“Okay,” Floyd said. “Then you’ll have to Rip us all there.”
“I don’t fly.” Sampson leaned back in the booth, arms crossed.
“Really?” Necro looked amused and nudged him playfully. “You?”
Sampson shoved his hands into his pockets, looking embarrassed.
“Rippin’ isn’t exactly the same as flyin’,” Link said. “It feels more like gettin’ sucked into a vacuum cleaner.”
The Darkborn stared at him. “Even though you make it sound so appealing, I’ll still pass.”
“I hate to say it, but I’m with Sampson,” Necro said. “Traveling in and out of my own body is bad enough.”
Nox looked away. Necro had barely recovered from using her powers as a Necromancer to let Abraham take over her body and getting poisoned. Even now, Link noticed that the shadows under her eyes were darker than usual.
They’ve all been through enough, on account of Rid and me.
And Nox, too—he’s caused his share of trouble.
But Floyd and Necro and Sampson? Think about how much easier their lives would be if Abraham and Silas had gotten what they wanted the first time around.
How can I ask them to sign up for round two of the Caster smackdown?
“I’ll go,” Floyd said right away.
Link was grateful, but he also felt guilty. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna do.” Like it or not, Link’s heart had always belonged to one particular Siren, and he was going to find her, no matter what it took.
“Thanks for the clarification.” Floyd smiled.
“I’m coming, too,” Nox said from across the table.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Link said. “John’s kinda like Sammy Boy. It takes him a while to warm up to people. And you two don’t have much in common.”
“I’m going.” Nox started to stand up, but Necro caught his arm.
“Let me put it another way,” Link said. “You’re not comin’. So unless you can Rip, you’re outta luck. And if you really care about Ridley, you’ll stop screwin’ around and wastin’ time.”
The accusation seemed to hit a nerve, and Nox backed off.
“Don’t worry, Nox.” Floyd jumped in. “We’ll find this John Breed guy.”
Everyone followed Link outside. He led them behind the diner so he and Floyd could dematerialize without anyone noticing.
Link held out his hand. “Ready?”
Floyd nodded and took it.
Necro gave her a quick hug. “Good luck.”
“We won’t need it.” By the time the words left Floyd’s lips, they were gone.
CHAPTER 3: NOX
Street of Dreams
Newark? As in New Jersey? I still don’t get it. You know the Tri-State Area isn’t our friend.” Necro sounded annoyed as she followed Nox and Sam down the sidewalk. “Or am I the only one with the less-than-happy memories?”
“We’ll be fine,” Nox said. “Between the soccer moms and the Mortal Mafia, even Silas’ thugs avoid the Garden State like the plague.”
“Isn’t it a little close to home, after the fire at Sirene?” Necro looked skeptical. “Because the place was swarming with Silas’ men. I was there, in case you forgot.”
“That’s why Jersey’s safe. The club is gone. Silas has bigger things to think about now.”
Sampson stopped in front of a tacky condo complex made to look like a fake Tudor village. “The Essex House. This is April’s place, or maybe June’s. She’s named after a month. That’s about all I remember.”
“Charming,” Necro said. “It’s nice to see how much your girlfriends mean to you.”
“She wasn’t my girlfriend,” Sampson said, turning red. “Just someone I hooked up with once.”
“As if that’s better?” Necro raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t care who she is as long as she left us the key,” Nox said. After eavesdropping on Sampson’s end of an awkward phone conversation, all he knew was that April or June—or whatever the girl’s name was—seemed happy to let them hang out at her place in the hopes of reconnecting with Sampson.
Necro shook her head. “Have you ever had a relationship that lasted more than one night?” The Necromancer sounded like she was joking, but from the look on her face, she wasn’t giving up until she got a real answer.
Sampson frowned. “Maybe I just haven’t found the right girl.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Nox said. “You still need to cover the other ten months in the year—why stop at April and June? There’s September and October, November and December …”
“Enough.” Sampson swiped the key from beneath a flower-pot on the stoop.
As soon as they got inside, Necro made herself at home and flopped down in a machine-distressed armchair. She picked up a decorative pillow covered with embroidered birds and a fat yellow sun and glanced at Sampson. “It’s official. You win. You have the worst taste in girls.”
Nox just stared at the pillow as if he’d seen a ghost. In a way, he felt like he had.
Is it possible? Could I really be that stupid?
The others hardly noticed.
“Fine. She wasn’t a rocket scientist.” Sampson sounded embarrassed as he opened the refrigerator, hiding behind the door. “At least I found us a place to stay. Nox can’t go back to his apartment. And I can’t go back to ours, not after I put my fist through the window of one of Silas’ cars.”