And I did.
Whisper and Hemlockjoined us at Crossroads two hours later. There was aclosed until further noticesign in the window here and the Blacksmith’s shop. But we had a debate on our hands. Should we let the other villains know V was missing? Or did we keep the circle tight?
“We have no idea who to trust right now. If we bring in everyone, it will definitely alert the benefactor,” Hemlock argued.
“But if an alarm isn’t raised, then he might be on alert anyway. It’s pretty common knowledge that we do these check-ins. The whole point was to deter people from going after her in the first place. If we keep it to the four of us, it’ll be more suspicious,” Eva pointed out.
“Plus, it might be easier for us to sneak under the radar in our search. Everyone loves Violet. They’ll tear the city apart looking for her. The police will be too busy with that to pay attention to what we’re doing,” Whisper added.
They all looked to me. Like I knew best, like I was in charge.
“Her bedtime check-in is in three hours. If I’m not able to get in touch with her by then, we’ll raise the alarm.”
“What?” Hemlock stared at me. “She doesn’t exactly have a phone. How the hell are you getting in touch?”
I looked at Whisper, I was too exhausted to explain and I figured he would probably do a better job anyway. He did.
“I fucking knew they talked to each other,” Hemlock mumbled under his breath.
“Who?” Eva asked.
“A friend from school and her super intense, slightly terrifying husband. It’s not important, just satisfying to know I was right.” He looked at me. “You can’t reach her now?”
I shook my head. “The bridge is completely shrouded in black mist.”
“You don’t think…”
“She’s not fucking dead,” I snapped.
“Av, I know you don’t want to think?—”
I picked up Hemlock by the throat and slammed him into the wall. “She’s still alive and if you open your mouth to suggest otherwise one more fucking time I’ll make you wish you were never born. Are we clear?”
“Crystal,” he bit out.
I released my hold on him and stepped back. “I may not be able to talk to her like normal but I can feel her. I think she’s still unconscious. Hopefully, when she wakes up, the mist will clear.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean?—”
“Forget it. Let’s split up for now. I think I know where to start looking.” I looked at Eva. “If you don’t hear from me by 9, raise the alarm. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She stopped me before I got more than a few steps. “We’ll get her back.”
I nodded. “Hemmy, you’re with me.” I jerked my head to the door. “Let’s go.”
He sighed. “I really hate it when you call me that.”
“And I really hate it when you flirt with my wife.”
“In my defence, I didn’t know she was your wife so I feel like that’s not my fault.”
“Shut up. Let’s go.”
“Yes, sir,” he said sarcastically with a salute. “If I don’t come back, make sure he’s charged with my murder, would you?” he whispered as he passed Eva. She laughed in response.
“Naw. Too much work. You’re on your own.”
“Et tu, Brute?”He quoted—dramatically—in a terrible French accent while he clasped his hands over his chest.
