Page 68 of Lovesick Gods

On a whim, Danny jumped to the end ofthatblock and waited. He backed up, trying to hide himself in the shadows, which would have been much easier if his stealth suit had been ready.

There was a closer flicker in the windows of a nearby shop as Danny readied himself to lightning jump once more and catch Ludgate the moment he saw him, but then…

Nothing.

Danny waited.Waited. Eventually, he peeked out of the shadows unsure which direction to look next.

“Still haven’t figured it out yet, eh, Zeus?” a voice said from behind him.

Danny whirled around, reaching out to grab Ludgate with both hands, only to grasp nothing but air. Staring at his own baffled and angry expression in the dark windows of the store he’d been hidden in front of, he pressed a hand to the glass. Was Ludgate on the other side, mocking him? Was he one-dimensional? Was he invisible like Andre had first guessed?

A shimmer of the deepest, darkestblackmade Danny recoil and shake his head to clear it. Of course there would be black. There were shadows everywhere. But for a moment…for a moment, he’d thought maybe—

“This is more fun than I expected, Zeus!” Ludgate called from the next street over, down yet another alley, far enough away that he had to yell. Danny didn’t know how the man was doing this, but he was done playing.

Jumping after Ludgate, he reached the corner at the exact moment the other man finished darting around it. There was noway—

But as Danny got there, the alley was empty.

He slammed a fist into the brick of the building. Determined, turning in a slow circle, he walked cautiously down the alley. “A little help, guys? I can’t track him. It doesn’t seem like he’s teleporting, but I can’t—” Danny oofed as he was pushed so hard from behind he nearly face-planted into the wall. He spun around, only to be met by a closed door on the opposing building with nothing but a small square window that revealed dark interior.

“Andre.” Danny clenched his fists.

“I’ve got nothing, Danny! Your trackers show no sign of powers being used in that area other than your own.”

“He’s been using his powers the entire time!”

“Not according to the sensors!” Andre yelled back. “Wherever he goes when he disappears, it must be blocking the signal.”

Seething now, Danny’s hands started to ache with the tightness of his fists. He turned in a circle faster and faster as he moved further down the alleyway. “Coward!” he cried.

“Danny, just stay calm,” Lynn said, “we’ll—”

“See you soon, Zeus.”

Danny spun around with a swinging punch, twirling so fast without anything to slow his motion that he nearly toppled over. Nothing. Not a damn thing but the corner of the alley and a dirty dome mirror mounted on the wall.

“Ludgate!” he screamed, punching the wall again, harder than before, causing an eruption of powder from the dried mortar.

Lynn and Andre talked at him, but he couldn’t make out the words as he huffed and shook with his anger. Nothing changed. Nothing ever changed. He still wanted to pummel the brick until his knuckles bled. Or until he made some lowlife bleed.

Touching a hand to his comms, Danny spat out, “He’s gone. Give me something else.”

“Huh?” Andre sputtered.

“What do you mean, Danny?”

“Somethingelse! Anything. Someone I can…stop.”

Silence answered him.

“I need something to show for tonight!” Danny slammed his palm into the brick. “Something to believe this isn’t all for nothing.”

“Danny…” Lynn said softly. “I don’t think that’s a good—”

“There’s an alarm going off on 7th,” Andre spoke over her.

“Andre.”

---