Drea saw me first and lurched forward, yanking me into a hug. When she pulled back, she looked me in the eyes. “Please tell me you have water.”
Crap.
I nodded. Retracting my wings, I lowered the backpack from my shoulders. When I opened it, she reached in and grabbed four of the six water bottles I had and tossed them to Marlow, Dash, and Jacob. One by one, they cracked the lids off and then moaned as they drained the bottles.
“Take them all. We can get more.” I pulled the other two out and gave them to her. “And here are protein bars.” I gave them those as well.
After the water had been drained and Marlow and Drea were tearing into the protein bars, I looked at Dash and Jacob. “Could you fly Gage up here? He just partially shifted into a hellhound and took out the guards at the gate. He’s waiting in the alcove of that library-looking building over there.” I pointed to the one I meant.
Drea coughed on her protein bar and a piece flew out, landing near my shoe. “What did you just say?”
Shame and guilt played out on Dash’s face, and I nodded to him. “I know everything. Please get him up here.”
Jacob just stared wide-eyed at me but nodded.
“Come on, I’ll fill you in on the way,” Dash told Jacob, and they took to the skies.
Sitting before Marlow and Drea, I told them quickly what had happened with Gage. He and I had agreed on the way over here that we needed to tell our friends what was going on with him; this wasn’t a secret he could keep anymore. When I was done, I looked at them both, waiting for their responses.
“I think it’s romantic. He threw himself in front of the hellhound and took a bite that was intended for you,” Marlow reminded me.
Well, yeah, when she put it that way…
Drea cleared her throat. “I’m not sure I would call it romantic, but we will support and accept Gage no matter what form he comes in,” she declared.
I hit the lottery with these friends. “I’m beyond sorry I left you guys here. Arthur showed up and threw a knife into Gage’s side. My mind blanked and the portal closed.”
Drea nodded. “We saw. I knew you’d make it back eventually, but the hillside was crawling with level two demons by nighttime, so we decided this vantage point was safer. Did Arthur get away?”
I shook my head and lowered my voice. “Gage killed him. To protect me.”
Marlow made a swoony face. “Okay, that’sdefinitelyromantic.”
Drea’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Holy crap. Arthur is dead? That’s a huge deal.” If any one of us could fathom the impact Arthur’s death would have on the Watcher community, it would be Drea.
Personally, whenever I imagined a New York City without Arthur it brought a smile to my face. It was going to be nice.
Footsteps sounded behind me and I turned to see Jacob and Dash lowering Gage onto the rooftop. Gage joined us, sitting next to me with his head low. The cat was out of the bag, and I was sure he didn’t know what everyone thought of him now.
Drea reached across the space and grasped his hand lightly. “We know and we don’t care. You’re still with us.”
Gage gave her a small smile, and my heart felt lighter knowing there were no more secrets between any of us. “Okay, we know where my mom is. A place called Devil’s Meadow.”
Gage nodded. “It’s north of the city. On the map I saw, it only had a single tower to denote what it was.”
Before we did anything else I wanted to make sure we had a solid exit strategy. I’d already stranded my friends in the Netherworld once. I didn’t want to accidentally do it again, or worse, decapitate one of them with a collapsing portal.
“Drea, what if I made a portal to New York and we tried to see if your mom was recovered? I can open a portal from the Netherworld back home pretty easily now, but Indigo’s not with us, so keeping it open if things go sideways is another story. I would feel better if I knew we had someone else with us to get you guys home if things get dicey.”
Drea shook her head. “My dad said she was in surgery and had quite a recovery ahead of her. It would only worry her. Besides, your mom is a Shade, so once we find her you can link with her to make a stable portal. We can do this.”
In theory, that was right, but it still made me nervous.
Drea handed Jacob and Dash a protein bar. “Eat up and then we’ll head to this Devil’s Meadow place, but we need a plan.”
Right. A plan. But you needed to know what you were walking into in order to have a plan, and I’m not sure how much we really knew about what we were about to face.
Gage cleared his throat. “When we get there I’ll shift into… you know… and fight that way, carve a path for you to wherever they’re keeping your mom.”
