Part 72 (1/2)

Now, she believed they could do it.

Given who she was and where they were, that might be enough.

And it might not, but the point is they're farther ahead than they were . . . oh no.

Someone zigged when he should have zagged. Golden hair blazed out under the edge of the helmet as the light caught one of the elves, holding him in place six inches off the end of the metal bench. Stewart. Half a heartbeat later, both Stewart and the old man were gone.

”Where . . . ?”

”We think he'll go back to the other mall.” Kith sounded very young as she stepped out of the shadows. ”But we don't know for sure.”

Across the concourse, Arthur's army began to move out.

Claire looked for Sam but couldn't see him in the crowd. She did see Jo raise her bat to the place Stewart disappeared. From the look on her face, the security guard should thank any G.o.ds willing to listen that he wasn't in this reality and that Jo could never cross back.

But I can.

Claire added another note to her mental to-do list, after rescue Diana and save the world but before pick up dry cleaning.

”Come on.” A hand on skinny shoulders got her escort's attention. ”Let's do this.”

IT BEGINS.

The declaration jerked Diana up out of her slump, spilling Kris' head off her shoulder. ”What does?”

WHAT DO YOU THINK? IT!.

”Right.” It. The battle. Her diversion. She shuffled around toward Kris, using the motion to cover an attempt to move the wand a little farther up her leg. ”You okay?”

”Oh, yeah, f.u.c.kin' great. I wasn't asleep.”

”Okay.”

”I was just . . . you know.”

Looking for an excuse to cuddle. Diana grinned. ”Okay.”

Kris flipped her dreads back off her face and sighed. ”You have to sound so smug?”

”Pretty much, yeah.” Keeping her back against the wall of the cavern, she got to her feet and held a hand down to the elf.

”So this where all h.e.l.l breaks loose?”

Someone had to say it, Diana reminded herself. It wasn't exactly a Rule. Some things didn't have to be. ”Not yet.”

With any luck, not ever.

Leaning out around the quartet of meat-minds left to guard them, she watched as the Shadowlord came into the cavern, not walking, striding, and being pretty da ... darned obvious about it, too. Over the whole black-on-black wardrobe, he was wearing greaves, vambraces, and a polished breastplate. Also in black. He pulled his sword, not black, Diana was happy to note, although it wasn't like he hadn't already beat the theme to death, and knelt by the edge of the pit.

”Is it time?”