Page 35 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

Jed grins. “We are going to walk through the front door.”

* * *

I tap my mustache, checking its placement. Zee smirks. “You still look sexy as a man, Natia.”

I roll my eyes and itch under my wig. “Which proves you don’t care so long as they have the right bits.”

He shrugs. “There are seven billion different types of normal in the world, and each one of them is wonderful and unique in their own right. Don’t hate on me because I can see everyone’s beauty.”

A tumbleweed rolls down the alley. Wait, it’s a take-out wrapper. Emi pats his shoulder. “I knew you had more going for you than your brawn.” She should be happy, she’s the only one without a disguise.

I glance at the shiny oxfords which make my feet resemble banana boats, as Jed smooths down the stiff fabric of his navy A line dress. It hides his package, although I’m curious how he’s rocking C cups. “You’re sure there isn’t a way you can teleport us in?”

Jed shakes his long dark hair. It’s a good wig, but with his frame he’ll never pull off being a woman. “No. Wards protect the floors we need to search against anybody but the cadre teleporting. I can get in, but not with you, since Zac changed them against you. Plus, this is more fun.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and glance at Zee. We tried him in a skirt and blouse. He looked like a drag queen gone wild. Total respect for them, they can rock makeup and heels better than most of us, however Zee isn’t prepared to act the part, despite his penchant for wearing women’s underwear. Long story. Still, seeing him with dirty blonde hair, rather than his normal army cut, is enough to throw a casual observer off.

Jed stalks ahead as Emi catches my arm. I control the snort, she’s my little lady in this scenario. Zee brings up the rear of our little gang and as we enter the glass doors, my heart leaps out of my chest and my palms become clammy. What’s our cover story? Who are we here to see? Who are we? Jed bypasses a woman in a slinky white dress clutching a tablet. She arches a perfect eyebrow at him and opens her mouth, no doubt to ask the questions I forgot about. Three ‘men in black’ slink from the shadows, ready to intervene. Jed jerks his head and a crash of power emits from him. Aerosmith’s “Dude Looks Like A Lady” is the first song I think of to protect my mental barriers. I fight the urge to turn around and run out of the building. The other occupants of the lobby, however, heed the warning and hurry out of the room. Even the delivery man pivoted on his heel and left with the parcel still in hand. Emi grabs Zee and drags him forward and pats my arm. I try to unclench my jaw. “What just happened?” I grit out.

“Jed persuaded them they had somewhere else to be… anywhere else.”

“He manipulated their feelings?”

She nods as we arrive at the private elevator. Jed lifts his hand to the scanner and glances over his shoulder to check we’re all still here.

“What was the need for the disguise if you could empty the room with a thought?” I ask.

He shrugs. “If one of the cadre was in the lobby, I would have had to play it differently.”

“You wanted to dress up,” I conclude.

He grins as the elevator arrives and the glass doors slide open. He turns and backs into the elevator, spreading his arms. “With you I get to play sleuthy detective. It’s fun.”

“You’re impossible, change us back.” I point to the transparent floor as we enter the tiny space. Four people is a squeeze. Ever paid attention to the maximum number of people notices in an elevator? And when you get in there with half that number, you hyperventilate at the thought of doubling it. Are these people the size of toddlers? A swish of fabric blinds me. My hands paw at my hairless face, before pulling my long hair. I sigh in relief, I hate dress up. My stomach lurches. Zee’s knuckles whiten as he grips the brass bar, his face pales as the glass box hurtles towards the sky. Emi gives him a once over. His badassness has taken a hit. “We’re safe,” Jed says.

“Says the god who snaps in and out of reality.” Zee clicks his fingers before gripping the bar.

The number seventy-four is lit on the computer panel. “We’re going straight to Archan’s apartments?”

“There are only two places Zac would hide something important.”

“Where’s the other?”

Jed frowns. “Let’s not worry about that, just hope it’s in his apartments.”

I wasn’t worrying until now. The elevator echoes a polite ding as the glass door slides open to reveal Archan’s nondescript hallway. I try not to think of him standing here, greeting me with bare feet and a sexy smirk. Jed stalks down the hallway and we traipse after him, coming to a stop in the open plan living area. There isn’t any dust, but an eerie feeling of not being lived in has settled over the place. The air is pregnant with the anticipation of its owner’s return.

“Office?” I suggest, pushing past Jed towards the double doors. It’s where I would keep the key to a mystical Jar meant to destroy the world. I pause next to a famous oil painting depicting the birth of Venus. Time to test my understanding of these multifaceted gods. “So Venus is Aphrodite?”

Jed pauses next to me, squinting at the painting. “She is.”

Emi lands next to my other side, folds her arms and tilts her nose in the air. “She might be beautiful in appearance, but she’s a vindictive bitch with a jealous streak. She started wars to prove ‘who was the fairest of them all’.”

“Sounds like a fairy tale,” I muse.

Emi snorts. “She was the original Snow White.”

Zee chokes out a laugh.

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