Christian put his hands in his pockets. “Don’t mind her. She’s away with the fairies.”
Raven leaned back on her hands. “It’s almost midnight on a weekday. The only places open are diners and clubs. He won’t be going to Walmart; I can tell you that much.”
Christian lowered his chin. “But he’ll be dancing the night away?”
“No. He’ll be looking for victims. If I were an escaped convict, my priorities would be money and clothes. He’s probably already got the clothes, but he’ll need enough money to get off the streets and into a motel. Even if he steals a car, he’ll need gas and lodging. I don’t know. I’ve got a feeling he won’t be running.”
Christian stroked his beard. “You and me both. He just found out we slaughtered his leader. Odds are he’s a tad vexed.”
Raven reclined on her back and fished something out of her jeans pocket. It was a tiny tube of lipstick, which she applied without a mirror. All of them had brought overnight bags without any clue as to how long they’d be hunting this Mage.
Claude looked down at his jeans and black T-shirt. “What does one wear to a human club?”
Raven stood up and grinned. “Desperation.”
Christian pushed away from the dresser. “Then I’m afraid I have nothing to wear.”
Another knock sounded at the door. Christian was the closest, so he answered it.
Viktor stood in the hall, zipping up his thin cotton jacket. “We go now.”
“We go where?” Raven asked, checking the daggers on her belt as she, Claude, and Christian filed into the hallway.
Blue and Shepherd were waiting inside the elevator to the right. Blue’s axe was strapped to her waist, and Shepherd was packing heat. The elevator doors kept chiming as Wyatt held them open by spreading out his arms and legs.
“You don’t stand out,” Raven remarked to Wyatt as they got in.
He hit the first-floor button and then tugged on his Pac-Man shirt. “It’s my lucky tee.”
When the door closed, Claude looked down at him. “It won’t be so funny in the afterlife if you’re stuck wearing that as a ghost.”
Christian snickered. “The irony.”
The elevator dinged for each floor they passed until they reached the lobby.
Claude noticed the firearm on Viktor’s hip. “You don’t think we’ll look suspicious armed to the teeth while walking through the human district?”
Raven exited the elevator and glanced back at him. “They probably won’t let us in any clubs unless we conceal them, but the laws are kinda flex. Cops shouldn’t bother us unless they feel like seeing what we’re up to.”
Wyatt adjusted his grey beanie. “Just so you know, I’m not down with a cavity search.”
Blue strode ahead of him. “Could have fooled me by the way your pants keep falling down.”
“I forgot my belt,” he retorted. “Forgive me if I don’t have juicy hips.”
Raven shot him a look. “Juicy what?”
“You know.” He used his hands to carve an hourglass in the air. “Juicy.”
Christian clapped him on the shoulder. “A few more of those donuts and we’ll see if your hips don’t lie.”
Raven walked backward, looking at Christian. “Oh, baby, when you talk like that.”
Claude recognized they were speaking words from a song, but he wasn’t feeling playful enough to join in the banter. He still had phantom pains in his chest from the sword, not to mention the flavor of Christian on his tongue.
They exited through the front doors of the lobby and stepped out into the city. Moths were circling the lampposts, and a worker was locking up the pizza shop across the street. Claude’s nose filled with the many scents of the city. Not just the exhaust fumes from passing cars or the smell of newspapers in the stand, but also the lingering trail of emotions that people left behind when walking. They weren’t staying at the best place in town, evident by the sensory exchanges on both corners. Sensors walked the streets in this neighborhood like prostitutes, promising unforgettable emotional transactions. Claude hated these districts especially because of that. It made his nose burn.
They headed left, a few of them making small talk. Blue was quiet. She hadn’t been the same since returning from West Virginia. Outwardly, she didn’t let anyone think for a minute that the deep scars across her chest and stomach from the lion attack bothered her. Unless she wore a low-cut shirt, they weren’t even visible. But Claude read the complex layers in her scent that led him to believe otherwise. Viktor had given her extra time to recover, but Blue wanted to get right back in the game. Either she was tougher than she looked, or she didn’t want anyone thinking she was emotionally weak.
Viktor twirled the van keys around his finger. “The only place I could find to park was a block away.”
“Parking in this city is a nightmare,” Raven grumbled. “This is why I only drive to places that have a free on-site parking lot.”
Two men flashed by them and disappeared around the corner.
Christian fell back a step to walk next to Claude. “You’d think we were in the Bricks the way these eejits are behaving. Look at that one.”
Claude cast his gaze toward a man in a purple velvet jacket and top hat. He was goosing everyone who passed him, his hand glowing red as he gave them an unwanted sensory exchange. No one turned around to punch his lights out, probably because of whatever emotional experience he forced into them.
“Scoundrel,” Claude muttered.
As they passed another alleyway, Claude stopped in his tracks. His nostrils flared when a familiar scent gave him tunnel vision.
Raven turned on her heel. “What’s up with Claude?”
Ignoring everyone, Claude raised his nose and turned in a circle before approaching a streetlamp. He pulled in Kallisto’s scent, which was wrapped all around that pole like a ribbon. An individual’s personal scent tended to linger, making them easy to track if there wasn’t a lot of wind. Claude found it easier to pick up a scent when an object had been touched, but on a still night, scent trails were like invisible threads that weaved about the city.
He paced the sidewalk, hunting the trail. When he reached a consignment store, he leaned against the brick and picked up a stronger dose of Kallisto’s scent.
“Lookie what I found.” Wyatt held up a blue prison uniform that had been discarded in front of an alley. “Is this what I think it is?”
“Right under our fecking noses,” Christian said.
Wyatt dropped the garments. “You think he’s running around naked?”
“Don’t be daft.”
Everyone turned and searched the streets. Cyrus’s apartment wasn’t far, which was one reason Viktor had chosen this location. It increased the odds of catching Kallisto.
“How old is the trail?” Viktor asked.
Claude’s nostrils flared, and he opened his mouth, allowing the scent to settle on his tongue. “Two hours at most.”
“Dammit!” Raven kicked the wall.
Claude strolled past Wyatt and entered the alleyway. Couldn’t hurt to see where Kallisto had been. It might provide clues to where he was going.
“So where’s the naked guy he robbed?” Wyatt asked.