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A sharper smile curves Jacob’s mouth. “Maybe even call in some guardians for the day of so it’ll look guarded when those lunatics show up.”
Andreas hums to himself. “Do you think the other shadowbloods will definitely fall for the trick? I’m not sure how we’ll pass on the message without them realizing it came from us. And they could just ignore the possibility.”
Griffin cocks his head. “I think there’s a good chance. They’re driven so much by intense emotion rather than thinking clearly… It’s made it impossible for me to have any sway over them, but that also means we can use the emotions they’re already feeling to drive them in the direction we want. If they believe there’s a legitimate threat, and they’re angry about the idea of the guardians attacking them, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s enough.”
Ignoring the growing queasiness pooling in my gut, I nod. “And if they don’t take the bait, fine. We try something else. We won’t have really lost anything.”
Rollick appears out of the shadows, standing in the doorway. “My people might not be much use for any actual fighting in here, but they can help pass on the message. I’ll send a few shadowkind who haven’t been present for the previous fights—they can approach the shadowbloods, pretending to be on their side. Claiming they support the killing of the mortals and want to give a warning about a possible threat.”
“They’d have to be careful about it,” I say. “The rogues have killed shadowkind before. But I can see that trick working.”
I can see the whole plan coming together in my head while we stand in the building I thought I’d never have to set foot in again. Somehow feeling the path toward our goal solidifying doesn’t reassure me the way I’d like.
My queasiness remains as we walk back outside for a gulp of fresh air and to survey the grounds before we venture deeper inside. Images flash by with each blink of my eyes: Tegan crumpling in Fang’s jaws, Lindsay’s wrists flayed open by Balthazar’s manacles, George lying dead at the edge of the desert town where Clancy sent us on our last mission.
There are so many shadowbloods dead already. By the time we’re finished here, there might be no one left at all except for us Firsts and the two we still have with us who weren’t affected too badly by Balthazar’s procedures.
As we fan out across the field, Andreas veers after me. He touches my arm with a gentle stroke of his fingers. “You look worried. If you think there’s a problem with the setup, we should deal with it now.”
“It’s not that.” My head droops. “When we found out about the younger shadowbloods, I promised myself—and them—that we’d help them too. Get them away from the guardians. And now…”
We slow as we reach the back fence. Andreas’s voice comes out rough. “And now we’re figuring out the easiest way to kill them.”
I shiver at his words, even though I was the one who set us on this course. “If I could see any other way—if we’d been able to get through to them at all… It isn’tfair. As if the guardians hadn’t fucked us up enough, Balthazar had to go and totally mess with their heads.”
Andreas grimaces. “Maybe I should have taken the chance when we killed him—when we were there with him, I could have erased his existence from everyone’s memories.”
As much as I’d like to erase everything Balthazar ever did, my mind recoils from Drey’s suggestion. “No. Just wiping out the memories of him wouldn’t have been enough. The shadowbloods he created and whose powers he beefed up would still have been crazed and angry about everything else. And thenwewouldn’t have remembered what he’d done.”
“Okay, fair point.”
The memory of our fellow shadowbloods’ rage pricks at me as deeply as the emotions our past here stirs up. Nadia is so angry about so many things…
I pause, a few of my thoughts connecting in a way that takes my breath away. For a few seconds, I don’t dare to speak.
Andreas gives me a curious look. “What?”
I know better than to put too much stock in hope these days. But all the same, a flutter of it passes through my chest, raising my spirits just a little.
I turn to face Drey with a nervous thump of my heart. “What if there’s another way you could use your power to help set things right?”
Twenty-Seven
Andreas
“Idon’t understand,” the boy says for what might be the tenth time, looking down at his hands where he’s sitting on the end of the hotel bed and then glancing up at me. “I hurt someone? I can’t remember… I can’t remember anything.”
I take a deep breath before repeating the explanation we decided on. “It’s because of that accident I told you about. It seems like it affected your memory. We don’t know if you’ll get those memories back—but we can help you figure things out from here.”
Griffin nods where he’s standing next to me. “It’s like you were sick, but you can get better now. You’re surrounded by friends. We’ll make sure you’re safe.”
I know my friend is sending wave after wave of calming emotion over the kid whose mind I wiped half an hour ago. The shadowblood boy who nearly pulled Zian’s arm out of its socket a few days ago, who when he woke up before wouldn’t do anything but thrash against his restraints and shout threats at us.
Just in case the boy’s temper snaps after all, Pearl and Dominic are standing by in the new hotel room Rollick got us for this purpose. Pearl’s ready to attempt her succubus persuasion on him and Dominic to drain him into unconsciousness if the former strategy doesn’t work.
But so far we haven’t needed them. After talking with the kid for several minutes at first and getting Griffin’s confirmation that he didn’t see any reason for alarm, we removed the chains. We’re still staying wary, but my trepidation is giving way to a bittersweet sense of relief.
Riva’s suggestion may have actually worked. By cutting Balthazar’s shadowbloods off from their memories of everything they had to rage about, we’ve diffused their fury.
