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NINE

Sorsha

When I returned after placing the police cap I’d stolen a couple of days ago on the head of a ten-foot-tall horse-and-rider statue in the park, Omen barely gave it a glance, even though he’d given me the challenge. “All right,” he said. “Now let’s see you collect, oh, we’ll say ten wallets. You never know when some mortal cash might come in handy.”

I stopped myself just shy of glowering at him. It was a hazy afternoon, the sunlight filtering through a thin layer of grayish clouds overhead, but warm enough that plenty of people were roaming through the park around us. Nabbing ten wallets wouldn’t be tough. But we really didn’t need cash when Ruse could charm anything we needed out of just about anyone—and at this point I was pretty sure that Omen’s tests weren’t meant so much to confirm my abilities as to arrange my arrest or some disabling injury. Maybe he’d have liked both.

I’d thought he was done with the Sorsha Trials after yesterday’s ambush, but apparently not. Ellen’s phone call this morning appeared to have set him off. I’d only spoken to her for a few minutes to get the plans for a Fund meeting in an undercover location this evening, but Bossypants had been fuming behind his controlled exterior ever since.

My own patience was wearing so thin you could have severed it with the blunt end of a spork. I also didn’t love the idea of screwing over ten random innocent bystanders who’d just wanted to enjoy the last few days of summer.

I set my hands on my hips and smiled thinly at Omen. “How about I do you one better? I’ll steal the wallets, lift the cash, and return them without the marks ever knowing what they lost.”

“A thief with a heart of gold,” Omen said with a hint of snark. “I’ll be watching to make sure you collect the full ten.”

“I’m counting on it.”

I slipped through the park, focusing on purses left by picnic blankets and on larger gatherings where I could blend in with the crowd long enough to score. I only took a bill or two out of each wallet rather than all the cash, because Omen wouldn’t know how much I’d left behind. When I’d replaced the tenth and walked back to the edge of the park where he’d parked Betsy, I had a hundred and fifty bucks and no intention of playing this game any longer.

“Here you go,” I said when he emerged from the shadows between the trees, and handed him the money. “Buy yourself a better attitude. Somehow I’m guessing you didn’t put the shadowkind guys through half this much work to prove they belonged on the team.”

“I picked them, knowing they already belonged.” Omen grimaced at the bills as if he found them distasteful and stuffed them into his pocket. “You don’t get to decide when we’re done. I’m feeling like a snack. Get me a pie from that shop.” He pointed to a bakery across the street.

Was he kidding me? I opened my mouth to tell him where he could shove his pie… and then realized there was an even better option. Instead, I gave him another smile. “Does it have to be stolen, or can I buy it? And any particular flavor you’d like, boss?”

Really, calling him “boss” should have tipped him off. I could almost hear Ruse’s snicker from the patches of darkness nearby. But Omen either wasn’t paying enough attention or assumed he’d actually persuaded me of his ultimate authority. He waved dismissively at me. “An expert thief shouldn’t need to spend any money, right? And I’ll take apple or cherry.”

So generous of him, giving me two options. I gave him a mock curtsey and strode across the street.

A beautiful cherry pie was sitting on the top shelf of the glass display cabinet beside the cash register. I asked for one of the tarts next to the pie, and once the clerk had opened the cabinet door, “accidentally” knocked her tip jar onto the floor. As she scrambled to grab a broom to sweep up the broken glass and scattered coins, I thought a silent apology at her and liberated the pie. If she’d understood what good use I was going to put it to, surely she wouldn’t have minded.

When I returned, Omen was leaning against his car, looking way too smug. I had the perfect cure for that.

I gave him a broad grin as I crossed the street. “Here’s your pie. Enjoy!” Then I lifted his just dessert and planted it smack-dab on his face.

I moved quickly enough that the unsuspecting shadowkind didn’t have a chance to dodge. He jerked away an instant too late, sputtering as chunks of golden pastry and syrupy globs of cherry filling dribbled down his face and onto the front of his shirt. A couple of passersby snickered at the sight. He couldn’t blink away into the shadows to remove the mess in front of witnesses.

His eyes flashed with the fiery glow I’d seen in the Company’s facility. “ You .” With a wordless growl, he snatched my wrist and spun us around to slam me into the car.

The impact radiated all through my back, making my healing shoulder throb, but it was worth it—to see his sneering face covered in fruity gore, to watch his rigid control snap and let out the heated rage underneath. To prove he wasn’t the perfect model of cool authority he liked to pretend he was. As he raised a fist, I stared right back at him, daring him to use it.

My trio ruined the fun. All three of them dashed from the shadows in the same moment. “Omen,” Thorn said in protest, and Snap leapt to my side.

Ruse cocked his head, studying my masterpiece. “You did want her to show she can stand up for herself, didn’t you? You’ve pushed her pretty far. Looks like sweet payback to me.”

Omen’s shoulders had already come down. His teeth flashed as he bared them, and then, with Thorn’s massive form hiding him from view, he slipped into the shadows and back again so swiftly his body only seemed to stutter before my eyes. Just like that, the mashed pie was gone other than the bits that had fallen to the sidewalk. The lingering scent smelled pretty damn good. Almost a waste of a tasty dessert—almost.

Snap eyed the splatters on the ground as if he was thinking the same thing, but he stayed next to me, his arm coming around my waist. Omen glanced around at his supernatural companions, his expression back in its chilly mask but his stance tensed and the ice in his eyes searing.

“ I decide when she’s done,” he said, and shifted his gaze to me. “Was that prank supposed to convince me of your self-discipline?”

“No,” I said. “I was just getting the pie to your mouth in as speedy a fashion as possible. But it probably does show my self-discipline too, considering I’d been wanting to do something like that for ages. I’ve met all your challenges. Either I’m in or I’m out, Luce. Or are you not very disciplined at making up your mind?”

A renewed spark of anger danced in his eyes, but he held it in check. His chin rose to a haughty angle. “I was confirming how much shit you were willing to take. Always important to know the limits of those you’re working with. That can be enough for now.”

He didn’t want to find out what he’d get in the face if he started up his tests again. I eased myself off the car and brushed my hands together. “Excellent. I’m glad we got that sorted out. You all can even enjoy a little bro time hitting up that hacker for more dirt while I’m meeting with the Fund tonight. Wins all around.”

* * *

As hard as I’d been working to stay part of the shadowkind quartet’s investigations, I had to admit I was looking forward to getting in some human socialization. Of course, I wouldn’t have chosen to be climbing up walls while I did it.

I eyed the rock-climbing gym Ellen had told me to meet the group at skeptically before stepping inside. The vast room smelled like rubber and sweat. Carabiners clinked and voices echoed off the high walls. A pang ran through my still-healing shoulder. Well, I’d grinned and borne it through worse in the past few days.

Vivi was waiting by the check-in desk, decked out in a tee and velour sweatpants—both white, naturally. She bounded over at the sight of me.

“Interesting change in scenery, isn’t it? Come on, sign the waiver and get your gear. Ellen and Huyen booked a private alcove, but we’ve still got to look as if we’re using it to actually climb while we’re talking.”

I laughed. “A workout and a debate in one. This should be fun.”

Vivi hefted a climbing harness over her slim shoulder. “Do you really think they’re going to argue that much about getting involved? These Company of Light people are obviously into some seriously shady shit.”

“Yeah, but I can’t tell them about most of that without giving away how much I was hiding from them before. And you know how a lot of the members are—they don’t want to extend any more effort than showing up to chat at the meetings and writing up a few outraged emails.”

It didn’t appear that all that many members had even made the effort to show up at this new location. In our reserved alcove, Huyen had already scaled nearly to the top of the wall. A few other regulars were poised at various points lower down, their feet braced against the handholds that looked like something out of an abstract art exhibit. Ellen and one of the younger guys were standing near the edge of the wall, the guy pitching an idea to her in a low, urgent voice.

“We’d raise so much more money that way. It’s not really lying. Okay, so we wouldn’t actually be trying to save the abused dogs in the photos, but we are rescuing some kind of creatures—and some of them are furry!”

Ellen didn’t look convinced. Since most of the mortal population would never have believed the shadowkind existed—and the ones who lived mortal-side weren’t in any hurry to draw attention to that fact—we couldn’t be completely truthful about our goals when we campaigned for donations. Slapping photos of a cause that wasn’t ours to gain sympathy points rubbed up against our leaders’ conscience.

“Sounds like a great idea to me,” I said as I passed them, clapping the guy on the shoulder and shooting Ellen an encouraging smile. Maybe that was how the Company of Light could afford a gazillion people on staff and fancy equipment out the wazoo: pictures of cute fuzzy animals in distress.

“Huyen and I will talk it over,” Ellen said to the guy as Vivi and I picked our spots along the wall. “You know we try to avoid outright falsehoods—it could come back to bite us if anyone follows up.”

Okay, so there were practical reasons to avoid blatant lies too. Knowing the Company as well as I did now, they just offed anyone who poked their nose too far into their business.

As I hooked up my equipment, another sort of hook-up slunk into the space with all the shine of a storm cloud. Leland dropped his harness at his feet and stared up at the wall gloomily.

After spending so much time around my supernaturally stunning quartet, it was hard to remember what I’d found particularly attractive in that boyish face and top-heavy physique. Especially since these days my ex-friend-with-benefits turned even more sour whenever he glanced my way.

He was all the evidence I needed that I had no idea how to make an even semi-romantic relationship work with a fellow human being, let alone a shadowkind. All we’d been doing was hooking up, and somehow I’d failed to handle that well enough to end things on good terms. I wasn’t even sure what exactly Leland had wanted that I hadn’t been delivering, since he’d never outright asked for us to become more—or acted interested in anything about me other than what I could offer between the sheets.

Men. Maybe I should stick to one-night-stands from here on out. How big a catastrophe could I create when I spent less than twenty-four hours with a guy?

Huyen had bounded down the wall with impressive springiness, and the other members who’d been partway up descended as well. Ellen beckoned us together into a circle.

“Why are we meeting here ?” one of the other women asked. “Is something wrong with the theater?”

Both of the Fund’s leaders glanced at me. “Sorsha came to us with a somewhat… unusual situation,” Ellen said. She tapped her fingers against her lips, and I wondered what popcorn flavors she’d been experimenting with to stain the tips that shade of purple: lavender? Eggplant? “For the sake of caution, we decided it was best to discuss it in a setting we’ve never used before. Sorsha, why don’t you explain the rest?”

I dragged in a breath and laid out the scenario to the other members the same way I’d explained it to Ellen and Huyen, as succinctly as I could. I was just finishing up when one of the gym employees ambled our way.

“Hey,” she said. “Everything all right over here?”

It must be getting noticeable that we weren’t using the equipment. “Just doing a little catching up before we climb some more,” Huyen said cheerfully, and shot us all a look that said, Get moving.

Time for the fun part. I checked my rope and gripped it tightly before wedging my foot against one of the lower holds. Leveraging my weight with my good arm, I hefted myself up. Maybe I’d just hang out right here.

“We need to look into these people,” I said over my shoulder to the others, who were gathering along the wall around me. “Find out where they’re operating out of, how they’re raising their money, and anything else we can about them. But we’ve got to be careful to make sure they don’t catch on that we’re interested. Whatever we find out, we can pass on to the higher shadowkind and they’ll decide how to handle it.”

Those higher shadowkind would just happen to be the ones I was currently shacking up with.

“I don’t know about this,” said a middle-aged guy named Everett as he edged his way from one handhold to another. “It sounds like this organization is very… intense. If they do find out we’ve been meddling with their business, how are they going to crack down on us?”

“Hey,” Vivi said, bouncing a little against the wall. “We’ve managed not to clue any outsiders in to what we’re actually working on for however long the Fund has existed, haven’t we?”

I shot her a grateful look. “And we won’t be meddling ,” I added. “I don’t want us to stick our necks out that far—I agree that it’s not safe. Better to let the shadowkind”— and me —“handle any actual response. We’ll just be information-gathering.”

“If this is your pet project, I don’t see why you can’t gather information on your own,” Leland muttered.

To my frustration, a couple of the others murmured noises of agreement. What the hell had they joined up for if they were going to turn chicken the second the shadowkind really needed us?

I bit my tongue against asking that out loud. Thankfully, I’d said as much in politer terms to our leaders the other day, and they hadn’t forgotten. Ellen hefted herself a little higher and peered down at the rest of us. “This is the whole reason the Fund was created. We shouldn’t claim we’re out to support the shadowkind however we can if we won’t get involved when they’re in the most danger they’ve ever faced.”

“We didn’t realize we’d be up against some big, secret army or whatever when we joined,” Everett protested.

“Yeah,” said the woman who’d asked about the change in location. “Let the shadowkind deal with the info-gathering and everything else if it’s so important to them. Half the time they don’t even help us helping their own kind.”

That was sadly true, as Omen well knew. “This is different,” I started.

Leland cut me off with a scowl. “Only because you decided it is. These people have been operating for who knows how long already. If the shadowkind haven’t figured it out yet, that’s on them.”

Did he really care about the beings from our sister realm that little, or was he taking his animosity toward me out on them? Ugh, why had I ever thought this dude was worth letting anywhere near me, let alone into me?

Vivi spoke up before I had to. “Look, you just explained why it’s important that we pitch in. It’s clearer than a crystal under a cloudless sky. The shadowkind haven’t been able to figure the problem out on their own. They’re not used to mortal-realm resources and strategies. We are, so obviously we could find out some things they haven’t been able to.”

“Exactly.” I wished I wasn’t dangling from a rope partway up a wall so I could have given my best friend a hug. Put a dunce cap on me for ever thinking Vivi wasn’t up to facing off against this conspiracy. I’d gotten so caught up in trying to protect her, I’d forgotten how strong and smart she was.

Another round of murmurs carried along the wall, but this one sounded less decisive. Huyen, up at the top again, cleared her throat as she headed back down.

“As always, participation in our activities is optional. I think Sorsha and Vivian have made a reasonable case. We’ll proceed with caution, of course, but we can at least put out a few feelers. Especially—how are these people raising their money? Coming at them from that angle could reveal all sorts of things the shadowkind aren’t aware of, since it’ll be all between the organization and other mortals.”

Leland descended from his perch with a huff, but to my relief, at least a couple of the other members nodded, if hesitantly. Vivi’s brilliant grin bolstered my spirits.

“I’m going to talk to my contacts tonight,” I said. I wouldn’t mention how much more intimate I’d gotten with most of them beyond talking. “I’ll see if they know anything about the fundraising side that could point us in the right direction. You all could look through public records to check for any big events with a purpose that sounds suspiciously vague.”

“And we should all know what that looks like from our own efforts.” Huyen chuckled and soared through the air the rest of the way to the ground. “You heard her, people. That’s this week’s assignment. Let’s not let ourselves down.”