"Yeah, you're probably right," Brenon said. "I take it Goldie already knows?"
I nodded, then glanced at the paper again. "What do you think this means for Ryder?"
"Hard to tell," he said, walking toward the center of the room.
Shoving the note into my pocket, I followed him. Butterflies filled my stomach as I stared out at the members of the Rose Circus who were agreeing to come on this quest to help me save Ryder and Gia. It was dangerous going against Terra. They hadn't seen the bodies she'd left behind when the Sayges attacked. Few survivors had seen that. My stomach flipped as I recalled the expressions on the faces of the dead. So many lifeless eyes.
Shuddering, I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to clear the memory.
"Thank you all for being here," Brenon said. "Remember, you're just causing trouble. Causing distractions. Try to get Terra away from her place, out in the open if possible. If things go wrong, you leave. Don't stick around."
He glanced at me, then looked back into the crowd. "That goes for all of you."
I swallowed against the lump that had risen in my throat.
"How much time does she need?" Miles asked.
"Do you have a best guess, Jasper?" Brenon asked.
Jasper stood from somewhere in the back of the crowd. "If all goes well, we can be in and out in ten minutes."
"We'll give you twelve." Miles nodded at me.
"Thank you." I nodded back. It meant a lot to me to have his support and no matter the bad blood between us, I believed that if Miles promised twelve minutes, he'd find a way to deliver.
Evangeline moved next to me, appearing out of thin air in true cat form. She looked out into the crowd, her slitted eyes narrowed. "I'll be escorting Goldie and Joe. The rest of you get them a clear shot, and we'll end this once and for all."
"Any questions?" Brenon asked.
The room was silent. A thick tension seemed to hang heavy in the air. There was so much unknown going into this.
Brenon turned to me. "Tristan said he'd meet you on the north side of the building. You and Jasper go ahead now. The others will follow in a few minutes."
Jasper cut through the crowd toward the front, all eyes following him as he made his way to me. "You ready?"
I nodded, then turned to face the rest of the Rose Circus. "Thank you."
The words couldn't even begin to express how I felt about their willingness to help me, but it was all I could get out. I nodded in the little bow I'd learned to use with the Sayge Elders.
The members of the circus lowered their heads in return, bowing to me. My cheeks burned. I didn't feel worthy of such a gesture.
When they looked back up at me, Brenon gave me a little push on the small of my back. "Go on. I'll see you when it's over."
Following Jasper, the two of us made our way off of the train. The air was clear and cold. Fall's crisp bite stung my cheeks and the smell of damp leaves and cozy fireplaces hung in the air. The train had arrived at the downtown train station, and it was full of people who walked by without even giving it a second glance. "Don't they see it?"
Jasper shook his head. "They can't see it."
A woman in a black peacoat paused in front of us. Her eyes widened, then she ran off startled.
"What was that all about?" I inclined my head toward the woman.
"Humans can't see us. Have you learned about auras yet? You let off a gold aura. Very different than most of us."
I turned around and glanced at the woman who was walking quickly away from us. Now that Jasper mentioned it, she had a slight green glow to her. Shaking my head, I turned away from her and matched pace with Jasper as we crossed a busy street. If I wasn't noticing auras, I wasn't paying attention. I had to focus better on my surroundings. As we passed groups on their way to the bars and restaurants, I checked each person, wondering if we were going to encounter any more supernaturals.
Either we didn't pass anymore, or I wasn't able to see the auras. Either possibility made me a bit uncomfortable, and it surprised me. I thought I'd be happy to be surrounded by boring humans, but I found myself missing the company of the those in the magical community. People like me. For the first time, I realized that I couldn't go back to this. I wasn't like them; normal wasn't going to work for me anymore. The thought scared me. What did that mean for me?
A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me into an alleyway. Icy cold fear shot through me, and my heart thundered in my chest. I tried to scream, but another hand covered my mouth. I'd been distracted, and hadn't noticed the blonde guy in the black leather jacket waiting for us.
Pushing my way out of Tristan's grip, I turned and glared at him. "What the hell? You couldn't just say hello?"
He lifted a finger in front of his lips and shushed me.
Hands on my hips, I pressed my lips together, ceasing the noise, heart still racing from him grabbing me.
"The building is a block away," Tristan whispered. "We'll hide right outside the back entrance, and as soon as the others create a diversion, we'll sneak in."
He moved toward the edge of the alleyway, then turned and looked back at me. "I'm in charge, no talking, just follow."
I wasn't happy about it, but we had agreed to let him help us. Jasper was the one who knew the way around the building, Tristan was the one who knew Terra. Between the two of them, we were going to save Ryder and Gia.
The three of us quietly walked down an empty, dark street that I didn't recognize. Though I had been to Terra's twice, I'd never stopped to pay attention to my surroundings. I needed to start doing that more. It was amazing how much I never noticed by not being worried about anything. I always thought I was observant, but between the missed aura and the lack of any idea where I was at the moment, I realized I didn't pay attention to details.
Finally, I saw the edge of a building that looked familiar. Bars on the windows, cracked sidewalk, we were at Terra's.
Tristan turned into another alleyway, and I followed him behind a dumpster. My nose wrinkled at the smell of what I hoped was normal garbage and not the human waste it resembled. The three of us stood silently, backs against the brick wall, waiting. I did my best to ignore the smell.
Just as my stomach was starting to lose the battle of keeping my last meal inside of me, a loud popping noise echoed through the night, followed by a series of screams and the sound of people running. The hair on my arms stood on end. It had to be the distraction.
Tristan snapped his fingers and pointed to Jasper, then me. Jasper moved behind me and gave me a nudge when Tristan took off at a run. After a brief hesitation to get my body to react despite the fear that had risen inside of me, I followed as fast as I could.
In a matter of seconds, we were at the door I hadn't noticed before. Tristan pulled the door open, and I followed him. Once we were in, Jasper closed the door behind us. I looked up to see cement stairs. We were in a stairwell.