire that not even the beast could snuff out. “And if you say we play heroes, we do.”
Ducking my head, I try not to let them see how good that makes me feel. Outside of my sister and Philly, I have had no one to depend on in a long ass time. It feels good and scary at the same time.
“It’s time to figure out our next steps,” Revelin says, his tone leaving no room for the fatigue we all feel. He sits at the small table in the gathering area, spreading out a map of the city and its shadowy underbelly of council connections that the guys have been working on. “Because we only have two days until the concert and I’m concerned it will be too tempting a target for the puppet master of this shit.”
“Dezi, what exactly did you pick up about the council?” I ask, leaning in over the map. He’s good at extrapolating information from the things he eavesdrops and he has the most contact with demons in the Night District.
“This is more than just idle hands playing with dark magic,” Dezi replies, his face grim. “They’re deeply entwined with somethingancient, something... malevolent. And it’s not limited to this silly town or maybe not even to Faerie—not with someone creating monsters such as the one we could defeat.”
“Then we have to expand our searches. If the council here are patsies, it means we’ll encounter worse things later on,” I say with a sigh, rolling her shoulders back as if preparing for another round. “We have to dig into the council’s affairs and uncover their secrets so we know what to expect.”
And who not to trust as we make our way through the land of half-truths.
“Agreed,” Khol adds, wincing slightly. “But we can’t afford reckless moves—not with this level of corruption. They’ll simply warn the next links in the chain or their contacts.”
Dezi frowns, tapping his fingers on his lips before he speaks. “Do you know when your pixie will arrive? I think we have more than just fun pictures to share now. It’s important we relay what we’ve found.”
Tiernan rubs the back of his neck, looking frustrated as he paces. “My extra security will be here Friday for the concert. They will go back through the Veil while we travel to Goldgarde, and return for the concert at the end of that week. Perhaps we should send assignments back to Louie and any other trustworthy folks to have them help?”
“Strategy is key, so that definitely will help. We need to identify who they can approach,” Revelin adds. “Does anyone have suggestions?”
I think for a moment, then nod. “They can take a package to Philly. He might be recovering, but the bar isn’t open and he can get his lady friend to take him to the library.”
“Good idea,” Dezi rumbles as he looks at Khol. “Anyone you and your brother trust enough to lurk around the seedier places to listen for information?”
The basilisk ponders, then nods slowly. “Yep. Brick is the guy. He’s got a huge green mohawk and they can find him at fights almostevery night. He may not be a genius, but he’s loyal and he’ll make sure we get whatever we need without alerting my asshat uncle.”
“That helps,” the Prince says as he tugs me into his side. “We’ve made progress tonight, but we’re not out of the shadows yet. I have a feeling we could only beat that damn thing because it wasn’t… very old?”
“I had the same thought, princeling,” Dezi says quietly. “Its power felt fresh, as if brought into this place specifically to hunt us. Which means we’ll likely encounter more of them as we head for the darkness of Reaping.”
A momentary hush falls over us, each lost in thoughts of what lies ahead. We hadn’t considered that the Harvest Court was only a small part of a major journey and the things we find here may not be as bad as what we face later on.
It’s a sobering thought.
“I’m ready to face whatever comes our way,” Tiernan declares, a fierce note of determination in his tone. “We all knew this would not be as easy as following a map and picking up trinkets.”
“Me, too,” Khol echoes, his smirk returning as he glances at each member of our makeshift family. “This is about our family—even our siblings’ little group, too—so we’re going to keep going, no matter what.”
