Page 139 of Shadowblood Souls
I’m not totally sure whether he was being considerate or ensuring there was no chance he’d end up squished next to me if Jacob demanded the front seat instead.
“One time I crossed paths with a guy who grew up in Toronto,” Andreas says, falling into the slightly lilting cadence he takes on in story-telling mode. “He had a bunch of memories of this place. Worked somewhere downtown. Lots of hustle and bustle.”
“I don’t suppose he had any memories of monster encounters?” Jacob asks with a hint of impatience.
Andreas lets any implied criticism roll right off his back. “Nah. The most interesting thing I saw was he climbed that whole tower once.”
He points toward one of the back windows where a slim building with a bulge partway up, like an olive speared on a toothpick only a whole lot bigger, juts up toward the clouded sky. It’s got to be twice as tall as the highest skyscrapers nearby.
“Climbed the outside?” Zian says doubtfully.
Andreas chuckles. “The inside, going up the stairs. Seemed like they went on forever. Then he got to the top and puked.”
“And that’s your idea of a fun story?” Jacob mutters.
“It didn’t seem like he minded so much. He laughed about it after, and then his friends caught up and they had a little celebration in this restaurant up there.”
I frown at the pedestrians ambling by on the crowded sidewalks. Just like all the other sidewalks we’ve passed, none of them stand out as anything other than human.
Curiosity tickles up inside my head. “I wonder if you’ve ever looked inside a monster’s memories. I wonder if youcould.”
Andreas cocks his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never run into anyone whose memories I couldn’t see. But hopefully the real monsters aren’t blending in so well that I wouldn’t notice pretty quick once I peeked inside.”
“If they don’t remember doing anything monstrous, then they’re probably not all that bad,” Dominic remarks in his quietly thoughtful way.
We all sit with that thought for a minute as the car creeps along through the traffic. Then Zian sets his hand on his belly.
“Since we haven’t figured out where to go yet anyway… maybe we should grab some dinner?”
Jacob lets out a huff, but Andreas nods. “It’d give me some time to concentrate on the people around and see if I can stumble on any unusual memories that’d point us in the right direction.”
“Fine,” Jacob says. “But let’s pick someplace low key where they don’t expect us to be dressed up or anything.”
He looks pulled together enough, wearing a combination of collared shirt and slacks that Andreas picked up for him at the mall. Andreas could probably blend in anywhere that’s not high-level fine dining in his Henley and khakis.
The rest of us, though… I’ve got on my new favorite hoodie, the inside velvety soft against my arms, and a new pair of cargo pants with a couple of knives stashed in the pockets and a pistol in the back of the waist, just in case.
Zian’s in his preferred athletic casual, sweats and tee under a track jacket, and Dominic—well, he’s going to look a little strange keeping that parka on inside no matter where we go.
Every one of the men is still absolutely stunning, though. I jerk my gaze back to the windshield and instruct myself to stop noticing, as if that strategy is going to work this time after it’s gonesowell before.
“I think I see a good option.” Andreas pulls the car into a tight parking spot and motions to a storefront farther down the street.
We all clamber out into the cool autumn air. I suck in a deep breath, both to clear my lungs and to see if I catch any unusual tastes that might lead us to our target—and Dominic twitches where he’s stepped out next to me.
I only see it from the corner of my eye, and when I glance at him he looks perfectly calm, but I think that was a flinch. A faint tang of nervous adrenaline reaches my nose before the breeze washes it away.
I probably gulped a bunch of air like that right before I let out my killer shriek.
The thought weighs on me as I tramp alongside the guys to a restaurant with a faded sign proclaiming it the Daffodil Diner. The windows are a tad grimy and the leather seats I can see inside are sporting a few cracks, but it’s not crowded and definitely not fancy.
I’ll take it.
Jacob pushes inside first with his usual commanding air and scores us a booth in the corner next to the front windows. I’d imagine he wants to keep an eye on everyone passing by outside throughout the meal.
This may be a big city that we’re blending into, but that doesn’t mean the guardians couldn’t track us down here.
Apprehension prickles over my skin. I hardly notice how Jacob has ushered the guys into the seats until he’s motioning for me to sit down across from him.
