I’ve spent the last however long scanning every part of the room I could see, subtly and systematically testing the resistance on my restraints, shifting as much as possible to see if I have any resources still in my pockets. But I still have no plan. The best I can come up with is to agree to this, find the codex, and then manage to slipaway with it. That plan only works if there was another demon who nabbed the codex.
If it was my crew, I can’t risk leading the syndicates back to them.
The door opens, and a security guard walks in, covered head to toe in black armor, kind of like what Tolliver wore to take away Poppy and CJ.
“I told you,” Hecate snaps. “No interruptions!”
“Sorry,” the guard says, their voice distorted by the mask.
Actually, I think that’sexactlywhat Tolliver wore.
The guard tugs twice on his ear. In his other hand is an opaque jar, and I know what happens next, so I take the deepest breath I can.
He drops the jar.
It smashes on the floor and golden smoke starts to fill the room. For a moment, I panic, but suddenly, Ezra is beside me, placing a mask over my nose and mouth.
“Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?” My voice is still gravelly and now muffled by the mask.
Ezra pauses from undoing my bindings. “I’ve got the inches where it counts.”
“Ew! We’re not close enough for that kind of joke.”
I try to push myself up, but he has to help me to my feet.
“I meant jumping distance,” he says. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”
I double over once I’m standing, but with a little effort and a lot of Ezra’s support, I get myself upright.
“I have no idea what this smoke does, so we better hurry,” he says.
“You came back,” I croak.
He rolls his eyes, dragging me toward the door. “Yeah, well. I’m the second-story man, and I’ve got a discreet exit for you.”
I get better use of my legs the farther we go, but as we hurrydown the hall, Ezra’s still taking more than his fair share of my weight.
“Besides,” he says, “this is what happens when you don’t prepare for every eventuality. I came back to tell you I told you so. You are all helpless without me.”
“All?” I ask.
He sighs. “Everyone got out. With that book thing.”
It seemed too much to hope for. That the others got away and that they sent someone back for me. Not only that, but we got the grimoire. We have the resurrection spell.
We’re getting Dante back.
“Also,” Ezra says, “there’s a crow that looks like it came from Jim Henson’s nightmares. What’s up with that?”
TheTale
Twenty-One
“Are there no peas?” Poppy asks, rifling through a freezer that looks like a cabinet. “I thought you were supposed to use peas?”
The Malibu house has floor-to-ceiling windows, mood lighting, three hot tubs, and a private beach. It does not, however, have peas.
“That’s raw steak,” CJ says.