It didn’t take long for my watch to buzz again.How could you form a pathway for Rian to return to his homeland without telling me?
“Probably should have thought of that,” I muttered as Crispin moseyed over to read the text over my shoulder.
“Ah, yes. We discussed that after you abandoned me at the palace. Rian will be amongst the first group of volunteers to cross the pathway.”
I glared over my shoulder at Crispin. “You could have warned me.”
“You weresleeping.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.
I sighed. “Well she’s just going to have to be upset for now. I don’t have time to go console her.”
Sebastian approached us, handing me my coffee as another text came through.
And another thing! You might want to know that a wave of magic hit the city last night.
Alarmed, I scrolled down to continue reading.
To those unable to sense it, it was just a blackout. But as you know, plenty of us could tell otherwise and guess the source.
Reading along over my shoulder again, Crispin’s eyebrows shot up. “That source beingyou, I’m assuming.”
“Oh be quiet.” I hit the dictation button again. “Did anything else happen?”
Oh, so that you reply to.
“DAWN,” I dictated in all caps.
I thought she might not reply just to teach me a lesson, but after a moment of me sipping my coffee, another message came through.
No other obvious differences like the lights going out for twenty minutes, But it feels different out here. Can’t you tell? Or are you cozied up in bed in the Bogs? You know, I had half a mind to go drag you out. Don’t forget that I have troll blood. I can go beyond those gates.
I didn’t bother explaining to her that I was actually in the city, but we had jumped right to the hidden apartment. I hadn’t gone out to notice anything amiss.
“We should probably look into this,” Crispin said as Sebastian gripped my wrist to also read the text. Gabriel didn’t seem terribly concerned with whatever it said.
Done reading, Sebastian dropped my wrist. “We can look into it after you create the pathway.”
Hereallywanted to kill his sister. “We have to be sure this doesn’t have something to do with the darkness. Maybe it’s nothing, or maybe something crept through without us noticing.” I met Crispin’s waiting gaze and knew he was thinking the same thing I was. It had crept past him into his home realm without him noticing. It could have very well gotten to earth the same way, hiding from us until it was ready to travel.
“And what do you suggest we do about it?” Sebastian said tersely.
I looked at each of the guys, but it was only Crispin who had something to offer. “Perhaps we should ask the nymphs. They are the ones most tied to the earth outside of the boundaries. If there’s been a shift, they might be able to tell us exactly what it is.”
I took another sip of my coffee. It was almost dark outside now. I was really glad I had at least gotten a nap.
“Nymphs, then the pathway for Penelope.” I looked at Gabriel. “Can you have someone send word to Mistral?”
He nodded and pulled out his phone. There were plenty of goblins in the city he could contact to carry a message in hisstead. For now, I wanted him with us, just in case whatever Dawn sensed was the darkness within the city. Because Marcie was right about one thing. If we let the darkness free, we were going to have one very pissed off ancient vampire and her entire brood of minions biting at our heels—or necks, as it were.
We jumped directly to the nymphs’park. I was really starting to get the hang of this traveling business. Of course, I still wasn’t tactful enough to be discreet. A human woman let out a surprised scream when we appeared too close to her. We didn’t try to attack her, but she took one look at Gabriel with his sword and ran.
Or maybe she had noticed my sword too, though I was doing my best to keep it mostly hidden. Walking around with swords in the city wasn’t exactly legal. And anyways, the small blue goblin on my shoulder probably drew more attention, even in the darkness.
At least the other woman near the park didn’t scream and run. Isadora merely watched us with a bemused expression. She wore a cropped white T-shirt, frayed jean shorts, and an oversized flannel. A trucker hat covered most of her red pixie cut. She held a strange device in her hands, part of it a metal box, and part of it clear glass filled with glittering liquid.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as the guys released their hold on me.
Taking each of them in, Isadora looked even more amused. “Something real strange is going on.” She shook her little device. “And whatever it is seems to be concentrated right here.” She pointed her device at the gates, and the glittery liquid turnedfrom clear to glowing purple. “I just wish I could get one of the nymphs to come out here so I can question them.”
