“Where’s Felix?” Grant asked, straightening up.
“Right here,” Felix called out, stepping out of the mansion behind us. He carried a red gift bag in his hand, the sort you’d give to someone at a birthday party.
“What’s in the bag?” I asked.
“Something to help Devon,” Felix said. “You’ll see.”
He grinned and Devon rolled his eyes.
Felix got into the front passenger seat, while Grant slid into the driver’s side. Devon stepped up and opened the back door, something I supposed I should have done for him, since I was his bodyguard.
“Ladies first,” he murmured.
I was definitely no lady, but an unwelcome blush stained my cheeks all the same. I slid into the back, with Devon getting in beside me and pulling the door shut. He turned to put his seat belt on, and his scent washed over me—that sharp, crisp, tang of pine. I let myself breathe it in before scooting over to the far side and buckling my own seat belt.
I stayed silent as we drove down the mountain. It wasn’t like I could add to the conversation anyway, not with Felix talking as much and as fast as he did. He gave new meaning to the word chatterbox.
I glanced at Devon, wondering what he thought of his best friend’s incessant talking. He shrugged back, although a faint smile tugged up his lips. I looked out the window before I was tempted to return his grin.
Thirty minutes later, Grant parked the SUV in a special lot off the Midway that was reserved for the Families. A dozen other black SUVs were already here. My gaze roamed over the vehicles, taking in all of the crests on the doors, including the snarling gold Draconi dragon and the delicate cluster of purple wisteria flowers of the Itos.
The four of us got out of the car, and Grant looked at Devon. “Where are you supposed to meet her?”
He made a face. “At the arcade entrance.”
I wondered who she was, but I’d find out soon enough. Besides, my job was to watch out for Devon, not ask questions. I didn’t want to ask questions. I didn’t want to get involved in his world, in the Families’ world, any more than necessary. This was just like any other job Mo had sent me on, and I was only here for the money and whatever else I could steal along the way. Nothing more.
That’s what I kept telling myself, even though I knew it wasn’t true.
Grant, Devon, Felix, and I headed toward the main part of the Midway. Felix started talking to Grant, not paying the least bit of attention to his surroundings, but Devon scanned the streets and buildings around us, as though he was the bodyguard instead of me. He wasn’t wearing a sword, but from what I’d seen in the training room yesterday, he could handle himself as well as I could. If I hadn’t witnessed the assassination attempt, I wouldn’t have thought Devon needed any protection. His mouth was set into a hard slash, his fingers clenching and unclenching, as if he was hoping that someone would try to jump us, if only so he could let loose his anger and frustration by beating an enemy to a bloody pulp.
Yeah, I knew the feeling.
But no one approached or threatened us, and we left the parking lot and side streets behind and stepped out into the Midway.
The Midway was the crown jewel of Cloudburst Falls, the place where all the tourists flocked to, and the place where they left so much of their money behind. The circular area covered dozens of acres, with shops, restaurants, and casinos forming the outer ring. An enormous park lay in the center of the circle, with booths set up along the cobblestone walkways that crisscrossed from one side of the park and the Midway to the other. Dozens of fountains of all shapes and sizes bubbled, spurted, and spewed like geysers in the park, and kids laughed and shrieked as they ran through the arching sprays of water.
Even though it wasn’t quite noon yet, the area was already full of folks in shorts, sandals, and tacky T-shirts, with cameras hanging off their necks and phones dangling from their fingers. The greasy scents of popcorn, funnel cakes, and sticky-sweet cotton candy filled the air, while flashing neon signs mounted on some of the larger, castle-shaped food carts invited folks to check out pralines and salt water taffy, among other treats.
But the Midway itself wasn’t the only place that tourists visited. Cobblestone walkways spiraled out from all sides of the enormous circle, leading to smaller squares full of hotels, along with shops, restaurants, game booths, go-cart tracks, movie theaters, ziplines, and more. But whether they were in the Midway or one of the outlying squares, almost all the businesses tied in with the town’s overall fairy-tale theme, with names like Ye Olde Bowling Alley and Her Majesty’s Mini Golfe and all the old-timey decorations and costumes to match. It was like being in the middle of the world’s cheesiest, most over-the-top renaissance faire.
But there were some actual magical attractions mixed in as well, like the Monstrous Museum, with its displays of stuffed monsters, educational programs about the creatures’ habitats, and zoos where kids could pet baby tree trolls and the like. Other museums showcased everything from the history of Cloudburst Falls to fun facts about the waterfalls to how bloodiron had been mined out of the mountain.