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I swallow thickly. “Three more attacks. Paris, Toronto, and Singapore. At least a dozen dead and tons more injured from all of them.”
Andreas sidles over, slipping his hand around my elbow. “Has anyone looked into Balthazar yet?”
I tap in a search and bite my lip as I scan the results. “It doesn’t look like it. Maybe the guy I gave his name to didn’t hear me properly. Or maybe he didn’t even listen, he was so sure we were part of the problem.”
Jacob joins our huddle, his mouth twisting with a scowl. “We should tell them again. Email all the news stations what we know.”
“I don’t think they’d believe it.” I flick through more articles. “They’re still talking as if there aren’t real ‘monsters,’ only some terrorist group that’s using it as a moniker with special effects to make them seem supernatural.”
One of the shadowkind women has picked up on our conversation. Her head jerks toward us, and she rubs the bark-like skin on her forearms. “We want it to stay that way. You can’t tell them about shadowkind. It’s bad enough when any mortals get it into their head to come after us.”
“I don’t think we need to worry about that,” Rollick says smoothly, inserting himself into our midst. “I’ve learned to never underestimate the human capacity for pretending away things they’d rather not accept.”
He fixes his gaze on me. “I have a little more work for you to do before you get your rest for the night.”
Even though I groan at the thought, I straighten my posture, wanting to put on a good front for the watching shadowkind. I know plenty of them are still skeptical about acceptingusinto their community.
We’ve got to show we’re pulling our own weight, fighting our own battles.
“What’s that?” I ask.
The demon motions for me to follow him. “Better done in private. But your three boyfriends here can come along too. They’ll make a good selection.” He pauses, glancing at Dominic. “And we may need that healing power. I’ve got a room with a few potted plants.”
Dominic gives him a tight smile. “That’s all I need.”
The guys and I tramp after Rollick through the gleaming halls of his mansion and into a small sitting room. Well, small by the mansion’s standards—it’s still several times bigger than the cell I was confined in back in the guardians’ facility.
The room holds a loveseat and a couple of chairs, a secretary desk, and a small patio-style table. It feels like the kind of space where people might come to eat breakfast or sip tea while gazing out at the view over the grounds outside. There are, as Rollick promised, a few large, leafy plants rising from pots along the wall.
There are also two shadowkind men standing by the loveseat—men I know are among Rollick’s closest associates but haven’t had much of a chance to talk to outside of our strategizing sessions.
The slimmer, younger-looking man grins at us, his expression as energetic as the wild tumble of his black curls. If I remember right, his name is Lance. It suits him, considering that his most distinguishing feature are those long, vicious-looking claws that protrude from his fingertips.
His companion looks equally intimidating with the square, stony jaw that juts from his face even more strikingly than the rest of his burly physique. It’s not hard to see the gargoyle in Crag even when he’s in human-like form.
Lance bobs on his feet as if he’s getting psyched up for a sports game. “Are we going to start right away?”
I turn to Rollick, my stomach making a seasick sort of lurch. “Start what? What’s this about?”
If it requires help from Mr. Claws and Gargoyle Guy, it must be more intense than I assumed.
Rollick drops into one of the armchairs and leans back to take us all in. His speculative expression only increases my apprehension.
The demon clasps his hands together on his lap and offers me a small smile. “Your talents are a major keystone in our plans to take on this genocidal maniac. How often have you used your banshee scream on shadowkind or your fellow shadowbloods?”
My skin goes cold. “I— There was that time when Kudzu and Cinder attacked us, and I stopped them…” And nearly mangled Billy beyond repair when he rushed in trying to help us. Just remembering that moment makes me twice as queasy.
Rollick nods. “And your friends?”
“Never.” I almost did, once, when Jacob’s early cruelties pushed me close to the breaking point. Instead, I ran away from the possibility of hurting them and got myself hit by a train.
A fact Jake also recalls all too well, I suspect. He steps forward as if he thinks he needs to shield me. “What are you getting at? Of course Riva doesn’t attack people who don’t deserve it.”
The demon gives him a measured look. “All of you will be up against fellow shadowbloods when we go for Balthazar. Potentially a shadowkind or two as well, since we’ve determined that he’s coerced at least a few into working for him.”
His gaze slides back to me. “Have you used your banshee skill at all in the past several days? The regular shriek or the new silent version?”
I shake my head slowly, hating the direction of this conversation more with each word that’s spoken.
