“It’ll be dark soon,” I say. “We should probably head back.”
“Hey!” She pinches my cheeks, laughing. “None of that Frowny McBroodyFace stuff. This is a good thing, Ani.”
“How so? We spent the whole day searching, with nothing to show for it.”
“Not true. Look, whether it’s just spelled or long gone, right now, this is the closest we’ve come to findinganything, and I’m choosing to take that as a good sign. Besides, you were right all along.”
“About?”
“This. All of it.” She spins around on her toes, her giddiness infections. “Itiskind of fun, being out here exploring with you. I feel like we’re in our own special world.”
“Just the two of us.”
“Exactly. And I think…” Her eyes narrow, then widen, and Stevie gasps. “Holy flying ballsacks! Look!”
“Okay,” I say, turning toward the direction of her gaze. “But if there areliteralflying ballsacks incoming, then this apocalypse just got to a whole new level of—”
My words cut off at the sight before me. Swooping down from the sky, a great snowy owl lands on a ten-foot-high rock slab before us, peering down with his all-seeing golden eyes.
“Hello, my friend,” Stevie says. “I’ve missed you.”
The owl preens a bit, then lets out a single call that echoes around the bowl.
“He’s magnificent,” I say, a little star-struck, seeing him up close like this.
“Ani, I think we need to leave.” Her tone, happy and sweet just seconds ago, is tinged with alarm. “Generally he only shows up when something bad happens.”
I pull out my phone, but there’s no service down here. The last time anyone would’ve been able to reach us was when we were still up on the rim. That was hours ago.
The owl regards us another moment, then spreads his wings and takes flight, back in the direction of the dorms.
“We need to get home, Ani,” Stevie says firmly. “Now.”
Twenty-Eight
STEVIE
The moment we reach the rim, A barrage of text messages hit both phones at the same time. Not bothering to check them, I dial Baz.
“Stevie, thank Goddess. We were just about to head out to the Cauldron to look for you guys. Ani still with you?”
“He’s right here. What’s wrong?”
“Just meet us back at Iron and Bone as soon as you can. Everyone’s here.”
Alarm spikes in my gut. “What happened?”
“There was another attack.”
“Oh my Goddess! Where?”
“Just get here, Stevie. And watch your backs.” He disconnects the call, and I grab Ani’s hand, both of us hauling ass back to Iron and Bone. By the time we hit the front doors, we’re both panting and sweating. But despite the grime, the moment we step into the building, Baz is there, wrapping me up in a crushing hug.
“You fucking scared the shit out of me,” he breathes into my hair, his heart banging against his chest, straight into mine. He reaches over and grabs Ani’s shoulder, squeezing tight. “Both of you.”
“I told you we’d be out all day,” I say.
“I know, I just… All this shit just went down, and I couldn’t reach you guys.”
