Page 106 of Lovesick Titan

Mal untied John from the back of the chair first, then went around to free the man’s arms. “Wish we could have had our first private heart to heart under better circumstances, Detective.”

It might not be the time for small talk, but John wasn’t making any noise, which worried Mal, and once he got the last of the ropesundone, the detective swayed. Mal clung to him to keep him upright, but his body gave way beneath Mal’s hands unnaturally.

What the…?

Ludgate appeared in the mirror behind John’s chair with fury on his charred and bleeding face. He stepped from the reflection, once again holding the jagged piece of glass.

Knowing he couldn’t risk a moment’s indecision, Mal pulled John’s body down to shield him as Ludgate lunged at them and drove the shard downward. The sting of the glass driving into Mal’s back made him cringe—he’d had worse,he’d had worse; he had to protect Danny’s father—but as John’s body toppled onto the black and empty ground, Danny’s jacket fell from his face.

Mal gaped in horror.

It wasn’t John. It hadneverbeen John.

Outside a mirror, Ludgate couldn’t keep up the ruse completely, that’s why he’d covered John’s face with Danny’s jacket. John’s body was projected by the black Zeus suit, but without the mask, Mal looked upon the face of a mannequin.

“And you scoffed at my acting skills.” Ludgate ripped the shard from Mal’s back, and he cried out at the harsh tear of skin and tissue, unable to tell how deep the damage went. “I think I pulled off Zeus’s father quite well.”

Pushing the mannequin away from him, Mal fought to roll over to get Ludgate in his sights. The crazed Elemental stepped on both his wrists, preventing anything more than a bleed of ice onto the ground and crushing his amplifier as he loomed over Mal with the bloody end of the shard held aloft—too much blood, too far down the length of it. Mal was helpless, injured, and without any backup.

Still, he seethed at Ludgate, “Where is he?”

Ludgate grinned manically around his frayed mask and burnt skin. “Nowhere.”

Chapter27

Danny gasped at the jolt of returning from the mirror world, nearly losing his careful hold on Dom before he caught his bearings. They’d come out the same mirror they entered, the very last one leading to the exit of the trap. Pulling Dom into the light of day, Danny passed her to a concerned Lucy and an attentive Lynn, while everyone started peppering him with questions.

“Where’s Mickey?”

“What happened?”

“We only had Helios’s feed after Prometheus’s goggles broke.”

“The live footage cut out too.”

“What—”

“He’scoming,” Danny said, only taking the time to meet Lucy’s eyes amidst the others. “He’s just getting my dad. He’s right behind me.”

Danny turned around to face the entrance into the trap. He could see the mirror, the doorway they’d used, but Mal wasn’t coming through it. Rushing up to the glass, still mostly outside the fun house, Danny reached inside the reflection and his hand sunk into it.

“It’s still open,” he frowned.

“That means Ludgate wants you to go back,” Stella said, close behind him. “Danny…youcan’t.”

Counting the seconds, Danny couldn’t answer her, still staring at the surface that rippled and then stilled when he pulled his hand away. It shouldn’t be taking this long. Mal should be back by now. Glancing forlornly over his shoulder at those gathered with him, he shook his head.

“I have to go back. Mal and Dad need me.”

“Give him more time,” Lucy said, helping Lynn lower Dom into a sitting position inside the van. “Mickey can do this.”

Nodding despite his misgivings, Danny knew he had to trust that Mal could make it out. But what if they were wrong and being in contact with Mal wasn’t enough for John to come out the same way? What if he needed the mirrorhe’dbeen brought through? What if they couldn’t get back?

“The feed’s on again!” Andre called.

“What do you see?” Danny lightning jumped to his side.

Andre turned the tablet toward Danny. The local news displayed the familiar scene of mirror after mirror, a few of which were nothing but debris after the fight, but there was nothing else in view.

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