“How are you meant to avoid these rainbow boxes?”Iasked. “They’reeverywhere.”
“You want to hit them,”Chloesaid, focused on her own screen. “They’repower-ups.”
“How doIuse them?”
Chloe glanced down briefly at the controller in my hands and then seemed to make a decision, pausing the game.
“Let’s do this differently,” she said, exiting the race and going back to the menu.Shetook the controller off me and connected it to the other one in a little holder, then selected a single-player race.Shehanded the controller back to me.
“Wait, what?”Iasked, retracting my hands. “Surelyyou should be the one playing soIcan watch.”
She shrugged. “Bestway to learn is by doing.Andplus, this wayIcan watch what you’re doing and help you without having to worry about my own screen.”
I accepted the controller begrudgingly, then followed her instructions to get back into a race.Ichose the same mushroom guy and whatever carChloetold me to pick, then waited for the cloud turtle to start the race.
This time, things were a bit easier.Chloetold me what to press and when, pointed to the parts of the screen whereIneeded to look, and explained the items asIcollected and used them.Itwas frustrating, being so bad, and the number twenty-four didn’t budge from my screen, even withChloe’sguidance.Butevery timeIfelt myself getting annoyed and wanting to quit,Chloewould make a joke or shriek as we got hit by an item, andIwould laugh.Bythe last race of the cup,Iwas just as into it as she was, even ifIdidn’t get any better.Andby the time my little mushroom literally cried in disgrace at my last-place finish, we were in a fit of giggles on the sofa.
“So?”Chloeasked when we calmed down a bit. “Whatdo you think?”
“I think this is very much not for me,”Isaid, handing it back to her. “ButIhad fun.”
“Good,” she said, smiling as she turned off the console. “That’sthe point.Itcan be a lot of fun.”
ButIknew that it wasn’t the game thatI’dfound fun; it was spending time with her.Itwas weird, because it was the first time we’d hung out without a single awkward, tense moment.Andit was nice.Iwas no more keen on video games thanIhad been an hour ago, but that was beside the point.
AsChloeboxed up the console,Iturned my attention to dinner– it was my turn to cook, andI’dneed to cook for four.Maggiewas joining us, like she did more and more, and nowChloewould be here, too.Takinginventory,Ihad enough for a shepherd’s pie or a pasta bake.
But by the timeIcame back into the lounge to askChloewhich she’d prefer, she was headed out the front door, her console back in its box, tucked under her arm.Andthe moment the door swung shut behind her, the light-hearted, giggly feelingI’dhad swept away with her.Iwanted it back as soon as it was gone.
Chapter20
Calamity
Josse was untouchable.Theparty had tried time and time again to get to him, but they were thwarted on each attempt.Now, the tournament was the day aftertomorrow, and they were running out of time.
It wasn’t helping thatCalamityhad her face on wanted posters all over the city.Yorickdid his best to help disguise her, but he wasn’t very proficient at it, and she had to walk around in a cloak that concealed her distinctive, gold-tipped horns, which had been highlighted in the guards’ sketch with a little sparkle at the tip of one of them.
They’d split up into pairs for one last attempt at reconnaissance.MorganaandCalamitysat in a tavern where some ofJosse’smen drank, attempting to listen in on their conversations.They’dhad little luck, until one more came in to join his friends, clearly keen to unburden himself of his hard day’s work.
“This fuckin’ tournament,” he said, taking a swig of his colleague’s beer and earning an eye roll. “Josse’sa gambler ifI’veever seen one, butI’venever seen him place so many bets.He’sgot one on every first-round pairing.”
“You know the old man,” one of the others said. “Ifthere’s odds,Josse’son one side or the other.”
“He’s not the only one,” the new arrival said. “I’vejust taken his ante down toCityHall, and there’s loads there.”
It had been all over the city– the tournament prize was anything from the city’s vault or the governor’s personalcollection.Theparty suspected this was why the council was facilitating the gambling; they’d replenish any losses quickly with what came in as collateral.
“And this massive chest, supposedly worth so much gold, and it’s just some dumb necklace inside.”
Calamity andMorganaexchanged a grin.Theydidn’t need to get toJosse; they knew exactly where theShadowshardwas.
* * *
The problem was,they couldn’t just march intoCityHalland steal it.Atleast, that’s what the others kept saying, thoughCalamitywas mostly sure they could pull it off.Apparently, her lack of concrete plan to back up her confidence meant she didn’t have theirs.Theychucked around half-hearted ideas inEdenandCalamity’sroom.Theelf sat cross-legged on her bed next toYorick, whose feet didn’t quite touch the floor.Calamitylounged on her own bed, whilstMorganasat in the lone chair, andLiampaced anxiously across the floor, no doubt wearing it down with his fretting.Nashalastood in the corner, watching with her arms crossed.
“We could enter the tournament,”Yoricksuggested. “Ifone of us wins, we ask for theShadowshard.It’sin their vault, so they can’t say no.”
“UnlessJossewins his bets,”Liampointed out. “Thenhe’d get it back.”
