Lucas saw me, and his eyes widened. “How much of that stuff are you taking?”
I shrugged. “It helps with the Jumping. I’m going to need it.” I offered him the bag. “Did you want some?”
He waved it away. “Morphs can’t tolerate it at all. It’s only because I am now part Dragon that I take it regularly.”
I opened my mouth to reply, when Havoc’s voice sounded in my head.
We’re in,he said.
We’re on our way,I replied.
* * *
Before we stepped through the gate, Lucas reminded Maddy and me—“Remember, just slouch, don’t look at the guards, pretend we belong. Stay focused.”
I nodded to him, and we went through with our cloak hoods up. Walked past the guards with slouched postures, as though resigned to life.
Rather than adopting scales that would have revealed him as Dragon, Lucas had dressed in an old set of breeches and a tunic, then covered it all with a cloak. He turned to Maddy. “You can start Blocking as soon as we leave the alley.”
“Stay close,” Maddy murmured as we swung onto the street. Her brows dropped low, but I didn’t notice anything different. Until a hulking person almost plowed right into me. Lucas grabbed me by the cloak and pulled me sideways before the collision.
“They can’t see us. So we’ll have to work around them,” Maddy said.
Wow. That was quite a talent. Lucas took the lead as we progressed along the street, keeping us clear of the larger groups. There were a surprising number of locals out and about.
When I muttered something about that, Lucas replied, “Rannkin is a typical underworld city. There is almost more that goes on under the cover of darkness, than during the day.”
“Have you been here before?” I asked.
“Once. A long time ago.” He gazed around. “Can you Jump from anywhere?”
“Yeppers. Let’s just find a spot where someone won’t accidentally wander into us.”
He led us into another alley. I already had the first Jump point etched in my brain, but to my surprise, Havoc sent it again without being asked.
I still felt like I was floating on a cloud.Have you been lurking in my brain, Elliot?I asked.
Who the fuck is Elliot?
My favorite Dragon when I was growing up. He was furrier than you, though, at least in the live-action version. And not nearly as grumpy.
Live action version? What are you on about, Dreambitch? You knew Dragons when you were young? And they had fur?I sensed his disbelief.
Well, they weren’t real.
He hesitated. Then, he went with,My name is Havoc.Even his mindvoice was snarly.
Whatever.
Amazingly, shooting steam through one’s nostrils had a mental equivalent. I ignored him and focused on the image he’d given me.
“Hold onto me,” I told Lucas and Maddy. “We likely won’t land on our feet, so be ready for sprawl.”
They each grabbed onto my arm through the cloak, and I reached deep within. My adrenaline had fear and a strange sense of daring pounding through me, so finding emotional incentive wasn’t difficult.
White noise.
Snap.
