Page 14 of Dark Stars
"I suppose so," Bobby said faintly, andtried to force his attention back to the matter at hand.
At the bottom of the death-trap stairs was…ariver. Or something. It moved sluggishly, which explained why theyhadn't heard it until now, and that brackish smell was strongerthan ever.
"Why is there an entire ass body of waterunderneath the town?" Alejo asked, swiveling the flashlight up anddown the length of it. "It smells salty, but not entirely oceany. Iwasn't crazy about that. Damn it, what's the English for it.Salobre."
"Brackish."
"That's it." He stilled as the flashlightcaught something that wasn't water or rock. "A boat."
"Looks like it broke from its mooringsomehow, then got caught in the rocks. Should I go get it, youthink?"
Alejo looked at him like he'd lost hisdamned mind. "You want to go swimming in dark water you knownothing about to get a boat that's not ours?"
"I mean when you put it that way…"
Alejo narrowed his eyes. "Quid pro quo,smartass. You asked what I'm good at—what are you good at?"
"Strictly speaking, you didn't tell me whatyou're good at. You just said bugs like you."
"They do. Really easy way to freak peopleout. You have no idea how many times I made my siblings screamgrowing up."
Bobby grinned. "I'm going to wager you havean affinity for earth-based arcana."
Alejo huffed. "Yes, in fact. My parents saidfor years that it's shocking I don't have an affinity for deatharcana, as it's so closely tied to earth arcana, and both vodun andbrujería are particularly good at it. I'm no necromancer, though.Couldn't summon a ghost if my life depended on it. I can only messwith bones insofar as they're in—and so part of—earth, but it's notthe same thing as necromancy. What about you?"
"I'm good at a little bit of everything, butthe dark is where I live."
"Like shadowmancy?"
"After a fashion, I suppose. Which is whydark water doesn't scare me. If I get the boat we can—"
Voices. Distant but getting closer. Thefaintest speck of light off in the distance, likely coming from atunnel in the rocks. Well, at least now he knew they needed to goupstream.
"We need to go," Alejo said, killing theflashlight and pointing back the way they'd come.
"We won't make it in time," Bobby replied."Even if we get up there, we won't get out of the church, in thecar, and away before they're coming after us."
"So what do we do? Not a lot of places tohide. They'll see our footsteps no matter what."
Bobby scoffed. "Ours are not the onlyfootsteps here, so I doubt they'll even notice. We could hide inthe water, or…" He looked around for other options. "Behind thatcluster of boulders."
"That I can't see," Alejo muttered.
Bobby grinned in the dark, reaching out topoke at Alejo's cheek, disrupting his entirely too adorable pout.In the most pompous voice he could muster, he said, "Then you musttrust your elders, young one."
"I'm going to punch you later," Alejohissed. "We need to hide!"
Chapter Six
Bobby reached out and dragged Alejo close,carrying him along as he made for the rocks. He dragged them intothe deepest parts behind them just in time, as the faint wash ofapproaching lanterns or flashlights broke up the dark.
He pressed Alejo against the rocks andwhispered to the darkness, which happily reached out to enfold themlike someone laying a blanket over their sleeping loved one.
"What is that?" Alejo asked softly. "What'shappening? What did you do?"
"Shush," Bobby said, lips not quite touchingAlejo's cheek. "Everything is fine. I told you, I'm good atdarkness."
"You said you were a shadowmancer!" Alejohissed.
