Dusk Avenger (Flirting with Monsters #3) - Eva Chase Page 0,73
arm a tug. “Come on, let’s see what he’s going on about.”
It didn’t take long to figure out. When we reached the Everymobile, the rest of our group was standing on the pavement outside it, in a loose ring around a lanky figure with floppy black hair and pointed ears. Gloam the elf had come to visit.
If it hadn’t been for the hair and the ears, I might not have recognized him. The evening was settling in around us, but Gloam was glancing around with far more pep than I would have imagined he could exude. His hair no longer drooped but swished with the movement of his head. He rubbed his hands together and shot a wide grin my way.
Maybe I was hallucinating? But Omen, Ruse, and the others were all staring at the elf with equal amounts of bemusement.
“I’ve come to join your quest,” Gloam said with a playful bow. “You mentioned that you were looking for more shadowkind to help you tackle these enemies of all of us. How can I hide away when adventure calls?”
I just barely held myself back from gaping at him. Antic bounded around him, jerking at his clothes and poking him here and there, her mouth twisting at a puzzled angle.
“What’s the big deal?” she demanded. “You got two beings in the same body or something?”
“Just the one.” He smiled at her too as if oblivious to her prodding.
She turned to the rest of us and jabbed her thumb at him. “No way is this the same guy we met in the sewers. Maybe toxic waste mutated a twin!”
“Oh!” Gloam said with a lilting laugh. “I see the confusion. I apologize for how downcast you must have found me yesterday. You see, I’m a night elf. When the stars and moon are out, I’m rejuvenated. During the daylight hours, I haven’t much energy to put on a good face.”
Understatement of the year. But having now met the perky version of Gloam, I could believe Luna had been best buds with him.
“I don’t suppose you bring any special combat skills or potent magic to the table?” Omen asked.
Gloam shrugged with the same buoyant grin. “I can cast my own darkness.”
“In more ways than one,” Ruse remarked, smirking.
“We’re glad to have you on board,” I said, half afraid the others’ skepticism would send him back into his previously depressed state. “You made it just in time. We’re going to be heading out any minute now.”
Antic was still eyeing the elf suspiciously, but she snapped her fingers and darted toward the RV. “Come on. I’ll show you where you can make a spot for yourself. Just remember, any pranks or tricks, I call the shots.”
Omen caught my eye as the rest of us moved to follow them. His voice came out cool, but he couldn’t totally flatten the amusement in it. “How is it that you manage to conscript the most useless beings to our cause, Disaster?”
I held up my hands, matching his tone. “Don’t blame this on me, boss man. You’re the one who mentioned our grand crusade to him.”
Omen’s expression twitched as he must have realized I was right. “I didn’t invite him,” he said. “But I suppose I can’t blame you if he invited himself. Other than your optimism might have influenced me into mentioning it at all.”
I swatted him. “Sure, I’ll take the blame, as long as I also get the credit when he ends up foiling the Company on our behalf.”
“Rather than waiting on the chance of that, you’d better keep practicing that self-control. A little of me has to rub off on you eventually.”
“Hey, my amazing abilities are thanks to me alone.”
“And aren’t we all grateful for that,” Omen muttered, climbing the steps, but I thought I caught a flicker of a smile.
He hadn’t needed to practice with me today. He hadn’t needed to dedicate himself to helping me control my powers at all. I wouldn’t have expected it to necessarily matter to him if one human—well, half-human—burnt herself up as long as I burned down the baddies in the process. But apparently he did, and that softened any snappy retorts I might have tossed at him.
However much he’d come to value my contributions, it didn’t stop Omen from tossing out a little more snark when Ruse parked down the street from the gaming store. “Make your plea and be back here in ten, or maybe we’ll leave you with these bozos.”