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  He was going to be disappointed. Thoreau didn't like to play fair. He had betrayed Allunna, after all.

  “Now,” Thurton said. “All in favor of electing me as--”

  The double doors to the meeting room squeaked open.

  Horror exploded inside of me as a single, hunched figure forced himself through the doors with great effort. Beside me, Xavier sucked in a sharp breath.

  All heads turned to face the newcomer. I waited for an explosion of rage from Thurton, or at least some shock, but there was none. It was almost as if Thurton had expected this newcomer to walk in at this moment.

  “Excuse me,” Leon said in his serious and terrifying voice that reminded me of dry leaves. “As far as I know, I am still the leader of Cumberland's Abnormals Underground so long as I live.”

  Chapter Two

  The whole room was so silent that I didn't dare move in case a board under me squeaked. That would be a typical horror movie moment.

  Leon smelled even more strongly of wood smoke than the other Elders. The Lovellis were supposed to be powerful, after all. It was why Thoreau wanted me to bite Xavier and gain full access to his powers.

  “Leon?” the Nigerian woman asked, her mouth falling open. I could smell her fear. It was very metallic. She wasn't scared. She was terrified, no doubt rolling my words through her mind.

  He didn't even face her. The total shock on all faces except for Thurton's was obvious. Aunt Primrose's mouth fell open but she made no motion to stand and go hug her father. Xavier and I had been trying to tell her for days that Thoreau and Leon were merged together and the first signs of possibly even letting that idea creep into her mind were showing. Primrose had insisted that Leon was dead, just like she insisted that Xavier's mother must be, too. It was all just another power struggle. She might have been Leon's favorite, but Primrose wanted power just like the rest of them.

  “I am alive,” he said.

  The Nigerian woman jumped. The air heated. She was ready to use her magic, but I knew that none of these Elders were as powerful as he. If she was smart, she'd hold back, even though part of me wanted her to attack so Xavier and I wouldn't have to.

  Leon was now merged with Thoreau. Both of them were standing here. In the Underground. For some reason—probably to get past the wards that kept most demons out of the Lovellis' district—Thoreau was letting Leon have full control right now. There was no sign of the demon mayor except for a very faint sewage smell along with the hint of cologne. He was here, all right.

  Or perhaps Leon had gained control and come here for help, knowing that Thoreau couldn't manifest inside the wards. I hoped for the latter.

  If they were working together--

  I didn't even want to think about that. It couldn't be possible. Thoreau and Leon didn't like each other and had been fighting to be the one in control before. But Thoreau could find ways to use Leon to his advantage.

  “How are you alive?” another Elder man asked as Aunt Primrose continued to pale.

  “I was dead,” Leon said. “I was very, very dead before. Thoreau used one of his Dark Mages to steal my body. He planned to extract my magic and use it against the Underground.”

  Thurton coughed. The guy was very, very calm.

  “Continue,” Thurton said.

  Leon did. “I was taken to a far away temple. I do not know where it was. I woke there with Thoreau next to me. It turns out that he made a grave error. Instead of taking my magic, he resurrected me by mistake. The spells are very closely related from what I understand. He may have mispronounced a word or two.”

  My favorite Elder wasn't convinced. Doubt was all over her face. Xavier and I would have to talk to her later. “We need to know you are the true Leon,” she said, “and that this is not a glamour standing in front of us. Primrose, ask him some questions that only he would know the answer to, and tell us if his answers are correct.”

  Primrose stayed still, then rose and shuffled closer to her father. She didn't tear her gaze off of him. Real fear spread across her features but Leon only smiled at her. It was very creepy.

  “Okay,” Primrose said. She gulped. I must be the only one who could pick up that sound. “What did you buy me for my twelfth birthday?”

  Leon didn't hesitate in answering. “Your tennis court on the corner of third and Cedar.”

  “Is this correct?” the Nigerian woman asked.

  Primrose's bottom lip was quivering. “It's correct,” she said.

  “Ask another one,” she ordered.

  Primrose thought while Leon waited patiently. “What was your nickname for me when I was four?”

  This was getting worse. I wanted to get down there and stab Leon. Leon could be hurt, even though his being merged with Thoreau might have made him immortal.

  “Princess,” Leon said in that raspy voice.

  Primrose choked back a sob. “He's right,” she said. “This is him. I know it is.”

  “There is something very strange about this,” the Nigerian woman said. The anger was there in her eyes. "I have never once seen someone come back from the dead and walk in on a major Elder election. We should deliberate before we make any decisions."

  Leon wasn't swayed. "My term as ruler of Cumberland's Underground lasts for life," he said, glaring at her. "I am still alive. Therefore, I am still ruler of Cumberland's Underground and there will be no election today. With the exception of Primrose, of course. I second the motion to make her leader of the East Coast." So he had heard that part of the meeting from outside the doors. There was real pride in his eyes. Finally he had a family member who wasn't going to make him look bad. It was no wonder Primrose was his favorite.

  Thurton stood and smiled at Leon. I could see the secret agreement between them. "Since I have already agreed to step down," he said, "I suggest that we keep that decision in place. I cannot go back on that now."

  Oh, now he was acting humble.

  "But what about you?" another man asked.

  Leon cleared his throat before Thurton could speak. "I would like to invite Thurton to work with me as we make plans to keep the Underground in Cumberland safe. That, I believe, is the most important thing right now. Thoreau is out there and I am sure he is planning to invade the Underground."

  "He cannot," Primrose said. I could hear the hope in her voice. She didn't want to believe what Xavier and I had told her. "The wards around this district prevents a demon from entering unless they are a battle partner. Even Thoreau himself cannot come here."

  Leon smiled. "I know."

  The table below exploded in nervous talk.

  So the wards were holding Thoreau back after all. I wondered how much Leon was against the demon mayor. Perhaps he planned to stay here and keep Thoreau suppressed. That would help us all. Leon might be useful. I started to hatch an idea in my mind but before I could finish, Leon slowly turned his head up to face us.

  His blue and magenta eyes flashed to black for a second and flames danced inside.

  And he smiled.

  * * * * *

  I rarely ran fast enough to have to carry Xavier, but this was one of those times and I was glad I had a belt to hold my sword now.

  We had bolted down the back entrance to the meeting room. I ran through the underground streets, passing old wooden signs that were charming under other circumstances. Other Abnormals were in their quarters, resting after returning to the Underground from the scare. We ran past an open pub that was more crowded than it had been in the last several days. A couple of greenish men with dark green hair turned to face us. They were drinking some golden liquid--an ambrosia of some sort.

  Ignoring them, I carried Xavier around another corner. He asked me to set him down and I refused. I didn't stop until I had reached Thorne's dojo. Only then did I let Xavier climb down from my grasp. He was more distant, all right, and it was all because he was cured.

  There was a fight happening on the other side of the closed double doors. I knocked as loudly as I could and Thorne sho
uted an order for his students to stop. He opened the door a moment later and stood there, a serious look coming over his face. Thorne had a rule about not interrupting any matches unless it was an emergency, so he knew that we didn't bear good news.

  "Thorne," I said. "The Thoreau/Leon hybrid is here. In the Underground. He's convincing the Elder War Mages that he's going to take over again."

  "And he knows the two of us were spying on him," Xavier said.

  Thorne let out a swear word that was very uncharacteristic of him. He opened the door all the way and his students, a girl dressed in a green robe and another girl who gave off the doggy scent of a werewolf, waited. Thorne frowned at them and made a hand motion for them to separate. The green robed girl--she must be a Nature Mage judging from the mossy tone in her eyes--backed away with a simple sword in hand. It was the first time I'd seen a Nature Mage in here. They didn't exactly have fighting skills. Her attitude reminded me of Janine, yearning to be something she couldn't become.

  "We are done for today," Thorne said to the girls. "Put away your weapons and go home. Tell your families that it is not safe to be in the Underground right now."

  "Why?" the Nature Mage asked.

  "Just do it," Thorne commanded. He was always protective of his students. Maybe it was because he had no family of his own. I'd found that out when breaking into his apartment once. "Find a safe place and get out of Cumberland. Things are not looking up around here."

  The Nature Mage faced the werewolf girl and they both walked out of the room, swords in tow. There was no arguing with Thorne right now.

  Xavier and I told Thorne what had happened in the meeting, how we had run out when Thoreau revealed he was sort of present after all, and how we had come to the conclusion that the two of them might be working together now. "They're both slimy enough," Xavier said. "I'm surprised they haven't been friends for longer. I already found out Leon used to work with Beatrix the crime boss."

  Thorne sighed and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, Xavier," he said. "We need to eliminate the two of them and we need to do it now. We don't know, of course, but it sounds as if Leon could be working with Thoreau if he let the mayor come through like that. The wards by themselves would have stopped that. I don't understand why Leon has now gone to his enemy's side."

  "There must be some benefit in it for him," Xavier said. "That's what my grandfather is like. He wanted to be the one to kill Thoreau for years even though he was too big of a coward to go after the mayor. Now he can't kill the mayor so he's got to go for something, I guess."

  I thought about it. "Leon liked to go after his own family," I said. My stomach growled. Thorne smelled like a vanilla shake. Unlike Xavier, he wasn't denying himself food. "Thoreau might have promised Leon something if Leon's getting him into Elder War Mage meetings. Thoreau's stronger than Leon and it's hard for Leon to take over. The two must have reached a deal before coming down here. I've seen how they interact before."

  "That," Xavier said, "was my first time." He shuddered. "Seeing Leon with Thoreau's eyes...well, who needs sleep?"

  "And I hope it's your last," I said. "I guess my threats to expose Leon's secrets to the world weren't enough. Thoreau offered him something better."

  "You said that three of the Elders didn't seem comfortable with Leon's return?" Thorne asked. "We need to talk to them. I'll go with you."

  "But you're a Normal," Xavier said. "They won't listen to a Normal."

  "But I'm also an adult," Thorne said. "I know that the Elders don't like to listen to the young since they're all-knowing and wise. It might help...a little."

  "Thanks," Xavier said.

  "I wanted to attack Leon," I said, "but I didn't. Maybe I should have."

  "You did the right thing by running," Thorne assured me. "Leon and Thoreau both expected you to be there. Maybe they wanted you to try to attack. They had something planned."

  "We can't stand here, either," I said. "Thoreau is here in the Underground. He can't manifest if he's in the fancy district or whatever you guys call it, but he can anywhere else and he can use Leon to do what he wants."

  "Maybe," Xavier said. "I'm holding out hope that my grandfather is too proud to let the mayor control him. He won't want to hurt Primrose. She's still his favorite."

  "Obviously," I said. "Princess, huh? And a tennis court. No wonder she's so spoiled."

  Footsteps approached.

  I tensed. I was always the first to sense trouble due to my heightened senses. My stomach was rumbling and I was ready for a fight.

  "Someone's coming," I said, tightening my grip on my sword. I never went anywhere without it since losing my last one on the top of that building.

  "How many of them?" Thorne asked. He ran over to the other side of the room, stepping over a fresh blood stain that must only be a few hours old. He grabbed a staff from a bale of hay and got ready. At least he was a fighter. He was a Normal but strong.

  Xavier tensed. He was still shaking. Hungry. This wasn't going to be good.

  "Three," I said, listening more closely. "They're not moving fast. I think we have Elders on our hands."

  Thorne cursed. "The two of you, hide," he ordered. "I will speak with them. I imagine Leon is looking for you."

  He spoke Leon's name with such hatred that it brought back the memory of he and Leon arguing after it looked like Leon had roasted us alive. Thorne had no love for the guy. A fight might break out without us even here.

  "I said hide," Thorne ordered with so much force that I didn't want to argue.

  I knew Xavier wasn't in a fighting state. I grabbed his arm and did the hardest thing I could do. I dragged him towards a stack of hay bales and pulled him behind. The scent of straw filled the air, blocking out Xavier's weak wood smoke scent. He was very hungry. War Mages needed plain old food to use their magic and Xavier wouldn't be able to Transpose us five feet if things got bad. As soon as we got out of here, I was taking him to that pub and forcing him to eat.

  This was all because I had wrecked my chances of ever blending in with Normals again. I couldn't control all my new urges and Xavier had to take this action to save the world. It was no wonder he didn't want anything to do with me beyond being my battle partner.

  The footsteps all shuffled closer. There was a surprisingly strong knock on the door. Thorne waited for a second and then answered it. "Yes?" he asked. "Who are you?"

  Thurton spoke. "I am Thurton DeRose, Elder War Mage. We are looking for a couple of people you may know. Alyssa Choy and Xavier Lovelli are wanted by Leon Lovelli for crimes against the Underground."

  Xavier face-palmed. I hoped that the Elders couldn't hear the slap. Even if he wasn't working with Thoreau, Leon still hated us.

  "Leon Lovelli?" Thorne asked. "I thought he was dead. I was at his funeral not too long ago unless someone planted some false memories in my head?"

  He was doing a great job of sounding clueless.

  "Leon was brought back by Thoreau by mistake," Thurton told him. "Alyssa and Xavier were caught trying to sabotage our meeting and they're trying to spread lies about Leon. Alyssa is strong. We believe she was ready to attack but Leon stopped her in time."

  "Why would Alyssa want to attack the Elders?" Thorne asked. "It would be a terrible idea. She knows that. I've told her many times not to bite off more than she can chew."

  I cringed. His words were directed at me.

  "There's another thing. Leon just told us that his own grandson was responsible for his death," Thurton said. "He killed Leon by slaying Allunna, who has done nothing but serve the Underground. She appeared right after Leon and told us that herself."

  So Allunna was here, too. It was strange. Battle partners weren't allowed to sit in on War Mage meetings. It was some cultural thing. The War Mages liked to feel special, like they were in their own little club.

  "That's news to me," Thorne said, even though it wasn't. He was one of the few people Xavier and I had let in on the truth. "He killed his own grandfather, huh?"


  Now it was Xavier's turn to cringe. Even though he was now immune to Shadow Sickness, the guilt would never leave him. It was shrapnel left behind that would cut for the rest of his life. I knew Thorne hadn't meant to hurt Xavier but he did have an act to put on here.

  "He is a wanted criminal," Thurton said. "He sent me to fetch him and take him back to his residence. Leon states he will not be leaving it for a while. There are many things he needs to take care of. He also said that you know the two of them."

  I knew why Leon wasn't leaving his home. The anti-demon wards around the place were keeping Thoreau at bay. It might be the only place he could be in full control or really any control. Leon wasn't the type to want to be pushed into the background. It went against his nature.

  That still didn't tell me whether or not he was working with the mayor. Him looking at us said yes. This said no. It was best to assume the worst.

  "What's going to happen to Xavier?" Thorne asked. I could hear the rage smoldering in his words and between them as well. I could pick up things with my hearing that others couldn't.

  "I do not know," Thurton said. "I only know that he is wanted. Tell me where he might have gone. Or better yet, allow me to inspect your storage room."

  "Dojo," Thorne corrected. "By the way, you need to bow before entering. It's a sign of respect."

  I searched around. There was nowhere to go. The double doors were the only way in and out. Instead, I crawled towards the edge of the hay bale stack and peeked around and through the loose straw. Thurton stood in the doorway along with two Elder men behind him. Neither were the ones who looked uneasy at the meeting. These must be the ones most loyal to Leon. Leon would have his inner circle and they were it.

  Thurton gave Thorne a look of death. He must be nearsighted because he showed no signs of seeing me. "I will not," he said. The air heated just a little.

  "You will," Thorne said, "and then I will allow you to enter. I know that you Elders are big on respect. Well, so am I." He leaned on his fighting staff. "In martial arts, we always bow before entering the dojo. It's a simple rule that I instill in my students and everyone who enters."