“Yowsers,” Michael muttered, earning him an elbow in the ribs from Scout.
Daniel waved them in, and the girls stepped inside. Katie closed the door behind them.
“Enclave Three,” Daniel said. “Meet Naya Fletcher—”
The taller girl offered a wave.
“—and Bailey Walker.”
“I go by Detroit,” the blonde corrected, offering a crisp salute.
“Oh, I’m going to like this one,” Scout murmured with a grin. “She’s got sass. Kind of like you, Parker.”
“I am quite sassy,” I agreed.
“Detroit,” Daniel corrected, then gestured toward Naya. “Naya is a caller. For the newbies among us, that means she speaks to the recently deceased.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Ghosts?”
Naya lifted a shoulder. “That’s how they’re generally known by the public, but they prefer ‘recently deceased.’ Calling them ‘ghosts’ makes it sound like they’re a different species. Like vamps or werewolves or the fey. They’re still human. They’re just . . . well . . . less breathy than we are.”
“And Detroit is a machinist.”
There were mumbled sounds of awe around the room. Being a “machinist” didn’t mean anything to me, but it clearly meant something to the rest of the Adepts.
“That means she gadgets,” Scout whispered.
“Detroit and Naya have seen the slime in other tunnels,” Daniel explained. “As you know, Enclave Two is an enclave of information, of technology. They aren’t used to battling it out with Reapers.”
When he paused, I knew exactly where this was heading. My stomach sank.
“Tonight,” he continued, “you’ll be escorting them out to determine if their slime is our slime—”
“And if there are more creatures out there,” Katie added.
The Enclave went silent.
“Detroit has mapped out a passage from here to their slime spot,” Daniel continued, “so she and Naya will play compass on this one. Jill, Jamie, and Paul—take point and travel in front of them. Once you get to the halfway point, you’ll stop there to give everyone a green zone so they can get back. Michael will do what reading he can. Lily and Jason are on offense if necessary.”
We waited for more, but Daniel didn’t say anything else.
Scout and I exchanged a glance. He hadn’t said her name.
“What about me?” she asked.
Daniel looked at her for a few seconds, then turned back to Detroit and Naya. “Ladies, if you’ll give us just a minute, I’d like to talk to Enclave Three.”
They nodded, then disappeared out the door. When it shut behind them, all eyes turned to Daniel.
“It’s your decision,” he told Scout, “but I’d like you to consider sitting out for this one.”
The room went silent.
“Sitting out?” she asked.
“You’ve had a pretty rough go of it lately, and last night took a lot out of you—physically, magically, emotionally. Enclave Three’s job will be to protect Enclave Two if the creatures pop up, not to—”
“Oh, no,” Scout said, holding up a hand. “You are not going to go there. Varsity or not, you are not going to suggest that I can’t go on a mission because my team-mates, my Adepts, don’t have time to babysit me.”
I grimaced on Daniel’s behalf.
“Scout, let’s be reasonable—”
“I am being reasonable,” she said, picking up her messenger bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “These people rescued me. They risked getting sucked dry by Reapers and they went to the sanctuary and they rescued me. No mother-trucking way are they going out there without me at their back. Not going to happen.”
Michael took a step forward to stand behind Scout. “She doesn’t go, I don’t go. And you know what I can do at the place.”
There was silence for a moment as Daniel considered their position. Finally, he looked at Scout. “You’re ready?”
“I’m ready,” she confirmed.
“Okay,” he said. “Then get to it.”
Everyone gathered up their bags and supplies and headed for the door—and the Adepts waiting for us outside.
I glanced back at Daniel, saw a sneaky smile on his face. I realized he’d done it on purpose—baited her on purpose—in order to rile her up, to get her ready to face whatever we might find in the tunnels.
No wonder he was sent in to supervise Katie and Smith. He was good. Sneaky, sure, but good.
Daniel caught my glance and nodded at me, then pointed at the door. “Get to it, Lily.”
I got.
6
There might have been sun outside, but the tunnels were still cold and damp.
“Do you ever wish you were an Adept in Miami or Tahiti?” I whispered to Scout, zipping up the hoodie I’d pulled over a St. Sophia’s oxford shirt.
“You mean instead of this moist, cold Midwestern underbelly?”
I hopped over the other side of the rail to avoid a puddle of rusty liquid. “Something like that, yeah.”
Since I’d given him an opening, Michael snuck between me and Scout, then slung an arm over my shoulder. “You know, if you’d been in Miami, you wouldn’t have met us.”
Scout rolled her eyes. “And what a crime that would have been.”
“Whatever. You know you love me.”
“I beg to differ, Garcia.”
He faked a smile, but it was easy to tell he’d been hurt. Stung, he moved back to walk alongside Jason.
“You’re being kind of growly with Michael,” I whispered to Scout when he was out of hearing range.
“He’s being kind of annoying.”
“He’s just being himself.”
She rolled her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’m just—I don’t know. Maybe Daniel was right and I’m not ready for this, you know? I mean, I did freak out last time.”
“Maybe you should tell Michael that. Let him comfort you instead of pushing him away.”
“No more daytime television for you, missy.”
“Oh, my God. Did I just give you relationship advice?”
“Yeppers.”
“Sorry. Won’t happen again.”
“I knew you were teachable.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Are you guys always this chatty?” asked Detroit. She walked with determination, her arms crossed against the chill.