Chapter 10

"How arewe supposed to sneak into the town given we're being watched?" John pointed out the flaw in our decision.

"We can't sneak," I stated. "There's no cover to hide our approach." Then, before Enyo could argue, I added, "And not enough shadows for you to hide in, especially since your giant kitty will want to tag along."

My warrior sister scowled. "Says you."

"Yes, says me. Six people—sorry, five and two furballs—trying to sneak in is going to be noticed."

"She's right," Frieda murmured. "I see no path where we can all go in together."

"Bullshit," huffed Enyo. "If those idiots are the best this town's got, I can take them."

"Don't be so dramatic." I snorted. "No need to kill folk just trying to protect what's left. And I didn't say it was impossible, only that we're too many. Which is why, while John puts up a camouflage to make it hard to see what we're doing, I'll go in. I can float above the ground and use a mirror shield to cover me."

"To land where?" Enyo crossed her arms. "If those town folk can't find the oracle, what makes you think you can fly your ass in and locate her?"

"Because she'll be taking me with her." Frieda's reply caused pandemonium, with John bellowing almost as loud as Enyo.

"Like fuck!" My sister and John agreed, while Frieda looked stubborn and determined. An expression and attitude I was still getting used to.

The monster god remained quiet, and it was to him I looked. "You haven't said much."

"What is there to say? You are right. We can't walk into the town. You can't find the oracle on your own. Your plan seems to be the only feasible one unless someone would like to offer another."

Everyone eyed each other, but no one actually had a thing to say, leading to me clapping my hands. "Then it's settled. Me and French fry will go in and locate the oracle, make the bargain, get our info, and then rejoin the group so we can portal out." My simple plan had Typhon nodding, but John shook his head.

"You make it sound easy, but what if you're caught?"

"Then we fight." I shrugged. "I won't start it, but if I'm attacked, I will end it."

"If that happens, you send me a message." Enyo stared at me, and I nodded. I'd use our triplet bond to notify her. Knowing my sister, she wouldn't be far.

A glance at Typhon showed him looking pensive. "What's up, Ty? Got anything to add?"

"Be careful with the oracle."

I grinned. "Better watch out or I'll start thinking you care."

He grimaced. "You make light, but I do have a concern. If she is desperate, she might make an unreasonable request."

"Then we say no. I'm good at doing that." Just ask the guys who hit on me.

While Frieda went off a few paces to murmur and exchange kisses with John, Enyo went back into the shadows, most likely to rejoin Bane.

I moved close to Typhon and muttered, "Any last words of advice?"

"Don't die."

I snickered. "That's the plan." I peeked at him through my lashes. "Think you can survive without me?"

"I'll do my best," was his dry reply.

On impulse, I floated up until we were eye level and brushed a kiss against his lips, whispering, "For luck."

I didn't expect the arms that crushed me against him and the hard mouth that slanted against mine, taking my luck and turning it into a heart-pounding embrace. When he set me on my feet, I almost touched my tingling lips. Wow. I didn't let my pleasure show.

With my nonchalance in place, I winked and said, "Can't wait to see what I get when I return victorious."

"Just come back," he growled.

Frieda joined me, still frail-looking, but I knew better now. She had a core of steel, and when she grabbed hold of my hand, she was the one to say, "Let's get this show on the road."

"Don't you mean sky?" I teased as my magic enveloped us. We rose, leaving Typhon and John behind, a shield already in place that made it seem like the entire party was there, including my dog, who'd been behaving better than usual and seemed to have taken a shine to Typhon. Like mistress, like pet, I guess.

I turned my focus from them to the task at hand. My magic floated my sister and me over the land with ease, my mirror shield reflecting what was on the other side of us, making it an almost seamless view to anyone looking at us from below. I spotted the self-appointed guardians not too far from our group. None of them once looked up or realized we'd slipped past.

We moved quickly in the windless sky that went from day to night startlingly quick. As we neared the town, I noticed that while lights shone from lampposts that marked the winding streets, not a single house showed even a crack of illumination. While early, it could be that everyone had gone to sleep. What surprised? The lack of sentries. For a town recently attacked, I'd have expected a few folks parked out on rooftops keeping watch. Then again, could be I just didn't spot or sense them. A sobering reminder that I might not be as clever as I thought.

I asked my sister, "Where to?"

"The bakery."

"You do recall those folks said she wasn't home."

"Trust me."

"Which one's the bakery?" I asked as we passed over the first rooftop, a mishmash of materials: wood, thatch, even plates of metal. The buildings themselves appeared mostly made of stone with the doors ranging from planked wood to ornately adorned metal. All the windows appeared heavily shuttered.

Frieda suddenly pointed, and a second later, I noticed the dangling sign with a loaf of bread. We'd found the bakery.

The oracle lived above it, according to Typhon, and so I aimed for a closed window. Only Frieda hissed, "Stop. We can't go through there. It's trapped."

I wanted to slap myself for not looking first. Had I peeked at all, I would have seen the strands of magic stretching over the frame and the shutters.

Rather than ask Frieda how to get in, I landed us atop the roof, the overlapping clay tiles solid to stand on. Also easy to remove.

"Keep to the side," I warned my sister as I knelt and began tracing a section with my finger. I shaped my magic into that tip, imagining it cutting the tile, but also holding the pieces I cut so that they didn't fall and make a ruckus below. It took some concentration to remove the tiles piece by piece. I was almost done when Frieda murmured, "Hurry up. Someone's coming up the road."

Startled, I acted a little too quickly, and a single tile escaped, falling with a thud below.

I froze.

Frieda put a hand on my arm, and we stared over the edge of the roof. A man, carrying a studded bat, paused. He glanced left and right. Even up. I had a mirage shield in place ensuring he saw only a bare roof and a single missing tile to explain the one on the ground.

He kicked it, frowned, looked up again. Seeing nothing, he continued on his way.

I finished my hole and cast out a scan for anyone inside the apartment. When the ping returned confirming it was empty, I floated my sister down then myself.

The room we entered had obviously been tossed for clues. What once might have been a cute apartment, trashed. Pillows ripped apart. Furniture turned over. Ceramic pots broken and their contents strewn.

I tsked. "Did they think she hid in a container?"

"This was anger that she slipped their grip," Frieda replied.

"Where did she go?"

My sister glanced at me. "Nowhere. Can't you feel it? She's still here."

I glanced around the single room. Even the bathroom area had no walls to hide its butt pot, larger tub for bathing, and bowl for a sink. "Did she shrink to be ant-sized? Because I don't see anyone."

"For a witch, you're not very smart. Think. If you didn't have time to escape your place and needed to hide, what would you do?"

"Kill a lot of people while screaming freedom?"

Frieda snickered. "Yeah, you probably would. So let's say it was me, and you, being a witch, wanted me safe. You'd build me—"

"A safe room." Frieda had one to help her against the noise of the world. Only… "Still not seeing where it would be. There's no attic, and the shop is right below this floor." I didn't sense any magic either, other than the trap on the windows and the hatch for the stairs.

"Good thing I came along," my sister grumbled as she headed for a tapestry hanging drunkenly on the wall. She ripped it aside, and before I could say a word, she stepped through the wall.