Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“Don’t waste time on the past,” Sue told her.
“What am I,” she shot back, “a novice? Mind yer business.”
Austin sighted in on Nessa. “I agree with them. I know it’s bad timing, but—”
“No time like the present,” she said in a chipper tone.
“And other clichés and stuff,” Tristan murmured.
She ignored him but couldn’t hide the blush.
“I’ll shadow her,” Tristan said. “I can organize the gargoyles from there. If we see someone, I can have a gargoyle grab them.”
“No.” Sebastian met Austin and Sue at the base of the stairs before backing up toward the darkened sitting room across the way, making space so we could all file in with him. “You’ll need me. There is only one of them. I haven’t seen any indication that a single person can outdo me, not that he’d potentially sacrifice one of his best for this type of thing. I’ll go to the bar with Niamh. If something happens, I’m right there. Don’t engage until I can neutralize.”
“Potion?” Nessa asked.
Sebastian shook his head. “What’s the point? If our revealing potion can’t detect them, then a vanishing potion won’t be enough power. They’ll see you, see the distortion of a powerful potion, and know you’re trying to sneak around. Anyone intelligent will assume you’re not downtown to spy on our own people. They’ll know we found their entrance point.”
She nodded and excused herself around Austin, jogging up the stairs to get changed.
The door swung open, and I belatedly realized Aljoe and his sisters were here. I hadn’t noticed them walking up. Behind them, chatting, was Fred.
“Honestly, this is the best place to— Oh wow, what’s going on here?” Fred smiled as she pushed through the others to get inside. She looked everyone over. “Look at you guys! Very fancy. I should’ve worn my forest-green blazer with the yellow pinstripes. It sounds garish, I know, but it is actually very cool. I get lots of compliments. And you guys don’t care about nakedness, so I wouldn’t even have to wear a shirt under it.”
“Fred, we’ve got work to do.” Niamh emerged from the sitting room. “Do you have your laptop?”
“Always.” She pulled her satchel around to show it.
“We need to hack into the cell towers and see if we can spot anyone who’s not from the area.”
“Easy.” She looked Niamh over. “Did you miss the note about dress code, or are you crashing the party?”
“I’ll give you two guesses, and you’ll only need one,” Mr. Tom said from the hallway somewhere.
“Nice.” Fred nodded with a smile. “I’m glad I was invited to crash. That would’ve been real fun. But hey, this is fun, too. Where do you want to set up shop?”
“The bar.” Niamh headed for the door.
“Your office. Got it.” Fred bobbed her upper body, bowing to everyone. Her smile increased when she got to Aljoe. She turned to his sisters and hooked a thumb his way. “Trustworthy guy, this guy. He got me out of the woods a time or two. Be careful about those basajunk. They are real practical jokers.”
Aljoe started to chuckle helplessly.
“So.” Fred gave them a thumbs-up. “Hope to chat to you soon.” She pointed at their eyes. “I can see the twinkle. I know you’re in there.” She winked at them. “I know shifter code now—”
“C’mon, Fred,” Niamh yelled from the walkway.
“Okay. See ya.” Fred gave them a salute and jogged out the door.
Ulric and Jasper hurried around the corner and onto the stairs in purple muumuus. They looked around at everyone gathered.
“Hey, guys,” Ulric said, spotting Tristan. “We were told to check in. Where do you want us and do we need the muumuus?”
“Take ’em just in case,” Tristan said, and motioned for the door. “One of you grab Sebastian. Get airborne. Wait for me up there.”
“I got him.” Jasper reached the bottom of the stairs, scooting by Austin and Sue to stand in front of Sebastian. “I’m your ride, buddy. Will you hold my muumuu?”
“Wait, what about Edgar?” Aurora asked. “He should go, right?”
“Yes, someone—”
“Right here, bestie,” Edgar interrupted from behind Sebastian.
“Oh God, no!” Sebastian jolted forward in surprise. Magic flung from his hand and zipped past Sue, who barely reacted, ducking out of the way. The jet hit the wall and plaster rained down. Sebastian tripped and skidded across the floor on his face.
I hadn’t noticed Edger sneaking into the house either. I kinda forgot to keep track of him and Mr. Tom most of the time. People probably weren’t overly pleased about that fact.
“Edgar, if I fly you, you can’t be creepy.” Ulric held up a finger. “I mean it. No lamenting about the atrocities of your made-up gargoyle god. I’ll drop you. I’m serious.”
Edgar gave Ulric a simpering smile, bowing a little, and looked up under his lashes. “We have a deal. Mostly.”
“No.” Ulric wagged his finger. “Not mostly.”