Raven leaned against a building and grinned. “Talk about the walk of shame. He should have put on Kallisto’s uniform.”
“Would you be caught dead in prison apparel? Might as well wear a target on your back for all the Regulators and bounty hunters.”
When they reached the end of the alley, Christian kicked a can. It wasn’t a regular alley. There weren’t any dumpsters or doors, and it dead-ended at an incredibly high wall made of polished concrete. Instead of the alley being a long rectangle, the back was T-shaped with enough space left and right to park three cars.
Raven veered right and threw herself over the hood of the black Lamborghini parked there. “I want this one.”
Christian peered inside the Aston Martin in the center. “Be sure to tell Santa.”
“I’ve been on his naughty list for years.”
“Aye. And you’ve been on mine.”
Claude circled in front of the Porsche to the left and noticed a white sock on the ground. He picked it up and held it to his nose. A deep vibration rumbled in his chest when he drew in Kallisto’s scent. Hunting brought out another side of him, one that operated on instinct and emotion. Even though Viktor had paired him up with a Mage—and Claude adored Gem in every way—he couldn’t deny the primal side of himself that relished hunting his mortal enemy.
“Something ain’t right,” Wyatt said under his breath.
Christian frowned. “What are you rabbiting on about?”
Wyatt pointed his finger at thin air. “Because he’s here.”
Blue swiveled around. “He who?”
“Niko’s ugly friend.” Wyatt scowled at nothing in particular. “Yeah, that’s right. I’m talking about you, meathead.”
A mechanical sound drew their attention to the middle of the alley. A massive gate was rising from the ground between the buildings, and it was going up fast, threatening to lock them inside.
“Is that a gate?” Raven squinted at it. “What kind of fuckery is this?”
“It’s a trap!” Wyatt exclaimed as he took off running.
Raven flashed past him, but the gate was twenty feet tall by the time she reached it. The wide bars were vertical with no crossbars to climb.
Christian directed his gaze to the rooftops. “Look out!”
Chapter 14
After Niko passed along the news about Kallisto’s escape from the apartment, Gem spent hours securing every window in the house. While she couldn’t translate their orders to Kira, Gem led her to the first floor and let her watch. The moment Kira understood they were in danger, she gathered up her blue skirt and dashed upstairs. Once Gem finished securing the main floor, she went upstairs and noticed that Kira had replaced every candle in the darkest hallways. Keystone had countless windows, but not all were latticed and therefore easy to penetrate if someone had the wherewithal and climbing gear. Gem no longer felt safe alone in her own home, not after Cyrus had infiltrated the walls. Viktor once said that a breach was unlikely, but he never said it was impossible.
Even though Kira had locked the windows, Gem double-checked to be on the safe side. After finishing the top floor, she headed downstairs to see what everyone else was doing. Hunter dashed past the foot of the stairs, wearing his Zorro mask and cape. As she followed him down the hall that led to the courtyard, Gem wondered if his costume made him feel invincible or invisible. When they turned the corner, he gave her a sneaky smile on a backward glance.
Switch and Niko were reinforcing the courtyard doors with extra locks.
Switch twisted a screwdriver while looking down at Zorro. “Did you run the whole way?”
Hunter nodded, his hair sticking to his sweaty forehead. His cheeks were flushed from all the running.
“Where’s Kira? Did you leave her behind?”
Hunter gave him a sheepish smile and shrugged.
Switch sighed and lowered his arm. The screwdriver tapped against his hip. “That’s the last time I let you out of my sight. I made an exception because everyone needs a good cape. But you can’t leave Kira behind. That’s not what a good man does. Do you think you can put this back in the toolbox and lock it for me?”
Hunter was eager to help and assisted Switch in every way. He even tried carrying the toolbox. Well, he didn’t exactly lift that heavy thing, but he walked alongside Switch and pretended to.
Once they finished another door, they decided to give Kira a break from cooking dinner and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Switch slathered peanut butter on several slices of bread while Gem spread jelly on an equal number of slices. After slapping the sandwiches together, she cut each one diagonally and shaped them into butterflies on the plate using celery sticks for antennas. Switch chuckled but said nothing.
Instead of eating in separate rooms like usual, Gem invited Switch and Kira to sit at the table under the condition that no one would discuss Keystone business. Gem decided it wasn’t worth telling Viktor about their luncheon. He was a man who loved order. Kira looked uncomfortable, as if she knew she was breaking the rules. She ate her meal quickly before filling a basket with candles and heading out.
During lunch, both Switch and Niko gave Hunter an explanation about where rain comes from. Gem was impressed with Switch’s knowledge about clouds, but he didn’t linger over the complex stuff. He talked about the necessity of rain and what it did for the earth. Niko offered his insight on how to feel and smell a coming storm. How you could tell by wind direction which way it was moving. Not only did Hunter learn the science of it, but he also learned how to use his own body and senses to read the world around him. In some ways, Gem envied the education Hunter was receiving. She knew about life from books, but there was so much she could learn from other people.
When the topic switched to colors, Gem got a spark of inspiration. Niko had mentioned something earlier that she couldn’t get out of her mind, and it prompted her to leave the table before any mention of dessert.
An hour later, Gem found Niko in the gathering room and led him upstairs.
“Your light is shimmering,” he informed her. “What is it you want to show me?”
She could barely contain her jubilation. “You’ll see.” Gem reached her bedroom door and put her back against it. “Close your eyes.”
He dipped his chin. “I hardly think that matters.”
“Oh, come on. Indulge me. This is how you surprise people.”
“As you wish.” Niko closed his eyes and allowed her to lead him to the center of the room. On top of a green rug were gemstones she had aligned in the shape of a butterfly.
“Okay. Open them.”
When Niko opened his eyes, his gaze swung to the floor.
“Can you see it?” she asked, her fingers clasped in a prayerlike gesture. “Please say you can see it.”
He tilted his head to the side and looked at the stones. “Whatever I’m seeing, it’s colorful.”
Her heart soared, and she wanted to dance around the room. “You told me that gemstones hold energy and that you can sometimes see them. So I put energy into them—a different amount for each type—hoping that might make the colors different. With some, I used my energy, and others, I put in the sun.”