“Then maybe you’ve seen her,” Enne said, her voice and expression too collected, too poised. Levi squeezed her shoulder. “She’s in her early thirties. Fair-skinned. Blonde. Brown eyes.”
“There was a woman staying here like that last week,” the woman mused. “She checked out abruptly, even left something behind. Who are you to her?”
“Her daughter.”
“She was pretty young to have a daughter your—”
“Please.”Enne’s voice cracked. “We’d love to see what she left. And if you have any information...”
The woman hesitated, then leaned down and opened a drawer below the counter. She pulled out a single card, and the sight of the metallic silver back sent Levi’s heart plummeting into his stomach.
It was a Shadow Card.
He had the urge to loosen his collar, or to bolt out the door. The memories of the black-and-white hallway, of Sedric Torren’s menacing smile, sent goose bumps prickling across his skin.
“What is that?” Enne asked. She took it from the woman’s hands and turned it over. The face was the Hermit, a representation of isolation and knowledge. It wasn’t an invitation to the Shadow Game—that was reserved for the Fool—but it was a warning, just like the Tower card Levi had received two nights ago.
Had Lourdes run into trouble with the Phoenix Club?
Or worse...was the Phoenix Club following him?
It seemed unlikely that they’d guessed he would visit the Wayward Inn. His promise to help Enne had little to do with his investment scheme, except that finding Lourdes was supposed to be his way out. No one but him knew they were connected.
“It was the only thing in the room after she left,” the woman said.
Maybe Lourdes had received the warning and fled the city. Clearly, she hadn’t returned to Bellamy, to Enne, which meant she might have escaped somewhere else. They probably had little chance of finding her unless she intended to be found.
Or, of course, she could be dead.
“When did she leave?” Enne asked.
“About five days ago,” the woman answered.
“Did she seem agitated? Nervous?” Levi questioned, his mouth dry. Five days ago wasn’t long at all.
“I couldn’t tell. She was quiet. Didn’t say much.”
Enne squeezed the card until it bent and crumpled in her hand. “Five days ago,” she muttered, wiping her eyes.
Levi put a comforting hand on her shoulder and asked, “And there’s nothing else you know?”
The woman shook her head. “Was she in trouble or something? I don’t want whiteboots showing up and making the inn look suspicious.” She eyed them shrewdly, as if she’d already made up her mind about them. “Get out. I don’t want guests to get the wrong impression.”
What guests?Levi wanted to ask, but then Enne ripped Levi’s hand off her shoulder and stormed outside. He followed, unsure if he should tell her the truth about the Shadow Card. He would tell her later, tonight. It was dangerous to speak about things like that out in the open, especially so close to Luckluster Casino.
She leaned against a chain-link fence, and Levi waited for her to cry, as he expected she might. Instead, she stuffed the Shadow Card in her pocket, the look on her face icy. It made him uneasy, but Levi knew better than to offer her comfort now. It wasn’t his responsibility to console her, even if he felt like he should.
It was a strange notion, but Levi was beginning to consider Enne as a friend—maybe even more than that. After all, they were both trapped in the same, unspeakable cage. Such a bond might not have meant much to Enne, but it meant something to him.
“Let’s go back,” she murmured.
Levi hesitated. Where was all that earlier talk about the blood gazer and adventuring anywhere for her mother? It was difficult to tell from her expression if she was feeling defeated or faking it—her poker face was better than most.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“I’m tired, and, like you said, it’s almost sundown.” She smiled stiffly. “Maybe we’ll try the blood gazer tomorrow.”
Their walk back to St. Morse was silent. Levi mentally prepared a speech for what he’d tell Enne about the Shadow Card, but his rehearsed words kept falling short. Any Shadow Card, not just the Fool’s invitation, signaled a probable death on the horizon. He couldn’t imagine saying those words out loud, considering the Shadow Card he carried in his own pocket.
