“Stalled on that seven. I had no way of knowing what was under the king, but it was my only option.” Swiveling her chair around, she lifted a limp Zazu off his lap. “Look beyond the obvious. Examine the truth behind your motives. Buy low, sell high.”

“What?”

She sighed as the cat leaped back onto Tony’s lap. “Why are you really here?”

“I was thinking . . .” He paused, waiting for a smart-ass remark that didn’t come. “. . . the construction crews are going to be in today building new sets. I might be able to hang around, but I’m not going to be able to move the lamp back into place and I sure as hell won’t be able to turn it on.”

“Your point?”

His point seemed obvious but she was going to make him say it. “You have to be there.”

“No. I won’t go near the gate while it’s open.”

“You don’t have to. You don’t even have to leave the basement. You’re my cover story—just send me upstairs with a light meter or something to take some readings.”

“The carpenters will still be working . . .”

“Yeah.” He snorted. “Like it’s hard to get them to take a break.”

“They’ll still be there, though. If one of the shadow-held does show up, how will you explain it?”

Greatly daring, he stroked the top of the cat’s head. “I have no idea. Which is why I think we need to get the addresses of everyone who was on set yesterday. We need to find where the rest of the shadows are and take them out before they get back to the soundstage.”

“Take them out?”

He mimed shoving his hand in someone’s chest. Zazu stretched out one paw and embedded the claws in his leg.

Ignoring his whimpers, Arra snorted. “So this whole ‘I’m your cover story’ on the soundstage is just a . . . cover story? You want me to take the shadows out.”

“Two part plan!” Tony protested. “First the soundstage because we don’t have time to get them all before the gate opens, and then we go after whoever doesn’t show up away from the gate.”

“Fine. You still haven’t told me how you’ll explain the shadow-held to the carpenters then.”

“I thought you . . .”

“What part of I’m not getting involved in this do you not understand?”

“I’m not asking you to do any more than you’ve already done.” Even to his own ears that sounded sulky. “Look, we’re trying to stop an invasion and save the world without a lot of options, so we need to make the Shadowlord wonder a bit. Confuse him. Throw him off-balance. Not, why are my shadows being destroyed at the gate but why aren’t they coming back to the gate at all? Maybe that’ll convince him there’s something here he doesn’t want to tangle with.”