Page 45 of Strange Lights

“The eldest sister’s?” Calvin asks.

I nod my confirmation.

“Why isn’t she wearing it?”

That is a question I have to think carefully about before answering. “Probably because she’s wearing another disguise, somewhere she doesn’t want to be recognized. The thing about this kind of mask is that the person underneath it doesn’t matter. Whether it’s really her under here or someone else using her reputation for their own dirty work.” I remove the mask I’m wearing and pull the new one on, clasping it carefully over my tightly braided hair. “Wearing it makes you become the monster it was made for. This will let us do whatever we want around here. They’ll think I’m her. Call me Kingsley if we run into anyone.” My voice sounds raspy, distorted, no longer quite my own. From the closet I pull on a dark hoodie that smells faintly of laundry detergent and stale air, as if it weren’t worn regularly, yet washed often. I tug at the sleeve, pulling it down as far as I can over my hand; the lack of Gauntlet will be a dead giveaway if anyone looks too closely.

“Seems risky. What if you’re wrong and you’re caught impersonating her?”

“Worth it. Leave me behind as a distraction and try to get Eldi out yourself.”

With the hood up and the swagger that makes this performance believable, I transform fully into the monster who hides their guilt under this featureless shell. I can’t see Calvin’s eyes with his own face covered, but a muscle twitches in his neck, and he draws away from me almost imperceptibly. I doubt he notices, but it shifts our dynamic from partners in crime to heir apparent and lackey.

“It’s still me. This is just a mask,” I say, not sure whom I’m reassuring, Calvin or myself.

“You, stay out of sight no matter what,” I warn Doug. He makes a clicking noise of agreement. We’re splitting up to search for Eldi and prioritize her escape rather than ours. Doug was much more willing to promise than Calvin. I have Eldi’s watch clipped around my wrist, which will alert me if Doug gets Eldi out first.

“Walk behind me and let me do the talking if we run into anyone. If we’re caught, try not to give away that you’re a werewolf, if you value your freedom,” I say as I stride out of the apartment like I own the place.

It’s fortunate I grabbed the mask, because we’re stopped immediately by guards stationed outside the apartment. That’s new. They wear the shoulder patches and masks that identify them as part of Adele’s closest inner circle of guards.

“Get off,” I order, instinctively twisting out of the grip on my arm and knocking his feet out from under him. I have my dagger out and at the second guard’s throat before he has time to do more than grab Calvin. All three men freeze. No one notices the camouflaged patch at the top edge of the doorway that is Doug, scuttling off along the ceiling and down the hall.

“Let him go,” my voice in the mask thoroughly disguised, an effect that’s partly my method acting and partly some physical mechanism in the mask itself.

The guard holding Calvin twitches slightly, looking hard at my mask. He stiffens as he clocks my bare left hand, the lack of Gauntlet. If these guards think Kingsley is somewhere else, if I can’t play this part right, I’m screwed. I press the tip of the dagger against his neck hard enough to force him to let go of Calvin as I lean in. “If you think I can’t make you hurt just as badly without it, you’re mistaken.” The guard holds his breath against my dagger. It would be so easy to silence him that for a moment I consider it. It might be the quickest way to get back to my mission. But the mess would take time, time I need to get to Eldi. My stomach twists. Eldi. She deserves a mother, not a monster. I pull back.

“Sorry, Kingsley,” he says, stepping away from Calvin. “I didn’t realize you were in there.” He looks toward Calvin, clearly waiting for an explanation.

An explanation that I will not be giving. Relief floods over me that my gamble paid off. I grin inside the mask, knowing my face is unreadable from the outside.

“Where’re my mother and sisters?” I prod the guard on the ground with my foot, flipping the dagger in between my fingers, a showy old trick that comes back as easily, as naturally, as riding a bike. It’s a risky question, as Kingsley should already know the answer, but the guards simply exchange a look as the one who attacked me gets to his feet and resumes his position at the door.

“Dealing with the situation at the loading bay.”

It’s got to be Dave.

“The robot?”

“Carving symbols all over the place, starting fires, trying to murder anyone who gets close to it.”

I nod. Dave is finally putting his havoc-wreaking skills to good use. If only I could witness the disarray he’s causing. But I don’t have time for that, and I have a toddler to find. “My sisters?” I ask again. The more threats I can track, the better I’ll feel.

“They’re with your mother.”

I turn without another word to stride away, but one of the guards calls after me, “She’ll want you to help with the specimen down in the dungeon. You’d do well to get a head start. She says we don’t have much time left now that first contact is imminent.” The mask saves me. My face would have given me away.

Of course. The dungeon. Its nickname naturally came about because it’s one of the deepest rooms in the place. And it’s where Adele doles out the worst punishments. Trapped in the depths of the earth⁠—an ancient punishment, because who needs innovation when your deepest primal fears work just fine?

Specimen. Eldi. Eldi is down there in the dark in a cage. There’s a cage in the back that’s made for creatures like her⁠—one similar to the Winnebago’s, with no gaps to let someone small slip through. I’m sure that’s who “the specimen” is; it’s got to be where she is. It was the logical conclusion all along, but to have it confirmed sets my blood boiling. A rage that befits the wearer of this mask floods my body. What exactly are they planning on doing with her?

Almost there. First contact. Hurry.

That little tingling voice of intuition that lives inside my head grasps at pieces of the puzzle. This isn’t just about punishing me, luring me here. Adele usually works things from multiple angles. Do I have time to investigate?

“Where are we headed?” Calvin draws close, speaking quietly as we turn a corner.

“Information about why they’re looking for kids like Eldi,” I say, jogging now. “Then the dungeon to get Eldi out.”