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His brows lifted. “The Scoreboard is…imperfect.”

I had to wonder if he’d been about to use a different word. A stronger word. From the look on his face, it was clear what he thought of the Scoreboard.

“Motive is more important than merit,” he added. “Don’t forget that, Seven.”

I’d heard those words before.

Those exact words.

Yesterday.

In the Forbidden Zone.

He couldn’t be.

Or could he?

His voice was different.

But magic could distort a person’s voice.

“Say…you wouldn’t happen to have the power to turn yourself invisible, would you?” I asked him.

“I can’t do any magic right now,” he reminded me.

“I know. But when youcando magic, can you make yourself invisible?”

A perplexed crinkle formed between his eyes. “Is this your way of making conversation?”

“No. I was just curious.”

He studied my face, and I was sure he knew I was holding back. But all he said was, “No. I can’t make myself invisible.”

“Oh.”

I tried not to sound too disappointed, but I was. I’d really been hoping that Kato was the invisible stranger. Even though their personalities were pretty different. And their voices too.

“Seven, have you met someone who could turn themselves invis?—”

An ear-splitting shriek cut off Kato’s question. And a moment later, four pairs of glowing crimson eyes pierced the fog.

We’d found the Cursed Ones.

Well, actually, they’d found us.

CHAPTER6

TIME'S TICKING

Four Cursed Ones poured out of the fog. They looked angry and restless. Probably because they’d been trapped in Shadow Fall all this time with no one to attack. And no one to bite.

“If the Cursed Ones are attracted to tears in the veil, why haven’t they found their way out of here yet?” I wondered.

“They’re like birds stuck in a chimney. They can sense the way out, but navigating through a tear requires more finesse than they can muster. They’re just mindless things now.” Kato put on his helmet, and his voice was deeper when he spoke again. “The Curse has stripped their reason and intellect away. Even a fire tiger possesses more intelligence than they do.”

A chorus of rage tore out of the Cursed Ones’ mouths. Maybe they took issue with Kato’s assessment of their intelligence. Or maybe they just really wanted to bite someone.

I was definitely leaning toward the latter.