From the front pocket in her pants, she pulls out a folded piece of parchment. Amick’s out of his seat in a millisecond and the two of us sandwich her between us.
The myriad of questions pouring out of us has her shaking her head and taking a step away.
“Okay, calm down. One question at a time. Actually, how about no questions. Just read it, then we’ll talk about it.”
She holds the paper out toward me, but before my fingers can grip it, Amick snatches it away.
“Amick.”
We both holler, but he’s already turned his back to us, and his eyes are devouring whatever is written.
“Have you already read this?”
“Yes, now give it to Creed.”
“It’s about me? Like specifically?” I ask.
“We’ll discuss this tonight at home.”
“What? Hell no. If it’s about me, hand it here, Amick.”
I hold my hand out expectantly. His ass shakes his head and straightens his shoulders.
“It’s in your best interest not to read it right this second.”
“You don’t decide what’s in my best interest.” A frown mars his face and I clench my jaw. “You know what I mean.”
“No, I’m afraid I don’t. So I’ll simply advise you to wait until we’re all together at home before you read this. If you can’t, fine. Manage your own fallout.”
“Amick,” Thayla scolds gently, but his eyes never leave mine as he passes me the paper.
My own fallout.
I’m not a fucking child that’s going to throw a tantrum.
Their murmured words fade from my ears as I unfold the parchment.
Dearest Thayla,
Sincerest apologizes for the manner in which I’m sending you this letter. I wasn’t sure where to send it and it be safe. Then I recalled your pocket I placed the illusion cube in.
Again, apologies for the intrusion of your personal space.
The quest to locate Yemi, Sevryn, and my missing Valtrue members has taken me much longer than I had hoped it would. I greatly long for us all to be together.
That’s why I’m writing you this morning.
I’ve found our missing piece.
Unfortunately, his location isn’t one I can reach on my own or with Nero. Nero is our other member, by the way.
As I was saying, it’d seem our fourth and final member is beyond the barrier of Hellveilious.
I have two favors to ask of you, and I swear to pay back both debts if you shall honor my request.
First, I ask that you not tell Yemi the whereabouts of our fourth member. I don’t want to worry her or have her believing he’s a criminal. I’d like to give him a fair opportunity to explain why he’s in such a predicament.
Second, if you’d be so kind as to ask the God of Death to escort me to him. Once I’m in Hellveilious, I’ll be able to locate him with ease, but my journey may not be a pleasant one withoutsome help. He can also guide me in my decision on bringing our fourth member home or not.
