Dead Silence - T.G. Ayer Page 0,75

feet. I opened it to see Joshua and the rest of the team looking at me anxiously. I felt stupid making them worried, but the last thing I needed was to get the word out about this meeting.

Stepping outside, I closed the door. "Anyone know a place, preferably outside and in the open that definitely won't be bugged?" I kept my voice soft.

Aimee's eyes went wide. Footsteps drew closer to us from the hall and before we could scurry inside to avoid our meeting being discovered, Fen turned the corner.

I sighed, relieved, then asked the same question of him. He gave a short nod. "It's-" when I held up my finger to my lips he nodded. "Come, let me take you there."

We followed in silence as Fen led us out of the palace and across the training fields. It was quite a trek and by the time we reached the rocky outcropping overlooking the palace, I was exhausted.

We were on the other side of the valley, directly opposite the palace and far enough away from the hustle and bustle of people. With the chilly weather, a random bird or animal would alert us to a possible Loki in disguise, so the mountainside appeared to be a perfect meeting place.

Now, I had to hope that none of the people I'd chosen was the mole.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Fen reached the ledge first, with Suri and Aimee close on his heels, leaving Joshua and me, trying to keep up. I took the opportunity to slow down and turn to Joshua, deciding to tell him most of the details before I spilled half the beans to the rest of the team.

"Loki visited me, he's got Ms Custer and my mom, says he won't hurt them as long as I stay out of it. He's got Nita's kid too, so Vanya and Nita are both compromised. I don't know who to trust so I need your help."

Joshua's dark eyebrows hit his hairline but before he could answer we reached the ledge, to see Aimee watching us intently.

"What's going on," she asked, her eyes narrowed and focused on my face.

"Nothing. I'm just feeling a little sick. "Aimee gave me a pointed glare, making it clear she knew I was hiding something. But then she turned to face Fen and Suri.

Fen tilted his head and looked at me. "What do you need us to do?" he asked. "And why all the secrecy?"

I registered the strange ache as I cleared my throat. "Okay, here's the thing." I turned away and began to slowly pace the stone floor of the cliff-top. Despite my lack of energy I felt like I desperately needed to be doing something as I talked. "I can't be involved in anything related to our fight with Loki. I'm taking a huge chance here and I've elected to tell only you four about what's going on. In total the five of us will be the only ones who know I'm still involved. I'll still coordinate things, but from a distance. I need you all to be my eyes and ears."

Then I stopped in my tracks, and stared at the floor wondering for a moment what I was doing. If one of these friends of mine was the traitor then I was signing the death warrant for both my mothers. How had I thought this was a good idea in the first place?

My fingers curled into fists at my sides and I took a deep breath before turning to face the group. "I don't know who the mole is, or if Loki is here listening to what I'm saying." I laughed and looked around at the faces of my closest friends. "I'm also hoping that none of you are Loki in disguise."

When I got five offended glares I raised my hands. "I'm sorry. You have to forgive me. Loki has my mother and if he hears that I am still involved with the efforts to stop him then she's dead."

Aimee and Suri gasped, both putting their hands in front of their mouths in shock. Suri took a step forward, her red hair glinting around her head like a furious sun. "Is there a way we can test each other to find out?" she asked, her furrowed brow making it clear that she'd offer to be tested first.

I shook my head and gave her a grateful smile. "Not that I know of. This location may be good because it was a random selection," I paused and looked at Fen, and