“Roderick wasn’t very forthcoming before. It’s possible that he really doesn’t have any information, but he also never had a reason to tell us shit. This time, we have leverage.”
Confused, I ask, “Leverage?” But it’s Theo who answers me.
“An information trade. His knowledge for ours. And given what we know could possibly save his life, he’d be foolish not to take us up on it.”
“Hold the fuck up,” Raphael says, disbelief lacing his tone. “Are you suggesting we try to find Roderick again? And get information from him, again. Information that almost got us killed the first time, I might add.”
“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. If he doesn’t want to play our game, then we leave him to his fate and we can get serious about talking to the Guild. Like Theo said. He’d be foolish to refuse.”
“Well, we’ve certainly had more idiotic ideas,” I say dryly.
Raphael sighs, like he thinks this plan is way too dangerous, but doesn’t want to argue further. “What’s the plan, then? Head toward the Fallen district and hope we stumble upon him out in the open?”
“We split up,” Theo says, looking between us. “Raphael will be with me, and Zeke will go with you.”
“But,” I start, not liking the idea of us getting separated. And even though my protest was only for our group being apart, I don’t miss the pained expression on Zeke’s face at my obvious distaste for the plan.
“As much as I hate to admit it, it makes the most sense, sunshine. He’s Guild trained, and until one of us can prove that we’re better at protecting you than he is, you’ll be safest with him.”
“It wasn’t that. I just don’t like our group separating. But you’re right. We can cover more ground that way.”
“Now, we have to act fast,” Theo says, his voice grim. “If we don’t, we’ll wind up in the middle of whatever Roderick’s boss has planned for him.”
A shiver runs down my spine at the thought, and I shake my arms to dispel it.
“Alright, so is everyone set on the plan?” Zeke asks, his gaze flashing between the three of us. “Find Roderick. Get answers. And head back to the university stat.”
“We’ll use the bond if anything goes wrong.” I’m not entirely sure who I’m trying to reassure, them or myself, but it feels good knowing we all have this connection to fall back on. If we makeit out of here, I’ll have to really consider the extent of my feelings and decide what it means.
I give Theo and Raphael a hug before we go our separate ways. From our spot in the tall grass, I can see the bright lights and plumes of smoke from the factory district, which means it’s almost a straight flight to our right to the area where Roderick should be. We could walk there, but that would be way more suspicious than flying.
The four of us take off, flying low to the ground, but when Raphael and Theo land, we keep going. If we’re going to split up, we might as well start on opposite ends and meet in the middle.
Trees and bushes, old rocks and flowers zip by beneath us until we finally stop. I didn’t spot a single living being on the flight over here, and something about that makes me nervous. Where are all the little nocturnal critters?
Zeke and I land a few feet apart and walk back into the area we just came from. Neither of us says a word. Our only focus is on finding Roderick. Excitement bubbles beneath my skin at the possibility of learning more. Part of me is terrified of what we’ll discover, if we’ll even learn anything at all, but mostly I’m just eager to uncover more of our enemy’s plan.
As more time passes without running into Roderick, that excitement turns into disappointment. Has this all been for nothing? A wasted night of dashed hopes and more questions?
Snap.
My head swivels toward the sound. Zeke looks in the same direction, but there’s nothing but old trees and dirt. Probably just an animal stepping on a dead branch. Except, I haven’t seen any animals.
I’m stepping toward Zeke and the direction of the snapping twig when I’m yanked into a hard body and a warm hand presses over my mouth, silencing me.
The sharp, cold edge of steel presses against my neck, and a scream crawls up my throat, begging to escape. The position reminds me of the one Zeke held Roderick in not too long ago, and panic wells within me. If this is the same sort of blade, then things just got really fucking bad.
The angel holding me chuckles, causing the hair on my arms to stand on end. I want to call out to Zeke, to tell him to get the others and head back to campus, but I’m frozen, trapped in fear of what might be my last few moments before death.
“Well, well, well,” a familiar nasally voice says from behind me. “Fancy meeting you here.”
27
At the sound of Roderick’s voice, Zeke turns.
I watch as an array of emotions flashes across his face. Disbelief. Horror. Anger.
Roderick only laughs. “Brought a little treat for me this time, did you?” He removes the hand covering my mouth and trails it down my cheek almost tenderly, causing a shudder to rock my entire body. “But I’m afraid she’s not really my type.”
