Page 109 of Let Us Prey

How does anyone think this girl isn’t one of us, regardless of her biology?

“We’re in deep trouble, my friend,” I murmur to Chess. “Dolly will go for the throat now that she feels underestimated, and you know how dragons love losing.”

Chess grimaces. “The past fifty game controllers tell me what he’ll do. And Felix and Fitz never pull punches when they go up against one another—stay light on your feet.”

“I may have misjudged the ‘fun’ aspect of this activity,” I mutter as Fitz comes over and gathers us into a huddle.

“Not at all, Rock Man. We’re gonna crush them like bugs and then I’ll kiss my girl’s boo-boos until they’re all better.”

I blink. “You’re going full force at Dolly? Are you crazy?”

He rolls his eyes and sighs. “How am I the only one who gets it? Look, you tools. Especially since she was picked last, we have to treat her like one of us—equal in every way except age. Otherwise, we’re going to piss her the fuck off and you losers will have no chance with her.”

This is going to be a nightmare.

Since we’re damn near aloneon campus, Felix and Fitz agreed to expand the playing field to include from the Honeywell building to Shirdal. There are a lot of places to get pegged by a flying object in the open, but also a decent amount of places to build small arsenals as you run from section to section. The two of them even shook hands—as if either planned on playing fair.

If you believe that, I’ve got a couple of monuments in Europe to sell you.

“Chess, you’re the fastest runner, so you should be the one who distracts attention. We only get ten hits before we’re out and if youdraw fire, Renard coming from high and me sneaking up from below will create a pincer move.”

Fitz is plotting this out like we’re in a war game, and I’d bet his twin is on the other side. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of the others since we split up, which is surprising. Our girl is wearing bright pink and Flames should be in the sky, but neither has appeared.

Our team has strategically placed armories of snowballs in a side corner of Shirdal, on the back area of Honeywell, facing the staff housing, and near my garden by the Tower. I made sure they weren’t completely obvious but easy enough to access that Chess could dart over to get more ammo if he needs it as he races around.

I can’t help wondering why the others don’t seem to be creating safe zones, though.

“Got it, Fitzy,” Chess says with a smile. He’s pulled his hair back in a little bun and looks ready to show off his major strength in front of the others.

The tiger winks at me, shifting to his animal, and I gape. He damn near blends in, though he has to be freezing. He is not a Siberian and this climate can’t make him feel good. But winning is clearly more important to a Khan than freezing his nuts off.

“I’ll go get some high ground,” I say with a chuckle. “Don’t get frostbite anywhere important, or Dolly will be very upset, Fitzgerald.”

“Me, too,” Chess scowls as he watches the tiger melt into the landscape without a word. “Zeus’ beard, he’s such an over competitive idiot sometimes.”

I nod and clap him on the shoulder. “Agreed. Now go show off for the girl and I’ll watch your back.”

The cheetah gives me a boyish grin and zips off with a speed that’s impressive, even in humanoid form. I’ll be damned; he really is like the damn Flash.

Looking around, I squint at the high areas. Flames will expect me to take to my Tower out of habit, so I can’t go there. But Shirdal has a very nice dome and a spot I can try to blend in with statuary. If I dive right, my speed will eclipse him because of wing structure. That’s where I need to be. It’s a lovely day for a climb, anyway.

From the topof the arts building, I have a perfect view of the large playing field. I can see movement zipping from zone to zone that I know is Chess—no one else is that fast. There’s something on the ground by Honeywell, but it’s hard to make out what. That might be Fitz covered in snow and blending like a guerrilla fighter, but I’m unsure.

A loud roar comes from the ground and I see Flames diving in from out of nowhere to pelt Chess with three snowballs that knock him off his feet. My eyes widen and I push off the building, heading into a dive that brings me close enough to grab him as I glide by.

“What the hell?” I growl at him as I carry us towards the far lake behind Honeywell.

“Frozen. Someone froze the snowballs,” he grunts as he works to catch his breath.

Oh, our girl is clever as hell. I guarantee that was her idea.

“Looks like Team Felix is playing dirty,” I chuckle when my feet touch the ground. “They’ve got a mastermind coaching behind the scenes.”

Chess wheezes a little and nods. “Hard as your ass, man. I’ve got seven left, but it’s going to take a few for me to get back to speed.”

I nod, looking around us for a ground assault. “I’ll need to find high ground again. Where do you think Fitz is?”

My answer is a stream of fire shooting into the air by the opposite lakeside. I don’t know if Fitz found my dragon or the opposite, but the burst of fire tells me something is afoot. Chess waves at me, letting me know to head in that direction while he recovers. I have to trust he’ll find cover somewhere nearby until then, so I do a quick run and take off to glide over the ground. I’m not very high, but I’ll be faster.

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