Page 28 of Reaper's Quest

Mr. Aldine had gone quiet, and his body hardly moved, as Chace also made his way to the path’s edge and came to stand several feet to my right.

I shifted my weight, uncrossing and crossing my arms,then shifted my weight again. My teeth clenched, and I struggled to avoid scratching every itch fizzing to life across my body. Chace stood deathly still, and I…I couldn’t stop fidgeting.

“I think I’ll take a seat,” I said more to myself than anyone else.

He didn’t react, leaving me unsure if he’d heard me or not. His stare looked lost, as if his thoughts took him worlds away. And the muscle along the side of his jaw… It continued to twitch.

I shuffled over to the retaining wall separating the walking path from the landscape and perched on the edge. Waiting until Mr. Aldine found a way through the barrier could easily leave us twiddling your thumbs for a while. A very long while. Longer than my packed supplies would sustain me.

To my surprise, Chace took a seat beside me, allowing roughly a foot of distance between us.

Weaving his hands together, he leaned forward, rested his forearms against his thighs, and lowered his voice. “What do you think of this situation?”

As always, my instinct to search for the trap in his question ruled, but his genuine tone cut down my innate skepticism.

“I’m not crazy about any of this.” I folded my hands together and mirrored his stance. “Maybe we should take a different approach and investigate the other path from the train station. The one that led in the opposite direction. Maybe we can find some kind of back door.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea. There are two other known entrances into the citadel, but passage through that magic morphing wall…?” Chace straightened and leaped to his feet. “I think I’ll make that suggestion to Mr. Aldine. I wouldn’t mind flipping this place into our rearview.”

“I hear that,” I mumbled.

Chace walked back across the bridge toward Mr. Aldine.

At any other time, him stealing my idea and taking credit would have upset me, but right now…I couldn’t care less. I already hated this task more than I thought I would. I knew the assignment wouldn’t be fun rides and giggles, but this… This was just?—

“Pssst.”

I jerked and spun around.

A guy with warm skin, reddish-brown hair, and dressed in tired threads peeked out from between the trees lining the path.

What in the?

He waved me closer.

I spared Mr. Aldine and Chace a quick glance. They paid me no mind. The call of my next action rested solely on me and…well… curiosity decided my actions.

I slipped from the retaining wall and approached the guy with caution, my gaze snagging on his softly pointed ears. The thought instantly inked in my brain—more than humans dwelled within the citadel.

“Who are you? And what are you doing here?” I asked.

He pressed against the tree trunk, hiding his presence in the shadows. “I could ask you the same.” A knowing smirk lifted his lips. “You guys looking for safe passage into the citadel?”

Who is he hiding from?I glanced around our surroundings, searching for cameras like the ones I’d spottedsurveying the bridge and citadel wall. I didn’t identify any, but camouflaged versions could easily cover the treeline.

I crossed my arms and shrugged. “What if we are?”

His face broke into a wide grin. “I can get you safely inside. For a price.”

And there it is, the incentive for so many.

“I don’t have much in the way of money,” I deadpanned, then I glanced over at Mr. Aldine. Having spotted me talking to someone, my fellow reapers headed in my direction. “Maybe our elder has some cash.”

The guy waved away the notion of money. “I don’t want coin. I’m looking for more useful things. Things I can’t get inside.”

No doubt because intercity trading hadn’t existed for over a hundred years, and somewhere along the line, money?coin?had lost its value.

I mashed my lips together. The guy might find the crow caller useful but, besides the tool having its limits, I refused to part with it. In fact, I’d likely need everything I’d brought with me.