Page 102 of Avalon Tower
“I’m totally gonna win this thing,” I say.
“I have no doubts.”
My first horseshoe goes way off mark. “Damn it! I was so close!”
“All in the wrist, darling.”
“Hey, do you think that old church is open? Do they have bathrooms?”
“Bathrooms,” he repeats.
“Toilets. The loo. I have to pee, and I hate the portaloos.” I toss the second horseshoe. A bit closer but still way off.
“No idea, really. Not sure I’ve ever been in a church. Not my thing. Pretty sure they close at night.”
“Have you seen anyone going in there?” I ask.
“Nah, looks dark,” he says skeptically. “Not recently, anyway.”
I still hear the buzz coming from that church.
I toss the third horseshoe, and it’s so off the mark that it nearly hits one of the eyeless dolls. “Ugh! I really want to win one. Give me another try.” I pay for another ticket.
He hands me three more horseshoes. “I’m sure this time you’ll get it. You’re definitely getting the hang of it, darling.”
“I know, right?” I toss the first one, nearly taking his head off.
“Church was open earlier, though. I saw people going in. Not being funny or nothing, and I’m not prejudiced. Nothing against demi-Fey. But they’re just not right, you know? They just didn’t look right. It’s the eyes.” The large man grimaces. “Feel like they’re gonna steal my soul. Creepy fuckers.”
“Wow, demi-Fey? I’ve never seen one. What did they look like?”
“Fucking weird, pardon my language. The man had pointy ears, obviously. Dark hair. Tattoos on his arms, eerie silver eyes like metal. Beautiful blonde woman with him. You know, I don’t mind the women demi-Fey quite as much. I’d give her one,” he says thoughtfully. “Pardon the expression.”
I toss a horseshoe, and it clatters to the floor of his stall. A thought starts to blossom in my mind. “Did they have anything with them?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
I open my eyes wide. “Well, like you said, they’re dangerous. And you know the saying, if you see something, say something.”
He holds up a finger. “Do you know what, love? The fella was carrying something. It was in a box, like a musical instrument or something. They never brought it out again.” His eyes widen. “Do you think they could be planning something? You don’t think it was a bomb, do you?” He scrubs a hand over his mouth. “With all these people here? Should I call the police?”
I toss both horseshoes one after the other, so off the mark that one nearly hits one of the prize dolls. “It’s probably nothing. I doubt demi-Fey even know how to make a bomb. We don’t want the police shutting the whole fair down over an empty box.”
What I know at this point is that Raphael and Vivian came in earlier and left a package here, then left.
The Excalibur replica.
The veil mage’s plan starts to crystallize in my mind. This is where the trial ends—the veil mage figured that out. Why chase people through the street when they’re all going to come to the same place?
I casually lean on the side of the stall and glance back at the darkened church.
Then my heart sinks. Across the street, I see Tarquin and Horatio peering in the entrance to a building. Wrythe must have tipped them off to the general location, but they don’t know the exact building yet.
A teeny, tiny part of me thinks it would be tempting to let them blunder into the trap, but as much as I hate them, I’m not going to let Avalon Tower cadets die at the hands of our enemies.
“Nivene, where are you?” I whisper.
“The bloody cab driver went the wrong way!” she shouts. “Will you fucking turn around, you absolute muppet? Not you, Nia. The cabbie. No, I will not pipe down—”