She had a point, but sometimes blending meant you had to do things you didn’t like. “Let’s see if we pass the glance test. Walk with me and remember to slouch.”
He stepped out of the shadows. Ignoring the form by the pond, Lucas crossed the courtyard toward the entrance to the next section of streets and buildings.
Aria walked with him. Her first few strides were way too assertive, and he slowed his pace to remind her. She heaved a sigh before she slouched lower and regained her previous mincing step.
The form at the pond glanced their way before picking up the reins to his riding beast and leading it down the street across from their destination.
Lucas relaxed a little. It was only one small test, but it was an important one. He paused in the shadows of a building to glance back, watching the creature move as it walked ahead of its mount. There was a looseness to its stride, and a bounce with each step, as though it was ready to bound into the air.
After it disappeared around the corner, he leaned toward Aria. “Can you put a little bounce into your mince?”
“What?”
“They move more like this.” He showed her the little lift in each stride.
“You want me to slouch, mince,andbounce?”
“Blending is about the details. We don’t want to be noticed.”
“I’m a Dragon, not a sharding Morph.”
“You’re a Dragon on an undercover mission. Consider this training.”
His fellow hooded conspirator stopped dead. From deep within the disguise, her eyes glowed amber fire. But then she nodded and took an exploratory step, adding a bit of a bounce.
“Good. Much better.”
Aria mumbled something he couldn’t hear, but he decided he didn’t really want clarity on the issue. She practiced as they crossed the next square and into another.
As he led them through the streets, they suddenly blurred, and his surroundings altered.
Feet placed with care amid the swampy ground, climbing up over a fallen trunk as a big hand reached for the support of a nearby branch...
Lucas stumbled and recovered as the mirage faded.
“You okay?” Aria whispered.
“Yeah. Fine.” But what the hell had that been? Because just for that instant, he thought he’d been someone else.
Someone still walking through the swamp. Nikolai?
Lucas gave himself a mental shake. He was tired and hungry. It was messing with his head. The big dude was aggravating enough when he was around. No way he’d let him piss him off when he wasn’t.
He surveyed the area. They’d left the residences behind. In the interests of saving space and enabling more levels, the buildings had lost many of their rounded contours, although the doorways and windows still tended to be arched rather than rectangular. The cobblestone streets were lined with lampposts. They passed a figure with a stool that he used to reach and refuel the lamp reservoirs.
As they progressed, a surprising number of folks walked the streets. Most places were open for business, as though they catered to a 24/7 type of crowd. Between the sidewalks and the road were hitching posts, where many horned and hairy beasts awaited the return of their owners.
As Lucas purveyed the busy street, his surroundings once again flickered and blurred.Pushing through moss that hung thick and heavy off the branches, jumping from one horizontal trunk to another...
Dammit.With grim determination, Lucas focused on the street until the leaves and mosses faded away. But he shivered. It was too damned weird.
“Are we just going to stand around?” Aria whispered.
“I’m forming a plan.”
“A plan would be good,” she agreed.
To Lucas’s relief, their disguises held—no one even glanced toward them, remaining intent on their own missions. The numbers of residents made his next task much easier to accomplish. They needed currency, and one of the best places to acquire it was in a crowd.
