Dark Champion (Flirting with Monsters #4) - Eva Chase Page 0,91

Ruse’s computer expert had looked up—and of the likelihood that she’d kept Sorsha alive. Surely she wouldn’t have bothered knocking Sorsha out and dragging her off if all she needed was a corpse?

But who knew with the sphinx, now or ever?

I inhaled slowly and squared my shoulders, keeping a tight grip on the composure I’d spent so long cultivating. We weren’t really squandering time. The others were investigating the facility we’d set our sights on—a supposed coat factory on the outskirts of West London, less than two hours from the standing stones—while we picked up our mortal’s best friend from Heathrow, just a few miles away.

And I definitely wasn’t letting myself dread finding out what this woman was going to have to say when she came face to face with the beings who’d lost her once-close companion.

Ruse perked up. A moment later, I spotted a figure with a recognizable burst of black curls atop a sleek white blouse and slacks. She actually smiled at the incubus when her gaze caught on him. She hustled over, dragging her carry-on—and slowed at the sight of me.

I’d barely exchanged five words with this mortal woman during our single meeting, but apparently that and whatever Sorsha had reported about me had made an impression. And not a good one.

She kept coming, though, and stopped in front of us with a determined expression that gave me some hint as to what she and Sorsha had in common. “Is this all I get for a welcoming party?” she said, cocking her head. “Where’s the rest of the crew?”

“Attempting to confirm Sorsha’s location to make sure that when we go charging in to rescue her, she’s actually there for us to rescue,” I said.

“Hmm. Or, if you’re lucky, she’ll rescue herself before you all get around to it.”

Knowing my recent lover as well as I now did, I had to admit that was a possibility, as daunting an opponent as the sphinx could be.

“We’ll see.” I eyed Vivi carefully. She might be Sorsha’s best friend, but she was still a mortal with all the potential weaknesses that could entail. My voice dropped. “You do understand the full situation, don’t you? That Sorsha is as much shadowkind as she is human?”

If that news had frightened the woman when she’d first heard it, she gave no indication of fear now. All she did was shrug, aiming a glower at me that dared me to challenge her. “I just wish she’d felt she could open up to me about it on her own. Hopefully after this…” Her chin came up defiantly. “Maybe I didn’t know exactly that the whole time, but I’ve always believed she’s something special. Why do you think I came all this way? Human, monster, polka-dot potato bug—she’s still Sorsha, and I’m here for her, whatever I can do.”

Her vehemence convinced me that this one matter, at least, wouldn’t be a problem. I motioned for her to follow us. “Come on, then. We can go meet up with the others and see what they have to say.”

When we reached Darlene in her current state, Vivi raised her eyebrows but was polite enough not to remark on the RV’s appearance. I had the feeling one more trip through the shadow realm would render the vehicle completely useless as a disguise.

Her tour bus form now looked more like a touring vehicle for rock stars… Rock stars who’d revamped it while on acid. Neon yellow streamers fluttered around all the windows—we’d tried trimming them off and they’d just grown back—and the exhaust pipe had expanded to the size and shape of a trombone. Unfortunately, it also sounded like a trombone when the engine started up.

The inside had gone through a similar makeover. The formerly white leather sofa was now decked out with stripes of gold shag—an update the equines had actually approved of. The faucet emitted no liquid at all but only a screeching electric guitar sound. And the fridge was now baking anything put inside it like an oven.

Basically, we were shit out of luck if we wanted a cold beverage anywhere around here.

Pickle scampered over at the sound of our arrival and snorted indignantly when his master didn’t appear alongside us. Vivi stared at the little dragon and then shook her head. “Okay. That’s not even the weirdest thing I’ve seen in the last couple of weeks. Is it part of the crew too?”

“He’s Sorsha’s pet.” Ruse snapped his fingers at Pickle, beckoning him, but the creature lobbed