Page 160 of Elven Crown

That made him stop in front of the doorway, as if Rebecca had said something he’d never considered before. Then he turned around to face her and shot her a highly exaggerated wink.

“As you wish, Thon-Da’al,” he said without a hint of genuine seriousness.

Then he stepped through the doorway and into the raging battle.

Was he that intent on compromising this entire operation and Rebecca’s part in it, all because the Blackmoon Elf was feeling a little bored?

“Stop!” she shouted after him. “Rowan!”

He ignored her and emerged from their cover to take position between the half-collapsed porch outside and the perilous wooden balcony above.

Rowan squared his feet, lifted his augmented rifle in both hands for the first time, and spun away from the building to level the barrel of his weapon up and to the side toward the balconies.

But he never fired a shot.

Because the moment Rowan stepped out and joined the party, all the heavy gunfire came to an immediate and eerily silent standstill.

Everyone froze.

The enemy, whoever that happened to be, threw no more attacks at the Shade team. No more weapons fired. No more shots or explosions rang out. No more magitek grenades were lobbed over the crooked balconies from above to rain chaos and confusion down on this small unit.

Nothing but sudden and complete, pervasive silence.

Sweeping in on the heels of such a dizzyingly loud firefight, however brief, that silence brought with it an even more intense eeriness than before.

Mostly because such an abrupt end to an assault like that usually meant nothing good.

The Shade operatives held their ground, though, waiting for the other shoe to drop, catching their breath in the silence or double-checking their remaining rounds in both clip and chamber.

Then Maxwell shouted from across the street, “Check in!”

“Whit!”

“Shell!”

One by one, the others did the same until finally, Rebecca added to it.

“Knox and Blackmoon in here!” she called out.

Rowan turned around to face her, adopting a skeptical frown as he lowered his weapon. Then he rolled his eyes with a snort.

Again, she had to ignore him. “Any ideas what the hell just happened?”

“If you figure it out,” Jay shouted, “feel free to fill us in at any time!”

“Looks clear out here,” Maxwell added. “Regroup.”

Slowly and cautiously, with weapons still drawn and at the ready, the operatives emerged from their cover positions. Everyone looked equally baffled by the sudden appearance and then disappearance of their attackers, but there was no more sign of the enemy anywhere.

Not so much as a single floorboard from the second story creaked or groaned. The dust had already settled. There was no sign of movement, no evidence of shifting weight, no proof of anyone here but the Shade team themselves.

On one hand, it was great not to be under attack anymore, which had its value.

On the other hand, the team now had absolute proof the enemy was here in the abandoned park with them, though again, they now had no idea as to the enemy’s location.

More harrowing than that thought, however, was the final remaining mystery Rebecca had yet to solve. Now she worried if it would even be possible.

If the unidentified enemy had been so intent on drawing this out, luring the team into a trap as they attempted to save three of their own, it meant the bastards wanted this badly enough to work for it.

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