Page 30 of Heart of Mischief

“None.”

“So all the things you said to me the night of the football game? About me making you feel again?”

“A lie,” he said jovially.

These words stung more than she would ever let on.

“And now you’re here because Loki sent you. As one of your ‘missions.’”

“Correct.”

“And this all started because you wanted something from Loki.Something so important you were willing to give up your humanity to get it.”

Something flashed through Elias’s eyes, but he smothered it before she could determine what it was. “Don’t be so judgmental, Charlotte,” he said, grinning. “Living without morals is a blast. You should try it some time.”

“No, thanks.”

“Your loss. Now, to the real reason I’m here: Rattatosk.”

“More specifically,” said Charlie, “usingRattatosk to murder innocent teenagers.”

Elias placed a hand on his chest, gasping in feigned offense. “Come now. Do Ireallystrike you as the type of person who kills innocent people for no reason?”

“Yes.”

He nodded. “Fair point. But no. Alas—this time, I cannot take credit for the havoc being wreaked on this town. In fact, I was sent here by Loki to find out who is wreaking it—and tostopthem, if you can believe that.”

“I most certainly cannot.”

“Like I said before, I don’t care if you believe the things I’m saying. I just care about doing my job. So.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You can either accept my help in finding the person who’s controlling Rattatosk, or you can flail about on your own and, when your sister returns in a few days’ time, have absolutely nothing to show her. The choice is yours.”

Charlie studied his face for several long seconds. Then she continued her walk back to the car. “Even if I did want your help,” she said, ducking under a low tree branch, “I would never take it. I don’t like you. I don’t trust you. I don’t even know why I’mspeakingto you right now.”

“You trusted me once,” he said, leaves crunching as he jogged along behind her.

“Right. And look where that got me.”

At last, they rounded the bent birch trees, and the Bronco came into sight. Charlie picked up her pace, praying that Elias wouldn’t try to stop her from getting into the car. Though, if he did, she still had that Valkyrie knife in her pocket. If she was fast enough, she could always chop off a shadowy limb or two.

The thought cheered her more than it should have.

“Just consider my offer,” he said. “It’s so much more fun to work together than to work alone.”

“If the choice is between being alone and being with you,” she said, “I think I’ll take my chances.”

“Really? Even when I have a promising lead?”

Charlie froze. There it was. The piece of information he’d been dying to drop. The worm dangling from a hook that he knew she wouldn’t be able to resist.

She turned around slowly. When her eyes landed on Elias’s, she asked, “What lead?”

He smiled victoriously. “A clue. A piece of information that might point us in the right direction. You didn’t think Loki would send me up here empty-handed, did you?”

“I don’t know Loki well enough to guess at what he would or would not do.”

“Well, he wouldn’t. And you can either work with me, swapping info as we uncover what’s going on, or you can work against me. Though, with no clues of your own to speak of, I don’t like your odds.”

Charlie dug her fingernails into her palms. For the last three weeks, she’d kept herself afloat by holding on to four simple promises: