The Bellati began to walk along the street, but I was right, and he knew it. “The one to the west be close to the gate. We’ll check it on the way.” His hood tilted toward me. “If you can’t follow orders, you have no place in the Shades program.”
My reply was too fast for thought. “If you can’t use your resources wisely, neither do you.”
Matt uttered a choking noise, but kept his gaze focused on the street.
Surprisingly, my remark seemed to strike home with the Bellati. We walked half a block before he offered, grudgingly, “With the exception of your inability to listen to my orders, your first true recon went acceptably.”
“Thanks, boss,” I said. “I think.”
“I’m not your boss,” he countered as he set a brisk pace west.
“Then what do we call you?” Matt asked. “Teacher? Coach? Guru? Master? Head honcho?”
Sebastian didn’t respond right away. Then he said, “Augusti be what we call our master instructors.”
I raised a brow at him. “Augusti?”
“Auggie has a certain ring,” Matt conceded.
A distinct grinding sounded from within the hood. “Sebastian will do.”
I exchanged a shocked look with Matt. That seemed too personal for the odd mix of ice and fire that was the Bellati instructor, and by the way Sebastian’s hood turned away from us, I wondered if he regretted the offer.
Matt, however, wasn’t as sensitive as he could be. “Roger, Baz.”
The tall form stiffened, and I shook my head at Matt.
“What?” he said, genuinely confused.
The Claw and Talon occupied a corner spot and had definitely seen better times. A few bedraggled riding animals stood tethered outside, and the light immediately outside the entrance wasn’t lit.
Sebastian walked us straight past it. The scattered locals hanging around took one look at him and yielded space. He kept going until we rounded the corner, and then he ducked into the alley that ran along one side of the building.
Something about the way he held himself told me the Bellati was tense as hell.
“This place looks bloody rough,” Matt said, his voice an uneasy echo of Sebastian’s stance. “Maybe I should do this one.”
The Bellati’s hood tilted. “The energies within be unsuitable as a training target.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t even start. For the same reasons I so clearly stated before, I am going in.”
They both looked at me. I looked at them. Sebastian once again ground his teeth from within his hood.
“Do not talk to anyone,” he snapped at me. “And this time, if I say get out, you will get out.”
I turned away before rolling my eyes. My annoyance gave me the courage to snip, “Yes, Baz.”
A strong hand gripped my shoulder. “I mean it. Or you do not go in at all.”
I met his blistering silver gaze and swallowed my pride. “Yes, sir.”
It seemed to satisfy him because he let go. I walked away from them and out of the alley.
This place did feel different. Darker. As soon as I approached the entrance, my heart started racing. But I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
The lighting was almost nonexistent.
Anything could be, and likely was, going on in the darkness along the walls. “I think I have gropers at six o’clock,” I whispered.
