I approached her, and with secrecy in mind, we put personal space aside, our toes almost touching, my mouth by her ear. “Barfbat and Chugalug. They can’t come back.”

“You sure? When they don’t return—”

“I’m sure. Be careful, Bat has enhanced hearing and smell.”

“I’m short on darts.”

I winced. I drew the extra decorations from my costume out of my pocket, and held it between us as I used a bit of strength to pull one free. I didn’t want a telltale glint to give us away.

“Give me the entire thing? I can cut the rest off if you give me one.”

I didn’t want to give her the entire thing. I liked my costume and Weld had gone to some effort to make the decorations.

But need won out. Others needed this. I pressed the decorations into her hand.

She jogged off, keeping low to the ground, not running along the base of the building as I’d been doing, but a distance away, because that distance gave her the ability to see which way heads were turned and a better idea of where people were. I watched the soldiers above, nervous, but I didn’t hear any cries of alarm.

She made a break for it, quick and quiet, across a dark field dusted faintly with snow.

We had a time limit.

Sveta.

I circled the building, floating instead of walking, and slowed as I heard whispering. I peered around the corner, and heard the whispering stop.

Something slapped my hip. A tendril. I approached, and I saw the general shape that was my mom. Wrapped in a dark blanket, the blanket held tight by tendrils. Sveta’s face was tucked between ball and wall.

“Fight might start soon. They just sent out the guy with enhanced senses. I sent Foil after him. If there’s trouble, I’ll pulse with my aura. There’s a group—”

I drew a rough outline of the roof on the ground, then an ‘x’.

“Right there. Should I go over the pineapple seven-ten?”

“I remember the great pineapple debate,” Sveta said. “No need.”

“You’re awesome,” I said. “Hit ’em, and if there’s any gunfire after, feel free to do what you need to do.”

“They hurt Tristan,” Sveta murmured. “Kenzie. Ashley.”

“Yeah.”

“I might have to throw them off the building. I just don’t want to.”

“I know. I don’t want to hurt them either. Gonna go check on Rain.”

I made my way back, wary of the periodic flashlight, or people leaning over the edge of the roof. Mr. Sechs was taking another leak.

When I got to where I’d left Rain, I found him gone.

I looked for him, and I found him halfway up the building. He’d scaled the darts Foil had embedded in the wall, and he’d returned to his former spot.

The hell?

I flew to him, shooting him a furious look. Because, for one thing, that was pretty precarious footing for anyone who wasn’t Foil, and a fall would have outed all of us. For another, what the hell was he thinking?