The sunshine boy runs out of words.
Collin has told me many times he doesn’t know everything. That he has to look to get the answers, even for the real-time stuff. Which means there’s really only one reason he didn’t know that there were other kids in danger.
He didn’t know because I never asked.
Hot anger flares in my gut, and I want to let myself burn in it. I was so tunnel-visioned with my “first case,” I didn’t take even a moment to think things through. If this ritual was so important, why wouldn’t the vampires kidnap more than one kid? A real paranormal investigator would have at least done a general search for missing teens. And I had the freaking Avatar of Knowledge who could instantly answer any little question I could think of!
I can’t believe I could have been so stupid! Except I can. I was so cocky, so eager to prove I could be some kind of hero, I was only thinking about myself. The real proof of my character is desperately staring back at me through the thick iron bars of a vampire dungeon. It shows clear as day that I’m way out of my depth. That I have no business thinking I can be anything more than useless.
Damn it all.
Well. I would honestly love to continue my shame spiral. God knows I deserve it. But Rafa and I are all these kids have right now.
The entire room is silent, except for a few sniffles from the younger boys. I break it.
“Collin, how long would it take to get them all out?”
The Avatar of Knowledge swallows hard. “Those cells might look old-school, but the security is modern and high-end. Biaxial tumbler lock systems, security pins, the works. The bars, steel plates, even the concrete are all reinforced with composites. They were probably built to contain paranormals. Even if you had a plasma torch, it would take more time than you have. And with just a regular set of lockpicks…”
Right. And we get just one shot at this. Get any of them out, and the vamps will know we have a way in.
But do nothing, and maybe they all die. Horribly.
This is the kind of tough call real heroes have to make—it’s what I signed up for—and now I would give anything for it to be someone else’s decision.
But as I turn back to Emma, the defiant girl from the park who now looks like she should be on a bus-stop poster for child abuse, her vulnerable eyes hopeless, mustard-yellow shirt ripped at the shoulder… and the little redheaded boy in the cell next to her, tears sliding down through the grime on his cheeks, stubby fingers clawing nervously at the wound on his neck… Well, there really isn’t any choice.
Rafa is pale and angry, but all his Monster Hunter bravado seems to have been knocked out of him by the misery surrounding us. He seems frozen, lost. Who knows? Seeing these kids here, fed on by vampires, he might be reliving memories from what happened when he, himself, was a child. He acts all badass and I’ve been taking that for granted, but he’s really only a year older than me, and I’m not all that much older than some of these teens. He heard my question, so he’s looking to mefor what we do next. Because I’m the one who’s supposed to have all the answers. That’s why I’m here.
So, I tell him.
“Twenty minutes a lock. That means we have time to save three. We get those kids out, and then we call in reinforcements. Your people, my boss, the police, the Feds, whatever it takes. But we take who we can now. Yeah?”
I try to say it like I know what I’m talking about and feel like a total fraud while doing it. But it’s like my words lift a weight off of his shoulders. Somehow my fake confidence restores all of his.
“Yeah,” he says, back stiffening, shoulders squaring, clearing his throat. “We save as many as we can.”
“Give me your picks. The spirits will guide me. We’re starting with Emma.”
If I can’t do anything else right, I’m at least going to honor my promise and get Nicole her daughter back.
Rafa doesn’t argue. We head over to her cell. The Hunter drops his pack to the ground next to me and opens it wide, rifling through for the pick set. I place the book down to my left. It flares briefly blue in my fingers until I let go.
As soon as we approach, Emma takes a step back from the bars, face scrunched, not sure what to make of us. But I don’t want her to be any more scared than she already is, so I try to smile and push as much confidence into my words as I can.
“Emma, my name’s Alvin, and this is Rafa. Your mother sent me to get you out. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do here.”
“My mom? She sent you?” Her voice is cracked andhoarse. The way someone sounds after screaming all night at a concert.
I can’t let myself think of the real reason right now. Rafa hands me the pick set. I try to keep my bright and breezy tone.
“That’s right. I work for a private investigator who specializes in magic stuff. And Rafa here is a big, tough Monster Hunter.” I force myself to meet her eyes. “I spoke with your mother yesterday, actually. She wanted me to tell you she loves you, and that she’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
I’m not sure why I added that last part. But they had just had a fight about her magic before she got kidnapped. I guess if it were me, I’d want to be told that my mom cared more about my safety than getting her way. It helps that in Emma’s case, I think that’s actually true.
And miraculously, I seem to have stumbled into saying the right thing. She brings steepled fingertips to her mouth and her eyes well up, but they’re clearly happy tears. They spill out as she closes her eyes and nods, and my heart practically breaks in two.
But I don’t have time to feel anything more than I’m already feeling. Even with Collin’s help, I have no idea if I can actually do this. I’ve read about opening locks in my private-eye textbooks and seen a few YouTube videos, but I’ve never worked on one for real. I turn to Collin, my lips pursed with anxiety.
