Tyler propped his hands on his hips and sighed. “I can’t tell if what you’re proposing is safe—your immunity to my ability is irritating, to say the least—but I think it’s the best chance we have. The Lighthunters have managed to evade discovery by the entire world for hundreds of years. Can’t think of a better group of people to keep us hidden, keep Eve safe.”
He shrugged, and it was decided.
Nina nodded and turned to Mrs. Takata, expressing her disappointment that their visit had to be cut so short. In my broken Japanese, I expressed the same sentiment, giving the old lady a low bow. She pulled me into a hug and patted my cheeks.
“We will meet again.” She nodded with a tranquil smile.
Ethan and Josh wandered into the square, chatting and joking as they strolled. As they approached us, Josh noticed something was off first, his easy smile falling.
“Pack your shit,” Alec barked before they even had a chance to greet anyone. “We’ve been made. We have twenty minutes to get out of here.”
“Nina?” Josh ignored him and came forward to say hi.
“Oh man.” Ethan groaned. “I was just about to get something to eat.” His shoulders slumped as he turned to follow a marching Alec back to the house.
I took his hand. “Yeah, but you’re always about to get something to eat.”
“True.” He grinned at me.
Within fifteen minutes we were packed and at the start of the path. We said our goodbyes, and the villagers all went about their daily lives as if we’d never been there.
The young man with the invisibility—he didn’t look older than seventeen—was so excited to put his ability to use he was practically bouncing on the spot. He needed contact to keep us hidden, but as I reached for his hand, Nina grabbed my wrist and stepped between us. Without any thought for personal space, she placed her hand on the man’s chest and cocked her head. After a few moments, she smiled.
“When you can, head east,” she told him. “Your Vital is in Africa, somewhere south of Ethiopia.”
“Thank you!” The young man beamed, bowing repeatedly and grinning.
Nina stepped away, and I took the man’s hand, pushing Light to him in a steady stream. The others made a chain behind us, and we stood at the side of the path and waited.
It was almost too easy. The six men came walking up the path, barely breathing hard after the long, difficult climb. They were casually dressed, like tourists, but their expressions were hard, their eyes searching, and they barely talked.
They passed us without so much as a glance. Once they were well on their way to the center of the village, we moved down the path.
At the bottom of the mountain, we said our goodbyes to the youth who’d probably just saved our lives. He grinned, clearly happy to have been useful, as well as overjoyed at the knowledge Nina had shared about his Vital.
A beat-up old van pulled up next to us, and we piled in. The driver said a few short words to Nina but generally ignored us until he deposited us at a small airstrip.
We rushed from the van into a small plane, the engines already firing up as the door was pulled shut. The pilot was as quiet as the driver, not asking any questions and not sharing anything either.
As we settled into our seats, I finally took a few full breaths.
Ethan took my hand in his big one and promptly fell asleep. I smiled at him affectionately even as I cursed him out of envy. He really could sleep anywhere.
Just as fast as we’d arrived, we were leaving Japan, this time, hopefully, completely undetected.
I leaned my head on my fire fiend’s big shoulder and closed my eyes, hoping to get some sleep too.
Twenty-Six
Nina unbuckled her seatbelt and stood in the aisle, hands on her hips and an excited look on her face. “Time to go.”
She started pulling bags down from the overhead lockers.
“Time to go?” I shared a worried glance with Ethan. “Uh, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the fucking air.”
“We’re somewhere over the Mediterranean, right?” Tyler questioned, picking up one of the bags and starting to strap it to his body.
Holy fucking Heisenberg! They were going to make me jump out of this plane.
“Extraction?” Alec asked.
“Naturally.” Nina had her parachute in place and was adjusting a pair of goggles. “I have a boat coming to get us.”