“They might have been hiding out for a few days,” Athalar said. “The Prince of the Pit only threatened us the other night, but he might have had them in place already.”
Ruhn had no idea how the angel spoke so calmly. If the Star-Eater had come to him and wanted to have a one-on-one chat, he’d still be shitting his pants.
“I’m not seeing any kids lurking around the Black Dock, either,” Ithan muttered, scanning the results. He twisted to Bryce. “No sign of Emile at all.”
Ruhn asked, “Possible the kid took another way over? Maybe Danika found some sort of back door into the Bone Quarter.”
“Not possible,” Athalar said. “Only one way in, one way out.”
Ruhn bristled. “That’s what we’ve been taught, but has anyone ever tried to get in some other way?”
Athalar snorted. “Why would they want to?”
Ruhn glared at the angel but said, “Fair enough.”
Ithan stopped on an image. “What about this one? He didn’t take a boat over, just appeared from within the city—”
“That’s the one,” Bryce hissed, her face paling.
They all studied the still—the Reaper was half-turned to the camera as it entered the frame from a street near the Black Dock. He was taller than the others, but had the same grayish, soft face and those terrifying teeth.
Athalar whistled. “You sure know how to pick them, Quinlan.”
She scowled at the angel, but asked Dec, “Where’s it coming from? Can you add its face to the program and run a search on the city’s footage?”
Declan’s brows rose. “You know how long that will take? Every camera in Lunathion? It’s why we’re not even doing it for Emile. It’d take … I can’t even calculate how long we’d need.”
“Okay, okay,” Bryce said. “But can we … track this one for a while?” She directed the last bit at Ithan, but the wolf shook his head.
“There must be a logical reason for this—like a gap in the camera coverage or something—but that Reaper just seems to … appear.”
“Micah had the kristallos stay in known camera gaps,” Hunt said darkly. “These Reapers could know about them, too.”
Ithan pointed to the screen. “Right here is where they first appear. Before that, nothing.”
Ruhn pulled up a map of the city in his Aux app. “There should be a sewer entrance right behind them. Possible they came out of there?”
Ithan moved the footage around. “The cameras don’t cover that sewer entrance.”
Bryce said, “So they probably knew it’d be a good entry point. And it’d make sense, given that they dragged us into the sewers.” Where there were no cameras at all.
“Let me look around a little more,” Ithan offered, and clicked away.
Athalar asked none of them in particular, “You think they were waiting for you, or for Emile?”
“Or both?” Ruhn asked. “Clearly, they wanted to stay hidden.”
“But did the Prince of the Pit send them, or did the Under-King?” Athalar pushed.
“Good thing we’ve got a date with the being who can answer that,” Bryce said.
Ruhn winced. He’d paid for the Death Marks that Jesiba had promised, but he wasn’t happy about it. The thought of Bryce confronting the Under-King scared the Hel out of him.
“We need a plan for how we question him,” Athalar warned her. “I doubt he’ll appreciate being questioned at all.”
“Hence the research,” Bryce shot back, gesturing to the computer. “You think I’m stupid enough to go in and fling accusations around? If we can confirm whether or not those Reapers came directly from the Bone Quarter, we’ll have steadier footing when we question him. And if we can get any hint of Emile actually going over to the Bone Quarter, then we’ll have a good reason to ask him about that, too.”
Ithan added, “Considering what Tharion thinks Pippa Spetsos has done while hunting for Emile, I’m half hoping the kid’s already in the Bone Quarter.” He dragged a hand through his short brown hair. “What she did to that selkie we found this morning was no joke.”
The wolf had filled them all in on the work he’d done with Tharion earlier—the tortured body they suspected had been left behind by the rebel fanatic.
Bryce pivoted and began pacing. Syrinx trotted at her heels, whining for a second dinner. Ruhn refrained from remarking on how similar the motion was to one he’d seen their father do so many times in his study. Unable to stand it, he turned back to the sunball game.
Then Ithan said to Ruhn, picking up the thread of conversation from earlier, “See? Regez should have nailed that shot, but he balked. He’s second-guessing himself. He’s too deep in his head.”
Ruhn glanced sidelong at the male. “You’ve never thought about playing again?”
A muscle ticked in Ithan’s jaw. “No.”
“You miss it?”
“No.”
It was an obvious lie. Ruhn didn’t fail to note that Bryce’s eyes had softened.
But Ithan didn’t so much as look in her direction. So Ruhn nodded to the wolf. “If you ever want to play a pickup game, me, Dec, and Flynn usually play with some of the Aux in Oleander Park over in Moonwood on Sundays.”
“Where’s my invite?” Bryce asked, scowling.
But Ithan said roughly, “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
Hunt asked, “I’m assuming I don’t get an invite, either, Danaan?”
Ruhn snorted at the angel. “You want an excuse for me to beat the shit out of you, Athalar, then I’m down.”
Athalar smirked, but his gaze drifted to Bryce, who was now staring over Declan’s shoulder at the lightning-fast footage zooming by on his laptop. Footage of Danika from years ago.
She straightened suddenly. Cleared her throat. “I’m going down to the gym. Call me if you find anything.” She aimed for her bedroom, presumably to change. Ruhn watched Hunt glance between her disappearing form and the sunball game. Weighing which one to follow.
It took Athalar all of thirty seconds to decide. He ducked into his room, saying he was going to change for the gym.
When Ruhn was alone with Dec and Ithan, his beer half-finished, Ithan said, “Connor would have picked the game.”
Ruhn raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize it was a competition between them.” Between a dead male and a living one.
Ithan just typed away, eyes darting over the screen.
And for some reason, Ruhn dared ask, “What would you have picked?”
Ithan didn’t hesitate. “Bryce.”
27
Bryce didn’t go to the gym. Not yet, anyway. She waited in front of the elevator, and when Hunt appeared, she tapped her wrist and said, “You’re late. Let’s go.”
He halted. “We’re not working out?”
She rolled her eyes, stepping into the elevator and hitting the Lobby button. “Honestly, Athalar. We’ve got a kid to find.”
“You really think Emile is here? What about the Bone Quarter?” Hunt asked as Bryce strode through the warren of stalls that made up one of the Meat Market’s many warehouses. There was no missing her, not with her neon-pink sneakers and athletic gear, that high ponytail that swished back and forth, brushing tantalizingly close to the glorious curve of her ass. “The Reapers practically told you that he and Sofie are lying low over there. You’re having Emmet and Holstrom comb through footage because you think Emile’s over there.”