“Shadow,” he said. “It’s Shadow.”
“What?” Parker asked sharply, looking between Nick and Santa Muerte. He glared at the saint. “Explain.”
“Shadow was Darkness’s daughter,” Nick said. “She came from him.”
“How is she existing in multiple people? An heir isone. If she died, she should have gone to her heir.” Parker gestured at the man they’d just freed. “This guy is… what? The fifth one we’ve met so far? And Gile promised ten?”
“I think that was a distraction,” Nick said. “Come here.”
He walked them out from under the tree, where their shadows were cast on the ground. “Shadow was special among the gods. She had no heir because she didn’t need one. Look.”
He held up both hands, fisting them so they made distinct shadows on the ground. Then he brought his two hands together, so the shadows merged together.
“Shadow was special because she could exist in multiple places, in multiple people. But she was still the same, she could still recombine.” Nick drew his two hands apart. “Or separate.”
Parker stared down at the ground, then looked up at the man they’d freed. “Okay, so we have an old god here who can exist in multiple people. Why is she blowing people up? Why is shehere? Why does she want five million dollars?”
“I don’t know.” Nick shook his head. “There’s a lot here that’s missing, but Shadow is separateandone. Maybe part of her is having a disagreement with the other parts?”
“Shadow has not come to visit me. These pieces of her that you are removing, they are not the whole, nor are they even one of her echoes. They are pieces of her torn away.” Santa Muerte shook her head. “This is a bad business. You must find her andyou must make it right. You must stop playing with the scraps of her left behind. You need to find her before she is gone forever.”
Laurel’s eyes closed and when she opened them again, she shook her head sharply. Parker was still staring at Nick, before looking back to the man they’d freed.
“So, we’re still looking for parasite prime, but it’s not a parasite, it’s an old god who can break off pieces of herself? This does not feel better to me, Nick.” Parker began pacing. “Where could she be?”
Nick frowned. “Give me the map.”
Parker pulled it out of his satchel and handed it over. “What?”
“I think we’ve been looking at this wrong. We’ve been using it to try to find the rest of the people. Look.” He pointed to the starting dot of the spiral, where Durkavic had exploded. “First, right?” Then he traced around, coming to rest on the police station. “Second. The coffee shop would have been third, but we stopped that, and now here is the fourth. The escape room was a long way off.”
“But she was ready to pop,” Parker pointed out.
“Because we pushed the issue. I think we find prime by going to the end of the road.” Nick traced his finger past where Parker had finished the spiral. “Here.”
“The World Tree,” Parker said slowly. “TheWorld Tree?”
“The World Tree,” Nick agreed.
“It can’t hurt to check,” Laurel said doubtfully. “If a god was looking for an easy getaway, that’s the best place to be.”
“Grand Central Station for all of the old gods,” Parker agreed. “Hop on the express train out of here as soon as anyone gets close, back as soon as we turn our backs.”
Nick texted Zahide the address of the park, hoping the man would still be there when she arrived. If nothing else, she might be able to get him some food and shelter for the night.
As they left the park, Parker leaned over. “If she’s a god, why does she look like alchemy?”
“I don’t know. Shadow was the god of shadows and magic? Maybe she’s just adapting to the times.” Nick tapped his pen against his notebook. “If it’s wrong, then we might have a whole different game we’re playing.”
“As much as I’d love to assume we’re playing chess and Shadow is playing checkers, you mean that we’re playing hopscotch and she’s playing some version ofSquid Games.” Parker looked down the street. “That isn’t good.”
“No,” Nick agreed. “When did you watchSquid Games? I thought you said it was too violent.”
“Itistoo violent, but you aren’t going to believe this.Avilalikes it.” Parker shook his head, and Nick looked over at Laurel for confirmation.
“She likes Gong Yoo. I’ve watched so many dramas that I could probably hold a conversation in Korean.” It seemed like she should have been rolling her eyes, but Laurel was smiling affectionately, her expression soft.
The World Tree was so much a part of their lives now that Nick had to remind himself it hadn’t always been in San Amaro, it hadn’t always been a landmark as clear as the ocean or the 101. Parker was muttering under his breath as they drove.
