Almost.
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Look. I’m not getting … what I got before. It’s confusing me—”
“Me, too.”
“But I think whatever you’re doing is weakening, so …”
I could feel it, too, leaving as suddenly and as inexplicably as it had arrived, so I knew it wouldn’t hold him there for a hundred years or anything. That much was reassuring. I nodded and looked away. “I should go now. Gerry, that stuff down the street? That was a false scent. I think the Order of Nicomedia has come up with something to lure Fangborn.”
“What?”
“I told Will MacFarlane the same thing. I’m outta here.”
I Changed back to my skinself as I jogged down the alley. I heard an oof and a sound like a laundry bag being dropped: Gerry had been released. But I didn’t stop to look back as I found the subway. I couldn’t risk it, and the thought brought a lump to my throat.
A blast of hot, dank air washed over me as I descended into the dark. A roar of a subway arriving, and I hopped the turnstile with practiced ease, letting the crowds, the train, the city swallow me up.
Chapter Seven
Shit. It was five thirty-five and I was late for a date with a reluctant oracle.
It took ten more minutes to make my way through the rush-hour crowds up Sixth Avenue. I was sweating and rank by the time I got there. No time to clean up since my last tussle, but I did text Adam to let him know that I was alright, that I had to do something he couldn’t be in on. I knew he’d be annoyed, but given that Victoria Brooks said to come alone, I had to risk it.
I was searching frantically through the dwindling crowds leaving the elevators, convinced I’d missed her. There was nothing left to do but wait until tomorrow, and I couldn’t be here tomorrow—
There she was. Victoria looked pissed off.
“Let’s get out of here. I get everything pinned down and my outbox emptied for the weekend, and someone decides to call a meeting at four o’clock. Who does that on a Friday? The London office has been closed for hours—hell, they’ve been drinking since noon, it being Friday. There’s nothing I can do until Monday, maybe . So I ask you, what was the point of that meeting besides chafing my tits?”
She stared at me, waiting for an answer. Her eyes cleared when she realized I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Sorry. Not your problem.” The frown returned. “We still need to talk. But whatever you want, I’m pretty sure you’re going to be disappointed. We’re going this way.”
She guided me out, down the street, and around a couple of corners.
The bar’s flickering neon sign was the main source of illumination. “In there.”
I have a rule about not going into bars with no windows, and this one did not meet my minimum standards. But since I wanted to hear what she had to say, I wasn’t going to complain. “You come here a lot?”
“No. I hang out at a place in my neighborhood.” She took a moment to get her eyes adjusted, then found a booth. “No one knows me here. A couple of guys from work came to this place and got food poisoning, so no one from the office will be here, either.”
Great. As a strategy for keeping hidden, I’d keep it in mind. But there was no chance of filling my growling stomach.
A quick glance around the room, and when the bartender nodded at the woman, she held up two fingers. “Buds.”
It was what nearly everyone else was drinking. If she’d given up the Family, at least she still seemed to have some of the camouflage skills. Aside from a few curious glances from the regulars, we didn’t stick out too badly, I thought.
“So,” I said, not really sure how to start.
“So.”
“I’m Zoe.”
“Vee. What do you want with me?”
I took a deep breath. “I found your name, here.” I held up the card with her picture. “The guy who had this, he’s a member of a secret society that has been hunting … our kind … for centuries.” I
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Look. I’m not getting … what I got before. It’s confusing me—”
“Me, too.”
“But I think whatever you’re doing is weakening, so …”
I could feel it, too, leaving as suddenly and as inexplicably as it had arrived, so I knew it wouldn’t hold him there for a hundred years or anything. That much was reassuring. I nodded and looked away. “I should go now. Gerry, that stuff down the street? That was a false scent. I think the Order of Nicomedia has come up with something to lure Fangborn.”
“What?”
“I told Will MacFarlane the same thing. I’m outta here.”
I Changed back to my skinself as I jogged down the alley. I heard an oof and a sound like a laundry bag being dropped: Gerry had been released. But I didn’t stop to look back as I found the subway. I couldn’t risk it, and the thought brought a lump to my throat.
A blast of hot, dank air washed over me as I descended into the dark. A roar of a subway arriving, and I hopped the turnstile with practiced ease, letting the crowds, the train, the city swallow me up.
Chapter Seven
Shit. It was five thirty-five and I was late for a date with a reluctant oracle.
It took ten more minutes to make my way through the rush-hour crowds up Sixth Avenue. I was sweating and rank by the time I got there. No time to clean up since my last tussle, but I did text Adam to let him know that I was alright, that I had to do something he couldn’t be in on. I knew he’d be annoyed, but given that Victoria Brooks said to come alone, I had to risk it.
I was searching frantically through the dwindling crowds leaving the elevators, convinced I’d missed her. There was nothing left to do but wait until tomorrow, and I couldn’t be here tomorrow—
There she was. Victoria looked pissed off.
“Let’s get out of here. I get everything pinned down and my outbox emptied for the weekend, and someone decides to call a meeting at four o’clock. Who does that on a Friday? The London office has been closed for hours—hell, they’ve been drinking since noon, it being Friday. There’s nothing I can do until Monday, maybe . So I ask you, what was the point of that meeting besides chafing my tits?”
She stared at me, waiting for an answer. Her eyes cleared when she realized I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Sorry. Not your problem.” The frown returned. “We still need to talk. But whatever you want, I’m pretty sure you’re going to be disappointed. We’re going this way.”
She guided me out, down the street, and around a couple of corners.
The bar’s flickering neon sign was the main source of illumination. “In there.”
I have a rule about not going into bars with no windows, and this one did not meet my minimum standards. But since I wanted to hear what she had to say, I wasn’t going to complain. “You come here a lot?”
“No. I hang out at a place in my neighborhood.” She took a moment to get her eyes adjusted, then found a booth. “No one knows me here. A couple of guys from work came to this place and got food poisoning, so no one from the office will be here, either.”
Great. As a strategy for keeping hidden, I’d keep it in mind. But there was no chance of filling my growling stomach.
A quick glance around the room, and when the bartender nodded at the woman, she held up two fingers. “Buds.”
It was what nearly everyone else was drinking. If she’d given up the Family, at least she still seemed to have some of the camouflage skills. Aside from a few curious glances from the regulars, we didn’t stick out too badly, I thought.
“So,” I said, not really sure how to start.
“So.”
“I’m Zoe.”
“Vee. What do you want with me?”
I took a deep breath. “I found your name, here.” I held up the card with her picture. “The guy who had this, he’s a member of a secret society that has been hunting … our kind … for centuries.” I
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