Page 37 of Cry of the Damned
All three of them nodded.
I turned to Owen. “There is something else you can definitely help us with.”
CHAPTER 13
Forthenexthour,we explained our plan. They all listened carefully, though not without deep looks of concern.
When I was done, Owen stood from the crate where he’d been sitting and started pacing, his heavy boots tapping on the concrete floor.
“I was up there today, and they checked every inch of my delivery van,” he said. “They’ve always looked, but not like this. There really is no way I can hide you. Unless,” he glanced at the battle, “some magic is involved.”
Bethel nodded. “I can do a concealment spell.”
Right then, she weaved her fingers in the air. As the spell settled, her body wavered and became difficult to distinguish. It was as if she had blended into the wooden crate behind her, like she had become part of it. If I glanced at the spot hard enough, though, I could still see her shape. It was by no means a foolproof way to hide—more like really good camouflage.
“Oh, gosh!” Heather exclaimed.
George adjusted his glasses and craned his neck, peering at the spot. “Amazing,” he murmured.
“It is amazing,” Owen agreed, “but it ain’t good enough. They poked at the empty spaces today. They’ll find ya.”
Bethel became solid again, her expression uncertain.
“One of us could cause a distraction while they inspect your vehicle,” Kall suggested. “Could that work?”
Owen rubbed his chin. “It’s a risk, but it might.”
“If you’re willing, we are,” Kall said. “We’ve lost everything because of them. We’re ready to do what it takes to save what is left of our pack and to stop them from killing more innocent people.”
The man thought about it for a long moment. If we were discovered, his life would be in danger. I couldn’t blame him if he decided he wasn’t willing to help. He didn’t owe us anything, and it wasn’t as if he’d suffered because of the Academy as we had.
He was just… a good man.
“I’m willing,” he said at last. “I don’t want my city to prosper on the magistrates’ lies and the blood of children. It ain’t right.”
Novuk stepped in front of Owen. “You are an honorable man. I never thought to find someone like you among city people.” He turned to George and Heather next. “Or like you.”
Heather shook her head. “We’re nothing special. I’m sure most Lux people would be willing to help if they knew the truth.”
Ahanu frowned slightly, as if she didn’t quite agree. Clapping her hands, she abandoned her gloomy expression and smiled. “How about we eat something? This is my favorite part of our meetings.”
Eat something? That sounded great. We hadn’t eaten anything all day. Right away, Ahanu and her friends set to work. George retrieved a large picnic basket from behind a crate while Heather reached for an oversize tote bag and started pulling things out of it and setting them on top of a group of waist-high crates. She had a red and white checkered tablecloth and disposable plates, cups, and utensils. With Owen’s help, she spread out the tablecloth over the crates. I jumped in to help, setting dinnerware for ten.
Soon, we were all standing around the makeshift table, passing around plastic containers filled with pasta salad, sandwiches, sliced fruit, and best of all, sweets.
“Pistachio pastries!” Ila explained. They had quickly become her favorite.
Before tasting anything else, I took a large bite out of one of the pastries. “Hmm.” They tasted so nutty and sweet, just like the ones from my favorite pastry shop. “Are these fromSweet ‘n Nutty?”
“Indeed,” Heather said with a proud smile.
“Is that… your shop?”
“Yep.” She looked even prouder.
“By Lux! That’s my favorite place in the whole city! Whenever I had a free day as an initiate, it was the first place I went to.”
Kall and Ila glanced up from their food and looked at me strangely. It took me a minute to realize why. I sounded like a proper city rat, using their lingo and reminiscing happily about a time when I’d been little more than a prisoner.
