“You think you can sell Mae on this?” Jack asked.
“I don’t have much of a choice. I need time to find somewhere even more out of the way and uninhabited than where we lived before,” Peter said. “That’ll take some time. This will keep Daisy under wraps until then.”
Peter and Jack started talking about what they could do to it make it more homey down here. Peter was good with home improvements, and Jack liked to pretend he was, so he joined in the discussion with unfounded enthusiasm.
I walked around, admiring the surprising detail in the architecture of the cavern. It was strange to think that a hundred years ago, people put more detail in building their sewers than they do in building most homes anymore.
Leif’s pile of belongings looked sad in the corner. It consisted almost entirely of things we had given him. The comforters he had spread out were actually a Christmas gift from Milo to him. I’d thought they were a horrible gift since we didn’t know if Leif even had anywhere to live, but Milo said that was all the more reason he’d need blankets.
The books had most likely come from Milo or Ezra. A thick copy of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky was stacked on top of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. A few other Russian books were in the stack, and that made the copy of To Kill a Mockingbird sitting next to it stand out.
Before I’d even picked it up, I knew it was the same copy that I’d just finished reading. I flipped through the dog eared pages, and a makeshift bookmark slipped out. I snatched it before it fell to the ground, and my breath caught in my throat.
Leif had been using a picture of Milo and me as his bookmark. It’d been taken on New Years of this past year, and we both had on too much silver glitter. Milo had stuck it on the fridge because he loved the way his cheekbones looked in it, but it had gone missing a few days ago. I’d assumed it had fallen off and slipped under the fridge or the stove, but here it was. Leif had taken it.
“What do you think?” Leif asked from behind me, and I shoved the picture back in the book, afraid that Jack might see it. I had no idea what Leif would want the picture, and I tended to think his motives were more innocent than Jack did.
“Um, of what?” I turned to face him, forcing a smile so I didn’t look as flummoxed by his picture thieving as I really felt.
“The cave.” Leif smiled faded from bemused to concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I smiled wider. “Yeah. I was just, um, admiring your books.” I pointed to his pile of Russian literature with the copy of Mockingbird.
“I’m going through a Russian phase,” Leif said, then gestured to the book in my hand. “I decided to take a break with some lighter reading after I saw you reading it.”
“Oh. Well… it’s a good book.” I handed it to him. Part of me wanted to take the picture from it, but I really didn’t think he’d do anything bad with it. It just felt weird that he’d stolen it.
“Ezra knows I have the books,” Leif explained, misreading my reaction. “He lent them all to me.”
“Ezra has a really big library,” I nodded my head more quickly than I needed to. “He has a lot of really good books, and he loves to share them. He’s really… good like that.”
“Yes, he is.” Leif paused. “Are you sure alright?”
Thankfully, I didn’t have to answer that question again. A bat flew over ahead, distracting us all momentarily, and after that, Peter decided we should go. He’d already made a lot of plans of what he wanted to do with the space so Mae wouldn’t freak out, and he had to get started on them.
Leif stayed behind when we left, and I took Jack’s hand as soon as we stepped out into the tunnel. I’d never felt weird about anything Leif did before. As soon I’d met him in the forest of Finland, I had liked him, even though he was a member of the brutal lycan pack.
But something about stealing a picture of me and Milo. It felt personal in a weird way. Maybe it was because Milo was in the picture, too.
I understood a bit more the way Jack felt now. I knew that whatever connection I had with Leif, it was harmless. But when it came to my brother, I felt more protective. What exactly did Leif want with Milo?
16
“The promise I made to my parents,” Bobby said, his voice low and gravelly, “the promise to rid this city of the evil that took their lives, may finally be within reach.” He crouched low on the bars that surrounded the roof above Olivia’s penthouse, surveying the city lights of downtown Minneapolis.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, pushing Violet off me. She’d nearly had me pinned to the ground, but I had put my hands flat on the ground and pushed up, almost doing a hand stand, and used my legs to kick her back.
“Are we gonna do this or are you gonna goof off with that idiot?” Violet asked, pushing a strand of her blond hair behind her ears. She hadn’t even fallen back when I pushed her, and she stood in front of me, ready to pounce.
“Can’t we do both?” I asked as I stood up.
“Alice, you’re not even trying tonight,” Violet said and her stance relaxed. “You shouldn’t have brought him with you. He’s just a distraction.”
“No, he’s not the problem.” I shook my head and brushed gravel from the roof off my jeans. “And even if he was, that’s good. I need to learn to fight with distractions.”
“I guess,” Violet muttered, kicking a stone with her foot.
She hadn’t been happy that I’d brought Bobby with me tonight, but after we’d run into Jonathan the other night, I decided that Bobby needed to work on his defense training. Unfortunately, he wasn’t really feeling it either.
“What are you going on about?” I asked Bobby as I walked over to him. He had one leg resting on the bar as he leaned over, and if Milo caught him doing that, he’d probably freak out and kill us both, but I didn’t say anything.
“I’m Batman,” Bobby repeated in that same gravelly voice.
“Oh, you’re an idiot,” I rolled my eyes and leaned on the bar next to him.
“Don’t you ever feel like a superhero up here?” Bobby asked, his voice back to normal.
“Nope.”
“Not even a little bit?” Bobby stepped down off the bar, probably tired of crouching, and pulled his Member’s Only Jacket tighter to him. “Or how about a superhero with hypothermia?”
“I don’t have much of a choice. I need time to find somewhere even more out of the way and uninhabited than where we lived before,” Peter said. “That’ll take some time. This will keep Daisy under wraps until then.”
Peter and Jack started talking about what they could do to it make it more homey down here. Peter was good with home improvements, and Jack liked to pretend he was, so he joined in the discussion with unfounded enthusiasm.
I walked around, admiring the surprising detail in the architecture of the cavern. It was strange to think that a hundred years ago, people put more detail in building their sewers than they do in building most homes anymore.
Leif’s pile of belongings looked sad in the corner. It consisted almost entirely of things we had given him. The comforters he had spread out were actually a Christmas gift from Milo to him. I’d thought they were a horrible gift since we didn’t know if Leif even had anywhere to live, but Milo said that was all the more reason he’d need blankets.
The books had most likely come from Milo or Ezra. A thick copy of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky was stacked on top of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. A few other Russian books were in the stack, and that made the copy of To Kill a Mockingbird sitting next to it stand out.
Before I’d even picked it up, I knew it was the same copy that I’d just finished reading. I flipped through the dog eared pages, and a makeshift bookmark slipped out. I snatched it before it fell to the ground, and my breath caught in my throat.
Leif had been using a picture of Milo and me as his bookmark. It’d been taken on New Years of this past year, and we both had on too much silver glitter. Milo had stuck it on the fridge because he loved the way his cheekbones looked in it, but it had gone missing a few days ago. I’d assumed it had fallen off and slipped under the fridge or the stove, but here it was. Leif had taken it.
“What do you think?” Leif asked from behind me, and I shoved the picture back in the book, afraid that Jack might see it. I had no idea what Leif would want the picture, and I tended to think his motives were more innocent than Jack did.
“Um, of what?” I turned to face him, forcing a smile so I didn’t look as flummoxed by his picture thieving as I really felt.
“The cave.” Leif smiled faded from bemused to concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I smiled wider. “Yeah. I was just, um, admiring your books.” I pointed to his pile of Russian literature with the copy of Mockingbird.
“I’m going through a Russian phase,” Leif said, then gestured to the book in my hand. “I decided to take a break with some lighter reading after I saw you reading it.”
“Oh. Well… it’s a good book.” I handed it to him. Part of me wanted to take the picture from it, but I really didn’t think he’d do anything bad with it. It just felt weird that he’d stolen it.
“Ezra knows I have the books,” Leif explained, misreading my reaction. “He lent them all to me.”
“Ezra has a really big library,” I nodded my head more quickly than I needed to. “He has a lot of really good books, and he loves to share them. He’s really… good like that.”
“Yes, he is.” Leif paused. “Are you sure alright?”
Thankfully, I didn’t have to answer that question again. A bat flew over ahead, distracting us all momentarily, and after that, Peter decided we should go. He’d already made a lot of plans of what he wanted to do with the space so Mae wouldn’t freak out, and he had to get started on them.
Leif stayed behind when we left, and I took Jack’s hand as soon as we stepped out into the tunnel. I’d never felt weird about anything Leif did before. As soon I’d met him in the forest of Finland, I had liked him, even though he was a member of the brutal lycan pack.
But something about stealing a picture of me and Milo. It felt personal in a weird way. Maybe it was because Milo was in the picture, too.
I understood a bit more the way Jack felt now. I knew that whatever connection I had with Leif, it was harmless. But when it came to my brother, I felt more protective. What exactly did Leif want with Milo?
16
“The promise I made to my parents,” Bobby said, his voice low and gravelly, “the promise to rid this city of the evil that took their lives, may finally be within reach.” He crouched low on the bars that surrounded the roof above Olivia’s penthouse, surveying the city lights of downtown Minneapolis.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, pushing Violet off me. She’d nearly had me pinned to the ground, but I had put my hands flat on the ground and pushed up, almost doing a hand stand, and used my legs to kick her back.
“Are we gonna do this or are you gonna goof off with that idiot?” Violet asked, pushing a strand of her blond hair behind her ears. She hadn’t even fallen back when I pushed her, and she stood in front of me, ready to pounce.
“Can’t we do both?” I asked as I stood up.
“Alice, you’re not even trying tonight,” Violet said and her stance relaxed. “You shouldn’t have brought him with you. He’s just a distraction.”
“No, he’s not the problem.” I shook my head and brushed gravel from the roof off my jeans. “And even if he was, that’s good. I need to learn to fight with distractions.”
“I guess,” Violet muttered, kicking a stone with her foot.
She hadn’t been happy that I’d brought Bobby with me tonight, but after we’d run into Jonathan the other night, I decided that Bobby needed to work on his defense training. Unfortunately, he wasn’t really feeling it either.
“What are you going on about?” I asked Bobby as I walked over to him. He had one leg resting on the bar as he leaned over, and if Milo caught him doing that, he’d probably freak out and kill us both, but I didn’t say anything.
“I’m Batman,” Bobby repeated in that same gravelly voice.
“Oh, you’re an idiot,” I rolled my eyes and leaned on the bar next to him.
“Don’t you ever feel like a superhero up here?” Bobby asked, his voice back to normal.
“Nope.”
“Not even a little bit?” Bobby stepped down off the bar, probably tired of crouching, and pulled his Member’s Only Jacket tighter to him. “Or how about a superhero with hypothermia?”
